Nioh 2 - Weapons
The eleven melee weapon families and three ranged families of Nioh 2. Every family has its own skill tree and each of the three stances within a family has different attack strings, so a build is defined by weapon choice, stance habits and the stats the family scales with.
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of 14 entries
· updated 2026-09-15
| Name | Type | Description | Stats | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sword | Melee | The baseline katana family and the most balanced melee option in the game. | Reach: Medium Speed: Fast Scaling: Heart and Skill Role: All-round single-target pressure | Selectable at character creation; further swords drop from enemies and bosses or are forged at the blacksmith |
| Dual Swords | Melee | Two blades built for speed and hit count rather than reach. | Reach: Short Speed: Very fast Scaling: Skill and Heart Role: Fast pressure and status build-up | Selectable at character creation; drops and forging as with every melee family |
| Spear | Melee | The longest-reaching melee family, built around thrusts and wide sweeps that let Hide hit from outside most enemies' swing range. | Reach: Long Speed: Medium Scaling: Body and Skill Role: Spacing and crowd control | Selectable at character creation; drops and forging |
| Axe | Melee | The heaviest melee family: slow swings, enormous Ki damage and the best guard break in the game. | Reach: Medium Speed: Slow Scaling: Strength and Body Role: Guard breaking and heavy hits | Selectable at character creation; drops and forging |
| Kusarigama | Melee | A sickle on a weighted chain, giving the family two ranges at once: whip-like chain sweeps that pull enemies in, and short sickle combos once they are close. | Reach: Medium to long (chain) Speed: Fast Scaling: Skill and Dexterity Role: Reach control and disruption | Unlocked after character creation; drops and forging |
| Odachi | Melee | A greatsword-sized blade swung in wide arcs. | Reach: Long Speed: Slow Scaling: Strength and Stamina Role: Wide sweeps and group clears | Unlocked after character creation; drops and forging |
| Tonfa | Melee | Short blunt weapons held in pairs, built for relentless close-range pressure. | Reach: Short Speed: Very fast Scaling: Skill and Courage Role: Close-range pressure and counters | Unlocked after character creation; drops and forging |
| Switchglaive | Melee | A transforming polearm: the weapon changes shape with the stance, running as a long glaive in one stance, a sweeping scythe in another and a heavy axe-like form in the third. | Reach: Long Speed: Medium Scaling: Magic and Skill Role: Stance-switching hybrid with onmyo scaling | Unlocked after character creation; drops and forging |
| Hatchets | Melee | A pair of throwing axes that work as both melee weapons and a ranged option. | Reach: Short to medium (thrown) Speed: Fast Scaling: Skill and Strength Role: Hybrid melee and throwing pressure | Unlocked after character creation; drops and forging |
| Splitstaff | Melee | A staff that splits into a segmented flail on demand. | Reach: Medium to long (split) Speed: Fast Scaling: Magic and Courage Role: Spinning area control with onmyo scaling | Unlocked after character creation; drops and forging |
| Fists | Melee | Bare-handed and clawed martial arts, the fastest family in the game. | Reach: Very short Speed: Fastest Scaling: Strength and Skill Role: Highest attack speed, dodge-cancel combos | Unlocked after character creation; drops and forging |
| Bow | Ranged | The silent ranged family. Bows trade damage for the ability to pick off sentries, break yokai weak points and open a fight from outside aggro range, and headshots stagger most human enemies before they can close the distance. | Reach: Long Speed: Medium (draw time) Ammo: Arrows Role: Stealth openers and weak-point sniping | Available from character creation as one of the two starting weapon slots |
| Matchlock | Ranged | A Japanese matchlock rifle: one heavy shot, a long reload, and the best single-hit ranged damage of the three ranged families. | Reach: Very long Speed: Slow (reload) Ammo: Rifle rounds Role: High single-shot damage at range | Unlocked after character creation; ammunition bought or crafted at the blacksmith |
| Hand Cannon | Ranged | The heaviest ranged family: a hand-held cannon with the longest reload and the largest damage per shot, best used on slow bosses and large yokai where the wind-up can be planned around their attack pattern. | Reach: Very long Speed: Slowest (reload) Ammo: Cannon rounds Role: Burst damage against large targets | Unlocked after character creation; ammunition bought or crafted at the blacksmith |
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