Best Elemental Tonfas Build in Nioh 3

As a Ninja player in Nioh 3, I’m telling you, Tonfas are seriously strong! It’s all about how well their quick attacks, powerful Martial Arts, and certain builds work together. If you’re playing with Tonfas and don’t feel like you’re dealing massive damage, there’s probably something you’re missing. This guide is my take on a Tonfa build that focuses on speed and hitting hard. I combine the Tonfa’s close-range power with magic and status effects to create a character that can really dominate. It’s a crazy effective setup!

Best Nioh 3 Tonfa Skills

The Martial Arts style you choose for your Tonfas determines your fighting style with them. For this setup, we’ll be using these styles:

Pulverize: This move deals incredible damage, especially against human enemies who like to block a lot. However, the animation is quite long, so you may get knocked out of it if you get hit.
Crimson Lotus Fire: Follow up a Strong Attack with a Light Attack to thrust your Tonfa forward. It will explode upon hitting an enemy, dealing Fire damage.
Storm of Strikes: Hold the Strong Attack button to rush forward and pummel enemies with powerful strikes.

Generally, you’ll defeat most open-world enemies using Pulverize and Storm of Strikes. For tougher opponents, use Strong Attacks combined with Crimson Lotus to inflict significant damage and quickly apply status effects – we’ll cover that in more detail later.

Guardian Spirits

While you can use any Guardian Spirit with this build, choosing one that deals Water or Fire damage will help you apply debuffs more effectively. If you unlocked its Ninja form early, Kusanagi is a strong choice for Water damage. For Fire damage, both Kongojinshi and Enko are excellent options. Alternatively, Nekomata is a good pick for Lightning damage and offers a powerful stat boost.

Best Nioh 3 Tonfa Ninjutsu Build

Flame Breath: Spit forth a jet of flame that deals Fire damage and inflicts high Burn buildup.
Shuriken: The standard Shuriken; quick and reliable, great for disrupting enemies or taking out weak targets.
Lightning Step: Dash forward at incredible speeds. Excellent for closing gaps or chasing targets while preserving Ki.

Flame Breath is the core skill for this character build. It’s powerful because it bypasses enemy defenses and quickly applies the burning status effect. We’ll combine this burning effect with another status called Saturated to deal significant damage and slow down enemies. If you’re finding Flame Breath difficult to use, Fire Shuriken is a good alternative.

Other Ninjutsu Options

Instead of Shuriken and Lightning Step, you can use other Ninjutsu abilities from the Uncanny or Calamity categories. These will add extra elemental damage to your attacks, letting you apply more status effects to enemies. If an enemy is hit with two or more different elemental status effects, they’ll become Confused, which significantly increases the damage they take. The more status effects on a target, the more damage Confusion will deal, and they’ll also be slowed down.

Nioh 3 Tonfa Build Onmyo Magic Setup

We’ll be using three different Onmyo abilities for this build:

Water Familiar: This is our main way of applying the Saturation debuff on enemies. Stay close, and hit your targets with Strong Attacks to drench them in water, making them take 20% additional Physical damage. Get this from Jakotsu-Baba’s Soul Core.
Water Talisman: Coats your weapon, imbuing it with Water damage. This helps us build up and maintain the Saturated debuff on enemies while providing a decent damage boost that interacts with our passive skills. This talisman is from Maelstrom Oni-Bi Soul Cores.
Skeleton Warrior Summoning Seal: Ranged minions that help inflict Scorched. You can get this seal from Skeleton Warrior Soul Cores.

In Nioh 3, the Water Familiar is the most effective way to inflict the Saturated status effect. Keep both it and the Water Talisman active during combat, and you can consistently apply the Saturated debuff to enemies as long as you keep attacking and maintain offensive pressure.

I swapped out the Skeleton Warrior Summoning Seal for something that does fire damage instead. Honestly, it’s just easier to get, and it packs a pretty good punch, so I’m happy with the change.

Best Nioh 3 Tonfa Build Passive Skills

Attack Mastery (Common): Increases your Attack.
Panacea Curefast (Common): Improves Elixir effectiveness.
Awakening (Common): Significantly improves Onmyo magic casting speed.
The More The Merrier (Common): Lets you cancel certain animations by casting Summoning Seals
Yokai Banisher (Ninja): Mist now cleanses Yokai Realms.
Hollow Form: Using Mist leaves behind an afterimage that restores Ki when it touches an enemy.
Wrathful Dragon: Enemies take increased Elemental Damage when they’re hit by a Ninjutsu.

These abilities are pretty straightforward. Together, they’ll boost your damage and make the game smoother. Hollow Form helps you recover Ki, Awakening speeds up your attacks, and Yokai Banisher lets you get rid of troublesome Yokai Realms. Make good use of them!

Best Weapons and Armor for Nioh 3 Tonfa Build

Although powerful equipment is helpful, you can further improve your Nioh 3 Tonfa build by choosing gear that complements your playstyle. Look for items with these beneficial stats:

Gear	Affix
Weapons	Melee Ki Damage Strong Attack Ki Consumption Ki Damage vs. Scorched/Saturated Strong Attack Damage
Armor	Ninjutsu Gauge Charge Ki Consumption Life Absorption
Accessories	Status Ailment Accumulation

When choosing a Clans passive, Kakizaki is a great choice for their bonus to Ki damage.

If you’re new to the game, the Iga Ninja armor is a good choice to start with. While you’ll likely find better armor later on, crafting the Iga Ninja set at the Blacksmith early on will help you recharge your special abilities (Ninjutsu) faster.

You can enhance Tonfas by adding elemental effects to them. This speeds up building up status effects, though they won’t apply debuffs on their own. We’ve generally found that weapons which break enemy defenses faster are more effective, particularly when fighting bosses.

How to Play the Build

Use Water and Water Familiar Talismans
Inflict Saturated by using Strong Attacks
Use Flame Breath to inflict Scorched and apply level 1 Confusion
Repeat the process when the debuffs expire

This character build is incredibly powerful in Nioh 3, easily handling bosses and making short work of regular enemies. You can conquer the open world using only the Tonfa, and when things get tricky, use your talismans to become virtually unstoppable.

2026-02-20 16:06