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Should you choose Samurai Attire or Ninja attire in Nioh 3?

Guides
By Joel Franey published 5 February 2026

Samurai Attire or Ninja attire give you a boost to either strength or skill, and a new Guardian Spirit

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The Samurai Attire or Ninja Attire choice in Nioh 3
(Image credit: Koei Tecmo Games)
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In Nioh 3, should you choose Samurai Attire or Ninja Attire? The choice is given to you at the end of the tutorial, specifically to choose between attire appropriate to either role for your spirit, Kusanagi. At this point in the game you'll have been able to try out both the abilities of the Ninja and the Samurai, but it's not made wholly clear what exactly you're getting out of this binary choice – which is why I'll explain how it impacts Nioh 3 going forward.

Should you choose attire appropriate for a Samurai or a Ninja?

The Samurai Attire or Ninja Attire choice in Nioh 3

(Image credit: Koei Tecmo Games)

You should choose attire appropriate for whichever playstyle you generally prefer, but if you're uncertain and need to break the tie, I would suggest the Ninja attire, as a boost to Skill is slightly more impactful to the damage of (most) weapons.

The Samurai Attire or Ninja Attire choice in Nioh 3

(Image credit: Koei Tecmo Games)

To explain, while Strength and Skill both increase damage on Nioh 3 weapons, Skill is generally more effective to the majority of the available Nioh 3 weapons pool. Strength focuses more on Ki damage, which is certainly useful, but not quite as universally applicable.

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The Samurai Attire or Ninja Attire choice in Nioh 3

(Image credit: Koei Tecmo Games)

Ultimately though it doesn't matter much – this is a +1 buff to either one of two stats that you'll be able to improve every time you level up going forward. You'll also get a Guardian Spirit for either your Ninja or Samurai style (see above), which provides a series of passive buffs. Even then, that Guardian probably won't last long into the game before you swap it out for a better one.

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Joel Franey is a writer, journalist, podcaster and Very Tired Man with a BA from Brunel University, a Masters from Sussex University and a decade working in games journalism, often focused on guides coverage but also in reviews, features and news. His love of games is strongest when it comes to groundbreaking narratives like Disco Elysium, UnderTale and Baldur's Gate 3, as well as innovative or refined gameplay experiences like XCOM, Sifu, Arkham Asylum or Slay the Spire. He is a firm believer that the vast majority of games would be improved by adding a grappling hook, and if they already have one, they should probably add another just to be safe. You can find old work of his at Eurogamer, Gfinity, USgamer, SFX Magazine, RPS, Dicebreaker, VG247, and more.

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