Nioh 3 Revenant Malice and Bloodedge Demon explained

Bloodedge Demon and Revenant in Nioh 3 — (Image credit: Koei Tecmo Games)

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Revenant's Malice explained
Bloodedge Demon location
How to beat the Bloodedge Demon
Rewards

Revenant's Malice in Nioh 3 is something that comes up when you beat the Revenants of other players, but what does it mean, and how does it tie into the Bloodedge Demon that appears throughout the map of Nioh 3 without rhyme or reason? This is actually all leading players to an incredibly hard boss fight with a lot of loot, but the game doesn't explain it in complete detail. To help you out, I'll explain the connection between Revenant's Malice and the Bloodedge Demon in Nioh 3, and how you can beat the latter.

What is Revenant's Malice in Nioh 3?

When you kill a Revenant – the Red Spirit left by the graves of other players or certain NPCs in Nioh 3 – there'll be a text box that states "the direction of the Revenant's malice has been marked on the map," at the same time as which red lights will rise from the defeated spirit and float away. These are directing you towards the Bloodedge Demon, an optional powerful boss fight. In conjunction with this, a red arrow will appear on your map pointing in the same direction, such as in the example marked on the map below.

That means that while Revenants in Nioh 3 have their own rewards – the Glory currency and Ochoko Cups for summoning allies, mainly – they also are steering you towards the Bloodedge Demon.

Bloodedge Demon location and how to find it

The Bloodedge Demon spawns once per real life day at a completely random location within the map. You'll get an alert when you log in, telling you that it's appeared, but it's up to you to find it. To do so, slay Revenants and use the arrows on the map marked by their Malice to triangulate the Demon's location. It's rarely hidden once you're close, appearing in the open on pathways or clearings, and frequently surrounded by other Revenant graves.

The Bloody Grave that marks the Demon's spawn point is a tall, glowing purple fire based around several katanas stuck into the ground, like a more dramatic version of the standard Revenant grave. To get it to appear, simply walk up the grave and interact with it – but be ready for what's to come.

How to beat the Bloodedge Demon

The Bloodedge Demon is an incredibly powerful miniboss and appears to scale to the player's level, at least by my experience. It is an incredibly aggressive enemy that constantly swings four katanas in rapid fashion, as well as summoning various ranged elemental attacks if you get too far away. Here's some pointers:

It's better to be in Ninja style than Samurai style. The Demon is very fast and chews up Ki while trying to block it, so it's better to stay agile in Ninja style and play evasive. Dodging is far more effective than blocking and parrying, and ranged attacks allow you to keep up the pressure.
Use hit and run tactics. Sprinting in to do a heavy attack or two, or a Guardian Spirit attack, then rolling away immediately proved to be a winning strategy. You need to be faster than the Demon, while also keeping up the pressure until you wear down its Ki, at which point you can do some real damage.
Bring in a summoned ally. If there's no powerful summons nearby, find one anywhere in the map and then fast travel back to the Demon's location. The Demon tends to ignore it, meaning it should be a passive source of damage in the background. It doesn't make a huge difference, but it could be what pushes you over the edge.
Make sure you never drop below half health. The Demon can chew up your health bar in one blazing combo, so even tanky characters can die very quickly. If you do fall below half health, heal instantly – otherwise the next hit could kill you.

Bloodedge Demon rewards

Defeating the Bloodedge Demon will net you up to ten pieces of random high-rarity Nioh 3 weapons and equipment at your level, as well as a Bloodedge Demon Soul Core, Umbracite, and the Bloodedge Demon's Blood, both of which are high-rarity items used in Forging and Reforging. You'll also get a lot of XP that effectively guarantees you'll level up at least once, making this a challenging yet rewarding encounter.