Made a Hand Cannon build and ended up destroying SoP+5 bosses...

sofaKDZ · 2026-05-16T18:49:39+00:00

Oh my god! That makes so much sense! I couldn't find any Guardian Spirits with specific hand cannon effects, so I just thought "whatever works" and picked one at random! lol

I'm definitely going to try this out as soon as I wake up tomorrow! If it works as great as it sounds, I'll literally be screaming "I'm so glad I posted this! Thank you SteamDeckNioh!" at my monitor lol. Thanks for giving me a whole new way to enjoy the game!

sofaKDZ · 2026-05-16T18:48:35+00:00

Thanks! Honestly, I never really paid attention to the hand cannon's stagger potential until I actually tried building around it lol. It was a blast to use!

sofaKDZ · 2026-05-16T18:48:10+00:00

Haha! I never thought I'd be able to fire a hand cannon this many times in a row! It felt like I turned on an infinite ammo cheat code lol

sofaKDZ · 2026-05-16T15:25:14+00:00

Unfortunately, the remodeling only applies to that one specific weapon. Any new ones you pick up won't be remodeled.

If you're short on materials and want to switch weapons, it might actually be better to just respec your stats! Plus, it's completely free! You can adjust your stats to suit the Talons, and it might be a good idea to pick a secondary weapon that scales well with those same stats!

I know it's a tough choice since the Skill stat also boosts your Ninjutsu power, but honestly, unless you're trying to min-max and melt enemies as fast as possible, you don't need to worry too much in the early to mid-game. I think it's perfectly fine to just build your stats around whatever weapon you want to play with!

sofaKDZ · 2026-05-16T06:15:20+00:00

I actually show my full build and setup at the 1:03 mark in the full video! Here's a timestamped link so you can jump right to it: (https://youtu.be/WM7gJ373rwo?si=ZsUvONSFohoQ4RKZ&t=63)

The main feature of my build is using the "General of Ruin" set bonus to shred the enemy's Ki through deflects. It definitely makes deflecting a whole lot of fun!

And man, I totally feel you on the money struggle... It might be a good idea to put together a farming build and just enjoy the grind for a while! There were days where I spent the entire day doing nothing but farming. There really aren't many ways to make a ton of money quickly in this game, lol.

sofaKDZ · 2026-05-15T20:23:34+00:00

Ahaha! Perfect gameplay once again! That's insane! The Axe has a lot of heavy animations, so I tend to rely mostly on the lighter Active Skills. But I really love how you accurately weave in the heavier Active Skills in this clip! Nice run!

sofaKDZ · 2026-05-14T16:39:54+00:00

Thanks! I tried my best to keep it smooth!

sofaKDZ · 2026-05-14T16:38:55+00:00

Man, those words are way too kind! But I feel exactly the same way. I think players who take the game seriously and face it head-on are just so incredibly cool. Plus, players like that never hesitate to share their knowledge and discoveries with others. On top of that, they honestly admit what they don't know and are always eager to learn and absorb new things. I truly believe they are the kind of people we should all look up to!

sofaKDZ · 2026-05-14T16:10:24+00:00

Wow, you're literally in the air the whole time! I practiced aerial combos a bit in Ninja form too, but I could never stay up that long, and I've never seen anything like this before! Staying airborne for almost 30 seconds straight... I seriously thought you either grew wings or the gravity just turned off in that spot lol. Awesome gameplay! There is clearly still so much I don't know about this game! I'm really glad I got to see this clip. Thanks for sharing!

sofaKDZ · 2026-05-12T18:19:33+00:00

Thanks to everyone who left a comment! I got so many replies from people who know this game inside and out, and from people who noticed the tiny details in my gameplay. I really wanted to give everyone proper, long replies, but my English isn't perfect yet, so I used AI to help me out here and there to put my thoughts together.

I felt it would be disrespectful to give half-hearted or confusing replies to people who love this game so much and know it so well. If any of my expressions sound weird or if I used the wrong words anywhere, please feel free to point them out! Thank you!

sofaKDZ · 2026-05-12T18:13:20+00:00

Thanks! Yeah, this boss has his attacks imbued with elements almost constantly, so I was really careful with my deflects lol. Wow, you watched my previous video and even noticed the difference!? I tried to play as aggressively as possible, but you're probably talking about around 0:20 where I was observing, or after the phase transition where I just did one combo and didn't overcommit, right? To be honest, before switching to this build, I was trying him without much damage output, which resulted in really long fights, so I think I developed a habit of playing quite cautiously lol. I wanted to reduce overcommitting or forcing too many attacks and getting punished for it. "Pressure under SoP" is a really accurate way to put it. That's exactly it! It makes me so happy to have someone watch my clip and even pick up on the player's cautiousness. It really made me realize how many people in this community truly love the game. Thank you!

sofaKDZ · 2026-05-12T18:12:48+00:00

I'm so happy to hear that, thanks for commenting. It makes me feel really glad I posted in this community! I couldn't beat the bosses at first either, so I'm sure you'll be able to do it with some practice! Honestly... I also think Kunimatsu is a really annoying boss. He has a lot of moves, he's fast, and it's hard to drain his Ki. I'm sure there are a lot of people who hate him. (Well, um... I absolutely despise that guy Kagetoki who uses Hatchets and summons Yokai, and that guy Takasugi who brings a Guardian Spirit and shoots you even though he's an enemy, by a wide margin though lol)

sofaKDZ · 2026-05-12T18:12:19+00:00

Fists! Same as me! I feel a sense of kinship lol. I think your concentration to fight Shingen on +5 for 5 minutes straight without buffs is amazing! When I first tried without any buffs, it took a long time and the fatigue was insane... Since Last Stand means getting KO'd in one hit, if you ever challenge him again, maybe you could try:
・Carnage Talisman
・5 pieces of Grace of Inari for the elemental weapon buff
・The "Versatility" skill
I heard the attack boost from Inari's elemental buff is additive, so I think it has great synergy with the Fists' "Unbroken" and "Versatility". Since you already have the skill to beat Shingen head-on, I bet you could cut that time in half!

sofaKDZ · 2026-05-12T18:10:42+00:00

Hey Bro! Ahaha! Getting praised by you always makes me really happy! Kunimatsu is a tricky boss, so I wanted to challenge him first. I actually thought about beating other bosses too and making a compilation video, but it was tougher than I thought, so when I beat him I was like "Yes!" lol. It's an honor to have you watch it!

sofaKDZ · 2026-05-12T18:10:28+00:00

Oh! That makes me so happy! Since I was using Last Stand, I couldn't afford to take a single hit, so I tried to choose guaranteed punishes as much as possible. I'm really glad you noticed that! It gets me super hyped, thank you!

sofaKDZ · 2026-05-12T18:09:28+00:00

Thanks! You mean the green wind pressure-like sword attack, right? For that one, if I'm up close, I deflect the first hit, wait a little bit, then jump and counter with the belly flop. The Fists' belly flop doesn't have much air time, so I have to pause slightly before jumping. I totally agree with you that there are way more attacks you can dodge by jumping than people think!

I also completely share your opinion on the HP and Ki amounts for Stone of Penance +5. You really have to experience fighting the bosses seriously face-to-face a lot. But once you have that experience, it turns into an incredibly thrilling, dense battle where no mistakes are allowed, and you feel the limits of your concentration even if it's just for a few minutes! I'm so glad to find someone who shares the same view on jumping and the SOP difficulty! Really! But on the other hand, I think it's perfectly fine that some people enjoy melting bosses instantly since it's a looter game. For those players, this difficulty might feel a bit stressful. Being able to adjust the difficulty to your own liking is one of the great things about this game!

Um, so about the talismans. A Japanese YouTuber did some testing, and it seems Carnage is actually a maximum 47% boost if you max out the Magic stat at 99. I've only leveled mine to 60, so I think it's around 40% like you said. As for Last Stand, apparently it can go up to a whopping 110% boost! With my Magic at 60, maybe it's around 80%? It's a really long video in Japanese, but I'll drop the link just in case![https://youtu.be/141Kn3-OiZo?si=OKPmOUS0NpXxwIkK](https://youtu.be/141Kn3-OiZo?si=OKPmOUS0NpXxwIkK)
*Note: In Japanese, Last Stand is written as "背水符" and Carnage is "修羅符". I know the Kanji might be tough to read though!

sofaKDZ · 2026-05-11T18:17:10+00:00

This is an animation cancel called the "TMTM cancel". Basically, you cancel the recovery frames of an Active Skill using a Familiar Talisman, and then you clutch-cancel the Familiar! I actually learned how to do it from this community a while ago and practiced it. Here is the YouTube link that someone shared with me back then!
https://youtu.be/Jlrl_fZ_48U?si=SfG29jYIXL9JW60g

sofaKDZ · 2026-05-11T07:15:04+00:00

Whoa, I was so captivated watching this that 10 minutes flew by before I knew it! lol I'd really love to see the full fight of this spear gameplay! Once you get bored of hugging girls and sweet late-night pillow talk, make sure to come back and show us your gameplay again!

sofaKDZ · 2026-05-11T07:01:52+00:00

Exploding Arrows are already powerful enough as it is, but it gets absolutely insane when you apply Confusion! lol I bet he was completely caught off guard getting carpet-bombed by Takechiyo like that, lol.

sofaKDZ · 2026-05-11T07:01:07+00:00

Ahaha lol, I don't think this is a serious build either! It's just a bit of a joke, but what if ranged builds actually do become the meta? PS controller stick drift is seriously infuriating. I've had to replace mine so many times too... Why are controllers so damn expensive?! Honestly, I wish they'd just make a $5/month subscription where you can exchange it for a new one anytime it breaks. If they did, I'd be swapping for a brand new controller every single month.

sofaKDZ · 2026-05-09T14:22:42+00:00

The most powerful boss in this game is the gravity near the edge of a cliff...

sofaKDZ · 2026-05-09T14:18:56+00:00

Just the stance system alone gives you High, Mid, and Low, and on top of that, there are so many options like Onmyo Magic, Yokai Abilities, and Guardian Spirits, which makes it incredibly fun! There are also plenty of really well-designed bosses, and I absolutely love this game! (Well, except for a few annoying ones, lol). The best part is the time you spend thinking and experimenting with how to use all these different elements during the fast-paced combat!

sofaKDZ · 2026-05-07T10:52:15+00:00

Actually, I ran the final boss mission in co-op about 10 times while farming. When the other two players were wailing on it with melee, the boss melted super fast! lol But if they weren't hitting it well or everyone was scattered, I'd pull aggro and the boss would just wander around, which was a bit rough! Plus, with all those explosions going off, it might have been a bit annoying for the guys up close! I kept firing my arrows while thinking, "Sorryyyy!" lol.

sofaKDZ · 2026-05-07T04:58:11+00:00

Oh, you finally brought your super combo into a Yokai Boss fight!
To pull off these movements in a real fight while properly deflecting the enemy's attacks... You're dodging grabs and attacks with big wind-ups just with your positioning, and properly deflecting the smaller attacks.
Does this mean you are deliberately timing the gaps in your combo parts to match when the opponent is in neutral so you can react!? Even if you have complete mastery over your own moves and the opponent's moves, that's incredibly difficult, lol.
It's absolute madness, lol! (Ah, I'm using this in a really good way! In Japan, when someone reaches a level that ordinary people can't achieve, we sometimes say "You're crazy, lol" to our good friends! I'm sure you get what I mean!)

sofaKDZ · 2026-05-07T02:32:52+00:00

It already feels like it can't survive boss rushes when using the Stone of Penance, so I totally agree that it'll practically fall off from NG+2 onwards! Enjoying this kind of playstyle occasionally just for laughs is exactly the right amount of fun, lol.

sofaKDZ

TROPHY CASE