It’s only March 2020, and we already have at least one GOTY candidate in the form of Nioh 2. I’m not much of a Soulsborne fan, but it reminds me of Capcom’s forgotten Onimusha franchise and I love it (check out my full review here).

Team Ninja has released the full patch notes for the game’s recent 1.05 update, and while it doesn’t add any actual new content, it does bring a lot of significant improvements. If you’ve played Nioh 2, you’ll probably die a lot. That’s a given, but it’s definitely much more frustrating when the game’s weakest Yokai enemy kills you; namely the Gaki.

They scratch you, bite you, and even throw rocks at you, most of which do unbelievably high damage especially at the beginning of Nioh 2. Even later in the game, if they ambush you with a grapple attack, they can still inflict a lot of damage. It’s annoying, really.

Fortunately, the Nioh 2 1.05 update nerfs the Gaki, along with the bigger and more powerful Yoki and Enki. These enemies are the scourge of the early game in Nioh 2, so it’s nice to see that Team Ninja acknowledges. However, they also forced me to get good and improve, so it still wasn’t all bad when they were OP.

I also noticed that the recommended levels for certain missions were increased last night, and it’s confirmed that the 1.05 update did that. Besides that, you can now gain Proficiency faster when using a weapon you don’t usually use, which encourages players to experiment with other weapons instead of sticking with only one or two.

I’ve always disliked Soulsborne games but Nioh 2 changed that for me. Do yourselves a favour and try out this game. In the meantime, check out the full patch notes below, courtesy of the Team Ninja official Twitter account:

#Nioh2 Update v1.05 Notes pic.twitter.com/5RRK3dSMdX

— Team NINJA (@TeamNINJAStudio) March 20, 2020

Adjustments

• The player will now gain “Proficiency” faster when using a weapon that is not as high in Proficiency as their highest proficiency levelled weapon.
• Some of the Dojo missions now require less Proficiency.
• Lowered the health of Gaki and the power of some of their attacks.
• Lowered the strength of a few overpowered attack used by the following enemies: “Yoki” / “Enki.”
• Buffed the HP of “Acolytes.”
• Adjusted the recommended levels of some missions to more adequately reflect their perceived difficulty.
• When Gyuki charges into the floodgate the horn will stab into it, and Gyuki’s jumping attacks etc. will no longer break the floodgate.
• Adjusted the defensive strength and the amount of health of Shimotsuma Rairen in “Pervading Waters.”
• Improved the Homing for the hatchet skill “Arise.”
• Reduced the wisdom requirement needed to release the Shiftling skill “Murderous Strike.”
• Made upward adjustment to Guardian Spirit Hiyokucho’s blessing “Medicine Burst” so that it would also affect Acolytes.
• However, the range of the blessing is now capped from infinite range to seven meters.
• Extended the distance at which Mujina can recognize gestures.

Bug Fixes

• Fixed an issue where the Divination Talisman does not enhance your compass correctly.
• Fixed an issue where all enemies would stop attacking at times.
• Fixed an issue where the switchglaive could perform a Ki pulse before successfully landing a grapple skill.
• Fixed an issue with the switchglaive where if the player performs an attack that is repelled, the player’s following low stance strong attack would not hit properly under certain conditions.
• Fixed an issue where the throwing skill of the hatchets did not hit enemies in the Yokai Realm.
• Fixed an issue that caused the sword skill “Swift Step” to allow the player to fall off when used near cliffs.
• Fixed an issue where the two sword skill “Random Slice” could be executed under certain circumstances even if it had not been acquired.
• Fixed an issue where the spear skill “Chidori” would have problems homing when used against certain enemies.
• Fixed an issue where the Kusarigama skill “Foot Sweep” was being reflected off of walls.
• Fixed an issue where Gyuki’s Yokai ability would not hit properly on some terrain.
• Fixed an issue that prevented the guardian spirits Shin-roku and Saoirse from buffing the player.
• Fixed an issue where switchglaive attacks from the Sohaya (human enemy) were not hitting properly under certain conditions.
• Fixed an issue when the player used Genbu’s guardian spirit skill on Azai Nagamasa, Nagamasa would stop moving for a while.
• Fixed an issue where the Shuten Doji would step in the same direction over and over again repeatedly.
• Fixed an issue where Magara Naotaka and Ryomen-sukuna would take a long time to fall back to the ground when they rose up into the air.
• Fixed an issue in all missions where a Nurikabe which attacked from long range would not attack the player until they were adjacent.
• Fixed an issue in the mission “The Mysterious One Night Castle” where the Lesser Umi-bozu in the riverbed would respawn.
• Fixed an issue in the mission “A Way Out” where enemies would be stuck in walls when performing a falling attack in particular areas.
• Fixed an issue in the mission “A Way Out” where destroying a specific object would not cause the boss to flinch.
• Fixed an issue in multiplayer during the mission “Corpses and Ice” where Mumyo would not follow the player.
• Fixed an issue in “The Frenzied Blaze” where the number of hair locks displayed on the mission selection screen is different from the number that can be obtained in the mission.
• Fixed an issue in the multiplayer of “Dream of the Strong” parts mission “The Golden Castle,” “Lady Osakabe” where even if her Ki meter was completely depleted she would still not fall.
• Fixed an issue in sub-mission “Song of the Yokai” where the player could not enter the battle area under certain conditions.
• Fixed an issue in multiplayer during the mission “The Bravest of the Brave” after the mission was cleared if the host chose to “end mission” it would automatically do so for the visitor as well.
• Fixed an issue when using the save data of the online storage infinite “Glory”s could be produced through “Donation.”
• Fixed an issue where the player could receive two “Possessed Kodama Bowl” smithing texts.
• Fixed an issue where, at times, when the Soul Core effect “When the player health hits zero Yokai form will activate (Dark Realm)” applies the player would have odd behaviours like getting stuck in the ground.
• Fixed an issue where the Visitor’s name display was not consistent with the chosen online option setting.
• Fixed an issue when while online, if the visitor’s health bar is set to “Display if changed,” the multiplayer partner’s gauge could disappear.
• Various other minor fixes.