Which guardian spirit can actually help make your life easier?

Similar to its predecessor, Nioh 2 offers players a wide variety of guardian spirits to help them throughout their journey. Each of these guardian spirits offer a host of useful effects and passives that will spell the difference between winning and losing an encounter.

Without further ado, here are the top 10 guardian spirits you can use in Nioh 2:

10. Shirohami

Shirohami is actually smaller than the one in this image, but it equally packs a heavy punch.

Shirohami is a white viper spirit that works perfectly well with players running a poison build. It allows for faster poison buildup, offers a huge increase in soul core drop rate, and comes with an innate poison effect whenever you use yokai abilities.

I haven’t dabbled into poison-focused builds that much, but from what I can see, this one works in tandem with The Vicissitudes of Life set which basically gives a 20% increased melee damage against poisoned enemies. 

Why Shirohami is Great:

• Allows for faster poison buildup
• Great for farming soul cores
• Can be obtained pretty early in the game

Shirohami Details:

• Attack Power: x1.12
• Defense Power: x0.88
• Yokai Shift: Brute
• Attunement Limit: 21

9. Atlas Bear

Pandas are naturally cute, yet the Atlas Bear manages to be both cute and fierce at the same time.

The Atlas Bear is one of the most popular builds among players for a couple of reasons. First, it offers a 5% increase in melee damage which is perfect for melee-focused builds. Second, it heals you for 200 hp every time you perform a grapple. However, the main selling point of this guardian spirit is its ability to grant you a massive increase in damage whenever you’re running low on Ki.

Specifically, the Atlas Bear grants 15% increased melee damage at 50% Ki and 25% increased melee damage at 25% Ki. As long as you know how to manage your Ki and sustain your combos while keeping it relatively low, then you can surely benefit the most from the Atlas Bear.

Why Atlas Bear is Great:

• Gives a major damage boost at low Ki
• Decent melee damage bonus
• Provides faster recovery once your Ki is depleted

Atlas Bear Details:

• Attack Power: x1.15
• Defense Power: x0.82
• Yokai Shift: Brute
• Attunement Limit: 20

8. Genbu

Turtles might be slow, yet you'd be surprised by the quick attacks that the Genbu delivers.

If you’re looking for a guardian spirit that will help you soak a lot of damage without dying, then Genbu is the perfect choice. It comes with a passive 5% damage reduction which allows you to minimize the amount of damage you take from enemies. Apart from that, it also has a 15% damage reduction against elemental damage. 

Its main selling point, however, is the Stalwart effect which activates whenever you cast Onmyo magic. Since you’re basically prone to staggering while casting Onmyo magic, this effect nullifies that so you can still continue casting while being attacked by enemies. 

There’s also a nice Anima Bonus effect whenever you hit a target with Onmyo magic. This allows you to fill up the Anima gauge quickly so you can spam your yokai abilities.

Why Genbu is Great:

• Ideal for builds that rely on Onmyo magic
• Prevents staggers while casting magic
• Offers some pretty decent damage reduction
• Potential to reach 100% elemental damage reduction with various armor sources

Genbu Details:

• Attack Power: x0.80
• Defense Power: x1.25
• Yokai Shift: Phantom
• Attunement Limit: 24

7. Itokuri

This itsy-bitsy guardian spirit is all you need to strike paralysis into your foes. 

Itokuri is a spider guardian spirit which is ideal for farming tons of equipment. It comes with a 5% increase in drop rate alongside 40 Luck which are two of the most important stats you should get if you want to farm stuff. It can also hasten the application of the Paralyze status whenever you use your yokai abilities.

Personally, I use the guardian spirit to run a Paralysis-focused build. This, paired with the 3-piece bonus of the Profligate Sinner set, allows you to quickly inflict paralysis on your target and deal devastating damage with the set’s 40% increased melee damage against paralyzed enemies.

However, to make the most out of this, you’ll have to use skills that inflict single heavy damage such as the katana’s Iai Quickdraw or the dual sword’s Sign of the Cross.

Why Itokuri is Great:

• Perfect for builds that inflict paralysis
• Offers significant increases to Luck and item drop rate

Itokuri Details:

• Attack Power: x1.02
• Defense Power: x1.00
• Yokai Shift: Feral
• Attunement Limit: 22

6. Shin-Roku

Shin-Roku's lightning affinity is what you need to shock your enemies and take them by surprise.

Shin-Roku is quite possibly the best guardian spirit for those who are running lightning-focused builds. The best part about this is that it comes with two strong Anima bonuses which can help you build up your Anima gauge upon meeting certain requirements. One is when you inflict the Electrify status on your target and the other is when you attack targets while you’re at full health.

Personally, I would combine this with the Ame-no-Mitori guardian spirit for that sweet 20% lightning damage increase, giving you a total of 35% increased lightning damage. Although Ame-no-Mitori’s inherent lightning damage increase is higher than this one, the other effects that come with Shin-Roku are just too hard to pass up on.

Why Shin-Roku is Great:

• Perfect for builds lightning-focused builds
• Can help you build up your Anima gauge pretty quickly
• Works well in tandem with the Ame-no-Mitoria spirit

Shin-Roku Details:

• Attack Power: x1.02
• Defense Power: x1.00
• Yokai Shift: Brute
• Attunement Limit: 24

5. Inosasao

This fearsome-looking boar is built like a tank, allowing you to take more punishment than other guardian spirits.

Yet another guardian spirit that makes you tankier, Inosasao focuses more on bolstering your damage reduction whenever you attack in melee range while on Mid stance. Specifically, it offers a 15% damage reduction whenever you perform a melee attack while in that stance.

While that might not sound too much, you can actually pair it with 3 pieces of The Bold and Boorish set for an extra 10% damage reduction, as well as the Onryoki soul core for another 10%, making it a total of 35% damage reduction when attacking in mid stance.

Why Inosasao is Great:

• Perfect for enhancing your overall defenses
• Provides bonuses to your defense when absorbing amrita
• Greatly boosts your charged attacks

Inosasao Details:

• Attack Power: x1.15
• Defense Power: x0.82
• Yokai Shift: Brute
• Attunement Limit: 21

4. Yatagarasu

The Yatagarasu is perfect for builds that want to focus on sniping enemies from afar.

Guardian spirits that provide bonuses to ranged attacks aren’t used that much since sniping an enemy up close can be really tough. Besides, you don’t really want to use ranged weapons whenever you’re inside a boss arena.

However, if you want to obliterate your enemies from afar and give them no chance to retaliate, then Yatagarasu is a pretty solid choice. What makes it amazing is the Untouched Ammo bonus it comes with, basically granting you a 20% chance to not use any ammo whenever you attack using a ranged weapon.

Aside from that, it also provides faster Anima buildup whenever you hit a target with a ranged weapon. 

Why Yatagarasu is Great:

• Perfect for dealing with enemies using ranged weapons
• Basically lets you spam ranged weapon attacks without worrying too much about your ammo depleting
• Grants a decent melee damage increase against Scorched enemies

Yatagarasu Details:

• Attack Power: x1.0
• Defense Power: x1.05
• Yokai Shift: Feral
• Attunement Limit: 22

3. Nekomata

The Nekomata is equally cute and deadly; a perfect guardian spirit for ninja builds.

As far as throwing weapons like kunais and shurikens are concerned, Nekomata is no doubt the best option, thanks to its 5% increased throwing weapon damage. You can pair it with 5 pieces of the Master of Illusion Set for a significant bonus to your Ninjutsu power as well as a 15% chance to not consume any Ninjutsu items when using them.

Apart from this, you also gain a bonus on your Anima gauge buildup whenever you hit an enemy with Ninjutsu. Since it’s pretty easy to hit your targets with skills like Storm Kunai and Shuriken, you can fill up your Anima gauge pretty quickly so you can spam your yokai abilities.

Why Nekomata is Great:

• Offers a significant increase in throwing weapon damage
• Ideal for builds that rely on the use of Ninjutsu items
• Gains Anima faster the more melee damage you inflict on your enemies

Nekomata Details:

• Attack Power: x1.10
• Defense Power: x0.90
• Yokai Shift: Feral
• Attunement Limit: 22

2. Yumehami

This shiny golden boy offers amazing Ki damage bonus and Ki recovery all at once.

If you prefer an aggressive playstyle instead of a defensive one, then the Yumehami spirit is highly recommended. Of all the guardian spirits out there, this one is the absolute best when it comes to depleting your enemies’ Ki so they can no longer perform any action until they recover.

It offers a whopping 20% increased melee Ki damage which can be further supplemented by items like Lord’s Tonfa, the Tactician Ingenuity’s set, and The Crossed Sickles set. Apart from that, it also increases your Yokai shift’s duration by 20% which allows you to remain in your yokai form for much longer.

Why Yumehami is Great:

• The best guardian spirit for builds that focus on dealing massive Ki damage
• Allows your yokai form to persist even longer
• Increases Ki recovery when absorbing amrita, allowing you to sustain your combos even longer

Yumehami Details:

• Attack Power: x1.05
• Defense Power: x0.97
• Yokai Shift: Phantom
• Attunement Limit: 21

1. Tengen Kujaku

Despite looking like a harmless fowl, the Tengen Kujaku is actually the best guardian spirit in the game thus far.

Tengen Kujaku is no doubt the BEST guardian spirit in the game, and I’d be lying if I say it’s not. This is why I placed it as the number one on this list. 

The spirit basically makes the effect of your elemental weapons last longer, allowing you to take advantage of their status and any bonus that comes with them. It also grants an Anima bonus whenever you hit a target with an elemental attack.

The icing on the cake, however, is its Stance-based Amrita Bonus passive which grants access to powerful bonuses whenever you absorb amrita. With this, you can enjoy a 15% melee damage multiplier while attacking on High stance. Meanwhile, attacks on mid stance will grant you a significant 20% physical damage reduction.

The choice of which stance to capitalize on is up to you. Regardless, Tengen Kujaku provides massive increases to damage and damage reduction based on which stance you’re using.

Why Tengen Kujaku is Great:

• The best guardian spirit in the game
• Provides a major bonus depending on which stance you’re using
• Comes with an innate enemy, treasure, amrita, and kodama sensor
• The highest damage guardian spirit in the game

Tengen Kujaku Details:

• Attack Power: x1.05
• Defense Power: x0.97
• Yokai Shift: Phantom
• Attunement Limit: 24

In my opinion, and after hundreds of hours of playing the game and experimenting various builds, these guardian spirits are the best ones you could use depending on the playstyle you’re going for. There are several other spirits in the game, but the majority of them only offer mediocre bonuses or require very specific items to be even viable.

You may also be interested in:

• Nioh 2 Best Builds That Are Fun To Play
• Nioh 2 Best Weapons (And How to Get Them)
• Nioh 2 Best Guardian Spirits
• Nioh 2 Best Soul Cores (And What's Great About Them)
• Nioh 2 Best Weapon Types - Which Should You Choose?