This survey will take about 1 minute.
Your answers will help us to improve our website.
Nioh 3
Spirit Force Explained
Spirit Force is a resource that allows your character to use Guardian Spirit skills in Nioh 3. Learn how Spirit Force works, how it refills, what it does, and how to unlock the Spirit Force meter here!
List of Contents
Spirit Force Explained
| How Spirit Force Works in Nioh 3 |
|---|
|
|
Resource Meter of Your Guardian Spirit Skills
Spirit Force is the yellow bar below your Life and Ki bars, which serve as the resource meter of your Guardian Spirit Skills. These skills differ for each Guardian Spirit you have equipped, and are powerful abilities that deal big damage and provide other utilities, such as mobility or strong guards.
Use Guardian Spirit Skills for Flashy Damage
| PS5 | PC (Controller) | PC (Keyboard) |
|---|---|---|
 +  /  |
 +  /  |
 +  /  |
Not only do they look stylish, but they also deal significant damage. Skills such as Shin-Roku’s Thunderous Kick deliver heavy physical and elemental damage while also providing a backflip to evade attacks. These also do not use Ki, so these can help bail you out if you run out of stamina to dodge.
When ready, these can be activated with L1 + Square/Triangle on PS5, LB + X/Y on PC controllers, and F + Left/Right Click on keyboard.
Different Guardian Spirit skills vary in area of effect, mobility, damage, and cooldowns, so experiment with them to find what best suits your combat style!
Build Up Spirit Force by Landing Attacks
Spirit Force builds up as you land attacks on enemies, with each hit contributing to the meter. Guardian Spirit skills consume varying amounts of Spirit Force and have minimum cooldowns, preventing them from being spammed even when your Spirit Force is full.
Spirit Force Increasing Consumables
Besides attacking to refill your Spirit Force meter, you can also use consumable items such as the Lantern Plant Fruit or Red Spider Lily to give you a quick boost in resources if you need it.
Separate From the Living Artifact Meter
Spirit Force is separate from the Living Artifact gauge, which appears as the large circle to the left of your Life, Ki, and Spirit Force bars. The Living Artifact gauge fills by gaining Amrita or using Soul Stones, while the yellow Spirit Force bar is charged by landing attacks.
The larger circular gauge is used to enter Living Artifact mode, a powerful ultimate transformation that greatly increases your damage and makes you temporarily unkillable. In contrast, Spirit Force Guardian skills are activated moves that consume Spirit Force to deal damage or apply effects.
How to Unlock Spirit Force
Clear the First Lesser Crucible in the Warring States Area
Guardian Skills and the Spirit Force meter get granted to you upon finding your first Lesser Crucible, which is found very early on in the game. You can find one in the Warring States area on your way to the Hamamatsu Castle after the tutorial.
After defeating a few lesser Yokai, a larger one will appear, at which point Nekomata will lend you its power. This unlocks the new set of moves along with the Spirit Force bar.
Gain a Second Guardian Skill Attack Later On
Later in the game, after clearing additional Lesser Crucibles and Crucible Spikes, you will unlock a second Guardian Spirit attack. This is activated by holding down LB / L1 / F along with the secondary input (Triangle / Y / Right Click), giving your chosen Guardian Spirit even more versatility in combat.
Unlock More Guardian Spirits for More Skills
Each Guardian Spirit you find and equip has a different set of skills, with varying Spirit Force costs and attack properties for both Samurai and Ninja styles. You can switch out your accompanying Guardian Spirit at any Shrine.
Nioh 3 Related Guides
Beginner's Guide to Nioh 3: Tips and Tricks
Comment
Author
Spirit Force Explained
Please participate in our site
improvement survey
02/2026
improvement survey
02/2026
Would you assist in
improving Game8's site?
improving Game8's site?
×
We are listening to our users' valuable opinions and discussing how to act on them.
The information collected through this survey will be used for the purpose of improving our services. In addition, the information will only be disclosed a part of a statistic in a format that will not allow identification of personal information.
Begin Survey
Not Now
×
Please rate each item regarding Game8.co's Advertisements.
Amount of Ads
Very Dissatisfied
Somewhat Dissatisfied
Fine
Somewhat Satisfied
Highly Satisfied
Placement of Ads
Timing of Ad Display
Ad Loading Speed
Safeness of Ads
Content of Ads
×
Please rate each item regarding Game8.co's Quality of Articles.
Amount of information
Very Dissatisfied
Somewhat Dissatisfied
Fine
Somewhat Satisfied
Highly Satisfied
Frequency of updates
Speed of new information
Accuracy of articles
Understandibility of articles
Readability of sentences
×
Please rate each item regarding Game8.co's Usability of the Site.
Ease of finding information
Very Dissatisfied
Somewhat Dissatisfied
Fine
Somewhat Satisfied
Highly Satisfied
Loading Speed
Use of Color
Font Size
Visibility of Images
Easy to Understand Layout
×
Please rate each item regarding Game8.co's Message Boards, Comments.
Ease of Writing
Very Dissatisfied
Somewhat Dissatisfied
Fine
Somewhat Satisfied
Highly Satisfied
Readability
Ease in Finding Information
Comment Quality
Comment Quantity
Admin Response
×
Please rate each item regarding Game8.co's Site's new design.
Please rate our site's new design
Very Dissatisfied
Somewhat Dissatisfied
Fine
Somewhat Satisfied
Highly Satisfied
Do you think that the website's design change makes the site easier to use?
Has the new design made it easier for you to find information on the site?
Has the new design improved the overall visual appeal of the site?
How would you rate your overall satisfaction with the new design of the site?
×
How likely are you to recommend Game8 to someone you know?
Very Unlikely
0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
Very Likely
If you have other opinions regarding potential improvement to the website, please share them with us. We would appreciate your honest opinion.
Note: This is a free response section, so you can proceed without entering anything.
Note: Please be sure not to enter any kind of personal information into your response.
Note: Please be sure not to enter any kind of personal information into your response.
×
Thank You
×
Thank you for participating in our survey! Your answers will help us to improve the quality of our website and services.
We hope you continue to make use of Game8.
We hope you continue to make use of Game8.
Close
Rankings
Gaming News
![Animal Crossing: New Horizons Review [Switch 2] | Needlessly Crossing Over to a New Generation](https://img.game8.co/4391759/47d0408b0b8a892e453a0b90f54beb8a.png/show)
Popular Games
Genshin Impact Walkthrough & Guides Wiki
Arknights: Endfield Walkthrough & Guides Wiki
Honkai: Star Rail Walkthrough & Guides Wiki
Wuthering Waves Walkthrough & Guides Wiki
Umamusume: Pretty Derby Walkthrough & Guides Wiki
Zenless Zone Zero Walkthrough & Guides Wiki
Pokemon TCG Pocket (PTCGP) Strategies & Guides Wiki
Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 Walkthrough & Guides Wiki
Digimon Story: Time Stranger Walkthrough & Guides Wiki
Where Winds Meet Walkthrough & Guides Wiki
Recommended Games
Fire Emblem Heroes (FEH) Walkthrough & Guides Wiki
Diablo 4: Vessel of Hatred Walkthrough & Guides Wiki
Super Smash Bros. Ultimate Walkthrough & Guides Wiki
Yu-Gi-Oh! Master Duel Walkthrough & Guides Wiki
Pokemon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl (BDSP) Walkthrough & Guides Wiki
Elden Ring Shadow of the Erdtree Walkthrough & Guides Wiki
Monster Hunter World Walkthrough & Guides Wiki
The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom Walkthrough & Guides Wiki
Persona 3 Reload Walkthrough & Guides Wiki
Cyberpunk 2077: Ultimate Edition Walkthrough & Guides Wiki
All rights reserved
©KOEI TECMO GAMES CO., LTD. All rights reserved.
The copyrights of videos of games used in our content and other intellectual property rights belong to the provider of the game.
The contents we provide on this site were created personally by members of the Game8 editorial department.
We refuse the right to reuse or repost content taken without our permission such as data or images to other sites.