Nioh Hino-enma Boss Fight - How to defeat the third boss

Hino-enma is a boss in Nioh. She’s a cave-dwelling succubus you’ll encounter in Deep in the Shadows, the second proper mission. She’s really fast and has a stun attack. You’ll need to play aggressively and dodge like mad if you want to survive this fight. This guide is going to show you how to kill Hino-enma in Nioh.

Deep in the Shadows Boss Location / Closest Boss Shrine

Follow the only pathway down a narrow cave road. At one point, you’ll reach a tall cavern, with many enemies. Within this area, there is a wide cave passage, with stalactites that almost look like the teeth. Hino-enma is further down, inside the only sunlit cave room.

Before you jump onto the boss platform, please do one thing. Turn back and go up the pathway that took you down. Look to your right as you climb, and you’ll see a small bridge. Jump on it from the pathway. This new path leads to one Yokai spawn spot. There is a shrine behind this spawn spot.

You can’t pray at the shrine with the Yokai so close. The safest way to approach this situation is to knock down the ladders found at the same platform. Jump down the platform and let the Yokai follow you. Once it is down, climb up the ladders, and you can pray at the shrine.

How to defeat Hino-enma

The trick to defeat Hino-enma is staying in her mid-range, as close to her as you can. If you are really close, the boss might perform one of a few melee attacks. The most viscous one is where she spins in circles like a whirlpool. If you are caught in this spin, you’ll drop fast. The approach with which I’ve had the most success is to let her chase me, while keeping her as close as I was comfortable. She would then do some of her melee attacks. Wait until she’s near finished and attack her. Do not hug her for more than two slow attacks, step away once you complete those.

From time to time, if you are a bit too far away from her, she will do a back flip. This is a sign of a range charge attack. Dodge it once she charges. The most dangerous range attack comes when she raises her hands. Shortly afterwards, she will blast a paralysis spell towards your location. If you don’t manage to avoid it, you’ll get caught in the stun. The stun brakes after some time, or after she damages you again. You really want to avoid it. The last range attack comes when she goes up in the air. While airborne, she will shoot waves of arrows and the paralysis wave as well. To dodge these attacks, you want to run underneath her. She will get annoyed and rush down; at this time, you want to dodge again.

TLDR: Stay at mid-range. Wait for the melee attacks to complete and attack her. Dodge her Paralysis cast attack at all costs. Hide underneath her once she goes in the air. Be aggressive! It will deplete her Ki and make her more vulnerable.

Tip: Any paralysis-healing items help a lot. One of the items that you’ll surely have in your inventory is the Antiparalytic Needle. Once used, this item removes the paralysis effect.