How to Pray at a Defiled Shrine in Nioh 2

Nioh 2 Defiled Shrines are Shrines that you should be able to pray at, but you can’t until you cleanse the area. Of course, cleansing the Defiled Shrines in Nioh 2 is not at all an easy task. However, seeing as how Shrines are rare, but vital checkpoints, you shouldn’t let them go to waste. So, in our How to Pray at a Defiled Shrine in Nioh 2 guide, we’ll show you how to cleanse the Nioh 2 Defiled Shrines and pray at them.

Nioh 2 Pray at Defiled Shrine – How to Cleanse?

To cleanse and pray at a Defiled Shrine in Nioh 2, you’ll have to either destroy all the Amrita Crystals in the area, or kill the enemies, if there are no Crystals in the area. However, even when there are Amrita Crystals in the area, they’ll very likely still be guarded by really strong yokai. Fortunately, you don’t have to fight them; all you have to do is destroy the crystals. When you do, the enemies will disappear, and the Defiled Shrine will be cleansed. If there are no Crystals, well, then you’ll have to get killing.

You’ll know that you’ve entered a Defiled Shrine area when everything darkens and strange, spectral flowers start sprouting from the ground. You cannot interact with the Shrine at all until you cleanse the area, as we’ve described above. Now, technically, you can probably ignore certain Defiled Shrines and just go on with the game. However, Shrines are not exactly found on every corner, and they act as checkpoints. So, while cleansing a Defiled Shrine might be a nuisance, it’ll be well-worth your troubles.

So, that’s about all there is when it comes to praying at Defiled Shrines in Nioh 2. If you have any other problems with the game, check out some other articles from our growing list of Nioh 2 guides. Among others, we’ve written Co-op How to Play with Friends, Where to Get Pre-Order Items, and Best Starting Weapons & Guardian Spirit Combo for Beginners.

Nioh 2 doesn't pull any punches, so you might get stuck before you've even begun playing. We've written a guide to help you choose your starting weapon and guardian spirit, and another that shows how to reset skills if you invest in the wrong ones. Once you've dug in, you'll probably want to know how to unlock onmyo magic & ninja proficiency skills, or how to change and use Yokai Shift forms. Getting more skill points is always a priority, which is why we've written about locks of hair locations. If you're hunting rare soul cores, you'll probably want to know about the Mujina locations - finding them is tricky.