[Nioh] Observation on timely guard ki consumption
1Due to a series of events, I find myself reinstalling Nioh 1 again. While I'm here, I might as well check up on the myth that mid stance is better for guarding, particularly for this entry.
00:00 Intro + Loadout
00:19 vs. Projectile
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Using similar test I did in Nioh 2, projectiles don't seem to trigger any reduction in guard ki consumption regardless of timing nor stance.
As per the presence of active skills, it is indecisive since I could be hitting the floor on ki damage blocked. Although this is just a suspicion for now.
01:03 vs. Melee
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Against some--likely even all--melee attacks, we only see a difference when performing timely guard using weapons with associated active skills attuned. Despite not repelling the incoming attack, some aspects of those skills seem to manifest leading to a different calculation used for ki spent on block (or something to that effect, probably).
The active skills in question being exclusive to mid stance probably contributed to the notion that mid stance is better when it comes to guarding attacks.
Unlike Nioh 2, the ki damage reduction is not insignificant. The effect stacks with the effect Ki Recovery (Timely Guard) as well. This probably contributed to the notion that timely guard is better than regular guard.
I do not know if [Ki Pulse: Man] is what the loading screen alludes to with the statement "mid stance enhances blocking", but deserves mention nonetheless.
02:38 vs. Back attack
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A by-product of testing all these, I noticed that we take extra ki damage from blocking an attack from behind. With a high enough parry stats however, the extra ki damage can be reduced to null. Timely guard active skills unsurprisingly negate the ki damage penalty as well.
This behaviour seems to exist in Nioh 2, something I didn't notice when I conducted similar tests some time ago.
03:28 Some nonsense
Summary
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Neither mid stance nor timely guard is any better at guarding by default. There are however active skills for the former and armour effects for the latter that allow Sir William Enlightened to guard better under those specific circumstances.
Some might say it's even a bug or an oversight, but I'm not complaining.
Lastly, a specific amount of 10 ki damage pops up a bit too consistently, almost suggesting there to be a minimum amount of ki imposed upon guarding an attack; The rabbit hole seems to go deeper.
| PS4, patch 1.23
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