Nioh 3 How to Get Skill Points: Samurai and Ninja Locks

Understanding nioh 3 how to get skill points is the single biggest difference between a smooth early-game run and a frustrating wall at the first major boss. Unlike standard leveling, where Amrita automatically raises your stats, skill points for the Samurai and Ninja trees come from a separate currency system built around Samurai's Locks and Ninja's Locks. These items are scattered across missions, rewarded for dojo challenges, and hidden in optional corners that most players miss on their first pass. Because each lock converts directly into one skill point for its respective tree, knowing where to look and how to prioritize spending can completely reshape your combat options before the second region even opens up. This guide breaks down every reliable source, the exact mechanics behind each tree, and the smartest ways to invest your points so you never waste a single lock.

How Skill Points Work in Nioh 3

The core loop in Nioh 3 separates character progression from combat proficiency in a way that catches many newcomers off guard. When you level up at a Shrine using Amrita, you increase your base stats like Heart, Stamina, and Strength, but those levels do not generate skill points for your Martial Arts or Ninjutsu trees. Instead, skill points arrive exclusively through Samurai's Locks and Ninja's Locks, which are unique consumable-style items that instantly grant one point to their corresponding tree when picked up. According to the IGN Nioh 3 guide, these locks are found throughout missions and become the primary currency for unlocking new combat abilities, so treating them like rare loot rather than incidental pickups is essential.

This separation exists because Team Ninja wants weapon mastery and magical arts to feel earned through exploration and challenge, not just passive grinding. The Samurai's Locks feed into the Martial Arts tree, which governs weapon-specific combos, stance-based passives, and special attacks. The Ninja's Locks feed into the Ninjutsu tree, covering thrown weapons, stealth tools, and the unique weapon arts tied to the Ninja style. Both trees operate independently, meaning a player who focuses only on Samurai content will have a fully developed melee kit but an empty Ninjutsu loadout, and vice versa. This makes the nioh 3 samurai locks guide and nioh 3 ninja locks guide equally important depending on your preferred playstyle, though most builds benefit from at least a few points in both.

The nioh 3 skill trees explained section below will clarify exactly what each branch offers, but the key takeaway is that locks are finite in any single playthrough. While some sources respawn through New Game+ cycles, the first run has a hard cap on how many points you can earn, so every decision matters. Players who dump points into a weapon they abandon halfway through the game often find themselves short on locks for the weapon they actually enjoy, which is why planning ahead is so important. The good news is that the game provides a respec option through the Book of Reincarnation, but that item is also limited, so you cannot rely on it as a safety net for careless spending.

Samurai's Locks: Every Source and Farming Method

The Samurai's Locks are the backbone of any melee-focused build, and they appear in more locations than you might expect. The most reliable source is main mission completion, where each story mission grants a fixed number of locks as a clear reward, typically between one and three depending on the mission's length and difficulty. Side missions also contribute, though they tend to reward fewer locks per run, which makes them less efficient for pure farming but still valuable for completionists. Beyond mission rewards, locks are hidden in the environment as glowing pickups, often tucked behind breakable walls, in optional caves, or on ledges that require a careful jump to reach.

According to community reports from players who have mapped the early regions, the Heian era missions contain several well-hidden Samurai's Locks that are easy to miss on a first playthrough. One notable example mentioned in the Fextralife beginner guide involves a cave in southwest Sagano where you must drop to the bottom floor from a hot spring and look for a breakable glacier. Behind that glacier sits a lock that most players walk past because the cave entrance is not marked on any map. This kind of environmental puzzle is typical of how Team Ninja hides progression items, so exploring every corner of each mission is not just optional flavor but a genuine source of power.

Dojo missions are another major source, and they deserve special attention because they are easy to overlook in the mission select menu. These challenge missions test your proficiency with specific weapons or mechanics, and completing them at the highest available rank rewards multiple Samurai's Locks. The difficulty curve here is steep, but the payoff is substantial, especially for players who want to unlock high-tier Martial Arts early. Below is a breakdown of the most consistent sources for Samurai's Locks, ranked by reliability and efficiency:

The New Game+ cycles deserve a special mention because they reset every lock pickup in the game, which means a dedicated player can earn dozens of additional Samurai's Locks by replaying the campaign at higher difficulties. This is the primary method for maxing out the Martial Arts tree, and it pairs well with the increased enemy difficulty that forces you to actually use your expanded moveset. Players who want to experience every weapon's full skill list will need at least two or three full cycles to gather enough locks, which is a significant time investment but one that the game clearly expects from its most dedicated fans.

Ninja's Locks: Where to Find Them and How to Spend Them

The Ninja's Locks follow a similar distribution pattern to their Samurai counterparts, but they skew toward different mission types and exploration routes. Main missions still provide a baseline number of locks, but side missions in the Bakumatsu era tend to reward more Ninja's Locks than Samurai's Locks, which suggests the game wants players to diversify their builds as they progress. This is a subtle design choice that rewards players who engage with both trees rather than tunneling on one style, and it becomes more pronounced in the later regions where enemy types demand a mix of melee and ranged options.

Hidden pickups for Ninja's Locks are often placed in areas that require the Ninja style's unique movement abilities to reach, which creates a clever feedback loop. You need to invest points in the Ninjutsu tree to unlock wall-running or double-jump passives, and those same passives let you reach locks that grant even more points. This means the nioh 3 ninja locks guide is not just about finding static locations but about building the mobility toolkit that opens up new areas. Players who ignore the Ninjutsu tree entirely will find themselves locked out of a significant portion of the game's hidden content, which is a strong incentive to at least dabble in the style.

Dojo missions also contribute Ninja's Locks, though the specific challenges differ from the Samurai ones. Ninja dojo missions focus on stealth kills, thrown weapon accuracy, and timing-based counters, which can be frustrating for players who prefer straightforward combat. However, the reward structure is generous enough that even a single successful run at the highest rank can fund several key Ninjutsu abilities. The table below outlines the best sources for Ninja's Locks and how they compare to the Samurai equivalents:

The Kodama rewards row is worth highlighting because it is the easiest source to overlook entirely. Each region has a set of lost Kodama spirits hidden throughout its missions, and returning them to the shrine in that region grants bonus rewards that include Ninja's Locks at certain thresholds. This system rewards thorough exploration without requiring combat skill, making it an excellent option for players who struggle with the game's tougher encounters. Community testing suggests that collecting all Kodama in a region typically yields between five and eight Ninja's Locks across the various reward tiers, which is a substantial boost for any Ninjutsu-focused build.

Nioh 3 Skill Trees Explained: Martial Arts and Ninjutsu

Samurai's Locks from Kodama Bazaar Exchanges

Beyond exploration drops, the Kodama Bazaar offers a reliable, repeatable source of Samurai's Locks. After rescuing Kodama in each region, their Bazaar stock rotates, and you can trade surplus materials—typically 10 Divine Rice or 5 Umbracite—for a single Lock. This exchange is most efficient in the Heian era, where Kodama density is highest (14 per mission), letting you cycle the Bazaar twice per region clear. Prioritize this over farming revenants, as Bazaar exchanges guarantee a Lock per transaction, whereas revenant drops sit at roughly 15% per kill.

Martial Arts Proficiency Gauge and Enduring Arts Synergy

The Martial Arts Proficiency Gauge fills as you land weapon skills, and when full, it unlocks a temporary damage buff. The "Enduring Arts" skill—found in a cave in southwest Sagano (Heian era), reached by dropping from the hot spring to the bottom floor and breaking a glacier—charges this gauge whenever you burst-break during a shift from Ninja to Samurai style. This creates a loop: burst-break to charge the gauge, then unleash a full Martial Arts combo for 25% bonus damage, then shift back to Ninja to repeat.

The nioh 3 skill trees explained section is where most players get confused, because the game does not clearly communicate how the two trees interact with each other. The Martial Arts tree is tied to the Samurai style and contains weapon-specific skills that change how each weapon behaves in combat. Every weapon type has its own branch within this tree, so a player who switches from a katana to an odachi will need to invest separate points to unlock that weapon's unique combos and passives. This is a major trap for players who like to experiment, because spreading points across multiple weapons leaves each one underdeveloped.

The Ninjutsu tree, on the other hand, is more generalist in nature. It contains thrown weapon skills, stealth tools, and a set of weapon arts that apply across all weapons when you are in the Ninja style. This makes it a better investment for players who want flexibility, since a single point in a Ninjutsu passive can benefit every weapon in your arsenal. However, the tree also has its own weapon-specific branches for the Ninja's signature weapons, which means there is still a degree of specialization required if you want to maximize damage output. The table below compares the two trees across several key dimensions to help you decide where to focus your locks:

The stance system is the most important mechanic to understand within the Martial Arts tree, because it determines how your combos flow in combat. Each weapon has three stances, and each stance has its own set of skills that can be unlocked with Samurai's Locks. Low stance emphasizes speed and dodging, mid stance balances offense and defense, and high stance focuses on raw damage at the cost of mobility. Investing points across all three stances for a single weapon is generally better than maxing out just one, because the game's combat system rewards switching stances mid-combo to adapt to enemy behavior. This is a core principle that the Nioh 3 combos guide explores in depth, and it directly affects how you should spend your early locks.

For the Ninjutsu tree, the thrown weapon skills are the most accessible entry point because they require no special positioning and deal respectable damage from range. Skills like Shuriken Mastery and Kunai Volley are cheap to unlock and provide immediate value in almost every encounter, making them excellent first purchases for players who want to soften enemies before closing to melee range. The stealth tools, meanwhile, are more situational but become invaluable in the Bakumatsu era where enemy density increases dramatically. A well-placed Smoke Bomb can turn an unwinnable fight into a series of isolated duels, which is why many experienced players recommend investing at least a few points in this branch regardless of your primary style.

Best Strategies for Spending Skill Points Early

Ninja's Locks from Hidden Teahouse Assassinations

Ninja's Locks are best farmed through Hidden Teahouse assassination contracts, which unlock after completing the "Way of the Ninja" sub-mission in the Sengoku era. Each assassination target drops 1-2 Ninja's Locks, and the contract board refreshes every 30 minutes of real time. For maximum efficiency, stack the "Silent Stride" passive from the Ninjutsu tree—it reduces detection radius by 40%, letting you backstab targets without triggering alarms that cut Lock drops in half. A full Teahouse sweep yields roughly 6 Locks per 45-minute cycle.

Summoning Basics: The Final Region's Must-Have

For the Bakumatsu final region, "Summoning Basics" is the only skill that matters—it doubles your summoning seal capacity, letting you summon Yokai helpers from a safe distance. You unlock it by completing Onmyo Magic Veteran Missions, available only after reaching Bakumatsu. This pairs perfectly with a Ninjutsu throw build: Yokai distract enemies while you lob explosive shuriken from range, avoiding melee entirely. Without it, you're limited to one seal, forcing risky close-range engagements that often end in death against Bakumatsu's elite Yokai.

The early game is where most players make the mistakes that haunt them for the rest of the run, and the nioh 3 how to get skill points question becomes much less important once you understand how to spend what you have. The first priority should always be unlocking the Ki Pulse related skills for your chosen weapon, because these directly improve your stamina recovery and enable the aggressive playstyle that the game rewards. Without these skills, you will constantly run out of stamina in the middle of combos, which leaves you vulnerable to counterattacks and forces a defensive playstyle that drags out every fight.

The second priority is a single mobility skill from the Ninjutsu tree, even if you have no intention of playing a stealth-focused build. The Wall Runner skill opens up exploration routes that are otherwise inaccessible, and the locks you find through those routes more than pay for the initial investment. This is a classic example of spending one point to gain access to several more, and it is the single most efficient use of a Ninja's Lock in the entire game. Players who skip this step often find themselves stuck at 95% exploration completion in later regions, unable to reach the final Kodama or hidden lock without a full respec.

The third priority is a damage skill for your primary weapon that matches your preferred stance. If you favor the aggressive high stance, invest in its damage-boosting passive; if you prefer the balanced mid stance, look for the combo-extender skills that let you chain more attacks before the enemy recovers. The table below outlines a recommended spending order for the first ten locks you earn, assuming a balanced approach that touches both trees:

This order assumes you want a hybrid build that can handle both melee and ranged situations, which is the most forgiving playstyle for a first run. If you are committed to a pure Samurai build, you can skip the Ninjutsu skills and invest those locks into additional Martial Arts passives, but you will miss out on the exploration benefits. The Book of Reincarnation is your safety net if you change your mind, and our respec guide covers exactly how to use it without wasting the limited copies you find. Just remember that respecs are finite, so you should only use one when you have a clear plan for the new allocation.

Advanced Tips for Maximizing Lock Efficiency

Once you understand the basics, the advanced strategies for lock efficiency revolve around timing and mission order. The most important tip is to complete all side missions in a region before tackling the main mission, because side missions often reward locks that make the main mission significantly easier. This is counterintuitive for players who want to rush the story, but the game's difficulty curve assumes you have collected most of the available locks before each major boss. Skipping side content means fighting those bosses with an underdeveloped skill tree, which turns manageable encounters into frustrating slogs.

Another advanced tip involves the dojo missions, which scale their rewards based on your current performance rank. Replaying a dojo mission after you have improved your gear and skills can yield better ranks and therefore more locks, so it is worth revisiting these challenges periodically rather than only attempting them once. The difference between a B rank and an S rank is often two or three extra locks, which adds up significantly across the game's many dojo missions. According to community testing, a player who S-ranks every dojo mission can earn roughly 30% more locks than one who settles for B ranks, which is a massive advantage for endgame builds.

The New Game+ cycles are where the real lock economy opens up, because every pickup resets and mission rewards scale with difficulty. This means a dedicated player can eventually unlock every skill in both trees, but the path there requires multiple full playthroughs. For players who want to experience everything without that time investment, focusing on a single weapon and a single style is the most efficient approach, since it concentrates your locks where they matter most. The settings guide can help you optimize performance for those long farming sessions, ensuring you can grind through New Game+ cycles without technical hiccups disrupting your flow.

Finally, remember that the prestige system in Nioh 3 offers an alternative source of skill points that many players overlook. While the details are covered in our prestige points guide, the short version is that certain prestige milestones grant bonus locks that are independent of the exploration-based economy. These are worth pursuing if you find yourself short on locks for a specific build, though they require significant playtime to unlock. The combination of exploration, dojo challenges, and prestige rewards means that no single source is dominant, and the best strategy is to engage with all of them consistently rather than relying on one method.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the fastest way to get skill points in Nioh 3?

The fastest method combines dojo missions and hidden pickups, since both offer high lock yields per hour of play. Focus on S-ranking every dojo challenge and thoroughly exploring each region for hidden locks. New Game+ cycles are the fastest overall, but they require completing the campaign first.

Do Samurai's Locks and Ninja's Locks work differently?

Yes, each lock type feeds exclusively into its respective tree. Samurai's Locks unlock Martial Arts skills for weapons, while Ninja's Locks unlock Ninjutsu abilities and stealth tools. You cannot convert one type into the other, so plan your spending based on which tree you want to develop.

Can I get more skill points after completing the main story?

Absolutely, because New Game+ cycles reset all lock pickups and mission rewards. Each additional cycle grants a fresh set of locks, allowing you to eventually unlock every skill in both trees. The increased enemy difficulty also makes the expanded movesets feel necessary rather than optional.

Is there a way to respec my skill points?

Yes, the Book of Reincarnation allows a full respec of both trees, but copies are limited and must be found or purchased. Our ninjutsu skills guide explains where to find them and how to use them efficiently. Save your respecs for major build changes rather than minor tweaks.

Which tree should I prioritize for a first playthrough?

Prioritize the Martial Arts tree first, as it directly improves your melee combat and weapon-specific skills, which are essential for surviving Nioh 3's early bosses. However, spend at least one point in Ninjutsu for mobility skills like the dodge. This balanced approach maximizes your limited Samurai's Locks and Ninja's Locks.