Nioh 2 The Search Guide: how to find every Kodama and Sudama

One of the first side missions that will trip you up in Nioh 2 is called "The Search" and it comes up in the first region. It's not made completely clear what you have to do based on the information the game gives you, but lucky you - we're here to assist.

The Search is basically a big old easter egg hunt. Except instead of Easter Egg hunts, you're finding various Kodama and Sudama. They're scattered right across the map, which can be frustrating - but this guide will take you through it, if you want a step-by-step guide to how to complete The Search.

If you need more Nioh 2 assistance, check out our other guides which cover everything from using the Hidden Teahouse and reseting character skills with a Book of Reincarnation to Weapon Stats, Remodeling and Recommended Character Builds.

Nioh 2 The Search sidequest guide

You'll start the mission inside the village from the first mission. You'll find a Prayer Shrine and a Kodama next to it, although at this point in the game you won't be able to understand what it's saying. Really what it wants you to do is go around the map and find the mixture of Kodamas and Sudamas. 

By now you should recognise the Kodamas as the little green creatures that you can find around the map. All you need to do with them is hold the circle button to send them back to a Shrine. Sudamas work a little bit differently. These are the purple Kodamas you might have seen around the map, although it's not super obvious what to do with them. In short, you just need to give them an item from your inventory. We've got a separate guide with in-depth information on Sudamas and how best to interact with them, if you need that help. 

Although this quest actually does mark the general location of every Kodama on your map, it still may not be super obvious where each one is. Luckily the spawns are the same each time, so you just need to follow this guide. The thing that seems to be tripping everyone up is that the map doesn't display the objectives when in a Dark Realm, which happens pretty fast in this mission. 

You'll first want to go right into the village. You'll find that it's a Dark Realm, so you'll need to dispatch the Nure-Onna (snake-like Yokai) further ahead to turn it back to normal. Before crossing the bridge and doing that, you can go into the boathouse and up the ladder to find the first Sudama on the roof.

There will be a Nure-Onna hiding inside the boathouse as you go in, but you can sneak past and straight up the ladder if you don't feel like fighting her. There will also be a Gaki waiting on top of the roof before the Sudama. You just need to go up to the Sudama and give them an item from your inventory to 'rescue' them. 

After doing this, you'll want to go across the bridge and keep going forward into the village. There are a lot of Yokai here, so make defeating them your first move. After doing this, you'll find the first Kodama just before a path to the river. Just destroy the crates near the river where the Nure-Onna is and you'll find him waiting. 

Before you go and unlock the gate near the Prayer Shrine, there are still two more Sudama to find. The first requires you to leave the village and go towards the graveyard. There will be a few Gaki along the way, but this is the easiest one to find. The graveyard isn't open, but further along near the water you'll find the second Sudama. 

The last Sudama in this area can be found behind a house near where the Nure-Onna was. You'll be able to see the Sudama easily if you go onto the top of the roof where a Gaki was previously throwing rocks at you. To get to the roof, just go right before the Graveyard. Be careful not to trigger one of the bigger Yokai that's hiding inside the house near the Sudama. 

You'll now be able to cross the river and unlock the gate near the Prayer Shrine. This is definitely necessary for the next part of the mission, as you'll be facing some tough enemies. You need to keep following the road to the left, where you'll find a Gaki throwing rocks from high above. You'll know you're in the right area if you see a Dark Realm ahead. 

Although you can feasibly make a run for the remaining Kodama, if you're in this mission for the long haul you'll want to defeat the Ippon-Datara (one-legged Yokai) that's making the area into a Dark Realm. Luckily where he's located is also right near a Sudama. You'll find the Ippon-Datara in the hut near the edge of a cliff. Outside the hut by the cliff will be the Sudama. He'll be being attacked by a Gaki, so make sure to get rid of him first.

After this you'll only have two more Kodama to save. One of them is fairly close to the hut. You'll just need to go forward until you see the mission's second Nure-Onna and then go left. A Kodama will be right at the end of the walkway, waiting for you to rescue it. You'll probably have heard this one as you ran past the Gaki throwing rocks right before the Dark Realm. 

The last Kodama can be found by continuing North when you go through the Dark Realm. You'll find a Gaki in front of you, who you can knock down and take out with a kill from above. Down below you'll find a Enki (monkey-like Yokai) attacking the Kodama. Get rid of him and then you can rescue the Kodama and end the mission. 

And there you have it! Ignoring the difficult Yokai, this is a fairly simplistic mission that's made a little more complicated if you aren't paying attention to your map.