Nioh 2 Soul Match: Learn how to craft the Best Gear
Nioh 2 is a lot of things. First of all, it’s a great game, but it’s also a mix between a Souls game and a loot game. As such, equipment is a very important aspect in this game and you won’t get too far without some nice, useful gear.
If you’ve read our Weapons Guide and our Combat Tips, then you know how important knowing your equipment is and how useful can the Blacksmith be. There’s one mechanic, however, that is worth studying in detail and that is Soul Matching. With proper use of this service, your gear will always be up to the task, no matter the enemy.
What is Soul Matching
If you played other loot games, you might know about the idea of “feeding” one piece of equipment to another. Soul Matching is essentially the same: you take one item or a certain level, and you feed it another of a higher level in order to increase the level of your original item. Of course, that’s just the basics and there’s a lot of details to keep in mind especially in a game like Nioh 2, where this mechanic has a few new aspects that just weren’t present in the original game.
How does Soul Matching Work
The very first thing you’ll notice is the cost of using this service. You’ll need three things: the two items you want to match and Gold. Soul Matching doesn’t take any extra items so all of your other forging materials are safe. The most important aspect to consider is that if you want to increase an item’s level, both need to be of the same rarity. Also, equipment type matters, since you can only match melee weapons with other melee weapons, ranged weapons with other ranged weapons and armor with other armor. The cost in Gold for this service can be either really cheap or completely unaffordable: the bigger the difference in level between the two items, the more it’ll cost you. As such, it’s sometimes better to just forge new equipment rather than try to Soul Match low level items.
Another thing to keep in mind when Soul Matching is items with a + value. If you have a base equipment with no + value, and you use an item with a +1 as a Soul Matching material, your base equipment will inherit that + value as long as they are of the same rarity, even if its level doesn’t increase. You could take a level 50 weapon, feed it another level 35 (+1) weapon, and your new weapon will end up becoming a level 50 (+1). This will allow you to engage with the Remodel system later in the game.
There’s another reason to Soul Match that doesn’t have to do with weapon levels, and that’s thanks to the Inheritance system. Some items will have effects with a special Inherit icon next to them. This means that, if you raise their Familiarity to maximum (by either using it or consuming Whetstones), it will pass on that specific effect when used as a Soul Matching material. This works regarding of rarity, so if you find a piece of equipment of even the lowest rarity with a cool effect you want to Inherit, you should keep it. If your base equipment already has an effect with the Inherit icon, then the effect will be replaced by that of the piece you’re using as matching material. Some effects, however, can’t be inherited depending on what effects your base material already has, but that’s something you will find out on a case by case basis.
Finally, there’s a special perk to a specific type of weapon that the game doesn’t tell you about. Yokai Weapons, that special kind of weapon that come with the Corruption effect, can use Soul Cores as Soul Matching material. Those same items you use on your Guardian Spirit to learn Yokai Abilities can be used for this too. The only benefit to doing this, however, is in regards to Inheritance. You might have noticed that some Soul Cores also have effects with the Inherit icon. This means you can feed them to a Yokai Weapon to grant them those effects. Everything else about Inheritance and weapon level applies here, so when it comes to your Yokai Weapon you have even more options.
Keep in mind, however, that Soul Matching will reset the Familiarity to your base item to zero, but you can raise it again like you would normally.