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Yatsu-no-Kami is the boss of the Viper’s Sanctum mission and is a powerful snake Yokai who attacks with poison, tail swings and swords. Our guide will provide tips and tricks on how to beat it.
Yatsu-no-Kami (who we’ll now refer to as Yatsu) is a serpent god with a “horn made of countless blades” and is the one thing standing between you and completion of the Viper’s Sanctum mission.
It’s an aggressive creature, who attacks with poison bombs, charges, tail whips and even with the help of two serpent companions. So, we don’t blame you if you’re struggling to nail the fight down.
Below we’ve put together a few tips to help you get to grips with this fight and hopefully put a stop to Yatsu-no-Kami’s snakey ways.
How to beat Yatsu-no-Kami
Without further ado, here’s how to defeat this intimidating Yokai:
– Make sure you have some Poison resistance equipped. There are multiple poisonous pools dotted around the arena, and Yatsu – along with his snake companions – have a habit of spewing poison bombs at you. Items like a Poison Omamori charm will pay dividends when there’s so much of the green stuff going around.
– Next, Yatsu has two snake friends located on either side of its body. They will stay pinned there during non-yokai realm phases, but will pop out of its body during a yokai realm phase and attack the player independently. Manage to eliminate them before Yatsu enters the yokai realm and it will have no friends to call upon, which makes the fight a lot simpler.
– You can actually target two different spots on Yatsu’s body. Either its midsection, or the top of its head. We’d recommend targeting the body, and avoiding the head during non-yokai realm phases. This way you’ll have a much greater chance of hitting Yatsu’s companions. The more damage you can deal to them before you reduce Yatsu’s Ki bar is essential to making this fight much easier.
– Following on from the last point, make sure you’re attacking with a weapon that naturally has a wide swing. This way you’ll hit Yatsu’s companions more frequently. The likes of the Kusarigama, Odachi, as well as the broad sweeps of a Spear can really do a number on them.
– So, ensure you’re targeting his side companions with every swing. Try and balance out the damage between them to bring both their health bars low. Next, go for the staggering blow, hopefully chopping off one arm, before moving to the other side and chopping off the other.
– When you’re fighting Yatsu, try and focus on where you’re positioned in the arena so as not to accidentally stumble into a pool of poison. There’s quite a spacious poison free zone near the stone doorway which is located to the right of the arena as you walk in.
Video by Fuzzy Bearbarian
More essential Nioh 2 boss guides:
- 1. Matsunaga Hisahide – Nioh 2: How to beat Matsunaga Hisahide
- 2. Ryomen Sukuna – Nioh 2: How to beat Ryomen Sukuna
- 3. Mezuki – Nioh 2: How to beat Mezuki
- 4. Enenra – Nioh 2: How to beat Enenra
- 5. Yatsu-no-Kami – Nioh 2: How to beat Yatsu-no-Kami
– When Yatsu plunges its snakes into the ground, make sure you sprint in an arc or towards it (depending on where you’re positioned and how much stamina you have) and aim for the body. Keep running only until two snakes have emerged from the ground. Stop after the first and you’ll get hit by the second!
– Another easy attacking opportunity is when Yatsu slithers towards you with its shiny head. This illuminated noggin is a particularly vulnerable spot which’ll take more damage than usual from a hit. Try and time your swing so just as it reaches you, you’ll bonk it on the head and deal increased damage. This will cause it’s crit-spot to dissipate, but it’ll come back after a short while.
– Yatsu’s a fan of summoning blades which’ll home in on you after a short delay. Make sure you dash or sprint to avoid them. Once you’ve done so, close the gap and get a hit in if possible. Or take this brief opportunity to heal, cast spells or use a ninjutsu technique.
– If you’re up close and personal, face to face, always make sure you’re leaving some room to maneuver. We wouldn’t advise getting super close unless you have a clear attacking opportunity, as Yatsu has a hard to read tail whip move, as well as a grab which requires sprinting backwards to evade. If you’re too close for a prolonged period of time, you’ll get punished for it.
– Don’t manage to take out Yatsu’s snake friends, and now they’re chasing after you, and oh god it’s horrible? It happens! We found playing patiently helped here. Constantly stay on the move as if you stop, you’ll get overwhelmed. Wait for opportunities when Yatsu presents its shiny head to you and hit it once, then run about again. Rinse and repeat this process and it’ll eventually switch back to the non-yokai realm, the snakes will disappear and you can reset a little.
