Humanoid boss fights are arguably some of the best sequences in the souls-like genre. Nioh 2 Honda Tadakatsu boss fight is one such fight; as you are pitted against a heavy samurai who will stop at nothing until you are dead.
Honda Tadakatsu’s diverse set of slow yet effective melee combos and spells are a force to be reckoned with; if not dodged timely, you might find yourself quickly swarmed by his attacks.
Nioh 2 Honda Tadakatsu Boss
During your mission ‘Horns on Head, Dragonfly in Hand’, the boss you will be facing is a human samurai named Honda Tadakatsu.
This formidable enemy employs the use of a spear to take you down from a distance; his unpredictability initially can sometimes be your undoing, but after a while, all his attacks become very readable and can be easily avoided.
The first thing you should keep in mind that Tadakatsu is a human boss, that means any effects, such as paralysis, poison etc. work on other human enemies found in the game, will work on him too. Using such items can really make this boss-fight a cakewalk.
Spear Lunge
If you happen to be keeping your distance from Tadakatsu in the fight, he will often try to lunge at you with his spear; this attack is slow and can be easily dodged.
Spear Whirlwind
He will spin around in a circle inflicting damage in an AoE with his spear. All of his spear attacks are unblockable and thus must be dodged with the correct timing.
Healing
Tadakatsu can heal; the cue is usually that he will summon a reindeer next to him and heal about half of a quarter of his health. During this, he is vulnerable, so charge at him while you can.
Rock Throw
In this ranged attack, Tadakatsu will stem his spear into the ground and push it forward to throw a projectile boulder at you; as soon as he puts his spear into the ground, that’s your cue to dodge.
Lightning Field
Tadakatsu will summon lightning to make a small portion of the ground charged with lightning for a small period of time. If you happen to be standing in it, you will take damage over time.
Graviton Pull
Honda will start to pull everything around him within a distance of 2 meters. If you get pulled in close to him, he will stomp his spear into the ground dealing a lot of damage; at this point, you can try to counter him.
