While Magara Naotaka might look scary, he is actually not that difficult to defeat when you encounter him in the Corpses and Ice mission. For those struggling, we have prepared this Nioh 2 Magara Naotaka Boss Guide.
Nioh 2 Magara Naotaka Boss
For this mission, we would recommend you are at least level 60 before attempting to defeat Magara. Magara Naotaka is an ice giant and has the largest health bar compared to any boss you might have encountered so far.
He doesn’t cause a lot of damage with one hit but his combos are quite deadly and can be fatal if you are not careful enough.
Upon triggering the battle, you’ll enter a small gladiatorial arena with the Magara Naotaka boss facing you wielding a giant ice sword. Thankfully, the giant sword can be easily evaded so just watch out for the swings and time your dodge accordingly.
During the fight get close enough to him so that he would attack but not that close that he is able to hit you.
Keep running around him in a circle and let him do his combos and keep avoiding them and when he is done you would be behind Magara and that is when you attack.
You can use your mid-stance hits to deal decent damage. The benefit of attacking from behind is that the amount of damage caused is doubled. Thanks to its long reach, the spear can be quite useful here.
Wait for his attack to finish go in, deal some damage and repeat. He is vulnerable to fire damage so you can either imbue your damage with fire or use items that deal direct fire damage.
Don’t try to tank his hits by wearing heavy armor as that will only slow you down and decrease Ki regeneration. It is best to use light armor for fast evades whenever he tries to hit you.
Near the arena where you fight Magara, there is a hot spring which you can use to rest and start a health regen buff which can be quite useful in the boss fight.
Throughout the fight, Magara will put his hand on the ground and create an ice field that explodes. Make sure you stay away from that.
As you whittle down his large health bar, eventually Magara will enter Dark Realm. While his attack patterns remain the same, your Ki regen is severely reduced in dark realm so you will need to be extra cautious here.
Watch out for telltale signs of his burst moves and perform a burst counter to deal massive damage and you will defeat Magara Naotaka in no time.
