Nioh 3 offers deep build variety, with many weapons and armor to find, skills to unlock, and more. The game allows players to create a powerful character by simply finding equipment in the overworld, but it reaches a point where that no longer suffices. Instead, in order to keep up with the game’s increasing difficulty, you need to engage with the game’s Soul Match feature.
Soul Match is essentially the game’s version of upgrading weapons, but there are two parts to it in Nioh 3. Soul Match, which requires Yellow and Viridian Soul Ores, simply allows you to upgrade a weapon. However, Soul Value is its own thing within the Soul Match menu, and it allows you to raise the value of your equipment.
To use the Soul Value feature, you will need Azure Soul Ores, which are way more difficult to obtain than Yellow and Viridian. Read further to learn how to get Azure Soul Ores in Nioh 3.
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How to Get Azure Soul Ores in Nioh 3
When you first unlock Soul Extraction at the Blacksmith, you may have noticed that all equipment only extracts Yellow and Viridian Soul Ores, but Azure Soul Ores are nowhere to be found.
In order to get Azure Soul Ores, you need to extract equipment of a higher value (for example,+1 or +2). Equipment with a plus and a number next to it is incredibly difficult to find, so if you haven’t found any yet, it simply means you need to progress further in the game.
I have noticed that when I reached level 40 and completed the second encounter against Yamagata Masakage in Mikatagahara, I encountered my first +1 piece of armor. In other words, keep continuing the main story, and this type of equipment will begin to drop.
However, if you want to attempt the Bloodedge Demon boss, which begins to appear early in your playthrough of Nioh 3, higher-value equipment can drop from it. Keep in mind that this boss is insanely hard and you’ll most likely be under leveled if attempting it early, so this is only recommended if you consider yourself highly skilled.
How Does Soul Value Work in Nioh 3
Soul Value, which can be found via the Select +Value tab under the Soul Match menu, allows players to increase the value of their equipment through the use of Azure Soul Ores. It’s only possible to raise the value of Exotic equipment (purple colored).
Raising the value of a piece of equipment not only makes it stronger, but it also increases the benefits that it receives when using Soul Match on it. For example, a +1 weapon will receive a bigger boost in attack power when using Soul Match, rather than a 0-value weapon.
Since Azure Soul Ores are required to raise the value of equipment, and since you need a +1 or above equipment to even get Azure Soul Ores, this makes it really tough to even engage with this feature when it’s first unlocked. It really doesn’t become usable until about a third into the game when +1 or above equipment begins to drop.
Once +1 or above equipment begins to drop from enemies, bosses, and chests, you can begin to extract their Azure Soul Ores and use them on the Exotic-tier equipment of your choice to raise its value.
