Spirit Veins are your ticket to hidden areas in Nioh 3. While you explore the game’s open world you will come across many of these Spirit Veins. Each Spirit Vein is tied to a Guardian you must find to interact with the Spirit Vein.
Nioh 3 has six types of Spirit Veins and they act like progression gates, glowing, mystical paths that only become usable once you’ve unlocked the appropriate Guardian Spirits through main story progression.
Spirit Veins are glowing golden auras you can spot on the ground, often used to reach higher platforms, cross wide gaps, or pass through spiritually blocked pathways that can’t be accessed by normal movement.
If you look at the map, Spirit Veins are locked hexagon icon if you can’t use it yet. However, a hexagon with a sparkling star can be used with a Guardian Spirit you’ve unlocked. Spirit Veins are similar to Metroidvania-style progression gates.
Each Spirit Vein required a Guardian Spirit to unlock. Once you’ve unlocked the correct Guardian Spirit, the Spirit Vein will work even if that spirit isn’t actively equipped. If you try to access a Spirit Vein without the correct Guardian Spirit unlocked, it won’t activate and the game will ask you to get the “Compatible Guardian Spirit”.
How to Unlock Spirit Veins
Spirit Veins are shown and usable after defeating Jakotsu-baba and completing the first Crucible. This is an early game boss fight in the Hamamatsu Castle area of the story. After this boss fight Spirit Veins start to appear on the map and you get your first traversal-compatible Guardian Spirit, Enko.
Unlocking All Methods to Traverse Spirit Veins in Nioh 3
| Traversal Method | Required Guardian Spirit | What It Does | How to Unlock |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wall Run | Enko | Allows you to run horizontally or along walls to cross gaps via Spirit Veins. | Defeat Jakotsu-baba in the first Crucible (story progression). |
| Break Rocks | Kongojishi | Lets you smash stone obstacles blocking certain Spirit Veins or paths. | Defeat Takeda Shingen (final boss of the Warring States region). |
| Wall Bounce | Kurama Tengu | Enables extended wall jumps or bounces to reach higher or distant spots. | Defeat Great Tengu (first Heian region boss). |
| High Jump / Vertical Boost | Oh | Gives upward mobility to ascend vertical Spirit Veins. | Defeat Minamoto no Yoritomo (third Crucible boss). |
| Water Run / Water-based Traverse | Nekomata | Allows traversal across water-related Spirit Veins. | Unlock after returning to Edo following defeating Gozuki. |
| Grapple / Extended Swing | Shami-choro | Lets you swing or hook across gaps required for certain Spirit Veins. | Defeat Takosugi Shinsaku in the Bakumatsu period. |
Methods to Traverse Spirit Veins are different from other veins. Unlock these when you are looking to get more ways to traverse the maps.
