Ki and Health
Nioh refers to Stamina in the game as Ki. Unlike Dark Souls, Diablo, and Bloodborne, you’ll see that it fills back up in a number of different ways. If you are low on Ki, you can start running while blocking the enemy attacks and reverse attacking. This helps fill up the Ki (Stamina) in a very short time and lets you keep up the pace. However, in Defense, Ki fills up a bit slower than in attacking. There are ways in Nioh that enable you to fill up the Ki rapidly. These ways include combinations of different buttons in very specific arrangements. Ki helps you keep fighting in the game so loosing it all means you’ll lose the game.
This makes it a bit similar to Bloodborne’s Rally mechanics, but it’s less risky in Nioh. The Ki Pulse helps dampen the enemy blows as well, results in less damage and fills up the Ki fast. You’ll find a health bar as well with the Ki bar in Nioh. This means you’ll have to keep track of your health as well. If you see your health bar is depleting, you can start collecting more consumable items. This helps refill the health bar quickly. As Elixir is your valuable source of healing in the game, you’ll have to collect it whenever you find it.