Nioh 3 Blacksmith Guide
The Blacksmith is where you craft, upgrade, and optimize every piece of equipment in Nioh 3. Forging new weapons, boosting +value through Soul Matching, rolling perfect affixes with Tempering and Reforging — all of it happens here. This guide breaks down every Blacksmith function so you know exactly when and how to use each one.
How to Unlock the Blacksmith
The Blacksmith becomes available after completing the story mission "The Hamamatsu Incident" and defeating the boss Jakotsu-baba. Once unlocked, you can access the Blacksmith from the Eternal Rift hub between missions. Most functions are available immediately, with one exception.
Soul Matching unlocks separately. You need to complete the side quest "A Fierce Flame" and retrieve Kagutsuchi's Magatama. This quest appears in the Eternal Rift after clearing the third region. Do not skip it — Soul Matching is the primary way to increase your gear's power level in the mid and late game.
All Blacksmith Functions
Forging
Forging creates new weapons and armor from raw materials and Gold. Each recipe requires a Smithing Text — a blueprint dropped by specific bosses or missions. Without the corresponding Smithing Text, you cannot forge that item.
Forged gear rolls with random stats and affixes within its rarity tier. You can forge repeatedly to fish for a good base, then refine it with Tempering or Reforging. Exotic-rarity items only become available for forging after defeating the final boss and entering NG+ (Shogun's Journey).
Soul Matching
Soul Matching is the core upgrade system. It raises your equipment's level and +value using Soul Ores, which directly increases its damage or defense output. There are two separate upgrade tracks:
- --Select Level: Uses Yellow Soul Ores + Gold to raise the base equipment level. This increases base attack/defense but has diminishing returns once your gear matches the current content tier.
- --Select +Value: Uses Azure Soul Ores + Gold to increase the +value. This is the real damage boost — each +value step adds a flat multiplier to your weapon's total attack. Prioritize +value over level whenever possible.
Familiarity is fully preserved through Soul Matching in Nioh 3. This is a major quality-of-life improvement over Nioh 2, where Soul Matching would reset your familiarity progress. You also get a cost reduction when matching gear of the same type (-50% cost) or the same name (even larger discount).
Soul Extraction
Soul Extraction converts equipment into Soul Ores. Standard gear yields Yellow and Viridian Ores. Equipment with a +value of +1 or higher yields Azure Soul Ores — the most valuable crafting currency in the game. The amount of Azure Ores scales with the +value of the extracted gear.
Always use Soul Extraction on +value gear instead of Disassembly. Disassembly only produces Smithing Materials (Wood, Ingots, Tamahagane). It does not produce any Soul Ores at all. This is the single most common mistake new players make at the Blacksmith.
Reforging
Reforging rerolls one or more attribute slots on a piece of equipment randomly. Each attempt costs 2 Spirit Iron Chunks per slot rerolled. Results are entirely random — you might get exactly what you need in one try or burn through 50 chunks seeing the same useless affixes.
There is one advantage to Reforging over Tempering: rerolling 3 or more stats simultaneously has a chance to produce slightly higher bonus values than rolling them individually. This makes bulk Reforging worthwhile early on when most of your affixes need replacing. Switch to Tempering once you only have 1-2 slots left to finalize.
Tempering
Tempering replaces an attribute with one chosen from a curated list. Unlike Reforging, you pick exactly which affix you want. The trade-off is cost — Tempering requires Umbracite, which is harder to farm than Spirit Iron Chunks.
The number of choices depends on Umbracite quality:
- Regular Umbracite: 3 choices per slot
- Quality Umbracite: 6 choices per slot
- Fabled Umbracite: 8 choices per slot
- Divine Umbracite: 10 choices per slot (NG+ only)
Tempering always rolls the highest possible bonus value for the chosen attribute. There is no randomness in the magnitude — only in which attributes appear in the selection pool. This makes Tempering strictly better than Reforging for final optimization passes on endgame gear.
Remodeling
Remodeling changes which stats your weapon scales with. Every weapon has 3 reference stats that contribute to its attack power. By Remodeling, you shift the scaling weight between those stats to match your build's stat distribution.
Remodeling is only available on weapons at +1 or higher. The total scaling across all 3 reference stats remains equal regardless of which distribution you pick — there is no "best" Remodel in isolation. The correct choice is whichever stat distribution matches your character's highest-leveled stats. Check your stat allocation at a Shrine before Remodeling.
Disassembly
Disassembly breaks equipment down into raw Smithing Materials: Wood, Iron Ingots, and Tamahagane. These materials are used for Forging new items. Disassembly does not produce Soul Ores of any kind — use Soul Extraction for that.
Disassembly is the correct choice for gear that has no +value and no useful affixes. Rare and Exotic gear yields Spirit Iron Chunks on disassembly, which you need for Reforging. Common and Uncommon gear gives basic materials only.
The +Value System
The +value on your equipment is the primary driver of damage and defense scaling in the mid-to-late game. Each +value step costs progressively more Azure Ores and Gold. Plan your upgrades carefully — the jump from +4 to +5 costs more than the entire path from +0 to +3 combined.
| Plus Value | Azure Ores | Gold Cost |
|---|---|---|
| +1 | 20 | 20,000 |
| +2 | 68 | 68,000 |
| +3 | 180 | 180,000 |
| +4 | 436 | 436,000 |
| +5 | 1,012 | 1,012,000 |
Costs scale near-exponentially. Azure Ores are the bottleneck — they come only from Soul Extracting +value equipment. You cannot buy them, find them in chests, or get them from mission rewards. Every Azure Ore in your inventory was once a +value piece of gear that you chose to sacrifice. Treat them accordingly.
Gear Rarity Tiers
Equipment in Nioh 3 comes in five rarity tiers. Higher rarity means more affix slots and, in the case of Divine gear, access to Grace set bonuses that define endgame builds.
| Rarity | Color | Affixes |
|---|---|---|
| Common | White | 1 |
| Uncommon | Yellow | 2 |
| Rare | Blue | 2 |
| Exotic | Purple | 3 |
| Divine (NG+) | Green | 4 (includes Grace set bonus) |
During your first playthrough, Exotic is the highest rarity you will encounter. Divine gear only drops in NG+ (Shogun's Journey) and above. The fourth affix slot on Divine gear is always a Grace set bonus, which cannot be Reforged or Tempered — it is fixed to the drop.
Tempering vs Reforging: When to Use Each
Both Tempering and Reforging modify your gear's affixes, but they serve different purposes in the optimization pipeline. Using the wrong one at the wrong time wastes resources.
Reforge First
- -- Use when 3+ affix slots need replacing
- -- Costs Spirit Iron Chunks (farmable from Rare/Exotic disassembly)
- -- Rolling 3+ stats at once produces slightly higher values
- -- Results are completely random
- -- Good for the initial pass on newly acquired gear
Temper Last
- -- Use when 1-2 specific affixes need replacing
- -- Costs Umbracite (co-op rewards, Twilight Missions)
- -- Always gives maximum possible bonus values
- -- You choose from a curated list of options
- -- The precision tool for final optimization
The practical workflow: pick up a weapon with the right set bonus, Reforge all unwanted affixes in bulk, then Temper the remaining 1-2 slots that didn't land correctly. Umbracite sources include co-op session rewards and Twilight Mission completions. Fabled and Divine Umbracite become common only in NG+ and beyond.
Key Smithing Texts
Smithing Texts are blueprints that permanently unlock items for Forging. Some of the strongest weapons and armor sets in the game require farming specific missions for their Smithing Text drop. Below are the most sought-after texts and where to find them.
| Smithing Text | Source |
|---|---|
| Warrior of the East | "Becoming Champion of the East" (defeat Honda Tadakatsu) |
| Iga Jonin Apparel | "The Demon's Regimen" (first completion) |
| Tombokiri | "Becoming Champion of the East" |
| Crimson General's Set | Rare drop from Yamagata Masakage |
| Merciful Switchglaive | "Ii's Memento" side mission |
Material Farming Tips
Efficient material management is the difference between a smooth upgrade path and constant resource shortages. Follow these rules to keep your Blacksmith well-stocked:
- --Disassemble everything 30+ levels below your current gear. These drops have no +value and no useful affixes. Turn them into raw materials.
- --Azure Ores: Soul Extract all +value gear you are not actively using or planning to use. Never disassemble +value equipment — you get zero Azure Ores from Disassembly.
- --Yellow/Viridian Ores: Soul Extract standard drops that are close to your current level. These yield Yellow and Viridian Ores for base-level Soul Matching.
- --Spirit Iron Chunks: Disassemble Rare and Exotic weapons specifically. Blue and Purple gear produce Spirit Iron Chunks on disassembly, which fuel Reforging.
- --NG+ farming: Shogun's Journey (NG+) drops significantly more +value gear than the first playthrough. If you need large quantities of Azure Ores, progress into NG+ and run high-density missions.
A good habit: after every 3-4 missions, visit the Blacksmith and process your inventory. Soul Extract +value gear, Disassemble low-level junk, and sell anything you do not need. Keeping a clean inventory prevents accidental Disassemble All disasters and keeps your material reserves growing steadily.
Frequently Asked Questions
When should I start Soul Matching in Nioh 3?
Only invest Soul Ores in gear that has ideal affixes or set bonuses worth keeping long-term. If you are still progressing through the main story and swapping gear every few missions, do not waste Azure Ores on temporary equipment. Wait until you find a weapon or armor piece with the right combination of set bonus and affixes before committing resources.
What is the difference between Tempering and Reforging in Nioh 3?
Reforging rerolls attributes randomly using Spirit Iron Chunks. Tempering lets you choose a specific replacement attribute from a curated list using Umbracite. Reforging is cheaper and can roll slightly higher values when rerolling 3+ stats at once, but results are unpredictable. Tempering always gives the highest possible bonus values and lets you pick exactly what you want. The optimal strategy is to Reforge bulk stats first, then Temper the remaining slots for precision.
How do I get Azure Soul Ores in Nioh 3?
Azure Soul Ores come exclusively from Soul Extracting equipment that has a +value of +1 or higher. The higher the +value on the extracted gear, the more Azure Ores you receive. Never disassemble +value gear — Disassembly only yields Smithing Materials like Wood and Ingots, not Soul Ores. Soul Extraction is the only way to convert +value equipment into Azure Ores.
Does Soul Matching reset familiarity in Nioh 3?
No. In Nioh 3, familiarity is fully preserved through Soul Matching. This is a significant improvement over previous Nioh games where Soul Matching would reset your familiarity progress. You can freely upgrade your gear without losing any familiarity bonuses you have built up.