Nioh 3 Hand Cannon Guide手砲
Powerful explosive projectiles with area damage. Slow but devastating, useful for crowd control at range.
Overview
The Hand Cannon is the most destructive ranged weapon in Nioh 3, firing explosive projectiles that deal devastating area-of-effect damage to all enemies caught in the blast radius. While the Bow offers precision and the Rifle delivers single-target power, this weapon dominates crowd control situations where groups of enemies cluster together. The Hand Cannon scales with Strength as its primary stat, making it the preferred ranged weapon for builds that invest in Strength for melee weapons like Odachi or Axe. In Nioh 3, it is invaluable for clearing enemy bases and lesser crucibles where large groups of enemies guard objectives. Its main drawbacks are very slow reload speed and severely limited ammo — each shot must count. Skilled users position themselves to maximize splash damage, turning a single blast into a devastating group wipe.
Strengths & Weaknesses
Strengths
- • AoE explosive damage — the Hand Cannon hits all enemies in the blast radius
- • Highest total damage when multiple enemies are caught in a Hand Cannon explosion
- • Strength scaling synergizes with popular melee weapons like Odachi and Axe
- • Hand Cannon explosions stagger groups of enemies simultaneously
Weaknesses
- • Slowest reload of any ranged weapon — Hand Cannon users are very vulnerable between shots
- • Most limited ammo — Hand Cannon ammunition is rare and expensive to craft
- • Loud Hand Cannon explosions alert all enemies in the area immediately
- • Self-damage risk — Hand Cannon explosions at close range damage the user too
Key Characteristics
- •Area-of-effect explosive damage unique among ranged weapons
- •Highest total ranged damage when hitting multiple targets
- •Very slow reload speed — the slowest ranged weapon
- •Limited ammo requiring careful resource management
Moveset Guide
Aim Hand Cannon shots at the center of enemy groups to maximize the explosive splash damage — a single blast can damage 5 or more enemies
The explosion has a fixed radius — learn the blast size to predict exactly which enemies will be caught in each shot
Craft explosive ammunition at the blacksmith whenever possible — ammo scarcity is the weapon's biggest limitation
Use it to open encounters against tightly packed enemy groups — fire one shot to soften the entire group, then switch to melee
This weapon can destroy destructible objects and environmental hazards — shoot rounds at explosive barrels near enemy groups for chain explosions
Combat Techniques
• Position at elevation for Hand Cannon bombardment — the downward angle maximizes splash coverage on ground-level enemy groups
• In boss fights, save shots for phases where bosses summon minions — a single blast can clear all adds while damaging the boss
• This weapon benefits enormously from Strength buffs — stack Strength investment and use Power Pill for shots that wipe entire enemy groups
• Combine the Hand Cannon with a Bow for maximum ranged versatility — use the Bow for precision kills and this weapon for group encounters