Nioh 3 Nurikabe Emote Guide: How to Pass Walls Without Fighting

What Is a Nurikabe in Nioh 3?

A Nurikabe is a classic Japanese mythic yokai that takes the form of a massive stone wall equipped with two glowing red eyes. In Team Ninja’s action RPG released on PlayStation 5 and PC, these stone entities block hidden passages, hot springs, and treasure rooms throughout various mission maps. Stumbling upon one reveals a formidable opponent with heavy physical defense and crushing melee swings.

While you can defeat a Nurikabe through traditional combat, doing so drains valuable healing elixirs and risks immediate death. Engaging a wall yokai in battle is completely optional because the creature responds directly to player expressions. Recognizing the telltale squishy stone texture and glowing eyes allows you to pause and prepare the proper gesture response rather than drawing your weapon.

Finding these hidden paths early in a level frequently leads to shortcut ladders or doors that bypass broad groups of dangerous enemies. Bypassing the wall peacefully also grants the exact same loot drop and Amrita rewards as killing the entity in open battle. Learning the mechanics behind their behavior saves substantial time during long exploration runs.

Nioh 3 Nurikabe Emote Guide: How to Open Walls with Gestures

To safely clear a wall yokai, you must figure out which behavior category the creature expects. The wall does not require one specific animation, but rather any gesture belonging to the proper emotional alignment. Using the correct nioh 3 nurikabe emote grants instant passage without spending stamina or consumable items.

According to documentation verified by GameSpot coverage, players get two attempts to guess the target category before the wall becomes aggressive. Understanding how these emote categories function ensures you never waste your initial attempt when approaching a fresh wall location.

Gesture Color Categories Explained

• Blue (Positive): Includes friendly or respectful actions such as Bow, Whistle, and Pray.
• Yellow (Neutral): Consists of non-threatening utility actions including Point Forward, Thinking, and Wave.
• Red (Hostile): Features aggressive or provocative movements like Taunt, Threaten, and Roar.

How to Find the Right Gesture Using Bloody Graves

You never need to guess blindly when approaching a wall yokai. Look carefully at the ground nearby for red bloody graves left behind by other players who failed their attempts. Interacting with a grave displays a death cause line such as “Killed for performing a hostile gesture.”

• Identify the failed color: Reading the grave eliminates one of the three gesture categories immediately.
• Select from remaining options: If a grave states the player died from a hostile action, try either a Blue (Positive) or Yellow (Neutral) gesture.
• Use your second chance: If your first attempt yields a disapproving grumble from the wall, perform a gesture from the remaining unchosen category to guarantee success.

How to Use Emotes in Nioh 3

Accessing your expressiveness menu takes only a second once you memorize your platform’s shortcut inputs. Responsive inputs are especially important when navigating tight corridors filled with hostile spawns, which is why optimizing your gamepad layouts when choosing an ideal gaming controller ensures seamless execution during gameplay.

You can rearrange your gesture slots at any point while standing outside of direct combat. Organizing your wheel by color coding ensures you do not trigger a Red gesture by mistake when aiming for a Blue response.

• PlayStation 5 Control: Hold R1 and press Options on your DualSense controller to open the gesture wheel.
• PC Keyboard Control: Press the G key to immediately pull up the gesture overlay.
• Navigation and Selection: Scroll through equipped pages using the directional pad or mouse, then select the desired gesture animation.
• Menu Customization: Reorder your standard nioh 3 emote list for nurikabe interactions so that primary colors appear on page 1.

What Happens If You Pick the Wrong Gesture?

When you perform an incorrect gesture category, the wall yokai narrows its red eyes and issues a low, warning rumble. This reaction indicates that your first attempt failed and you have one remaining trial. Selecting a gesture from the same incorrect category or picking the second wrong category triggers immediate combat.

Upon a second failure, the Nurikabe springs to life as a full enemy encounter, slamming its massive stone body onto your character. If you end up forced into a battle and perish, backing up your game saves before entering dangerous mission areas can safeguard your hard-earned Amrita progression. Successfully defeating the wall through combat grants the standard loot and passage, but costs far more time and consumable resources than a peaceful interaction.

In situation where no bloody graves exist nearby, your first pick will always be a 33% chance of instant success. If the wall rumbles on your first try, your second pick carries a 50% chance of success between the two remaining colors. This mechanic guarantees that you should rarely fail two attempts in a row if you systematically switch colors.

How to Get More Gestures in Nioh 3

While you start your journey with a generous default set of animations, expanding your library lets you personalize co-op communication and wall interactions. Publisher Koei Tecmo designed the progression system to reward active participation in online mechanics and grave battles.

New gestures are sold strictly through specialized vendors in the main hub. You do not need to purchase store items to pass standard Nurikabe walls, as default gestures cover all three necessary color categories from the start of the game.

• Unlock the Eternal Rift: Progress through main campaign story missions until you gain access to the Eternal Rift hub area.
• Visit the Hidden Teahouse: Locate and speak with Matsunaga Hisahide inside the Teahouse premises.
• Access the Trade Shop: Select Trade from the conversation menu and navigate to the Gestures tab.
• Spend Glory Points: Purchase new gestures using Glory earned by defeating summoned revenants at bloody graves across mission zones.

Nurikabe Wall Locations and Rewards

Finding wall yokai rewards perceptive players with shortcuts that bypass tough mob encounters, as well as direct paths to hidden Kodama and secret chests.