How to emote in Nioh 3: Gestures explained

Emotes are a staple in the Souls-like genre, whether that's to interact with other players or with NPCs in-game, and Nioh 3 is no exception.

Known as Gestures in the Nioh series, beyond just being a bit of fun, emotes are actually a useful way of dealing with two specific yōkai types: Mujina and Nurikabe.

Of course, they won't help you out with bosses like Yamagata Masakage – you'll need to use real skills like parrying for that.

But for a quick overview of how to emote in Nioh 3, as well as how it works with Mujina and Nurikabe, read on.

How to emote in Nioh 3: Gestures explained

To emote in Nioh 3, you need to press R1/RB and the Start button on your controller.

Doing this will bring up a small grid menu on screen, showing a variety of Gestures that you can perform.

At the start, you'll only have a certain number of Gestures available, but as you progress through the game, you will start to pick up new ones.

Some of these new Gestures will be of use to you when you deal with Mujina and Nurikabe – more on that below.

How to use emotes on Mujina and Nurikabe explained

Players of previous Nioh titles may remember Mujina and Nurikabe.

Mujina are yōkai that hide in treasure chests, jump out and assume your form, and then perform a specific Gesture.

To deal with a Mujina without a fight, wait for it to emote, and then simply copy whichever emote it performed.

Do so correctly, and the Mujina will vanish, leaving all its loot behind for the taking. Fail, and you'll have to fight a carbon copy of yourself.

Nurikabe are yōkai that take the form of walls. You can make them out by looking for a pair of eyes on the wall, and they typically guard the entrances to secret areas containing Hot Springs or treasure chests.

Once you've found one, stand in front of it and perform an emote of a specific colour: blue, yellow or red.

If you perform a Gesture of the correct colour, the Nurikabe will let you pass. You have two opportunities to guess the right colour, and if you're unlucky and get it wrong both times, you'll have to fight it.

Unfortunately, there isn't a way to work out which colour you need to use, so you simply have to guess and hope you get it right.

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