Nioh 3 Prelusive Arts Location and Unlock Guide: How to Defeat Nurikabe

What to know

• Prelusive Arts is a Crucible Art tied to Crucible Weapons in Nioh 3.
• You obtain it from a large chest hidden behind a Nurikabe in the Bakumatsu area.
• Start from Honnoji Temple Grounds Shrine during the Crucible event.
• Unlock it permanently by raising weapon familiarity to 100%, then assign it in Customize Martial Arts.

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Prelusive Arts is one of the collectible Crucible Arts in Nioh 3, and like most advanced combat techniques in the game, it’s tucked behind an environmental puzzle and a yokai encounter. If you’re exploring the Bakumatsu-era missions carefully, this is a reward that meaningfully expands your weapon’s combat depth rather than just boosting stats.

Below, you’ll find its exact location, how to reach it step by step, and how Crucible Arts—including Prelusive Arts—function within the game’s weapon progression system.

Nioh 3 Prelusive Arts details

Category	Details
Item Type	Crucible Art
Obtained From	Large chest behind Nurikabe
Area	Bakumatsu – Honnoji Temple (Sanjo)
Event	Crucible Event
Unlock Requirement	100% Familiarity with attached Crucible Weapon
Menu Location	Customize Martial Arts
Purpose	Unlocks additional combat technique for compatible weapon type

Location of Prelusive Arts in Nioh 3

Prelusive Arts is located in the Honnoji Temple mission in Sanjo, within the Bakumatsu area during the Crucible event phase of the game.

The item is hidden behind a Nurikabe, a wall-like yokai known for blocking paths and concealing secret rewards. In this case, the Nurikabe is guarding a large chest, and that chest contains the Prelusive Arts.

You won’t obtain it through a boss drop or side quest reward. Instead, it’s part of the environmental exploration layer that Nioh 3 is known for—meaning you must actively search for hidden passages and interact with suspicious doors.

How to reach the Nurikabe from Honnoji Temple Grounds Shrine

Step 1

Start at the Honnoji Temple Grounds Shrine in the Bakumatsu mission during the Crucible event.

Step 2

From the shrine, move forward through the temple grounds until you locate a tunnel entrance. This passage leads deeper into the area’s hidden sections.

Step 3

Continue inside the tunnel until you find a traverse spot. Use your traversal ability to cross over to the next section of the area. Depending on your progression, this may involve grappling or flight-based traversal mechanics.

Step 4

Proceed deeper into the tunnel system. The environment becomes more enclosed and enemy presence increases.

Step 5

You will eventually encounter a suspicious wall door. Whistle emote at the door to trigger the Nurikabe encounter. If you perform the correct interaction, the Nurikabe will reveal itself.

Step 6

Defeat the Nurikabe yokai. Once it is eliminated, the path behind it opens. Open the large chest hidden behind the Nurikabe. Inside, you will obtain Prelusive Arts.

This is a one-time acquisition tied to this specific location.

Understanding Nurikabe and hidden chest mechanics

In Nioh 3, Nurikabe enemies function as environmental obstacles disguised as walls. Sometimes they respond to gestures or audio cues like whistling; other times they trigger combat immediately. If you fail the interaction, they become aggressive.

Defeating a Nurikabe typically reveals:

• Hidden shortcuts
• Large loot chests
• Rare materials
• Unique arts such as Crucible Arts

In this mission, the Nurikabe explicitly guards the Prelusive Arts chest, making it one of the more worthwhile hidden encounters in the Bakumatsu arc.

What Prelusive Arts are used for

Prelusive Arts is classified as a Crucible Art, a special category of weapon technique introduced through the Crucible system in Nioh 3.

Crucible Arts are not passive buffs. Instead, they function as additional combat techniques or follow-up attacks that enhance the depth of a specific weapon class. They are attached to Crucible Weapons, which are special weapon variants capable of unlocking these arts.

Unlike normal martial skills learned through skill trees, Crucible Arts require weapon familiarity progression.

How Crucible Arts unlock and function

System Component	Explanation
Crucible Weapon	Weapon variant that carries a specific Crucible Art
Familiarity System	Increases through combat usage
Unlock Condition	Reach 100% familiarity
Post-Unlock Behavior	Art becomes assignable to compatible weapons
Menu	Customize Martial Arts

When you obtain a Crucible Weapon that carries Prelusive Arts, you must actively use that weapon in combat. As you fight enemies, familiarity increases. Once it reaches 100%, the attached Crucible Art permanently unlocks.

After unlocking:

• You can assign the art via the Customize Martial Arts menu.
• The art becomes available for other weapons of the same type, not just the original Crucible Weapon.
• It expands combo routes or introduces new attack variations.

This system encourages you to experiment with different weapon drops instead of sticking exclusively to your highest-stat equipment.

How to equip and use Prelusive Arts

1. Equip the Crucible Weapon that contains Prelusive Arts.
2. Enter combat and raise the weapon’s familiarity to 100% by defeating enemies.
3. Open the menu and navigate to Customize Martial Arts.
4. Assign Prelusive Arts to a compatible weapon slot.
5. Use the corresponding input combination during combat to activate the technique.

The art integrates into your weapon’s existing moveset, adding variation to combos or enhancing transitions between stances.

Why Prelusive Arts matters for builds

Crucible Arts significantly affect how you structure your build. Since they add mechanical depth rather than raw stat boosts, they:

• Improve combo versatility
• Expand Ki pressure options
• Introduce new punish windows
• Offer alternative follow-up chains

For players optimizing endgame builds, especially during Crucible events, unlocking arts like Prelusive Arts increases overall combat efficiency without altering armor sets or core stat allocation.

Because the unlock is permanent once familiarity reaches 100%, it becomes part of your long-term arsenal.

How to defeat Nurikabe in Bakamatsu

Here are 5 reliable ways to defeat Nurikabe in Nioh 3 without turning it into a messy fight:

1. Use the Right Emote First (Best method)
   Stand in front of Nurikabe and use a gesture/emote. It reacts to one specific color (blue, yellow, or red).
   If it likes the gesture → it disappears peacefully and you get the loot.
   If it hates it → it becomes hostile. You get two safe tries before it attacks.
2. Read the Nearby Grave Clues
   Look for Bloody Graves near the wall. The death message often hints at the wrong gesture color someone used. Avoid that color — try the other two.
3. Attack Only After It Turns Hostile
   If it wakes up, don’t panic-swing. Nurikabe hits hard but is slow. Dodge sideways, not backward, and punish after its slam.
4. Target the Ki (Stamina) Bar
   Nurikabe has high health but low Ki recovery. Use Ki damage skills, Yokai abilities, or heavy attacks to break its Ki quickly. Once out of Ki, it’s free damage time.

Prelusive Arts is not just a hidden collectible—it’s a functional expansion to your combat toolkit in Nioh 3. By locating the Nurikabe in the Bakumatsu-era Honnoji Temple mission, defeating it, and unlocking the art through familiarity progression, you gain access to a technique that enhances weapon flexibility and build customization.

Reward	Source	Type	Permanent Unlock
Prelusive Arts	Large chest behind Nurikabe	Crucible Art	Yes
Additional Loot	Nurikabe drop pool	Materials/gear	No (randomized)

If you’re exploring Crucible content thoroughly, this is one art worth going out of your way to secure.