Team Ninja Fix a Terrifying "Very Rare" Nioh 3 Bug that Corrupts Your Save when You Pray at Shrine Checkpoints

Why It Matters

Save corruption directly erodes player trust and can deter future purchases; fixing it safeguards the game’s reputation and longevity. The broader stability improvements also support competitive and casual play alike.

Key Takeaways

• Rare shrine bug corrupted saves on game exit
• Patch removes save corruption risk at shrine checkpoints
• Update fixes multiplayer fall-through and visitor crash bugs
• Combat exploits like repeated Tornado Edge now blocked
• Visual glitch with purple-lit water surfaces partially resolved

Pulse Analysis

The shrine‑checkpoint bug in Nioh 3 was more than a technical hiccup; it threatened the core loop of progression that players rely on in Souls‑like titles. By corrupting save files at the moment gamers pause to recover, the flaw introduced a high‑stakes risk that could erase hours of effort. Community forums lit up with frustration, highlighting how fragile data integrity can be a make‑or‑break factor for modern action‑RPGs. Team Ninja’s swift response underscores the importance of robust checkpoint systems in maintaining player confidence.

Beyond the headline‑grabbing save issue, the latest patch tackles a suite of systemic problems that have subtly hampered the Nioh 3 experience. Multiplayer sessions no longer suffer from map fall‑throughs, and the notorious “Become A Visitor” crash has been squashed, smoothing online co‑op play. Crucially, the developers have closed combat exploits—such as chaining the Martial Art Tornado Edge or executing illegal aerial jumps—that gave skilled players unintended advantages. These balance adjustments not only level the playing field for speed‑runners but also preserve the intended difficulty curve that defines the franchise.

From a business perspective, the patch reinforces Team Ninja’s commitment to post‑launch support, a key metric for long‑term engagement in the live‑service era. By addressing both catastrophic bugs and nuanced quality‑of‑life concerns, the studio mitigates churn risk and bolsters the title’s market perception. The partial fix to the purple‑lit water surface glitch, while minor, signals an attention to detail that resonates with the series’ dedicated fanbase. As developers continue to iterate, the Nioh 3 update serves as a case study in how timely, comprehensive patches can protect brand equity and sustain revenue streams.

Team Ninja fix a terrifying "very rare" Nioh 3 bug that corrupts your save when you pray at shrine checkpoints

By Edwin Evans‑Thirlwell, News Editor · Published Feb. 9, 2026

“​Nioh 3” is “less punishing” than “Nioh 1” and “Nioh 2,” according to our reviewer Jeremy Blum. In a fine example of the Duality of Man, this observation forms part of a sentence in which Jeremy also confesses to smashing a hole in his desk with his controller. I can only imagine the destruction if he’d run into one particular “very rare” Nioh 3 bug, recently patched out, which causes the game to corrupt your save data if you end the game while praying at shrines.

Similar to bonfires in the Souls games, shrines are where you’ll recover your health, replenish your elixirs, and checkpoint progress, at the cost of respawning enemies in the region. There are no autosaves—a source of ire among Souls‑likers on Reddit—so you’ll want to make a habit of checkpointing at shrines. Now, imagine that you’ve just felled the Bloodedge Demon on the 31st attempt. You kneel in relief at the nearest shrine, thanking the gods for their guidance, and your save file promptly farts itself inside out. Thank you, Nioh 3. Sayonara, beloved IKEA computer table.

I do think screwing with the player’s save data could be an amazing source of the vaunted Real Emotions videogames are said to inspire. How about a curse that gave you a powerful combo finisher but created a 1/50 risk of the game mangling your data for every completed combo? Or a Lovecraftian game in which the same risk applied to looking at Cthulhu for too long?

Yeah, maybe it’s not that great an idea. It’d be fun to write about, though. I would have fun, is what I’m saying, and what is a videogame, if not a thing created to amuse me specifically and at the expense of everybody else.

This bug is one of many fixed in the Nioh 3 game update that went out over the weekend. Nioh 3 doesn’t appear to be an especially buggy game, though developers Team Ninja have made plenty of tweaks, mostly for the sake of gear and ability balancing and to stamp out some outlandish exploits.

Amongst other things, you will no longer fall through the map when ending multiplayer sessions, crash the game when selecting “Become A Visitor,” or be able to access certain forbidden paths. As regards combat exploits, you won’t be able “to perform the Martial Art Tornado Edge multiple times in a row by continually pressing the button for Strong Attacks just after successfully performing the Martial Art Spinning Slide for the Samurai weapon the axe.” Nor will you be able to do a second aerial jump while performing various moves and martial arts while equipped with the tonfa. Tarnation! Both of those sound like very effective cheese or speed‑running strats.

On the boss front, they’ve nixed an issue that caused Jakotsu‑baba to jump outside the boss area. As for Ippon‑Datara, you won’t be able to do two consecutive grapples on this boss any longer, you big bully.

Lastly, they’ve “partially fixed an issue where water surfaces would occasionally radiate purple light.” Will puddles radiate purple light less often, or radiate less purple light? An enigma for Jeremy to pursue once he’s patched that hole in his desk.

Catch the full patch notes [here].