Gozuki is the first boss you will encounter in Nioh 2. He's very close to the start of the game and is actually more of a mini-boss than a full-fledged boss. There are a few things you should understand before fighting it.
First of all, you don't need to fight it. If you want, you can just run past Gozuki, ignoring him completely. Just wait for him to be at the farthest point from his patrol area, then walk past him. This ignores the second, and most important, part of Gozuki, in that he's less of a boss and more of a tutorial.
While Gozuki is a tough fight at the start of the game, it's also a learning experience, and the main thing you should learn in this fight is playing the attack animations, good dodge timing, and way to use your burst counter.
Fight the Gozuki
Like most monstrous bosses, Gozuki's attacks either have wide swinging arcs, or are low hits with large areas of damage. You will need to carefully monitor your stamina, take advantage of your ability to regain it during combat, and exercise some caution. The majority of Gozuki's attacks will take about half of your health if he hits you, so you need to play a patient game.
Gozuki has a habit of chain slam attacks together, and you should be aware that you cannot block the first attack. Instead, you have to dodge him, but wait until he's on the swing down before dodging, otherwise he can rotate the attack to follow you. Tracking slams can be blocked, but you'll lose a tremendous amount of stamina doing so. Focus on distance, maintaining stamina, and dodging, then step away from him when you get the chance. No visible health bar makes this fight difficult, but be aware that as long as you deal damage and take none, you win.
Watch out for his stone throw attack, it doesn't do too much damage, but he can follow it with a vicious slam that will do massive damage. The key to combat is to counter its outburst with your own. Gozuki has a very forgiving Burst attack, and he will telegraph it with a roar. The point of this fight seems to be to teach the player the importance of burst counters. So use them to your advantage and learn how to do them right. The timing will be slightly different, depending on the burst counter you chose when creating the character.
Remember, there is a shrine very close to you, so it doesn't really matter if you die, and it's a great fight to practice the in-game combat mechanics. Although you can. avoid, we suggest you go with Gozuki until you get the best of massive demon.
