Nioh guide: how to get Ochoko Cups to summon visitors for co-op play
Get cups, offer booze, enjoy co-op. Nioh doesn't make it easy, of course.
Koei Tecmo's excellent Nioh is deliberately difficult - so much so that it even makes accessing co-op a struggle, thanks to the rarity of Ochoko Cups. This might not be the best design decision, we know, but... here we are, and it's worth revisiting this topic now that the PC version of the game is out.
Ochoko Cups allow you to summon other players into your game as visitors, so you can play co-operatively with them. In the world logic of Nioh, you fill one such cup with sake and offer it at a shrine, which summons a visitor. Makes sense right? You want a pal to come over, you tell them you've got a case in. In art as in life, et cetera, although in Nioh your stocks aren't depleted by your visitor, which is a nice discrepancy from reality.
Unfortunately, Ochoko Cups quite rare, which puts a crimp in your co-op plans. Here is how you can get some to get your cups so you can get your co-op on - once you have a few, just hop into the menu and use them.
The best way to farm Ochoko Cups in Nioh
Ochoko cups are remarkably rare considering how important their usage is, but there are a few relatively reliable ways to get your hands on them scattered throughout Nioh.
The first way is the obvious - Ochoko Cups are offered as rewards for some side missions in the game. Use your map screen to track down Ochoko Cups by viewing mission summaries - you'll be able to spot them in the rewards list.
Ochoko Cups can also be found around the world in chests and the like, and I've certainly found a decent number throughout my main save just by exploring. This will do you for your first co-op sessions. Later in the game they seem to get more scarce, though, so you'll be looking for a way to farm them.
If you desperately need more, there is a more reliable method to get them that tends to be pretty fruitful - but it is a little more painful and challenging: fight revenants. Yeah. Sorry.
Fighting Revenants for Ochoko Cups
Revenants are the ghosts of other fallen warriors in Nioh's world. You can't really miss the opportunity to fight these guys: their graves are out in the world. Sometimes these graves represent real players while other times they're developer-set NPCs.
Head on over to a grave and it'll tell you their level, mode of death and other information about them. This information can serve to help you figure out if you stand a fighting chance. If you do, summon them and engage them in battle. Revenants are combat encounters that are generally hugely difficult one-on-one encounters, but they're more likely to reward you with Ochoko Cups than anything else as far as we can tell.
Generally speaking it seems like Ochoko Cups are more likely to drop from Revenants that are more powerful than you. Find a Revenant that has a gear and load-out that you can think you can best that's a level or two higher. Battle, win, and there's a strong chance you'll find an Ochoko Cup among their drops. If you want a higher chance, battle even higher level revenants.
Our Nioh guide may help you there. Don't forget our combat tips, and to use items to buff yourself and inflict elemental effects on the enemy.
After you've spent hours powering up and mastering the game to the point where you can reliably take down revenants, you'll be drowning in Ochoko Cups. fantastic! Of course, you'll also be so skilled that you don't actually need co-op any more... but since you can't use it on new bosses anyway, this has all been a marvellous learning experience.