The Age of Clans Begins is the first main quest in Act 2 of Nioh 3. Act 2 is set during the Heian period (1119 CE) and features three main missions. You can unlock this quest after completing The Battle of Saigagake, which is the final mission of Act 1.
The Age of Clans Begins introduces you to the story of the Heian period while introducing some key characters. Furthermore, you must also defeat a special boss during this quest.
With that in mind, here’s how to complete The Age of Clans Begins in Nioh 3.
Guide to completing The Age of Clans Begins main quest in Nioh 3
Continue through Mount Kurama
As mentioned earlier, The Age of Clans Begins will be unlocked after you complete The Battle of Saigagake quest in Nioh 3. After you complete this mission, you will be directly teleported to a mountain, and The Age of Clans Begins will automatically start.
When this mission in Act 2 starts, you will find a door in front of you. Upon opening this door, Nekomata will appear and mention that this place is Mount Kurama. Follow the route from this door, and you will find a shrine, Kinone Michi.
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Sacred Mountain Defiled
The Sacred Mountain Defiled is a sub-quest in the The Age of Clans Begins mission, which is automatically triggered at the beginning of Act 2.
From the Kinone Michi shrine, follow the route north, and you will find a few yokai and a big archway. Around these yokai, you will find a small route east, which has a few platforms that you can climb to get to the archway. Use these platforms to reach the archway; you will find some steps over here.
Follow the path down the steps, and you will encounter an NPC, Kajiwara Kagetoki, beside a torch. He will interact with you.
After talking with him, Nekomata will mention that you are in the Heian Period. Once the interaction is finished, follow the route down the steps; you will find another archway and the Chokushi Gate shrine beside it.
At this shrine, you will find two paths, one leading to the left and the other to the right. Take the path leading to the left, and keep following the route until you find a small bridge above you.
From this bridge, take the path to the right, and you will find some stairs. Follow these stairs, and you will reach the location of this bridge. Keep following the path from this bridge. After crossing it, you will find a yokai near a bonfire.
Now, take the path on your left. Keep following the route, and you will come across some more yokai.
After defeating the yokai, head north to find more steps. On top of these stairs, you will find a door to your right.
However, do not open the door first. Instead, follow the path; you will find the Temple Lodgings shrine in the distance. Make sure to replenish your health and save your progress here before opening the door.
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Great Tengu boss fight
After opening the door, a cutscene will play out, and after it’s completed, you must defeat the Great Tengu boss.
When fighting him, make sure to use Burst Break when he glows red to deal serious damage to him. Great Tengu has high movement speed, and it could be tricky to dodge some of his attacks.
The boss has a special grab attack that you can avoid easily. When he is charging towards you, try to roll away from him, and when he is walking on one leg, make sure to attack him since he will be vulnerable.
Great Tengu also has another attack, Green Energy Summon, in which he releases green energy. This move deals a lot of damage, so make sure to avoid it when the enemy is trying to center itself during the fight.
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The boss also has various spinning attacks that you should try to evade. Another important attack that you need to dodge is his Rain of Thunder move, in which he summons yellow and blue thunder rain.
Great Tengu can also summon tornadoes at your location, which you could try to avoid if you are far away from them. Overall, it would be better to target the boss when he misses the grab attack, or when you successfully land a Burst Break on him. He will be vulnerable after both of these attacks, so you can deal a lot of damage to him after countering them.
Furthermore, it is recommended to use a Ninja-style build against Great Tengu. You are also advised to use Ninjutsu, such as Shrapnel Bombs, Uncanny Flame, and Fire Shot Talismans against him since he is weak to fire.
After defeating him, a cutscene will play out, and you will be introduced to an NPC, Minamoto no Yoshitsune. The Sacred Mountain Defiled quest will be completed after defeating this boss.
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Interact with Minamoto no Yoshitsune
After defeating Great Tengu and the cinematic finishes, interact with Minamoto no Yoshitsune to progress through the quest. Another cutscene will play out, and he will explain the story of Kyoto and his own background. In the same cutscene, you will also learn more about Yoshitsune’s brother, Minamoto no Yoritomo.
The Age of Clans Begins will be completed after this cinematic, and the Heian Befouled quest will automatically be activated.
Also read: All main and side quests in Nioh 3
You can also check out some of our other Nioh 3 guides over here:
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Edited by Rachel Syiemlieh
