A Burst Counter is your asset in every Nioh 2 fight. If an enemy has a Burst attack, you can use a Burst Counter to interrupt them, deal damage, and create an opening for quick attacks. Learning how to Burst Counter is a central part of Nioh 2's combat system, so don't ignore this powerful ability.
Using a burst counter is easy, you just need to press R2 and Circle, then your character will run the burst counter you equipped. The difficulty comes from learning how to do it. When enemies perform a burst attack, you will hear an ominous noise and a cloud of red energy will form around the enemy. This lets you know that the Burst attack is coming.
You then need to run your burst counter, at the right distance and at the right time to interrupt the enemy. For some enemies this will happen before you can perform the Burst attack, as they might do something like launch into the air, meaning you miss your chance to hit them if you wait too long. For others, you can wait until the attack is about to hit you, then Burst Counter. It all comes down to trial and error and learning the nuances of each enemy.
Landing a Burst Counter will do a lot of stamina damage, some health damage, and more importantly can open the enemy up to a follow-up attack that does a lot of health damage.
Another important thing to consider is the burst counter you are using. The Brute, Phantom, and Feral Burst counters all do different things. Brute will just cause a horizontal bar of damage, Phantom will transform you into Yokai for a while and automatically protect you from an attack, while Feral will have you dash forward, leaving a ghostly trail behind you for the Burst attack to hit. .
The game's first boss fight, Gozuki, is pretty much designed to teach you all about gustfighting, and it's an extremely powerful technique that you need to master to make the fights a bit easier. Practice is really the only way to perfect the burst counter, so be sure to spend some time tackling it, as it will reward you generously as you play through the game.
