Duplex stainless steels (DSS) combines high yield stress from ferrite and ductility from austenite, good mechanical and corrosion resistance. It has been used in corrosive environments associated with severe mechanical stress. The good mechanical strength and corrosive resistance properties are due to the duplex microstructure (ferrite and austenite), with the same volumetric fraction, whose balance is controlled by chemical composition and heat treatment during steel manufacturing. However, when welded by process such as fusion welding the high thermal cycles and the presence of shielding gases inducing a certain atmosphere, the properties of the weld metal (WM) and the heat affected zone (HAZ) can be significantly changed. Therefore, the chemical composition, element partioning and the phase balance in these regions (WM and HAZ) will be susceptible to phase transformations such as ferritization, precipitation of secondary phases and alloy element losses, such as nitrogen and nickel, resulting in the decrease of the corrosion resistance. The presence of nitrogen in the duplex steels, either together or as a substitute for nickel, influences the austenite formation and controls phase transformation kinetics during cooling as well. The objective of this work was to study the effect of nitrogen and nickel on the phase transformation of two duplex stainless steels (SAF 2304 and 2507) during two welding processes: autogenous and with Ni-containing filler metal, considering a fixed thermal input and welds with one and two passes, using the technique of bead on plate for the weld with filler metal. Two shielding gases were used, Ar and Ar + N2. Hardness and corrosion resistance in chloride environment were evaluated for each studied condition. Both HAZ microstructure and final chemical composition of the weld metal modified significantly, when compared to the base metal. The HAZ volume fraction of austenite was reduced, and the presence of nitrogen in the shielding gas helped to keep the nitrogen content the same or increased in the weld metal. Each set of weld parameters applied presented different characteristics of hardness and pitting resistance corrosion. The autogenous welding of the SAF 2507 presented higher hardness and low weight losses. In a general way, the addition of N2 in the shielding gas increased the nitrogen content of the weld metal for all conditions of lean duplex material, compared to the base metal, but the austenite volumetric phase did not increased in the HAZ.