Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice |OT2| Domo Arigato, Mr. ROBERTOOOOO!!!

[Deleted member 679]

I think I'll finish my NG+ tonight. Couldn't beat DoH last night, but I got close.

Will start NG+2 right away for another ending. I continue to enjoy this game more and more the more I play it. Even the lore, that I wasn't very fond of after my first playthrough, I'm very intrigued by now.

I believe part of the reason why the lore felt a little shallow and disappointing was because the main story is told in a straightforward way, so being used to Souls storytelling, I'm kind of used to assuming I know most of it by the time I understand some of it, but in Sekiro you have to actually go out of your way to explore some of the lore, it won't come naturally while you just try to understand what the fuck is going on in the main story.

By the time you figure out what's going on with the serpents and Gwyndolin, you'll learn a ton about the world of Dark Souls. By the time you understand what Paleblood could perhaps refer to, you'll understand a great deal about Yharnam. But in Sekiro you just play the game and the main story is told to you in a very direct way, so you won't naturally learn more about the world while just trying to figure out what's going on.

I still prefer the previous method of storytelling, but I'm no longer feeling like Sekiro is lacking in lore.

And I finished Anayama's quest for the first time last night too. Man, that was REALLY good. Some characters like Badger just dying for no reason other than "that's how Souls quests end!!!" left a bad taste in my mouth, but Anayama's was definitely earned. I'll remember his final words fondly, for sure.

 

[mhayes86]

The Antichamber ninja made it fairly (still took over two hours to finish out for me). You just backstab, rest, repeat.

It was by far the worst part of the platinum though.

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Which NG+ were you in?

Spoiler: Late game XP grinding locations

The skills trophy is my last trophy needed to platinum, so I was looking into the recommended grinding methods. A lot of people recommend the late game Outskirts Stairs, but then I saw someone mention the late game Antichamber ninja like you. The stairs offers you a ton of free backstabs, but apparently that ninja offers more experience per minute vs the Stairs.

 

[Aztechnology]

Which NG+ were you in?

Spoiler: Late game XP grinding locations

The skills trophy is my last trophy needed to platinum, so I was looking into the recommended grinding methods. A lot of people recommend the late game Outskirts Stairs, but then I saw someone mention the late game Antichamber ninja like you. The stairs offers you a ton of free backstabs, but apparently that ninja offers more experience per minute vs the Stairs.

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Just NG+, I save scummed for the first three endings. Then did shura on NG+, reloaded and did the lazuli and xp. The ninja's give 2104xp per kill in NG+ and if takes about 15 seconds per kill/rest (what I mean is to kill and reset the area altogether is about 13-15 seconds). So like 8400xp per min. It went pretty quick, just listen to a podcast or some music.

 

[Fluffernutter Pancake]

Is it just me or does the game's difficulty ramp up insanely

Spoiler

when your idols are greyed out for Ashina Castle and you return at dusk

?

The standard enemies hit extremely hard, are much more difficult to counter and swarm more frequently than all previous encounters in the game.

I also count 3 serious mini-bosses for this 1 area, only one of which can be sneak-attacked to lower by 1 health bar, plus a boss that makes Genichiro seem like kindergarten-level.

 

[Deleted member 9135]

Ashina Depths is fun :(

 

[DailyCalmSpirit]

The last boss has almost entirely soured my experience with this game.

Up until then, I was flying high on it. For a minute, I thought I actually might like it more than Demon's Souls, my favorite of these games. Found it such a hard game, but, I managed to overcome almost every other boss eventually. It would take me a while to beat them, but, damnit, I did.

But, even though I've had the game since launch, I still haven't been able to beat this final boss. I've been fighting him for 2 weeks now, and it's just completely crushed the flow of the game for me. I know obviously people have been able to beat him, but, the jump in difficulty is a bit unfair, IMO.

 

[Nacho Papi]

The last boss has almost entirely soured my experience with this game.

Up until then, I was flying high on it. For a minute, I thought I actually might like it more than Demon's Souls, my favorite of these games. Found it such a hard game, but, I managed to overcome almost every other boss eventually. It would take me a while to beat them, but, damnit, I did.

But, even though I've had the game since launch, I still haven't been able to beat this final boss. I've been fighting him for 2 weeks now, and it's just completely crushed the flow of the game for me. I know obviously people have been able to beat him, but, the jump in difficulty is a bit unfair, IMO.

Click to shrink...

Out of curiosity, without spoiling anything, what makes this boss so much more difficult than any other tougher boss in the game?

 

[The Absolute Boy]

I found the last boss tough but not unfair. I think the key is to break it down into stages. Phase 1 can be done no hit, then work on phase 2 until that is no hit, then the same with phase 3 and when you can do phase 3 the final phase is straightforward.

 

[DailyCalmSpirit]

Out of curiosity, without spoiling anything, what makes this boss so much more difficult than any other tougher boss in the game?

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It basically requires you to get through multiple phases without getting hit. 3 hits and you're done (well, I'm done based on my build, I guess).

 

[Nacho Papi]

It basically requires you to get through multiple phases without getting hit. 3 hits and you're done (well, I'm done based on my build, I guess).

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I see, so not much room for error then! Damn, I thought the bosses for the Shura ending whooped me bad enough lol...

 

[DailyCalmSpirit]

I see, so not much room for error then! Damn, I thought the bosses for the Shura ending whooped me bad enough lol...

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Yeah, I mean, to be fair to the game, it does teach constantly teach you to deflect/mikiri/etc, but, this is a bit too punishing compared to the rest of the game, IMO.

 

[HotsauceDragon]

I'm in the same boat. The last boss annihilates me, and I've had the game since launch as well.
I'm alternating between practicing against the last boss and playing another NG run because hours and hours of losing to the same boss would just crush my soul.

 

[Jimnymebob]

Yeah, I mean, to be fair to the game, it does teach constantly teach you to deflect/mikiri/etc, but, this is a bit too punishing compared to the rest of the game, IMO.

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If it makes it easier, the Mikiri stuff is set, and is easier to react to when you know which it's going to be.

Which part are you having trouble with specifically?

 

[Bedlam]

If I want to see several endings on the same NG run, should I backup my save before the final boss?

Spoiler

Or can I do it afterwards before I give Kuro the respective items?

It basically requires you to get through multiple phases without getting hit. 3 hits and you're done (well, I'm done based on my build, I guess).

Click to shrink...

I haven't beaten him myself yet but I'm inching closer everytime I play. I've had like two long sessions of fighting him and figured out easy strats to finish pre-boss and phase 1 without getting hit or only getting hit once or twice. No gourd use. Phase 2 still fucks me up though and I've only gotten to phase 3 once. lol

It's doable but it's a time commitment; especially since my phase 1 strategy involves almost no parrying but a lot of running and punishing him with single or double hits after certain attacks.

 

[Morrigan]

Where does Badger go after the tomb scene?

If I want to see several endings on the same NG run, should I backup my save before the final boss?

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So long as you have all the "items" you can back up after beating the boss. But you'd be cheating yourself, the game, and not growing, and, and, can't you see the difference???

(jk)

 

[Jimnymebob]

Where does Badger go after the tomb scene?

Click to shrink...

He shows up at

Spoiler: NPC Spoilers

the tree outside the building in the Graveyard where you first meet him as a merchant, post Fountainhead Palace.

 

[Red Liquorice]

The Antichamber ninja made it fairly (still took over two hours to finish out for me). You just backstab, rest, repeat.

It was by far the worst part of the platinum though.

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This is the quickest kill, but fuck me it's boring. I tend to stick to the Ashina Outskirts stairway and bridge because I feel like I'm making progress each run as opposed to seeing the tiniest blip on the xp per rest with the ninja.

I know I shouldn't be farming in NG, but I can't always face trying the bosses and this is a nice rest from the BS.

 

[Blade Wolf]

I finally beat the Ogre. Next wall - Yamauchi. Why.

Click to shrink...

lol I had to google to find out what mini-boss you're talking about.

(For those wondering, it's the samurai general guy after the orge.)

 

[Orangecoke]

I'm in the same boat on last boss. Too hard, too many phases and souring the game for me because of it. But I keep trying.

 

[XR.]

If I want to see several endings on the same NG run, should I backup my save before the final boss?

Spoiler

Or can I do it afterwards before I give Kuro the respective items?

I haven't beaten him myself yet but I'm inching closer everytime I play. I've had like two long sessions of fighting him and figured out easy strats to finish pre-boss and phase 1 without getting hit or only getting hit once or twice. No gourd use. Phase 2 still fucks me up though and I've only gotten to phase 3 once. lol

It's doable but it's a time commitment; especially since my phase 1 strategy involves almost no parrying but a lot of running and punishing him with single or double hits after certain attacks.

Click to shrink...

Honestly, I think it's easier to go at it with the mindset of deflecting rather than running around him. I think there's one attack where dodging would be preferred (the charged overhead attack) but other than that you can deflect all of his attacks, or mikiri, jump etc. if it's a perilous attack. You won't learn to deflect them all in one go but I find it it's much easier to learn by going that route rather than focusing on vitality damage only, because that takes some time to be consistent with.

 

[That Naive Cube!!]

Nicely done. :D

Seems to be many of us who did NG++ specifically without Kuro's Charm.

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Thanks, person! Felt like a boss perfectly parrying his 7 hit combo.

I highly recommend everyone play without the charm when you can. At least give it a try. It forces you to learn the bosses and enemies because you have to.

I'm at a point now where the game has literally slowed down for me because my reaction time and enemy attack recognition has greatly improved.

I used to think there wasn't sufficient time to respond to perilous attacks; now when they occur it's like slow mo.

I imagine NG would be absolute cake for me now.

Aiming to play up to NG+7 and then tack on the Demon Bell

 

[Morrigan]

He shows up at

Spoiler: NPC Spoilers

the tree outside the building in the Graveyard where you first meet him as a merchant, post Fountainhead Palace.

Click to shrink...

Thanks. 4 playthroughs and I missed that.

 

[Noema]

Spoiler: Late Game Enemy

Anyone know the name of the enemies that are basically the generals in the Red Guard army? You fight one near the note above the path to the headless cave in Ashina Outskirts. Those dudes are some of the coolest enemies I've ever seen or fought in a game.

Click to shrink...

Those fuckers are basically Nameless mini bosses in my book.

All red guard enemies are difficult for me since their attacks are so delayed and they hit like a truck.

 

[That Naive Cube!!]

I'm in the same boat on last boss. Too hard, too many phases and souring the game for me because of it. But I keep trying.

Click to shrink...

You just need to be patient (or keep being patient). Dont try to beat the boss; learn the boss. Learn the attacks and counters. Learn what attacks you can punish and which ones to stay away from. Do not R1 spam (a bad habit that Soulsborne has encouraged). Listen for when the enemy deflects your attacks and be ready to counter.

The last boss is actually my favorite in the game. Like it even more than Ludwig.

 

[Jimnymebob]

Thanks. 4 playthroughs and I missed that.

Click to shrink...

Make sure you kill

Spoiler: Location Spoiler

the guys fighting on the bridge that is built to connect there with the area you past the chained ogre where you drop down and first see the serpent. I kept getting shot mid conversation, and I couldn't hear what he was saying over the gunshots.

 

[derFeef]

lol I had to google to find out what mini-boss you're talking about.

(For those wondering, it's the samurai general guy after the orge.)

Click to shrink...

:-/

 

[Gustaf]

being honest i think people oversold the last boss :(

he is so fucking readable and every freaking attack of him is parryable.

maybe the fact that i had all the beads and all the memories available to, with the skills to reduce posture and demolish enemies with swords influenced.

but yeah, lets see if in NG+ he is more difficult

 

[Blade Wolf]

:-/

Click to shrink...

Don't worry he kicked my ass the first time as well, he is basically a sword fight tutorial.

 

[Tzarscream]

*sigh*

Spoiler: 2 Mammals

You know....

So I skipped this boss fight the first time around unknowingly, and on my NG+ fighting them for the first time.

And why, why game why, why did you think it'd be fun to fight two at a fucking time?

 

[Firefly]

I see, so not much room for error then! Damn, I thought the bosses for the Shura ending whooped me bad enough lol...

Click to shrink...

I dont know what build he has by the time you reach that boss youd normally have 8-10 healing gourds and 2 resurrections with the possibility or more items in your inventory to give you enough chances even after you mess up a few times. The arena is big enough to create a breathing room and heal yourself. Its my fav boss in the game. Even after learning the attack patterns its intense in the last two phases and incredibly satisfying to mix up jumping dodging deflecting and mikiri countering and the best of all the lightning counter. The music and visual effects just further elevate it.

I personally had a harder time with the Shura ending boss.

 

[Noema]

I'm gonna go out on a limb and say that the last boss is the best boss I've encountered in all my years of gaming. Very difficult, but there's nothing in that fight that can't be countered or, even better, used against him. You have a large arena to fight him, and even a couple of rocks to hide behind to heal, recover posture and use a Buff.

It's interesting that a lot of the mini bosses teach you individual bits and pieces of his moveset. I certainly would have had a much harder time dealing with his first phase if I hadn't learned to fight the two Ashina Elites. The Seven Spears mini bosses also give you a ton of practice.


Also if you are struggling with the length of the fight, Ako's Sugar and Divine Confetti help a ton. They do really make a difference and finishing each phase faster = more gourds for the final phases.

It's interesting that FromSoft final bosses tend to fall on the easy side, serving almost as epilogues to a long journey. But this one is a final test through and through.

 

[Orangecoke]

I'm gonna go out on a limb and say that the last boss is the best boss I've encountered in all my years of gaming. Very difficult, but there's nothing in that fight that can't be countered or, even better, used against him. You have a large arena to fight him, and even a couple of rocks to hide behind to heal, recover posture and use a Buff.

It's interesting that a lot of the mini bosses teach you individual bits and pieces of his moveset. I certainly would have had a much harder time dealing with his first phase if I hadn't learned to fight the two Ashina Elites. The Seven Spears mini bosses also give you a ton of practice.


Also if you are struggling with the length of the fight, Ako's Sugar and Divine Confetti help a ton. They do really make a difference and finishing each phase faster = more gourds for the final phases.

It's interesting that FromSoft final bosses tend to fall on the easy side, serving almost as epilogues to a long journey. But this one is a final test through and through.

Click to shrink...

Main problem I'm having is the spear phase, where he gets hyper aggressive and has huge range to hit you with. But I've been given tips to try out here.

 

[Morrigan]

I'm gonna go out on a limb and say that the last boss is the best boss I've encountered in all my years of gaming. Very difficult, but there's nothing in that fight that can't be countered or, even better, used against him. You have a large arena to fight him, and even a couple of rocks to hide behind to heal, recover posture and use a Buff.

It's interesting that a lot of the mini bosses teach you individual bits and pieces of his moveset. I certainly would have had a much harder time dealing with his first phase if I hadn't learned to fight the two Ashina Elites. The Seven Spears mini bosses also give you a ton of practice.


Also if you are struggling with the length of the fight, Ako's Sugar and Divine Confetti help a ton. They do really make a difference and finishing each phase faster = more gourds for the final phases.

It's interesting that FromSoft final bosses tend to fall on the easy side, serving almost as epilogues to a long journey. But this one is a final test through and through.

Click to shrink...

I agree with most of this. Not sure about "best boss in gaming ever", but... you know what, you make a convincing argument.

 

[Ferrs]

I'm gonna go out on a limb and say that the last boss is the best boss I've encountered in all my years of gaming. Very difficult, but there's nothing in that fight that can't be countered or, even better, used against him. You have a large arena to fight him, and even a couple of rocks to hide behind to heal, recover posture and use a Buff.

It's interesting that a lot of the mini bosses teach you individual bits and pieces of his moveset. I certainly would have had a much harder time dealing with his first phase if I hadn't learned to fight the two Ashina Elites. The Seven Spears mini bosses also give you a ton of practice.


Also if you are struggling with the length of the fight, Ako's Sugar and Divine Confetti help a ton. They do really make a difference and finishing each phase faster = more gourds for the final phases.

It's interesting that FromSoft final bosses tend to fall on the easy side, serving almost as epilogues to a long journey. But this one is a final test through and through.

Click to shrink...

Useless when almost all of it is covered by damn flowers that hide the boss attacks :/

It's DLC but Gael and Friede are much much better IMO. Gael fight is underrated IMO.

 

[jawzpause]

On NG+ at the moment trying to get alternative ending, still enjoying the game and i might actually try and platinum it. I only need 5 more trophies although i looked them up and that might take quite a while 🙄

 

[Gustaf]

*sigh*

Spoiler: 2 Mammals

You know....

So I skipped this boss fight the first time around unknowingly, and on my NG+ fighting them for the first time.

And why, why game why, why did you think it'd be fun to fight two at a fucking time?

Click to shrink...

i know you are banned and all, but ignore the white one and focus on the brown one, and then fight one on one.

it is a really easy fight

 

[Deleted member 679]

Wow, banned for complaining about a fight. I guess the From community really is toxic.

Kappa.

 

[Noema]

Also something I appreciate about the last boss is that he's not a health sponge. If you deflect consistently and sneak in an attack here and there his posture goes down super quick. It's very momentum based and it means you can turn the tables if the fight is seemingly not going as well.

 

[That Naive Cube!!]

Main problem I'm having is the spear phase, where he gets hyper aggressive and has huge range to hit you with. But I've been given tips to try out here.

Click to shrink...

You just have to remember that he only has a finite amount of moves (even though he has a ton). You need to learn what's coming so you can defend/react accordingly.

My recommendation is to get to the phase you are struggling with the intention of learning the phase.

Stay away from the boss, see how he reacts. Stand close; see how he reacts. Heal and see how he reacts. Attack and see how he reacts.

I've been fighting this boss on NG+2 charmless over three days each time setting goals (learn phase 1, learn phase 2, etc) and I used the above to demolish this boss.

TL;DR: you CAN do this. It may look like a random flurry of attacks (which is how I felt) but once you start to learn the fight you quickly see how manageable and doable it all is.

Playing without the charm really helps because it's either you learn the boss or die.

 

[Bedlam]

Perhaps I have missed or forgotten an explanation in the game but sometimes it seems I can parry some attack that is marked with the unblockable-sign. What's going on there?

When the red sign flashes I either try to jump or evade.

I think it's easier to go at it with the mindset of deflecting rather than running away. There's one attack where dodging would be preferred (the charged overhead attack) but other than that you can deflect all of his attacks. You won't learn to deflect them all in one go but I find it it's much easier to learn by going that route rather than focusing on vitality damage only.

Click to shrink...

I will try to do that!

 

[Orangecoke]

You just have to remember that he only has a finite amount of moves (even though he has a ton). You need to learn what's coming so you can defend/react accordingly.

My recommendation is to get to the phase you are struggling with the intention of learning the phase.

Stay away from the boss, see how he reacts. Stand close; see how he reacts. Heal and see how he reacts. Attack and see how he reacts.

I've been fighting this boss on NG+2 charmless over three days each time setting goals (learn phase 1, learn phase 2, etc) and I used the above to demolish this boss.

TL;DR: you CAN do this. It may look like a random flurry of attacks (which is how I felt) but once you start to learn the fight you quickly see how manageable and doable it all is.

Playing without the charm really helps because it's either you learn the boss or die.

Click to shrink...

Thanks - I made it to phase 4 and was excited to use lightning reversal on him...and he only used lightning once, lol!

 

[Chopchop]

Jumping is generally for avoiding sweep attacks. While you can sometimes jump some enemies grabs, you're better off trying to dodge at the right time.

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Makes sense. I was afraid to be anywhere near her when she did her grab because it felt like the grab tracked so well that getting behind her wasn't reliable enough. But maybe I should have tried that more, since every time I went backwards I lost a lot of progress on posture damage.

 

[cubistic]

Thanks - I made it to phase 4 and was excited to use lightning reversal on him...and he only used lightning once, lol!

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Also firecracker any of his charge attacks for free damage. That was a gamechanger for me in phases 3-4.

 

[That Naive Cube!!]

Thanks - I made it to phase 4 and was excited to use lightning reversal on him...and he only used lightning once, lol!

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That's progress! Just aim for progress and I promise you will get him.

Last night I tried to run around and bait the lighting attack but like you said, he wasnt doing it lol.

Ended up playing it just like I did phase 3 keeping the lightning attack in the back of my mind.

 

[XR.]

Thanks, person! Felt like a boss perfectly parrying his 7 hit combo.

I highly recommend everyone play without the charm when you can. At least give it a try. It forces you to learn the bosses and enemies because you have to.

I'm at a point now where the game has literally slowed down for me because my reaction time and enemy attack recognition has greatly improved.

I used to think there wasn't sufficient time to respond to perilous attacks; now when they occur it's like slow mo.

I imagine NG would be absolute cake for me now.

Aiming to play up to NG+7 and then tack on the Demon Bell

Click to shrink...

*giraffe ;)

But yes, I know exactly what combo you mean and it's probably the most difficult one to deflect in the entire game.

:-/

Click to shrink...

If he hits you like a brick wall you can always come back later. You pretty much need to know the basics of perilous attacks (i.e. learn to identify whenever he's doing a thrust attack or a sweep and then use mikiri or jump respectively) in order to beat him.

*sigh*

Spoiler: 2 Mammals

You know....

So I skipped this boss fight the first time around unknowingly, and on my NG+ fighting them for the first time.

And why, why game why, why did you think it'd be fun to fight two at a fucking time?

Click to shrink...

Indeed you are banned but I'll give a quick tip for this fight:

Bait the headless ape to scream by being close and hitting him occasionally. His partner will then rush towards you and when she does throw some firecrackers and go ham. Two or three times should be enough.

 

[99humanity]

Perhaps I have missed or forgotten an explanation in the game but sometimes it seems I can parry some attack that is marked with the unblockable-sign. What's going on there?

When the red sign flashes I either try to jump or evade.


I will try to do that!

Click to shrink...

The danger sign means you can't block, not that you can't deflect! If you don't have Mikiri for example you can just L1 instead, you'll just take more posture damage/deal less than if you used Mikiri

 

[Noema]

Perhaps I have missed or forgotten an explanation in the game but sometimes it seems I can parry some attack that is marked with the unblockable-sign. What's going on there?
!

Click to shrink...

You can parry thrusts.

 

[Gustaf]

Perhaps I have missed or forgotten an explanation in the game but sometimes it seems I can parry some attack that is marked with the unblockable-sign. What's going on there?

When the red sign flashes I either try to jump or evade.

Click to shrink...

this is something i really hated, i dont know if the symbols are different but there are two types of attacks that trigger it, thrust attacks and sweeps attacks, in one you need to press b and on the other you need to jump.

they should have used another fucking symbol for the sweeps.

but i guess you actually need to learn to read the boss, because the preceding movement of each type of attack is different

 

[Bedlam]

The danger sign means you can't block, not that you can't deflect! If you don't have Mikiri for example you can just L1 instead, you'll just take more posture damage/deal less than if you used Mikiri

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Ah, thanks! I figured it might be something like this but I never really bothered to look it up again since evading worked as well in those situations. More options might make things a bit easier though.

I'm at the last boss and only now I'm fully learning all of the mechanics lol.

 

[Bedlam]

this is something i really hated, i dont know if the symbols are different but there are two types of attacks that trigger it, thrust attacks and sweeps attacks, in one you need to press b and on the other you need to jump.

they should have used another fucking symbol for the sweeps.

but i guess you actually need to learn to read the boss, because the preceding movement of each type of attack is different

Click to shrink...

Yeah, same. I guess you need to learn the animations.

But now that I know that you can definitely parry (not block) these types of attacks, I might try to do that more often instead of jumping/evading.