There is a prosthetic later on in the game that helps with breaking up groups of enemies or enemies that are in difficult spots.....of course I didn't really figure out how to do it until my second play through. There are also other skills you will acquire later that make dealing with groups easier or with different strategies.
Running in and backstabbing people and running away and hiding, as well as being spotted to lure enemies away also works. I really never used the ceramic shards much.....just kinda winged it. Sometimes you might have to fight a group at once but you can just try to work on once at a time by backing away and running around the room.
I'm getting close to the end of the game (just beat Owl) and I've had a great time.
Funnily, I've been using the Souls "run away and get a hit in when the opportunity arises" approach quite a bit. This is how I took down the apes, and Owl. Only Genchiro I had to stand my ground and parry properly. Anyone else play this way?
Also, I wouldn't start over because of dragonrot. The cure/penalty is really not that much once you unlock it with Emma - just figure out how to do that, I can't remember off the top of my head where to go for the second case......
Unless you just want more practice/training, no need to really.
I do it using PS+ with the online save - you just upload to the online (turn off automatic updates for the game too! - very important), and then download and over-write the system storage save once you go for the other ending. I presume you can do it with the USB back-up too but I've never attempted so you'd have to look into that or maybe someone else can help.
You can get all 4 endings in 1 run.
You have to save scum before going back to the Ashina castle rooftop after collecting all of the items for the immortal severance - create your backup at the dojo after beating the miniboss, but don't go to the rooftop. After go to the roof and talk to someone familiar there - you'd be asked to make a choice there and it generates a boss fight. You have to choose the bad path and do the Shura ending. Then overwrite after that ending and go back to the rooftop and god down the good path. Then beat the final boss and save scum before talking to Kuro and do that ending and then overwrite each time for the other endings presuming you have all the materials to get the other endings.
If you are going for platinum you have to go near the end of the game in NG+, so if you've already missed Shura or another ending and want to do it no worries.
I'm getting close to the end of the game (just beat Owl) and I've had a great time.
Funnily, I've been using the Souls "run away and get a hit in when the opportunity arises" approach quite a bit. This is how I took down the apes, and Owl. Only Genchiro I had to stand my ground and parry properly. Anyone else play this way?
lol, I say this a lot, but the game has a mixture of bosses, some are posture based (eg, Genichiro, centipedes, O'rin), some are more vitality based (Ogres, Bulls, Ape, and I'd agree on the boss you just beat), and others are mixed (Horse boss, Lady B, final boss).
Posture-based means really that you parry/counter to beat them - you may have to do some health damage but not a ton and its more to get their posture to build and stick for the deathblow. Vitality-based you have to basically empty their health meters, you parry and block more to protect yourself or maybe stun the enemy than build posture and countering is less important or not even used. Mixed is something in between, usually these enemies can be beaten either way, but often you have to take out more of their vitality (at least half) to really get the posture build to stick.
So what you are experiencing is actually pretty typical of how From designed the bosses to balance the style of play and its consistent with a game where there is a balance between offense and defense. Some bosses test your ability to defend yourself and counter attacks, others your ability to get in attacks, and others have a balance between them.
To me this is excellent boss design that is consistent with what From was going for. Dark Souls rewards defense and patience often, Bloodborne rewards attacking aggression, and Sekiro is a balance between defense and attack.
Okay thanks AndrewGPK I will see if I can cure these 2 cases of dragonrot the old fashioned way by continuing to keep playing. Also thanks for the tip on the prosthetic.
I do have another question anyone can answer. I started the Hirata Estate as soon as I got that bell and the sculptor told me to pray. Should I have held off or was that the right thing to do. I only went as far as the old women who gives you the bell in that first area. Or does it not really matter?
Okay thanks AndrewGPK I will see if I can cure these 2 cases of dragonrot the old fashioned way by continuing to keep playing. Also thanks for the tip on the prosthetic.
I do have another question anyone can answer. I started the Hirata Estate as soon as I got that bell and the sculptor told me to pray. Should I have held off or was that the right thing to do. I only went as far as the old women who gives you the bell in that first area. Or does it not really matter?
That's how I did it (doing Hirata Estate immediately). The boss at the end of HIrata Estate is pretty tough. The first true boss you face in Ashina Castle is definitely easier, so some people prefer to fight him first, because every time you beat a boss your attack power increases a little.
That's how I did it (doing Hirata Estate immediately). The boss at the end of HIrata Estate is pretty tough. The first true boss you face in Ashina Castle is definitely easier, so some people prefer to fight him first, because every time you beat a boss your attack power increases a little.
Okay thanks AndrewGPK I will see if I can cure these 2 cases of dragonrot the old fashioned way by continuing to keep playing. Also thanks for the tip on the prosthetic.
I do have another question anyone can answer. I started the Hirata Estate as soon as I got that bell and the sculptor told me to pray. Should I have held off or was that the right thing to do. I only went as far as the old women who gives you the bell in that first area. Or does it not really matter?
I went back and forth, overall Hirata is a bit tougher although you are probably going to encounter a tough miniboss soon if you pick back up where you left off on the Ashina outskirts.
I recommend getting the mikiri counter before taking on the first miniboss at Hirata - although it can be done without it. Despite the miniboss I mentioned above, the Ashina path to the first boss is really the true first boss in the game, and while he could seem intimidating at first he's really not that bad. Lots of people get stuck on the last miniboss at Hirata and the Hirata boss is pretty tough too - I did this one as my second boss.
You get an attack power upgrade each time you beat a boss, so I recommend taking on the easier one on the Ashina path first, to make the Hirata one a little easier. But you can push forward in both areas and try to kill minibosses for prayer beads or find prayer beads to upgrade your health and posture. Also you can grind for skills.
In terms of skills you want to focus on gettting ones that help with posture or posture damage and health/healing items first. The first new combat art you want to progress to is the double ichimoji so go towards the ichimoji and then double ichi after that.
lol, I say this a lot, but the game has a mixture of bosses, some are posture based (eg, Genichiro, centipedes, O'rin), some are more vitality based (Ogres, Bulls, Ape, and I'd agree on the boss you just beat), and others are mixed (Horse boss, Lady B, final boss).
Posture-based means really that you parry/counter to beat them - you may have to do some health damage but not a ton and its more to get their posture to build and stick for the deathblow. Vitality-based you have to basically empty their health meters, you parry and block more to protect yourself or maybe stun the enemy than build posture and countering is less important or not even used. Mixed is something in between, usually these enemies can be beaten either way, but often you have to take out more of their vitality (at least half) to really get the posture build to stick.
So what you are experiencing is actually pretty typical of how From designed the bosses to balance the style of play and its consistent with a game where there is a balance between offense and defense. Some bosses test your ability to defend yourself and counter attacks, others your ability to get in attacks, and others have a balance between them.
To me this is excellent boss design that is consistent with what From was going for. Dark Souls rewards defense and patience often, Bloodborne rewards attacking aggression, and Sekiro is a balance between defense and attack.
I totally agree! It really flies in the face of the criticism I've seen around the place that the game is super focused on only a single skill (parrying).
That's how I did it (doing Hirata Estate immediately). The boss at the end of HIrata Estate is pretty tough. The first true boss you face in Ashina Castle is definitely easier, so some people prefer to fight him first, because every time you beat a boss your attack power increases a little.
I went back and forth, overall Hirata is a bit tougher although you are probably going to encounter a tough miniboss soon if you pick back up where you left off on the Ashina outskirts.
I recommend getting the mikiri counter before taking on the first miniboss at Hirata - although it can be done without it. Despite the miniboss I mentioned above, the Ashina path to the first boss is really the true first boss in the game, and while he could seem intimidating at first he's really not that bad. Lots of people get stuck on the last miniboss at Hirata and the Hirata boss is pretty tough too - I did this one as my second boss.
You get an attack power upgrade each time you beat a boss, so I recommend taking on the easier one on the Ashina path first, to make the Hirata one a little easier. But you can push forward in both areas and try to kill minibosses for prayer beads or find prayer beads to upgrade your health and posture. Also you can grind for skills.
In terms of skills you want to focus on gettting ones that help with posture or posture damage and health/healing items first. The first new combat art you want to progress to is the double ichimoji so go towards the ichimoji and then double ichi after that.
Got the mikiri counter as I saw you mention it earlier in the thread when you were replying to someone else. With that said I still need to figure out how to do it, was going to train with my man and see if I can figure it out. And thank you for what I should focus on. I will NO DOUBT take your advice. Quoting everything so it is easier for me to find later on.
Really appreciate all the help from you and everyone. Absolutely thank you.
I was thinking going for platinum, but I don't know why I did not get the achivement...
Man without equal? I first got the immortal severence ending, and then did the Shura ending. And I have killed all bosses.
And I am slow when it comes to beating this game. My first playthrough was about 75 hours, but I did much exploring, and second playthrough about 20. Still have some stuff left to do.
I was thinking going for platinum, but I don't know why I did not get the achivement...
Man without equal? I first got the immortal severence ending, and then did the Shura ending. And I have killed all bosses.
And I am slow when it comes to beating this game. My first playthrough was about 75 hours, but I did much exploring, and second playthrough about 20. Still have some stuff left to do.
I was thinking going for platinum, but I don't know why I did not get the achivement...
Man without equal? I first got the immortal severence ending, and then did the Shura ending. And I have killed all bosses.
And I am slow when it comes to beating this game. My first playthrough was about 75 hours, but I did much exploring, and second playthrough about 20. Still have some stuff left to do.
In my opinion, the final boss is quite a bit harder than that boss. But it's a steady curve, and not something crazy out of left field. If you managed to beat both forms of that boss then you should be prepared for taking on the final boss.
Going for the Platinum too now. So, any tip on how to get that all skill trophy? "Easier" to just advance through NG+ cycles at this point instead of farming on NG+?
I think its different for different people but most would prefer taking on that boss to the final boss. That boss actually has probably a more varied move set, and I found it was trial and error and you have to slowly learn his move set and figure out the counters. The thing is though, that he's 2 phases and you get plenty of opportunity to fail and try again right away and really his 2nd phase isn't all that different once you learn the 2 special attacks in the second phase which aren't that hard to overcome.
The thing about the final boss sequence is that its a 4 phase battle and its the 3rd phase I think that is the roadblock for most, so it takes a while just to get to the opportunity to practice it and sometimes you get there without much health and feel overwhelmed and the repeated attempts can be frustrating for many.
Going for the Platinum too now. So, any tip on how to get that all skill trophy? "Easier" to just advance through NG+ cycles at this point instead of farming on NG+?
To get the platinum, you have to advance at least as far as Fountainhead in NG+ because you need the lapis for the prosthetic upgrade. But it can go by REALLY fast because its quite a bit easier probably at least until you get to the part around where you can choose the Shura ending (you'll be getting bosses on first attempt and cutting through regular enemies).
The thing is though you won't rack up that much skill points on a regular playthrough. Personally I found that there was just never any time where I'm sitting on anything like 4-9 skill points during regular play. If you haven't started NG+ perhaps you could grind for a while now to break it up some. Otherwise, when you get a few skill points during NG+ you may want to stop and find a good place to grind to try and take care of any skills you need that cost 2, 3 or 4 points.
There is a pretty good grinding loop in Fountainhead that is pretty helpful if you need more Wax as well. You start at the idol near the bridge where you first encouter the carp. Go the other direction to the right, grapple to the roof, run the roof, backstab first lookout, run to 3rd lookout backstab him, and then do the one in the middle. Then go back on the roofs to where the lightening guy is and do a leaping backstab and take out 2 mist nobles as you move back to the idol to restart.
The best skill grind I know off is near the Ogre steps in the outskirts after fountainhead boss. Grapple to look out - backstab. Drop down and backstab guy under tower. Run through gate and backstab guy standing there. Kill two soldiers going up steps. End loop here or keep going and grapple up to the walkway. Double ichi the guy on your way out. Backstab the red hat hiding on the wall. Backstab the gunner on the wall. Backstab the gunner on the ground. Go and backstab the red guys fighting on the bridge.
These are the best places to grind for skills requiring > 4 points - that I know of at least.
Here was my NG+ run on the final boss for anyone that is interested. May be helpful. I had a perfect run on his first phase, and a uhhh less than perfect run on his second phase, but its really long and shows how you can pretty much block/parry what he does and look for the mikiri's.
- Genichiro Phase 1, you don't want to use more than 1 healing item. See how I run around his mortal blade. Unusual for him to use it so much. And he did no overhead slices, which you want to dodge out of.
- ISS Phase 1 - Good look here at his mikiris. Notice how I circle to the left and punish whenever he sheaths his sword. And umbrella for wind attacks.
- ISS Phase 2 - Sloppy start, but I recover. I was too timid about getting in damage and didn't build offense on him quick. But lots of spam blocking and parrys and mikiris. See how he rarely - never in this run - swipes. This does not have to take this long. I was a little too obsessed with staying at full health and got myself in trouble at times.
- ISS Phase 3 - Pretty much just do what you do in Phase 2 but its really about the lightening reversals.
- LUCK - I mikiri'ed practically everything, and then I miss one and come a hair from falling off the ledge when I run away to try and heal. And I get stuck on a rock and backed into a corner and lose lock on a few times and was lucky to survive. (I found that getting time to heal was much harder than I remembered first time through). But if you can block/parry what he's doing in Phase 2 its just a matter of getting a good run before you beat him.
To get the platinum, you have to advance at least as far as Fountainhead in NG+ because you need the lapis for the prosthetic upgrade. But it can go by REALLY fast because its quite a bit easier probably at least until you get to the part around where you can choose the Shura ending (you'll be getting bosses on first attempt and cutting through regular enemies).
The thing is though you won't rack up that much skill points on a regular playthrough. Personally I found that there was just never any time where I'm sitting on anything like 4-9 skill points during regular play. If you haven't started NG+ perhaps you could grind for a while now to break it up some. Otherwise, when you get a few skill points during NG+ you may want to stop and find a good place to grind to try and take care of any skills you need that cost 2, 3 or 4 points.
There is a pretty good grinding loop in Fountainhead that is pretty helpful if you need more Wax as well. You start at the idol near the bridge where you first encouter the carp. Go the other direction to the right, grapple to the roof, run the roof, backstab first lookout, run to 3rd lookout backstab him, and then do the one in the middle. Then go back on the roofs to where the lightening guy is and do a leaping backstab and take out 2 mist nobles as you move back to the idol to restart.
The best skill grind I know off is near the Ogre steps in the outskirts after fountainhead boss. Grapple to look out - backstab. Drop down and backstab guy under tower. Run through gate and backstab guy standing there. Kill two soldiers going up steps. End loop here or keep going and grapple up to the walkway. Double ichi the guy on your way out. Backstab the red hat hiding on the wall. Backstab the gunner on the wall. Backstab the gunner on the ground. Go and backstab the red guys fighting on the bridge.
These are the best places to grind for skills requiring > 4 points - that I know of at least.
Thanks again for the recommendations! I'll go for the Shura ending, pick up the 4 remaining Lapis Lazuli I need for all the upgrades (I'm stocked on all the other items) and then grind over there in Ashina Outskirts on NG+.
We'll see how far I get with those... still need like 50 Skillpoints. Never used the Dragon Mask so far despite having it either. I have a feeling I never will. Still wondering what I should do with all my remaining Sen too at this point (apart from using Sen Throw, lol). Maxed out on Spirit Emblems too.
50 skillpoints is a heckuva a grind. I never did the trading skill points for attack power thing and it was still a long grind.
I think its pretty crazy because again, even with playthroughs I just didn't come across scenarios where I was banking 4-5 skill points just on normal progression. Maybe I died too much first run or skipped too many enemies going through the second run quickly.
Seriously though, if you're on NG ++ or NG +++, skill points come easier. You can puppeteer the entire Ashina dojo and get a skill point in no time. Three or four of these guys in late game NG ++ give 3000 skill points a piece, while the others are 1000+. I've got 8 skill points left to go for getting the trophy and I haven't fought Genny yet on NG +++, so it looks like I won't have to worry much by the end of this run for the final ending. I like this particular area for grinding because not only is it fun to just watch everyone fight each other, it's a lot of guys sitting there in a tight area so you can clear it and then reset.
I only really did light grinding here and there just to get up a skill point or two. Hasn't been too bad, but it would be a pain in the ass if you just wanted to grind it on NG+ or something.
At the very least Necron if you can go up to NG ++ as it will make each kill worth more exp. Not to mention the exp gained from running through the game. I think also going no charm will give you a boost as well.
I never really felt a difference when I grinded Ashina Outskirts at the end of NG and at the end of NG+. I mean the enemies were giving more EP in NG+ but the number of EP needed to get a skill point felt like it was going up roughly proportional to my NG run.
In any case I feel like it would have been better design if you really didn't have to grind. I really felt like I got less skill points just going through NG+ than I did going through NG.
Since these threads have been going this debate has been going on though, for some players it seems like doing playthroughs gets you the SP you need through organic playthrough. For me that was not the case and I didn't feel like it would be different if I went to NG++.
It seems though like the majority have to grind at some point though. I would like to have seen Bosses give more EP. At the Ashina outskirts grinding spot in NG+ I might get 25,000 EP in 5 minutes grinding enemies with backstabs in my sleep. Looking at my video above, killing the final boss in NG+ gave me 25,000 EP. Bosses should just give more, particularly in NG where it might take you hours to beat many of them. I also secured a gold mine of useless Sen on NG+, why give me so much and so little EP? Or at least let me buy it with the Sen.
I never really felt a difference when I grinded Ashina Outskirts at the end of NG and at the end of NG+. I mean the enemies were giving more EP in NG+ but the number of EP needed to get a skill point felt like it was going up roughly proportional to my NG run.
In any case I feel like it would have been better design if you really didn't have to grind. I really felt like I got less skill points just going through NG+ than I did going through NG.
Since these threads have been going this debate has been going on though, for some players it seems like doing playthroughs gets you the SP you need through organic playthrough. For me that was not the case and I didn't feel like it would be different if I went to NG++.
It seems though like the majority have to grind at some point though. I would like to have seen Bosses give more EP. At the Ashina outskirts grinding spot in NG+ I might get 25,000 EP in 5 minutes grinding enemies with backstabs in my sleep. Looking at my video above, killing the final boss in NG+ gave me 25,000 EP. Bosses should just give more, particularly in NG where it might take you hours to beat many of them. I also secured a gold mine of useless Sen on NG+, why give me so much and so little EP? Or at least let me buy it with the Sen.
Having to grind is fine in itself, because it's not to complete the game but to get the completion trophy. At the same time, a few tweaks could have eased the process, such as making bosses give more EXP like you said. Also, I just realized the Monk skills give Sen and not EXP. If at least one of those skills gave extra EXP it would help as well.
Also the Sen feels excessive, but I started using many more spirit emblems while integrating the prosthetics and high level skills more into my fights, and I burned through several hundred fighting the final boss on NG ++. So now I'm actually glad this time around that the Sen amount is so high so I can keep using them without worry.
It would make a little more sense if the combat arts you unlocked with lots of skill points really helped a ton. To be honest though I never really found any more useful than ichi double. I used shadowrush some. High monk had been nerfed by the time I unlocked it.
I agree that grinding isn't essential to the main game, so its not a major thing for me - game is still a 10 in my book. But I like usually how From does their trophies. Most of them make sense and don't require useless activities. I played RDR2 earlier in the year for tons of hours and only got 41% of trophies despite 100+ hours and completing a really long story and tons of exploring. But that was largely because so many trophies were stupid stuff, like survive 20 grizzly attacks. Most of From's though don't involve grinding or arbitrary stuff (although sometimes really esoteric and easily missable stuff), but rather mostly beating bosses and getting endings, all items, etc. You get such a good % and number on a regular playthrough it encourages you to go for the platinum. So not a fan of this one because its a tedious chore. (Still a lower bar than getting those chalice dungeon trophies - but that was actually rewarding at the end of the day because it caused me to have to beat new bosses and overcome really difficult bosses.)
Skills trophy itself is not a bad idea for a trophy, just the balance is a bit off.
Genichiro is no joke on NG +++ with no Kuro's Charm and Demon Bell active. It's almost like a new fight. Every strike has to be carefully measured. I was trying to perfect some new skills, but I ended up focusing on Mist Raven. I found that using shuriken with the force attack and Mist Raven I could get into a comfortable rhythm.
I didn't intend to win this round, it was supposed to be more of a test run, but ended up going all the way because I made it that far. To be honest, there's something about the movement system that makes me want to continually play these fights, figuring out which skills and prosthetics work nicely with each boss. I was playing with High Monk and a few other skills, and could make some awesome combinations but it takes more practice to get it right in a way that looks nice, so I switched to reverse nightjar. This high skill involved discourages people from using these other skills, but I find it to add a lot of hidden depth on repeat playthroughs. Perhaps another run I can experiment more with using them.
--
Also VaatiVidya finally released a new Sekiro video, and there's a bit at the end about the centipedes that surprised me, as I didn't put it together initially, but it makes a lot of sense about their place in connection to the rejuvenating waters. It's worth watching:
Finished Quantum Break and got back to my Level 1 playthrough. Died quite a bit against Juzou, and ended up not being able to beat Lady Butterfly, hopefully I'll get her tonight! I'm having such a blast.
Kind of hard to get used to saving sugar, confetti and not having bestowal after so many NG+ playthroughs, haha.
I'm stuck on Owl (Father). Having just spent a million years on Great Shinobi Owl, I'd love to not fight him for a little while. Can I go clear Fountainhead Palace and then come back to him without screwing up the endings?
Also, if anyone has any tips for this guy, please let me know. Can't even get through the first phase. His punishes are so severe.
I'm stuck on Owl (Father). Having just spent a million years on Great Shinobi Owl, I'd love to not fight him for a little while. Can I go clear Fountainhead Palace and then come back to him without screwing up the endings?
Also, if anyone has any tips for this guy, please let me know. Can't even get through the first phase. His punishes are so severe.
I think as long as you have unlocked him you are fine to do Foutainhead - at least that is what I was told, but you need the item before the ending so you might want to do it there. Here are some tips (its been a while so I could be forgetting some stuff). You may want to try out these strategies before moving to Fountainhead, because the bosses left after Fountainhead are tough and it might be good to have him out of the way - less daunting. I did it at about the same time you are at.
- Okay, so lets start with firecrackers. His most frequent attack I think is a combo sword flurry that backs you up and I think he knees you and this ends with him spreading dust for firecrackers. Dodge forward to your right 2 times when he spreads the dust and hit him with a double ichi or shadowrush from behind, or a couple of swipes. When you see him knee you in the combo you know this is coming.
- If you are standing at him from a distance and he throws firecrackers then his version of the shadowrush is coming, so the firecrackers are the key to being ready to mikiri counter - he's using them more like a smokescreen. Sometimes he also may just thrust from medium distance with no firecrackers (always charging back pretty obviously to his right, your left), so mikiri - the timing on all of these is generous for mikiris.
- Firecrackers from more medium range thrown in your face are often followed by a lunging swipe attack at you so I genernally just jump back and avoid.
- Okay, now lets talk red kanjis. When you see this and he is close to you it is almost always a horizontal slice coming so jump. I found for some reason though that jump countering by bouncing off his head didn't really work for me, so if he was in range i'd swipe him a few times on the way down from my jump. Otherwise I'd pursue him after the jump if he was reasonably close and hit him a few times. At this point when you pursue him after jumping over the kanji he likes to do an overhead slice - which is good to bait because it opens him to damage. But you have to be careful, stay in front of him to bait the attack but don't try for more than 2 hits while you are baiting it, because you may get hit with the overhead slice if you don't get out of the way. Alternatively if you don't get in front of him to bait it and dodge away too early he may not do the overhead slice and whip around and do a horizontal slice, so be ready to parry whenever you move away from his overhead sword stance.
- Shuriken throws. Pretty similar to Ashina castle. Throws one followed by the charging attack that really all you can do is block and will generally break your posture. Throws two usually followed by overhead leaping slice that you dodge and then him with big damage - unfortunately usually not as frequent as Ashina castle.
- 2nd Phase - When he turns into an owl you can pretty much just run away from it if you want. Alternatively stay just ahead of the light and he's open to attack after he drops down, but riskier.
On fire owl attack. If you are at a distance you jump over the flaming owl and then be ready to mikiri counter because he follows it with a shadowrush type of thrust. If you are close and he starts this attack just attack him continuously to interrupt and end it.
I think as long as you have unlocked him you are fine to do Foutainhead. Here are some tips (its been a while so I could be forgetting some stuff):
- Okay, so lets start with firecrackers. His most frequent attack I think is a combo sword flurry that backs you up and I think he knees you and this ends with him spreading dust for firecrackers. Dodge forward to your right 2 times when he spreads the dust and hit him with a double ichi or shadowrush from behind, or a couple of swipes. When you see him knee you in the combo you know this is coming.
- If you are standing at him from a distance and he throws firecrackers then his version of the shadowrush is coming, so the firecrackers are the key to being ready to mikiri counter - he's using them more like a smokescreen. Sometimes he also may just thrust from medium distance with no firecrackers, so mikiri - the timing on all of these is generous for mikiris.
- Firecrackers from more medium range thrown in your face are often followed by a lunging swipe attack at you so I genernally just jump back and avoid.
- Okay, now lets talk red kanjis. When you see this and he is close to you it is almost always a horizontal slice coming so jump. I found for some reason though that jump countering by bouncing off his head didn't really work for me, so if he was in range i'd swipe him a few times on the way down from my jump. Otherwise I'd pursue him after the jump if he was reasonably close and hit him a few times. At this point when you pursue him after jumping over the kanji he likes to do an overhead slice - which is good to bait because it opens him to damage. But you have to be careful, stay in front of him to bait the attack but don't try for more than 2 hits while you are baiting it, because you may get hit with the overhead slice if you don't get out of the way. Alternatively if you don't get in front of him to bait it and dodge away too early he may not do the overhead slice and whip around and do a horizontal slice, so be ready to parry whenever you move away from his overhead sword stance.
- Shuriken throws. Pretty similar to Ashina castle. Throws one followed by the charging attack that really all you can do is block and will generally break your posture. Throws two usually followed by overhead leaping slice that you dodge and then him with big damage - unfortunately usually not as frequent as Ashina castle.
- 2nd Phase - When he turns into an owl you can pretty much just run away from it if you want. Alternatively stay just ahead of the light and he's open to attack after he drops down, but riskier.
On fire owl attack. If you are at a distance you jump over the flaming owl and then be ready to mikiri counter because he follows it with a shadowrush type of thrust. If you are close and he starts this attack just attack him continuously to interrupt and end it.
Looking back at my gameplay video, I see I beat him on posture, but barely, as it was really close to health. First round he had around a quarter health when I beat him by posture, while second round he had about 1/10 health. So it's a toss up.
He's more of a health boss, but you can build posture on him for a deathblow when he's at low health, particularly in 2nd phase.
The approach I outlined is more methodical and reaction to what he's doing rather than a back and forth parry/attack in his face type of thing. The good thing is that pretty much 80% of his attacks can be countered or reacted to in a way that opens him to damage.
I wish I was at home so I could load my video. I did a pretty flawless Phase 1 on my successful run.
Looking back at my gameplay video, I see I beat him on posture, but barely, as it was really close to health. First round he had around a quarter health when I beat him by posture, while second round he had about 1/10 health. So it's a toss up.
To me, if you have to take them down to <25% health they are pretty much a vitality/health boss. I mean most of your work is against their health and you're probably dealing posture damage more on attacks than deflects.
Players that play him more in his face and back and forth maybe can generate more of a posture approach.
I'm only missing one last trophy and of course it's the skill tree one. I thought I was done, but I had missed Spiral Cloud Passage and Shadowfall which require...9 and 6 points, respectively!! Nah man, I'm good. I refuse to waste my life like that. I'm already in NG+4 or +5, I don't even remember.
SmoughTown made a video on cut content in Sekiro and theories based on it. Just like with all From Software games, the cut content that surfaces usually looks cool and would have an interesting effect on the game. It is probably just an earlier version of the concepts in the game, or perhaps there was an extra mechanic they cut, similar to the Dragonrot pellets.
It looks more like a lore connection thing than gameplay in general, but even if they had, for example, the "Dragon's Eye" change in appearance as the Dragonrot occurs, it could have been a nice little visual effect. But this piece would have drawn a more up-front connection between Sekiro himself and the Dragon.
Argh, still at Ishin. First time I tried to beat him in 2 weeks and I feel that I'm getting better - regularly getting into phase 2 now. But god damn I hate the Genichiro fight beforehand. The timing is so different and I just want him beat fast which leads to me dying from time to time at him. I know that that's the point - Ishin would be way easier if you didn't have to switch up the timing every time you die, but still. After 2 hours of Ishin, it's just not that fun anymore.
I'll beat Ishin, but no idea if I have another boss in me that will take me that long.
I just about had Isshin's posture bar full on his last phase then he hit me with lightning and for some reason, the game refused to register it and as a block and deflect and it killed me. Fafucks sakes
FUCK. YES! Sucker's down!!! I did it! With 7 gourds left too haha
That was one hell of an exhilarating fight. I found his first phase to be most annoying because some of his attacks are hard to gauge, but the second and third phases are hella fun.
It just becomes this amazing clash of swords and spears and lightning, and because Isshin has such a varied moveset, the fight is akin to a dance as you play off of each others attacks. Amongst From's very best endgame bosses by far.
One thing I will say about this fight for anyone going in, your umbrella shield is immensely helpful against some of the attacks that are more harder to dodge (such as a the long range swipe attacks that he does). I don't know if I would've done as well without it
I agree with anyone that says that Demon of Hatred is a bullshit boss though, and I don't see why a boss so incompatible with the game's mechanics was added in. Everything about this fight just seems designed to screw you and flies in the face of every rule the game has set up for you until this point. Utter shite boss that should've been cut. Fuck him. /rant
I also didn't bother killing any of the Headless in the game because they're frustrating to fight considering how difficult/expensive Divine Confetti is to come by and the rewards for killing them just don't seem to be worth it at all.
If there's any bit of advice I can give to anyone regarding this game that has helped me since I started, it is that taking a break helps. With each boss I struggled on, I would try 3-4 times, take a break for the day, then return the next day with a better grip on the mechanics. I've seen people mention that they sat 4-6 hours on a single boss. I didn't have this problem, just simply because I'd take a break and return the next day.
Game's a goddamn masterpiece though and I cannot wait to see what they do with the series. What I do hope to see in the sequel is even greater mobility with the grappling hook, environments that are more creative, a greater focus on story, and enemies that are slightly less humanoid and more supernatural (a la Soulsborne).
It felt like so many of the environments, while pretty, were a bit too grounded and therefore somewhat mundane (understandable considering the setting, but still). From are masters of amazing level design and art direction, so it'd be amazing if they pushed it even further in the DLC and/or sequel.
Wonderful game, and so far my GOTY (haven't yet played RE2 or DMCV). From remain a top notch dev riding the massive creative high they've been on since Demon's Souls.
Thanks to everyone in this OT for the tips, advice, and support. Love ya'll xo
I also didn't bother killing any of the Headless in the game because they're frustrating to fight considering how difficult/expensive Divine Confetti is to come by and the rewards for killing them just don't seem to be worth it at all.
The rewards were super worth it to me, they buffed the items them post-patch too. I killed most of them late game when I was swimming in Divine Confetti though, their posture metre builds up so quickly late game, very quick kills. The onetwo in Fountainhead Palace was annoying though.
After thoroughly botching the first two phases of my third attempt against Genichiro, I had to go into the final phase of the fight with zero gourds or pellets available. Against all odds (I'm super bad at this game) I lucked my way into a win.
Raging bull was kind of annoying, but it was super satisfying when I learned the right strategy (Wait for him to charge, parry, hit two or three times, rinse and repeat till his posture is full).
Really liking this so far (though not as much as DS/BB).
One big annoyance is that mini-bosses arent fought in isolation. Its really anoying having to take down ten enemies just for a shot at the miniboss, or having enemies in the boss room a la raging bull.
