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

[Solus]

Got the Corrupted Monk down. Doing the Guardian Ape first definitely helped. I was kind of hoping to unlock a new area but I guess it's back to Ashina Castle. The place is riddled now with super tough Ninja's but considering I already knew the way I could just sprint past them to unlock the idols. Which felt a bit silly but whatever. I also ended up cheesing the Ogre after I realized he couldn't fit through the door after he threw me through it. I just couldn't resist.

I'm at Owl now, but I haven't really tried him yet. There's also 2 black ninja's and about 3 fucking headless left. I also need only one more prayer bead to complete another set.
Took me a few hours to get past the previous set of bosses only to open up about 20-30 mins of gameplay to find the next set of frustrating bosses. Pacing is off and the game is starting to test my patience.

Anyway am I at the endgame now? I accidentally read something if I had obeyed Owl the game would've already ended. I wonder if that would've pissed me off or if I'm just ready to end it now. I picked the other option though.

 

[Jotakori]

I think I've found my least favorite boss fight in the game.

Spoiler: later-ish game boss

I've made it to the Guardian Ape and I really do not like this dude. I haven't beaten it yet, but I know everything I need to do so it's just a matter of perfecting my timing and responses at this point. But idk there is something about this fight that's really unpleasant.... I think it's the combination of feeling really frantic, but mostly just being a block or run waiting game? Like having to just sit there holding block and waiting out rampages for only a couple swipes in between for the first stage, then constantly having to run away and wait for certain attack openings in the second... (and god forbid you accidentally back yourself up into something and insta-die from terror, grrrr!) It makes each attempt feel like such a drawn out chore. Genichiro was an asshole and much, much harder but at least every round was exciting and felt like we were going toe-to-toe. Can't wait until I'm past this one. 😩

I do think the concept for this enemy is fantastic, though! I like that you use the sword stuck in its neck to slice its head off in the end; it's so shockingly and unapologetically brutal... like wow, they really went there. Then they take it a step further with the whole parasitic, puppeteering centipede thing inside it, with the way the body moves about like something is literally wearing its skin (shudders).... and then having it lift its own damn decapitated head back to its neck to use like an instrument to scream through! Like god damn! I love how that's a terror inducing attack cuz it honestly is hella creepy as fuck. This boss is really friggin' eerie to think about, and I enjoy that sort of creeping horror it creates when you realize what's actually happening. The Senpou Temple gave me the same heebie jeebies with all those dead bodies just carelessly piled up in out of the way corners around the place. I like that the game is slowly descending into unsettling wtfery.

But yeah, anyways! Really cool boss idea! Just... pain in the gd ass to deal with fighting lol. And I'm officially over it for tonight, hopefully I'll have better luck tomorrow.

 

[Red Liquorice]

Anyway am I at the endgame now? I accidentally read something if I had obeyed Owl the game would've already ended. I wonder if that would've pissed me off or if I'm just ready to end it now. I picked the other option though.

Click to shrink...

Siding with Owl here gives you a unique ending and boss(es) fight, but also misses out on a whole new area, a revisit to a previous area and quite a few unique bosses, so you made the right choice. You're probably 75-80% through the game at fighting Owl in Ashina Castle.

 

[Solus]

Ah I see, that's good to know, thanks.
So I just gave Owl a try and oh boy, I can already tell he's going to take me quite a while. He even has an anti-heal move, as if his normal attacks weren't already punishing enough. At least I got the black ninja before him down rather quickly, not sure how I pulled that off haha, but at least I have a 7th set of beads for Owl now.

 

[sackboy97]

After about 5 hours of playing, I got to (and beat) the first real boss (Gyoubu). I'm definitely taking my time. I'll probably go back to the "memory" for a bit now that I have some new skills.

 

[catashtrophe]

Finally got the plat.

Grinding for the skills was long and boring process

 

[sackboy97]

I have just beat the Drunkard; I have two divine confetti, should I try the Headless? Or should I come back to him later?

 

[deepFlaw]

I have just beat the Drunkard; I have two divine confetti, should I try the Headless? Or should I come back to him later?

Click to shrink...

Have you done anything past the Headless?

I didn't fight the Headless till much much much later, and that was probably more later than it had to be, but I don't think you could reasonably do it now. You're probably going to want more confetti than that to start, but I doubt your attack is high enough even with the confetti currently.

But, well, you can always go for it! Wasting the confetti isn't worth worrying about at all long term, so there's nothing wrong with trying it if you want to.

 

[Red Liquorice]

I would give Headless a miss until you find a farmable or buyable source of Divine Confetti or the reusable item Purple Gourd you can buy that helps reduce terror. By that point in the game you're also doing more damage. Headless aren't boss/mini-bosses you get a memory or prayer bead from (the reward is worth it, but can wait).

 

[sackboy97]

Have you done anything past the Headless?

I didn't fight the Headless till much much much later, and that was probably more later than it had to be, but I don't think you could reasonably do it now. You're probably going to want more confetti than that to start, but I doubt your attack is high enough even with the confetti currently.

But, well, you can always go for it! Wasting the confetti isn't worth worrying about at all long term, so there's nothing wrong with trying it if you want to.

Click to shrink...

I got to Gyoubu and the rats just after that. Then I decided to go back to the memory.

Guess I'll wait a bit longer then. Thanks for the advice!

 

[deepFlaw]

Seconding what Red Liquoricr said specifically. You want easy Confetti access and possibly that item as well. Rather, you'll most likely have the latter before the former.

...don't expect to fight it soon, basically, haha.

 

[Deleted member 55164]

Update: made it to final phase of Isshin Sword Saint with 1 gourd left. Got him whittled down to 1/3 health but got overconfident and hands started to shake as this is the furthest I've gotten.

Made a silly mistake trying to play it safe and lost my final gourd. So I used a Jizu statue to get back a res...ok...then got hit by lightening which caused me to use my new resurrection.

Yep immediately blasted by another lightning that left a shred of health...so used my final Jizu statue....aaaaand walked right into one of his whirlwind shockwaves....resurrected right into another bolt of lightening. how is this a fair fight?? I feel like I've got the timings down. Obviously more practice but now I'm out of Jizu statue safety net.

I really don't need this stress in my life!

 

[Red Liquorice]

At least now you know you can get to the final phase :) Now it's just a case of good play, good RNG and it's yours.

I think the first time I got to his final phase I was the same with nervous energy, blasting through fine snow and divine grass because of silly mistakes!

 

[Deleted member 55164]

At least now you know you can get to the final phase :) Now it's just a case of good play, good RNG and it's yours.

I think the first time I got to his final phase I was the same with nervous energy, blasting through fine snow and divine grass because of silly mistakes!

Click to shrink...

Yep - back to it tomorrow night! No more divine grass of sweet rice balls anymore...it really is get gud time.
Still; confident but man its frustrating!

 

[AndrewGPK]

I think I've found my least favorite boss fight in the game.

Spoiler: later-ish game boss

I've made it to the Guardian Ape and I really do not like this dude. I haven't beaten it yet, but I know everything I need to do so it's just a matter of perfecting my timing and responses at this point. But idk there is something about this fight that's really unpleasant.... I think it's the combination of feeling really frantic, but mostly just being a block or run waiting game? Like having to just sit there holding block and waiting out rampages for only a couple swipes in between for the first stage, then constantly having to run away and wait for certain attack openings in the second... (and god forbid you accidentally back yourself up into something and insta-die from terror, grrrr!) It makes each attempt feel like such a drawn out chore. Genichiro was an asshole and much, much harder but at least every round was exciting and felt like we were going toe-to-toe. Can't wait until I'm past this one. 😩

I do think the concept for this enemy is fantastic, though! I like that you use the sword stuck in its neck to slice its head off in the end; it's so shockingly and unapologetically brutal... like wow, they really went there. Then they take it a step further with the whole parasitic, puppeteering centipede thing inside it, with the way the body moves about like something is literally wearing its skin (shudders).... and then having it lift its own damn decapitated head back to its neck to use like an instrument to scream through! Like god damn! I love how that's a terror inducing attack cuz it honestly is hella creepy as fuck. This boss is really friggin' eerie to think about, and I enjoy that sort of creeping horror it creates when you realize what's actually happening. The Senpou Temple gave me the same heebie jeebies with all those dead bodies just carelessly piled up in out of the way corners around the place. I like that the game is slowly descending into unsettling wtfery.

But yeah, anyways! Really cool boss idea! Just... pain in the gd ass to deal with fighting lol. And I'm officially over it for tonight, hopefully I'll have better luck tomorrow.

Click to shrink...

Spoiler

You can straight up just use a parry strategy in the first phase. Like when he does his tantrum on the ground each of those arm swings can be individually parried. As can any of his other swipe (non-grab) attacks. If you do it that way you really can be aggressive dealing damage. On the second phase I used the purple umbrella for cover (not sure if any umbrella works) on the AOE terror attack. That makes that phase go a lot quicker as well as you don't have to keep running away.

 

[Deleted member 2317]

I think I was around maybe six or seven hours of trying before the

Spoiler

glock saint lmao

finally succumbed to my shinobi blade.

 

[wandering]

100+ hours later, got my first platinum ever. Still finding it hard to put it down, though; the combat is just intoxicating.

Anyone have recommendations on other games to get that fix? Besides the obvious answer of other FromSoft games

 

[Deleted member 55164]

I beat him! FINALLY! Isshin, Sword Saint is down! I am the greatest Sekiro player in the history of the world!! ...is what it feels like right now :)

Honestly in the end i didnt cheese it - actually took my time and learnt his moves, parried like a god - likely better than at any other fight in the game...truly 'git gud' at the very end.

I ended up whittling his health down to around half and then just parried, mirik'd literally any opportunity i got. Ended up doing the entire fight from Genchiro all the way through to the end with just 3 gourds of health.

Thank you to everyone who said to persevere - it truly is the best advice and now i feel like i can take on any boss!

Going for the platinum next; i've done the save-file because hell no am i playing through that fight again...got most but not all the skills so i expect to go into NG and aim for the Shura ending. Still need +3 Lapis Lazuli for the upgrades but not sure if that requires going into NG+?

Anyway, pretty chuffed - what a rush!

 

[Red Liquorice]

Great stuff, well done n.thou :)

You do need to go in to NG+ for the LL. The way I did it was to save at the Owl choice in NG+ - at that point you can do the Shura Ending, reload and then carry on with the other choice and get the LL (or vice versa).

 

[Deleted member 55164]

Great stuff, well done n.thou :)

You do need to go in to NG+ for the LL. The way I did it was to save at the Owl choice in NG+ - at that point you can do the Shura Ending, reload and then carry on with the other choice and get the LL (or vice versa).

Click to shrink...

Yeah figured. Onwards!

Game has become my favourite next to Bloodborne....and fully ruined any other game for me.

 

[AndrewGPK]

Happy for you n thou.

You'll find that you will sail through NG+ for the most part, with your next big challenge the Shura ending. Personally I didn't find it quite as difficult as ISS or even DoH, but some players have said it was their toughest boss. As RL said, you'll need to go to Fountainhead for the LL to get the platinum and I went even beyond that for the best place to farm skill points (which is a big burden - least favorite part of the game). I got my platinum after hours and hours of grinding the same place, and rather than have my experience end on that I went and fought ISS again - which was perhaps even more fun than the first time.


I actually was a FromSoft virgin until earlier this year when I platinumed Bloodborne. That became my GOAT and Sekiro probably moved into my Top 10-15 all time. Taking a break from these type games for a while, but I will probably start working my way through Dark Souls and maybe Nioh eventually.

 

[Patrick Bateman]

After months I finally beat the Guardian Ape.
But I have absolutely no clue where to go next..


Edit: Ok, went to Ashina Depths. :|

Edit2: There's too many monkeys in this game..

 

[Solus]

Spoiler: Late game spoilers

I got Owl down. Took a break from the game for a few days and somehow beat him on my first try today. Yay! And a new area opened up! Awesome!

...and another Corrupted Monk? Are you fucking kidding me? And I have to kill him three times? Boo!

edit: Oh I actually got it down already, didn't expect that haha.

 

[Noema]

Edit2: There's too many monkeys in this game..

Click to shrink...

 

[Alpende]

Just got to Owl and tried him like 5 times... he's fast as shit

 

[weebro]

I still remember not being super impressed with the setting at first but the moment you wander into the abandoned dungeon and see the Schichimen Warrior in the middle of the cave with the souls floating around him is when shit got real and the supernatural horror started to seep in, not to mention the screams those flying souls make.

On that note, jumping through that hole was super disappointing as it just landed into this game's version of Blighttown, rather than some big story twist or reality/dimension shifting shenanigans like the leap in Bloodborne was.

 

[Beautifulmemory]

Been messing with NG+. For me this game has way less replay value for me than bloodborne. Thought I would be motivated to get different endings.

 

[Broken Locks]

So I finally came back to this after playing at launch and got up to Owl, tried him a few times, didn't have the patience at the time, and then got distracted by other things. Not wanting to resume there, I started a fresh save and within 2 days I was back to where it had previously taken me a week and a half. The previous experience served really well, and there were times when I thought I might have actually gutten gud, tearing through most tough encounters, often 1st time and no more then 4-5 for most (except Lady B. Prob 10 or so. I thought I 'd kick her ass, but she had another thing coming). Even corrupted monk, who took up a day or so of my life repeatedly trying first time through, went down 3rd try.

Then I remembered why I cbf with Owl 1st time. But I was more determined this time, and after an hour or two of trying and gradually learning I finally got it. The worst part of that fight is the button pressing sequence to skip all the dialogue and cutscenes. Woops, you jumped the gun and pressed start while he was talking , not x. Now restart the conversation, make sure you press the right button to skip the dialogue, and THEN you can press start to skip the cutscene. Ughh. Still, great fight once you start to figure it out

So I made my way through the last area, which is pretty great and (with the help of a wiki) mopped up a bunch of side stuff. And then I ran into

Spoiler: Late game bosses

Owl round 2 and Demon of Hatred

They took me back to the banging my head against a wall feeling that you often get, repeatedly trying bosses for hours on end, thinking your getting somewhere but not really, that these game often get out of me (Hi Dancer!). DoH especially took a lot of trial and error. Despite countless attempts though, I felt like i was making steady progress. There was just 1 or 2 moves he would use, that took me way too long learning how to deal with properly. He d.e.d now though.

And now, all thats left is the final boss. I tried him a handful of times. Phase 1's easy enough even though I died a couple of times, but that was me being too lazy and/or overly aggressive after hours on DoH. Didn't even get through phase 2 yet but I can tell this one's prob gunna take a while. DoH used up all my energy for 1 day of Sekiro'ing, so I'll attempt to properly learn him tomorrow. I did watch 1 or two cheesey ways to beat him on the You tube, but I do sorta wanna man fight him properly, so...

Anyway that was longer then planned, but just wanted to bang out some thoughts after the last few days embroiled in this ripper of a game. I'll need to give it a bit of time (as well as actually beat it) but right now I'm thinking it's right there with Bloodborne as Froms best work. Even thinking about going for the plat which is something I rarely do.

 

[Jotakori]

Welp, I've made it all the way to

Spoiler: ending-related boss

Father Owl, and just fuck me. Shinobi Owl was hard, but I could tell right away there was a pattern I'd be able to get eventually, and I did! Father Owl tho........ ahahahaha ಥ‿ಥ (just kill me now)
I feel like I'm just continuously bashing myself against a brick wall here. His patterns are harder for me to get down than even Genichiro's, and I've already given in and watched a few guide videos for it. Yet I can't even manage to get him to half health on even his first bar lololol. This dude is just wrecking me. I can already tell this fight is gonna take me days to get through, ugh. orz
Funny thing is I don't even plan to go for this ending, I'm just a stubborn ass who wants to beat him for completionist's sake and to say I could.

 

[deepFlaw]

Welp, I've made it all the way to

Spoiler: ending-related boss

Father Owl, and just fuck me. Shinobi Owl was hard, but I could tell right away there was a pattern I'd be able to get eventually, and I did! Father Owl tho........ ahahahaha ಥ‿ಥ (just kill me now)
I feel like I'm just continuously bashing myself against a brick wall here. His patterns are harder for me to get down than even Genichiro's, and I've already given in and watched a few guide videos for it. Yet I can't even manage to get him to half health on even his first bar lololol. This dude is just wrecking me. I can already tell this fight is gonna take me days to get through, ugh. orz
Funny thing is I don't even plan to go for this ending, I'm just a stubborn ass who wants to beat him for completionist's sake and to say I could.

Click to shrink...

Maybe not the most helpful advice, but...

Spoiler: This boss

Do you plan to do everything else in the game too? If so, have you done most of it yet?

I had a lot of trouble, spending a few hours and only ever getting him somewhat into the second bar a few times. But then I left him for second to last, right before the last boss, which meant gaining I think +2 attack and the remaining one or two prayer necklaces before I came back. That helped a ton, cause I could actually do decent amounts of posture damage and get a blow that way rather than depending purely on draining health.

So I'm someone who tends to just bash up against bosses too, but in this case if you've still got other bosses available, it may be best to go kill some of them before returning.

 

[Noema]

Welp, I've made it all the way to

Spoiler: ending-related boss

Father Owl, and just fuck me. Shinobi Owl was hard, but I could tell right away there was a pattern I'd be able to get eventually, and I did! Father Owl tho........ ahahahaha ಥ‿ಥ (just kill me now)
I feel like I'm just continuously bashing myself against a brick wall here. His patterns are harder for me to get down than even Genichiro's, and I've already given in and watched a few guide videos for it. Yet I can't even manage to get him to half health on even his first bar lololol. This dude is just wrecking me. I can already tell this fight is gonna take me days to get through, ugh. orz
Funny thing is I don't even plan to go for this ending, I'm just a stubborn ass who wants to beat him for completionist's sake and to say I could.

Click to shrink...

Ah, one of my favorite fights in the game. It's not so bad once you learn it.

Spoiler

It clicked for me when I stopped being afraid and I just walked towards him, took a couple of swings until he deflected, deflected his counter and then waited to see what he would do next. If he throws the Firecrackers (he'll always follow up his combo with the shoulder charge with Firecrackers), dodge forward to your right and you'll end up behind him, and he'll be open for an Ichiminji or whatever you want to do. Works 100% of the time.

If he jumps away and throws firecrackers at mid-distance he'll almost always do a thrust, or (more rarely) a running sweep. Tapping dodge will always be the right answer because if he thrusts, you mikiri; if he sweeps, you'll dodge and end up behind him.

For the second phase, if he does the Owl teleportation, just run away to the opposite end of the arena. You'll have a few seconds to catch him on his recovery once he reappears. If he does the flame+perilous attack, jump in place over the flame and then time (don't mash) your mikiri counter.

Again, be aggressive. Take the fight to him. Walk up to him and hit him until he deflects.

It's very important to deal vitality damage to him as well, since he has the second hight posture recovery rate, only behind the Ghost Corrupted Monk. Confetti helps since you'll deal chip damage even if he blocks.

 

[Solus]

Spoiler: Late game

Is it possible for me to still unlock that boss? Father Owl I mean. I'm pretty sure I'm near the end now. There's Genichiro, which I guess is the last boss, there's an extremely unforgiving red-eyed samurai in Ashina Castle, a spear samurai in the reservoir, a few Headless, a Shichimen warrior and Demon of Hatred left. I think I did pretty much everything else (that's possible). I'm guessing the final boss will take me a while so I went through everything again. Killed the snake, found the 2nd Ape (which I surprisingly killed first try) and now have 10 Gourds, 18 vitality (2 prayer beads and I guess I can get another two from the samurai) and 11 attack.

As for Father Owl, from what I understand I had to eavesdrop on Kuro early on in the game? Which is only possible during a certain moment and if you lean up against a certain wall? That's how they handle whole endings in a 50+ hour game? Some obscure nonsense that can be easily missed early in the game? And all these key-items I found are for an even more obscure ending? And I'm locked out of both already? That's ridiculously unsatisfying and I have no idea why they would handle it like that. At least I made the right choice at the Owl fight I suppose. I think I missed most of the NPC stuff too, which I guess happened to me in the DS games too. It's like they want us to go in blind (so you don't ruin the surprises) and at the same time play this with a guide (so you don't miss everything). Strange and anticlimactic design choice really. It's still a great game though.

Hopefully Genichiro isn't going to take too long. I've heard some complaints so I'm fearing the worst but I'm kind of ready to end it now.

 

[Red Liquorice]

Spoiler: Re: above question

I can't remember what the cut off point is for returning to Hirata Estate for the 2nd Owl fight, but you might've gone past it because it involves eavesdropping on Emma and the Sculptor and then speaking to Emma to get the Father's Bell Charm that you use on the statue the same way you did with the one you got from the old woman to get to Hirata originally. Since you've triggered the DoH fight, I think that might be the cut off point since Sculptor is no longer at the hub.

 

[Solus]

Spoiler: Late game

I see, thanks. I never got the eavesdropping prompt for that. I saw her sit plenty of times with the sculptor, but maybe I needed to lean against a wall first. Or maybe it needed to be done right in-between defeating Owl and heading to the Fountainhead Palace, but I think Emma moved back to Kuro at that point already. The sculptor disappeared right after the Divine Dragon fight. Maybe I missed something earlier that caused that entire sequence to be skipped. It's a little infuriating to say the least, I kind of would've liked to have seen everything before I moved on, but alas. I think I'll be mopping up the final Headless later today, get the final 2 prayer beads from both samurai and then start working on the final boss, which hopefully doesn't take too long. Perhaps I'll be in the mood to go for NG+ and unlock the other endings, but I doubt it. I might just Youtube the other endings (something I never do) and leave a replay for another time.

 

[Red Liquorice]

Spoiler: re: above

Deafeating Divine Dragon yes I think you're right that's the cut-off point. Eavesdropping on Emma and the Sculptor you have to do around the back of the hut, there's a little window and the prompt comes up. I agree it's pretty byzantine, but all the games are that way, you do kind of have to spoil yourself on the methods if you do want to do every thing on a first playthrough unfortunately. DoH and the final boss are amazing and tough, you still have some fun fights ahead!

Spoilered.

 

[deepFlaw]

Spoiler: All this stuff, which I feel you really should be tagging

You have to listen to Kuro first to get Emma to be with the sculptor again. I agree that it's not obvious - I'm someone who tries to explore every nook and cranny, and I'd never thought to go behind the wall behind the incense table. You need to do that to eavesdrop on him.

You may still be able to unlock the other non-default ending if you've gotten far enough down the path to it already. Not 100% sure of the point you have to have gotten to before now, but I think it's kinda early in that process so there's a chance...

 

[Solus]

Sorry about that. Usage was inconsistent for a while now and I guess I forgot about it. I've tagged them now.

Spoiler: Late game

Thanks, I might try to see if I can get the other ending still. I'll have to look up how exactly.
In the meanwhile I got 2 more prayer beads to get my VIT to 19 and gave Demon of Hatred and Genichiro a few shots.

After a dozen or so attempts Demon of Hatred seems doable as long as I manage to stay behind his legs, but one slip up and there's a big chance he kills me outright. He does stupid amounts of damage and that charge attack is just ridiculous. Also unsure how to deal with that slash that engulfs everything in his 2nd phase. I almost got to his last phase once, but most of the time I don't even get through the first.

Genichiro I somehow perfected on the first try haha. But then there is Isshin. I think I got about 2 hits in. Tried him again and I think I got about 3 hits in. Holy hell he might just be a little too much. I'm not sure I have the patience/perseverance for this. :(

 

[deepFlaw]

I don't blame you in that you're hardly the only one talking about certain boss names openly, the final boss in particular for better or worse. If anything I just feel like the direct order of things is what people still wouldn't necessarily know even if they got spoiled for names.

EDIT: also, some brief thoughts regarding those bosses, without saying much about further than you are on them; if anything, just has a small tip for the first of those two

Spoiler: End game

for DoH I'll say I personally didn't try to stay behind as much as I just sorta uhhh stood in front and attacked his crotch? deflecting/dodging around his attacks then as needed, but it took some time to go from handling certain attacks ok out of instinct -> "well, now that I'm thinking about this too much I started eating the same attacks now" -> handling it well intentionally

that charge attack took fucking forever to train myself to deal with, yup, I kept holding O too out of habit which of course delays you actually jumping

and I also handled Gen ok-ish and then immediately got fucking destroyed to a laughable degree by Isshin the first time

which is to say: you can absolutely do it, you'll definitely get to a point where you can even perfect that first bar of his too! frankly by the end I was making way more mistakes on Gen, to the point that I'm pretty certain a large portion of my attempts were just false starts that I let end there

he really is not as bad as people make him out to be imo, and I think even being down 1 attack and vitality should not change that horribly; if you've gotten to this point, you can do it

 

[AndrewGPK]

Welp, I've made it all the way to

Spoiler: ending-related boss

Father Owl, and just fuck me. Shinobi Owl was hard, but I could tell right away there was a pattern I'd be able to get eventually, and I did! Father Owl tho........ ahahahaha ಥ‿ಥ (just kill me now)
I feel like I'm just continuously bashing myself against a brick wall here. His patterns are harder for me to get down than even Genichiro's, and I've already given in and watched a few guide videos for it. Yet I can't even manage to get him to half health on even his first bar lololol. This dude is just wrecking me. I can already tell this fight is gonna take me days to get through, ugh. orz
Funny thing is I don't even plan to go for this ending, I'm just a stubborn ass who wants to beat him for completionist's sake and to say I could.

Click to shrink...

Let me know if you need any help. I've posted some guides for him like 10-20 pages back on this thread. He's got a large variety of moves, but most of it can be countered. Its actually a really great fight.

 

[SunhiLegend]

 

[Jotakori]

Maybe not the most helpful advice, but...

Spoiler: This boss

Do you plan to do everything else in the game too? If so, have you done most of it yet?

I had a lot of trouble, spending a few hours and only ever getting him somewhat into the second bar a few times. But then I left him for second to last, right before the last boss, which meant gaining I think +2 attack and the remaining one or two prayer necklaces before I came back. That helped a ton, cause I could actually do decent amounts of posture damage and get a blow that way rather than depending purely on draining health.

So I'm someone who tends to just bash up against bosses too, but in this case if you've still got other bosses available, it may be best to go kill some of them before returning.

Click to shrink...

Yeah, I actually do have a handful of other things I could be doing. I've been slooowwwwllly getting better at the fight, though, so I haven't quite given up yet. But push comes to shove I'll try collecting more memories and beads and come back later. My stubborn streak is very wide when it comes to games, though. 😂

Ah, one of my favorite fights in the game. It's not so bad once you learn it.

Spoiler

It clicked for me when I stopped being afraid and I just walked towards him, took a couple of swings until he deflected, deflected his counter and then waited to see what he would do next. If he throws the Firecrackers (he'll always follow up his combo with the shoulder charge with Firecrackers), dodge forward to your right and you'll end up behind him, and he'll be open for an Ichiminji or whatever you want to do. Works 100% of the time.

If he jumps away and throws firecrackers at mid-distance he'll almost always do a thrust, or (more rarely) a running sweep. Tapping dodge will always be the right answer because if he thrusts, you mikiri; if he sweeps, you'll dodge and end up behind him.

For the second phase, if he does the Owl teleportation, just run away to the opposite end of the arena. You'll have a few seconds to catch him on his recovery once he reappears. If he does the flame+perilous attack, jump in place over the flame and then time (don't mash) your mikiri counter.

Again, be aggressive. Take the fight to him. Walk up to him and hit him until he deflects.

It's very important to deal vitality damage to him as well, since he has the second hight posture recovery rate, only behind the Ghost Corrupted Monk. Confetti helps since you'll deal chip damage even if he blocks.

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Spoiler: ending-related boss

I've tried the aggressive method with him after watching some guide videos also suggesting that but I just couldn't seem to establish a good rhythm with it. x__x
So far I've been having the best results with a more patient, react to him him then strike during his openings method. I've managed to get him to phase two a few times now, so I think I'm getting closer! Just gotta perfect my reactions; that damn shuriken throw followed by the sweep has such a weird timing I mess up my dodge step half the dang time lol. Firecrackers get me a lot, too. I prefer jumping back then dashing back in for a swipe, cuz I have a hard time dodging into it, but friggin' RIP me when he does it and I accidentally back into a pillar or a wall LOL. Those damn pillars have been the cause for at least a quarter of my deaths, I stg. I'll get that sucker eventually, though!

Let me know if you need any help. I've posted some guides for him like 10-20 pages back on this thread. He's got a large variety of moves, but most of it can be countered. Its actually a really great fight.

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Thanks dude, I'll check those out! I think I understand majority of his moves now, it's just a long learning process. Sekiro's biggest boss isn't the actual bosses, it's my own awful reaction time. 😂

 

[Boddy]

Really tried to get in the game, but I can't stand the combat system.
Figured this would happen, not a fan of parry mechanics at all. Never really used the gun in bloodborne either.
Here is pretty much the only viable option in every fight.

Also don't like just how hard enemies hit (welp there goes 80%-90% of my hp) or how many mini bosses there are.

 

[Solus]

I don't blame you in that you're hardly the only one talking about certain boss names openly, the final boss in particular for better or worse. If anything I just feel like the direct order of things is what people still wouldn't necessarily know even if they got spoiled for names.

EDIT: also, some brief thoughts regarding those bosses, without saying much about further than you are on them; if anything, just has a small tip for the first of those two

Spoiler: End game

for DoH I'll say I personally didn't try to stay behind as much as I just sorta uhhh stood in front and attacked his crotch? deflecting/dodging around his attacks then as needed, but it took some time to go from handling certain attacks ok out of instinct -> "well, now that I'm thinking about this too much I started eating the same attacks now" -> handling it well intentionally

that charge attack took fucking forever to train myself to deal with, yup, I kept holding O too out of habit which of course delays you actually jumping

and I also handled Gen ok-ish and then immediately got fucking destroyed to a laughable degree by Isshin the first time

which is to say: you can absolutely do it, you'll definitely get to a point where you can even perfect that first bar of his too! frankly by the end I was making way more mistakes on Gen, to the point that I'm pretty certain a large portion of my attempts were just false starts that I let end there

he really is not as bad as people make him out to be imo, and I think even being down 1 attack and vitality should not change that horribly; if you've gotten to this point, you can do it

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Spoiler: End game

Your vote of confidence motivated me to try them again, but I don't know if I can keep going at it. I gave DoH a few more attempts but I don't seem to be making much progress. I got through the first phase quite cleanly a few times, as long as I don't get unlucky and die instantly, but I can't seem to get through his 2nd phase. Even though it's mostly the same, the few extra attacks he has just do an insane amount of damage. And I haven't even seen his final phase.
As for Isshin, I actually got through his first round decently a few times, but then he just adds another layer of crazy attacks. Dude just had to bring a gun and what the hell up with the range on that spear? And of course he still has another phase after this.
So I don't know if I have the motivation for this. I love the game, but I can already tell it'll probably take quite a few more attempts/hours before I'll even get close.

Oh and I tried to do complete the steps for the other ending, but unfortunately it's not possible. Without knowing I actually completed a whole bunch of them already, but at a certain point I get "Rice for Kuro" which of course I can't give to Kuro anymore.

 

[deepFlaw]

Spoiler: End game

Your vote of confidence motivated me to try them again, but I don't know if I can keep going at it. I gave DoH a few more attempts but I don't seem to be making much progress. I got through the first phase quite cleanly a few times, as long as I don't get unlucky and die instantly, but I can't seem to get through his 2nd phase. Even though it's mostly the same, the few extra attacks he has just do an insane amount of damage. And I haven't even seen his final phase.
As for Isshin, I actually got through his first round decently a few times, but then he just adds another layer of crazy attacks. Dude just had to bring a gun and what the hell up with the range on that spear? And of course he still has another phase after this.
So I don't know if I have the motivation for this. I love the game, but I can already tell it'll probably take quite a few more attempts/hours before I'll even get close.

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Mostly some more specific small tips for the first one this time.

Spoiler: End game

I'm trying to think of what he actually adds in phase 2. The much bigger flame attack towards you, and the flame spirit things? I think in both cases I just ran/jumped to the side (rather, in a wide circle around him) and then used the grapple after the big flame if possible. Tool-wise I'd really recommend the fire umbrella if you aren't already using it; let me just entirely not have to care about certain attacks, and could also save me from taking some big hits if I realized a mistake in time.

Isshin's second phase does suck; I never really felt like I had it totally down, and just had to manage what I could while powering through (though sometimes that went very well). But I'll just say that the third phase... it's not worse, and you can get through it fast, in my opinion. I only ever got to it a few times but didn't need more than that to finish it.

 

[Solus]

Spoiler: end game

Yeah I noticed that big flame towards you from DoH in his 2nd phase can be jumped. I tried to dodge/outrun it at first, but that didn't seem to work. The main problem is more that just one tiny slip up can get you instantly killed. And regularly it's from silly things like the camera fucking you over. The same goes for Isshin. It's just a little too much having to go through 3/4 phases nearly perfectly. It's hard to tell how many more attempts/hours I'll need for this and my motivation is dwindling. Perhaps I should give it a rest and try again tomorrow.

 

[AndrewGPK]

On DoH, if you will click the Threadmarks button at the bottom of the thread, there is a really good guide linked there by a poster earlier in the thread.

 

[Jotakori]

Yaaasssssss, I did it!!!

Spoiler: boss names (ending related)

Father Owl is no god damn more!! Ha, take that, you feathery asshole!
My final run was pretty flawless (for me), too. I only used two or so gourd heals and I managed it without needing to resurrect! And immediately after I went to clean up some loose ends and friggin' mopped the floor with the headless ape and the snake eyes gal in the gun fort in one fell swoop. Ha ha!!

I feel so powerful at the moment! Nothing shall stop me now!! (I say, before progressing the story and inevitably coming across the next boss that kills me 30+ times before I manage it lol.)

 

[deepFlaw]

Yaaasssssss, I did it!!!

Spoiler: boss names (ending related)

Father Owl is no god damn more!! Ha, take that, you feathery asshole!
My final run was pretty flawless (for me), too. I only used two or so gourd heals and I managed it without needing to resurrect! And immediately after I went to clean up some loose ends and friggin' mopped the floor with the headless ape and the snake eyes gal in the gun fort in one fell swoop. Ha ha!!

I feel so powerful at the moment! Nothing shall stop me now!! (I say, before progressing the story and inevitably coming across the next boss that kills me 30+ times before I manage it lol.)

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Oh, damn, you'd not even done those yet?

Congrats, gosh.

 

[Jotakori]

Oh, damn, you'd not even done those yet?

Congrats, gosh.

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Thanks! And LOL yeah, I had skipped them before cuz I did the depths first and just ran past the other one at the time. But decided I wanted to go back for the beads and memory before moving on to the final stretch of the game.

 

[AndrewGPK]

Congrats Jotakori.

I think that''s my second favorite boss fight in the game (my favorite is the last boss, but this boss was a less stressful process for me - difficulty wise I probably rank him about 4th). I actually really liked the progression of learning that fight. Every time I tried and failed I felt like I'd learn one more thing about his moveset and then get farther along the next time. By the last run it was almost like I was running on autopilot and instinct - he's throwing all these different moves at me and I'm countering everything.