Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice

[Strafe]

18 hours ago, MardiganX said:

 

My overarching point is most of the time I have absolutely no idea where I am meant to be going and I really like that, but potentially missing out on very important upgrade items because you have no idea some sections even exist is a bit shit. Are we meant to consult a guide to ensure we get everything or just hope our wandering hits the majority of what we need to remain competitive?

I used a guide for some of the more obscure bits on my first play through, thinking it was all just hidden secrets. On my second play through I realised that you get told everything more or less and you just need to pay attention. Granted, this was with the benefit of hindsight but still. I’m pretty sure that the vast majority of important pointers from NPC’s repeat but still don’t skip through the chat as you’ll miss stuff.

[MardiganX]

I ventured into the Sunken Valley a bit last night but pulled back before I got to what I think was a mini-boss area. Still picked up a Gourd Seed for my trouble so that was nice.

 

Spoiler

I'm not back at the top of the Castle where I took out the Samurai mini-boss in his dojo. He was pretty easy after I worked out his charge attack deflection window  there is talk of lightning now adding another layer to things. Wonderful!

 

 

[MardiganX]

You know what, you can all go and fuck yourself. All this encouraging discussion, congrats on beating this guy, well done on taking that one, why dont you try this. All lubing me up for

Spoiler

my rematch with Genechiro and the madness that he produces.

 

NOPE!

 

You know why Sekiro has single handedly absolved From all its wrong doings in previous games, because even coming up against an enemy like this I actually feel powerful. I feel like I am entirely in control of what happens to me and all the things I have dealt with up to this point have been essentially a tutorial for the real game starting. On my second attempt I almost had his first posture bar done after somehow being able to deflect a flurry of consecutive attacks. I didnt know it was coming but I instinctively knew what to do. Maybe I hit deflect a few more times than I needed in a panic, who cares. I looked like a fucking Shinobi Ghost Avenger

 

Until I didnt and I got split in half of course. But I'm straight back in and no matter how many deaths I incur I will just keep rising and playing. Still not gaming perfection but as close as a From game can come to it I think now!

[Strafe]

He’s the best fight in the game, IMO. It’s not like the game dips at that point but once you’ve done him you feel ready for it all.

[JPL]

Yeah, as strafe says, that’s the turning point where you’ll feel really powerful when you beat him. And as you say, everything up to this point has really been the intro, the real Sekiro starts here.

[Talvalin]

43 minutes ago, Strafe said:

I think so, if the person carrying them dies.

 

There's also a NPC vendor who moves after you've spent a certain amount of Sen with him, but after that he stops being a vendor so any unique items that can no longer be bought will be available to buy from that box.

[Talvalin]

4 minutes ago, JPL said:

Yeah, as strafe says, that’s the turning point where you’ll feel really powerful when you beat him. And as you say, everything up to this point has really been the intro, the real Sekiro starts here.

 

At which point did you stop playing? TrueAchievements says that you beat the Hirata Estate and Temple bosses so I'm going to take a guess and say that you stopped at

 

Spoiler

The Owl fight at the top of Ashina Castle?

 

[JPL]

8 minutes ago, Talvalin said:

 

At which point did you stop playing? TrueAchievements says that you beat the Hirata Estate and Temple bosses so I'm going to take a guess and say that you stopped at

 

  Hide contents

The Owl fight at the top of Ashina Castle?

 

Spoiler

Guardian Ape

 

I'd pretty much got his attack patterns down and I could have done him, but other things came up and I stopped playing for a while. I'd lost all my skills when I went back to it. I really should start again and I think I will after I'm done with Elden Ring.

[MardiganX]

"Impressive, Shinobi of the Divine Heir"

 

Spoiler

Yes muther fucker, thats what you g... 😟

 

😯

 

😬

 

😖

 

💀

 

 

[robdood]

Hehe you got this @MardiganX!

 

He's my favourite boss inasmuch as once you learned to beat him, the game can really go full power against you because your training wheels are off. 

 

Godspeed, it only gets more epic from here! 

[MardiganX]

I tried to post the clip of me taking down his first health bar on the run where he fell because it actually made me moist, but (probably for the best) it was too big to share

 

Fucking. Hell!!

 

I remember watching videos of that fight years ago and thinking it looked like it was an AI playing the way things were being deflected and countered, but it turns out that was there for me all along. In the end I had a small bit of health left but the times where I lost health were because I got greedy and lost discipline. At points I was in another state of mind as I could read absolutely everything, even the variations in his perilous attacks. I will go back to that fight so many times, but for now I'm just going to take a moment and enjoy the few hours I've had today. 

[robdood]

I need to play this game through again and make a guide. There are so many bits popping back into my mind that would help people figure it out. 

 

@MardiganX you mentioned that against the longswordman you would change your tactic after he proper deflected you.  That's the key to genichiro. It's the key to any encounter in the game.  

 

When there's a gap in combat, throw out an attack.  The enemy's response is so much more predicable after they block attacks! 

 

 

[Talvalin]

Just gave Genichiro a battering on my second attempt, as well as doing the Ashina Elite mini-boss in the dojo to get my final Prayer Bead. If you mistime the deflection, the Ashina Elite's Ashina Cross does a ridiculous amount of damage and it felt like I had less time to react than with the final boss's equivalent move.

 

As for Genichiro, I was too aggressive on my first couple of attempts and got clobbered as I forgot how much posture damage he would do, then I would stupidly try to back off to recover my posture whilst he was still attacking and took a lot of damage.

 

Third time was the charm though. Managed a couple of reversals as well, which I hadn't got the hang of first time around, so I was happy with that. Not sure which direction to go in next. I could go to Ashina Depths first this time around, but that means no Mortal Blade so I think it's Senpou Temple next. Or I could go to the Hirata Estate to beat the boss and get the Memory. Decisions decisions.

[MardiganX]

By the final run on Genechiro I was deflecting or reversing everything. EVERYTHING. I even figured out the tells on the sweep and thrust attacks so could reverse either of them when they appeared.  There is a ‘no damage’ run there for me when I go back to him,

Spoiler

at least on his first form,

but today I’m going to press on with some new areas  weirdly the final piece of the puzzle was deflecting his full arrow flurry, as for so long I was too slow to react to the slightly different jump back he does before it.

 

I have pretty much the same options as you @Talvalin but I’ve made some progress on the Depths and Hirata Estate so not having to do the full runs of each of them, wherever I go. The most important thing is I’m not afraid anymore. I know I’m not going to get to a point where I get bored of the death cycle and I’m no longer worried about what new enemies I may face. No doubt they are going to be savage and rip me to pieces so many times, but unlike every other From game for me Sekiro gives you the tools to be faster, deadlier and more powerful than every enemy you face. You just have to be willing to do things that every other action game you’ve ever played has trained you NOT to do.

[Talvalin]

The biggest pain about dying is losing half of the XP in your skill bar, so to avoid that being an issue, I would grind a bit to hit the next skill point, purchase a skill and then go merrily exploring or taking on mini-bosses and bosses without worrying about dying. Embarrassingly enough, I did not realise that once you get enough XP to reach the next Skill Point, those accumulated points are banked and are unaffected by dying until very late in the game. Oops.

 

Losing sen is annoying at the start, but at some point (and with the purchase of some passive skills after finding an item in the temple) you'll have more sen than you know what to do with. I do recommend buying up purses to bank your cash whenever you see a merchant selling them. You have to pay a 10% surcharge (eg: a small purse saves 100 sen, but costs 110 sen) but it's worth it to avoid losing all of that stolen hard-won cash.

[MardiganX]

I currently have 3 skills points banked progressing toward a certain 5 point skill that seems absolutely essential, so will do that farming you mention for a little bit. It’s not a issue or a complaint but Wolf’s ability to deflect everything and be so aggressive at the same time makes so many of the skill and prosthetic options seem redundant. 

[Talvalin]

I have to admit not using all that many of the Combat Arts. I prioritised getting passive skills that improved the Healing Gourd's potency, increased posture damage given after a Mikiri Counter and reduced posture damage taken. The skill that gives you health back after a Deathblow I only got quite late into the game, but in hindsight I should have got that as early as possible since it would have allowed me to explore for longer between Sculptor's Idols. That said, remember that the Homeward Idol costs nothing to use and there's no shame in bugging out of an area if you can't find another Idol, have no healing gourds left and there are still tough enemies in the area.

 

As for the Prosthetic Tool, the Shuriken is useful for jumping enemies (more of those to come later), and the flaming Loaded Axe absolutely destroys some of the phantom type enemies in Ashina Depths. The skill that allows you to do a follow-up attack after using the Prosthetic Tool is also useful since you get a second attack after using the Tool without using any Spirit Emblems. For some reason, that follow-up attack has two separate skills that affect different weapons. The one for the Umbrella will be very useful for two types of mini-bosses that inflict Terror status on you, once you've upgraded as far as the Lotus Umbrella.

 

Although, those particular bosses can be left until the end-game, so there's no desperate need to get that upgrade and the skill to go with it.

[MardiganX]

Kuro - “How many times have you died and come back for my sake? Two, three times?”

 

  

 

Mate!

[MardiganX]

3 more mini-bosses down but not able to close the shutters on either GA or LB. Both of their 2nd forms are skelping me but LB has been very close a couple of times. Also ventured up Mount Kongo a bit but after a few painful ambushes by the locals I went another way, haha. 
 

I want to complete Hirata Estate before I press on with anything else so when I get back on LB is the focus. Her 2nd form is reminding me of everything I ended up hating in previous From games but I’m hoping it’s just a momentary dip.

[Strafe]

I didn’t think you could get to mount Kongo before doing GA.

[MardiganX]

25 minutes ago, Strafe said:

I didn’t think you could get to mount Kongo before doing GA.

I couldn’t even explain to you how I got there  I remember more or less running through what seemed like a sewer / dungeon type area and then getting to a section that I think led to the start of Mount Kongo. That was all before I even went anywhere near the Sunken Valley. 

[Kayin Amoh]

Yeah, you just turn left at the inner gates to Ashina castle and you can get there easily enough. Maybe he's thinking of Sunken Valley.

 

Also, I'm totally done with not saying boss names in From games for some unknown reason. There's only a few across the whole spectrum I could see as being worth hiding for spoiler reasons (Y'know, Moonlight Butterfly and that type). For instance, it's a bit of a given that you're going to fight the guy you already fought earlier on at some point.

 

 

[Strafe]

Probably sunken valley that you need the key for?

[Number 28]

6 hours ago, Strafe said:

I didn’t think you could get to mount Kongo before doing GA.

This Reddit thread lays out just how much is possible before beating GA. Once you pass BB I think most of the game is unlocked.

https://old.reddit.com/r/Sekiro/comments/benciw/everything_possible_before_genichiro/

[MardiganX]

Lady fucking bastard spam spam Butterfly done. Amazingly, on 2 occasions I got her to the 2nd deathblow but then got wiped out just as I was trying to execute the deathblow  that was a whole new level of 🤬 but, she fell in the end. Working on the Sunken Valley boss now and when I purchase some more spirit emblems (because I've recently used about 300 shurikens) he shouldnt be too much trouble.

[MardiganX]

Sunken Valley boss done. Palace of Illusion boss done. Several mini bosses done. Not sure where I am meant to go now as the paths open to me don’t seem very clear but every bit of it has been incredible.

 

Spoiler

Guardian Ape was devastating me but after taking a break and powering up a little by doing up to the folding monkeys I went back and took him out fairly easily. Didn’t even have to use the Mortal Blade. 

 

it’s crazy how something or someone that has been leathering you for hours is a completely different prospect when you take a little break from it to try something different. 

[PikaStu]

I’m falling behind on this, not been able to play much recently, but I’ve got as far as the

Spoiler

flaming bull

and finding it’s another sticking point. Again, I know what I should be doing, it just doesn’t ever seem to go my way 😂

[Talvalin]

1 hour ago, PikaStu said:

I’m falling behind on this, not been able to play much recently, but I’ve got as far as the

  Hide contents

flaming bull

and finding it’s another sticking point. Again, I know what I should be doing, it just doesn’t ever seem to go my way 😂

There's an attack where it charges you, putting its head down before flicking upwards to toss you into the air. You can deflect that attack which will stun it so you can attack the head which does much more damage than other parts of the body

 

That plus firecrackers will see you through.

[MardiganX]

Well, I guess this it it. I've encountered and not only beaten but demolished all manner of ridiculous enemies, tooled myself up to the best of my knowledge and have arrived at what appears to be the final set piece / boss. Its been an absolutely thrilling, empowering and rewarding experience, which is no doubt all about to be undone by the fucking madness that I still have to face  But like every other battle that started with me saying out loud "Eh... NOPE!", I will succeed.

 

Spoiler

So Genechiro in his final form is a piece of piss. Allowing you to be overwhelmingly aggressive and recycling a lot of what he has produced before. I suppose it makes sense given its the equivalent of a soup starter with Ishin The Sword Cunt being the main meal. I've yet to make a serious dent in his first form and have been skelped around about 10 times so far, but one thing is clear... this battle is going to be looooooong and will require every ounce of patience and discipline I have. I have no idea what, if any prosthetics or sword arts should be getting used as he just seems to give zero fucks about any attack I produce. Its going to be epic when it all comes together. For now, I'm strapping in for more deaths than Major Bill Cage

 

I've never completed a From game. I dont think I've ever even reached the mid-point in any of them for the reasons I have shared lots of times, but Sekiro is different. Souls games have always felt to me like your combat abilities are constrained to make it more difficult, forcing you to max out a particular character type at the expense of providing a really enjoyable and deep system that rewards practice. Sekiro does exactly that. Its still not for everyone of course, because it does require practice and lots of it, but it gives you everything you need to be absolutely deadly. For me I had to unlearn so many things that have been deeply rooted in my action game habits and when I eventually got my head around it I was in love. I'm not sure if Sekiro 2 is even a thing but if it is then it is one of my most anticipated games of all time alongside the inevitable sequels to Returnal and Death Stranding

 

[Talvalin]

You can do it! The best is yet to come btw.

 

On a related note, you should be able to resurrect three times now (assuming you beat Lady Butterfly and gave the item you received to Kuro), but only one of those resurrections is refreshed by resting at a Sculptor's Idol - the other two require you to kill enemies to fill up the icon for each resurrection.

 

I strongly recommend that you practice until you can get to the final boss's second phase without resurrecting, because you are going to need those other two resurrections later on, and there's nothing worse than getting a boss close to death, dying and then realising you've already used your "free" resurrection but haven't killed enough enemies to use your other resurrections.

 

Spoiler

Btw, have you beaten the Demon of Hatred? If not then you might want to get that of the way before the final true boss since it could leave a bad taste in your mouth.

 

PS Props for the Edge of Tomorrow reference.