Multi Platform Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice

[Darth Maul]

Yeah, if you eavesdrop enemies in the game, you get a lot of tips. It kind of takes the place of the “messages.” I’ve been exploring a lot, so I’m only missing the last two tools.

By the way, I beat the Ashina Elite guy. He is so damn fast that even with the umbrella... I used four healing gourds and nearly had to revive because he hit me coming out of a block after I took my umbrella down. He might be the fastest boss I’ve ever fought. I’ve died the most to him now, mostly because he can instakill you if you revive close to him.

The samurai in the tower are great practice by the way. Probably better than the useless dummy guy. I’ve been trying to get parrying down in-between offensive strikes. It’s tough, but if you can manage to parry after a swing, you can back off and wait for their retaliation and get another deflection almost immediately. And then you can get in their face and attack and block their next few strikes until they become posture broken.

Sadly, this tactic is less effective against bosses. They still fuck your face like a gloryhole.

 

[Sexual Tyrannosaurus]

Well I played it up to defeating the infamous ogre boss everyone is going on about! My goal was to make it there in one sitting lol.

Thoughts so far:

It's more like bloodborne than DeS/DS, however where BB really only had dodging and attacking and the gun moves, this is more of what I wished BB was like. There is actually some kind of detail to the swordplay, instead of just doing the same thing over and over, even if it might feel unintuitive at first.

The game was super easy up till the first general who I died to 3 times (I never used the resurrect to slow the dragonrot). Then I realized his guard break was barely going up and it clicked to me how this game is meant to be played. It's pure aggression, the opposite of From's games so far. He was super easy after that.

Face some more easy normies, started the Estate level but didn't finish it yet (really liked the music and level in flames here)

Got up to the Ogre. Now I can see why people are having trouble with this guy - the whole game so far has been playing one way and he has to be dealt with in a completely different manner. Fighting him is like fighting in BB again, and because of that I found the fight super boring. It was basically just a battle of attrition, perhaps because I didn't get the fire prosthetic you guys were mentioning yet.

But the key to him is just to dodge alot, dash in and hit him twice, then back off again. His jumping throw was fairly dumb because it tracks you, so even though the instructions say to sidestep grabs, I found it easier just to jump back and come in again, he never got me again after that.

On my 3rd attempt I got rid of his first bar flawlessly, but then realized that he recovers alot faster with the 2nd bar. At that point I would only slash once then walk away to be on the safe side as the grab can come out of nowhere.

However when I had almost killed him, he did this bullshit flying grab out of nowhere where he actually levitated off the ground and flew further than usual and killed me .

I used the resurrect for the first time since there was no way I was going through all that again when only one hit was left lol.

Basically - his damage is too high for that stage in the game, as one hit eats 90% of your health, and on top of that, he's unlike any other enemy that came before so he throws you off. I hope the other bosses are more like the generals because those fights are fun, but again I felt the ogre just reduced it to the simplicity and waiting it out feel of BB, which as I noted before, I really disliked.

I definitely like it better than Nioh or BB, but so far it falls below the De/DS series, as it's more repetitive than those games.

Also - I really like the deflect system. The timing is wonky to get down though, as it says to deflect at the last possible second, but the game seems to want you to hit the button slightly before that. I still mess it up all the time.

The Mikiri counter is easier though, as I just fluked out one time and discovered just holding down B has the same effect as parrying on time.

I can't speak to any umbrella stuff or horse bosses etc since I'm not there yet.

But it is as you said, the normal enemies are super easy, and then the bosses are at a whole different level. And I haven't even faced anything outside mini bosses yet.

Also @ Maul: How good did you get at the Kendo in that much time? Did you find it rewarding? Weapons training is something I've been thinking about for awhile now.

And @ Puck: What are your thoughts on the game thus far?

Edit: Damn, that giant snake is creepy as hell

Edit 2: The cave is even creepier

 

[Darth Maul]

The game definitely has flaws in its overall design. It forces you to play a certain way. Great. Okay. Then you are forced to play this other awkward way. Great. Okay.

By the time I got to the fucking Ashina Tower I think I actually got worse at the game, because I started to revert back to how I played dark souls. The traditional samurai absolutely fucked me up. They can block like no ones business and turn your aggression completely against you.

I’ve been using them to retrain myself. They are hands down the only enemies we should be facing on a regular basis. They force you to learn the parry, slash, dodge game.

Can you really hold the B button to use the mikiri counter? I always just tap it as the attack is about to land. It works against all thrusts by the way, not just spears. There’s another unique skill I picked up, but I forget the name. It involves an aerial deathblow. I’ve been trying to execute someone in the air as they leap to me, but haven’t found anyone, who isn’t a boss, that does so.

I was decent for a beginner? We learned most of the basics and I still remember a lot of it. I had just moved into more “advanced” teachings before they decided to move to another city. They wanted more exposure, which is usually the way it works. Being in a big city would attract more students. And money.

Learned more I think from official kendo masters on YouTube though. Especially about the swords themselves. The studio I trained at didn’t really have a vast wealth of knowledge about the katana. They were mostly concerned with just teaching how to defend and fight. Swordfighting is like a dance, after all.

I still have my bokken. It’s a tad beat up, but looks as good as it ever did. Also have the cheap $120 “beater” I intended to eventually train with. I also have a nice $850 sword I got a few years back. Original price was like $1200 at the time, but it was on sale. It’s called the Lion Dog, from Hanwei. Thing is absolutely nasty. I’d never use it (that’s what the beater is for), but it’s the finest piece of cutlery I’ve ever held in my hands.

What cave? Wait... do you mean the dungeon?

 

[Puck]

So I really like this game so far. I keep thinking they'll be a point where I hit a brick wall and won't be able to continue due to difficulty but so far, so good. I do find fighting against multiple enemies at once can be a cluster fuck though since they can just pile on.

The bosses seem to be nearly impossible at first but once you get their patterns down and unlock certain moves, their weaknesses become all too apparent.

I made my way through Ashina castle/dojo to unlock as many idols as I could and and got bodied by Jinsuke like nothing. I missed a vital upgrade (Sabimaru) that can poison and take away his health.


Firstly though I'm going to kill lady butterfly then it's straight back to Jinsuke. I think I nearly got her patterns down now.

Also, how fucking OP is this move?

 

[Sexual Tyrannosaurus]

^Haha, well I won't be looking at those videos. For my first 2 playthroughs I always like to go completely 'pure' to experience it for myself. On second playthrough to see how much I've improved or what has changed/ what new secrets I find. On the third I'll take a look at what other folks' strats and tricks have been, and any things I might have missed (unless a game is something I don't want to play more than twice, in which case I'll check it out after the first)

Glad to hear you like it though, and I agree there are moments when too many enemies can just lock you up if you aggro too many at a time without noticing. I started jumping around like a frog and looking for a grapple point the couple times that happened lol

@Maul, Lol, I actually felt the same. After taking on the ogre boss, there's another general right on the other side of that wall. I felt like I completely forgot how to fight him after the ogre. I had to run away and reset a couple times until I could get back into my old groove. Again, hope there is less BB style of bosses in this game as they really bore me.

As to the cave, I mean the one with that headless monster, in the opposite direction from the snake cliffs. There's that little ledge that you jump at to get there that I almost didn't notice at first till I saw the telltale grabbing marks. Figured I'll take a leap of faith and it did work lol.

But for the headless it turns out I need something to stop terror, as the terror buildup just instantly kills you apparently. Also gonna stock up on some more divine confettis so I can actually hurt it, only have a couple thus far. It has a really weird moveset too and it seems like you're slowed down in it's vicinity.

I'm now at the horseboss and lady butterfly. Will try both later tonight. Once lady butterfly started (last night) I was like 'Oh hell no, I'm too tired for this shit right now, and I don't want to die,' so I just waited till she wall jumped, then hid behind a pillar while she threw the kunai and used the homeward idol rofl. I tried the same thing on the horseboss but he just plows right through the towers lol so I accepted my death there (and luckily got unseen aid)

Turned off the game for the night after that.

And yup, you can just hold down B in the vicinity of the thrust attack and it'll still register, unlike the deflect which has to be bang on.

About the Kendo, damn that sucks. I was looking for a school around here, and like you said, they're all in the city. I'm not going that far for that. Guess you can't blame them for wanting to grow their customer base though.

And I find it's the same in my boxing/muay thai training. The school focuses on the fundamentals of attacking and defense and none of the fancier stuff or advanced moves. I've learned anything extra from youtube videos in the forms of tutorials, or just watching fights in slow mo at the start (though I can watch 'em full speed now)

I have always wanted to learn swordfighting though, and using the katana in particular. Suppose it'll have to wait awhile longer.

I googled the Lion Dog you have and it's a pretty sweet looking instrument. Do you have it mounted on a wall or anything?

 

[Darth Maul]

Almost every boss is a brick wall in this game. I don’t think there’s one I haven’t died to, with the exception of the Shinobi Hunter and the first General early on.

As for the Ashina Elite guy in the dojo, he can body you faster than anything I’ve ever seen in my life. I have the sabimaru, but went with the loaded umbrella tactic. If you activate it slightly before an attack lands, it will cause massive posture damage to Mr Anime. It takes three uses to bust him up. So, twelve total spirit emblems.

I finally beat that asshat Seven Spears. It wasn’t easy. I died twice today. Even reading his moves wasn’t working for me. And the mikiri counter is only good for negating his unblockable and mitigating damage during the fight. You can’t actually get in any hits afterwards.

The problem I was having was that I tried using the firecrackers while he did his spinning windup, in order to get in free hits with Ichimonji Double. However, it’s actually much, much easier to use the loaded axe and followup slice and sometimes you’ll even get a normal melee slash before he resumes blocking.

Still having trouble with the purple fag in the well, even after training all night in the dojo with the topknot samurai. I’m at a point that I can actually take on multiple opponents at a time. You can block attacks from near 180 degrees in front of you. So, if you keep the enemies facing you head on, you should be good.

Sometimes they’ll linger to the sides, but you can still block them. The trick is to switch off the lock-on when you hear the posture break cue from one of them and then free slash at the one that’s got the deathblow icon. I’ve torn that upper tower a new asshole so many times now that I’m bored of it. It’s the place I use to farm for money and skill points though.

Normally I hate looking up shit for games. I absolutely hate it. If it’s possible, I try to play the games blind. Those are usually the more fun experiences for me. The internet age has ruined that old aspect of gaming. Everyone expects you to just fucking YouTube shit now. It’s idiotic.

Sadly, I’ve had to do it for this game. I rarely had to use internet sources for boss encounters in Dark Souls 2 and 3. I think I did look up a lot for Dark Souls 1 though. Demon’s Souls too. Although, there was a lot less to pull from at the time of its release, as YouTube was still young.

I found the cave you were talking about. Just looking at the guy, I decided to turn back. I knew I’d lose that fight. I tried out holding the B button to mikiri counter the purple ninja’s kick. It works, but feels cheap. So, I still just tap it a little in advance. Can’t beat him though. That narrow ass room and hallway are not intuitive to such a fight. I try blocking and deflecting, but end up having the camera shoved down my throat and ultimately die before getting out of the street fighter corner.

I have a sword stand that’s custom fitted with high quality red felt. I’ve got both my swords and bokken on display, in order of deadliness.

 

[Darth Maul]

Okay, so I managed to kill purple bitch finally. I just used firecrackers in between an opening, oftentimes to ensure a proper heal. My heart was beating out of my chest so bad at the end. I kept thinking, “I’m gonna screw up, I just know it.” I mikiri countered his last hit and then swiped at him once more and got him.

You really do have to just constantly stay on him and block/deflect. Evade his overhead kicks when he starts the windup and you’re pretty safe. Had my posture broken once, which is what screwed me up the most.

 

[Darth Maul]

I’m not sure where to go now. The dungeon and the well both lead to the same (headless?) wizard monster. There’s the gun fort and the other headless in the cave. And of course Genichiro, who I know I cannot beat yet. I guess I could try lady butterfly again though.



Edit: Went for Lady Butterfly. My god, with nightjar slash and the umbrella, she was so easy. Only had to use the shuriken once or twice, to knock her out of the air. Easiest boss fight in the entire game. Hands down.

 

[Sexual Tyrannosaurus]

Damn you got the whole stand setup eh? That’s even better. One day... lol

Also lol @ butterfly becoming the easiest boss fight. I don’t have either of those 2 items yet so can’t say, plus I barely got a chance to play last night unfortunately so didn’t retry her.

I took down the horse lord on my 3rd try. It was actually a really fun battle, good mix of deflecting, dodging and using the grapple. Not too hard once you get his pattern down. I actually found the blazing bull that came up after to be harder.

Then it occurred to me again - this is more like one of the beast bosses from BB. So I just hugged it’s flank and it wasn’t too hard after that. But it wasn’t a satisfying fight at all, much like the ogre. Still havent used any resurrects outside of the one I used on the ogre.

But now the week has arrived and I usually never get a chance to play so I’ll probably fall way behind you guys. If I get a moment I’ll try the purple ninja and butterfly tonight.

Also @ your comment about the ninja - the moments where your heart is beating like nuts over a video game are always the best ones. Been a long time since I felt that as for me it’s usually only in online games that it can happen. Look forward to properly trying him (I just jumped off the cliff the first time when I saw his speed )

I also despise looking up stuff for games, but the more I see it I think it’s just a generational difference. I think for us OG gamers it’s always been like that so we like to do the blind experience and really explore/figure things out for ourselves, while finding it really rewarding.

But for the current generations gaming is more of a communal activity where they share video faqs and watch each other strats, or even go all the way with the ‘lets plays.’ Meanwhile I can’t stand watching those as I always feel what’s the point of watching someone else play the game?

I only do that if I want to see a story and not play the game.

 

[Puck]

Sekiro Easy Mode announced, adds microtransactions to buy lives

A Sekiro Easy Mode is in the works, it has been announced. Alongside a list of transformative changes heading to the game very, very soon, microtransactions have also reared their ugly head, promising to buy players a second chance at life in the game.

www.gamerevolution.com

 

[Sexual Tyrannosaurus]

Sekiro Easy Mode announced, adds microtransactions to buy lives

A Sekiro Easy Mode is in the works, it has been announced. Alongside a list of transformative changes heading to the game very, very soon, microtransactions have also reared their ugly head, promising to buy players a second chance at life in the game.

www.gamerevolution.com

I wonder if anyone will buy that story lol

 

[Darth Maul]

No one, lol.

Frankly, I think some mini-bosses need some tweaks. Specifically, the ones back to back. Usually, your mental fortitude is shot after just one of them and you have to take a break and come back to the other one later. Which you shouldn’t have to do. There should be just enough wiggle room to squeeze through a victory, when they’re that close together.

Oh, and the bitch at the beginning of the gun fort can eat a dick. I couldn’t read her moves at all. Didn’t know what could be mikiri’d and had a really hard time getting her posture down. To make it worse, it’s even more claustrophobic than the starting game Well fight with the Lone Swordsman Ninja. Jesus. Worst fight of the game, thus far, honestly. Ended up just spamming combat arts and running over and over again.

 

[Sexual Tyrannosaurus]

Well I’ve rated the game as ‘good.’ It seems the BB-ish boss fights are over now as it gets more into the samurais and all.

After retrying butterfly’s fight for real it was really fun too, got her on the 4th attempt (and yes I had to use a revive, I was too close to try it again clean lol). I don’t have any nightjar or whatever you were mentioning but I did use the snap seed to break the illusions like the guy just before had said.

Still too scared to attempt the purple ninja yet lol

So far I’ve disliked 2 fights, but even Souls games had moments I didn’t like (like the swamp from ds3 to name a recent one - they always need to have one bullshit level that’s not really hard, but very annoying lol)

Outside of those 2 dull fights I’m really enjoying the game and the bosses as well, and really like how each one changes up the formula, which is the complete opposite of BB where everything was so samey.

 

[Darth Maul]

Nightjar slash. It’s in the skill trees. It can close the gap when bosses leap away.

 

[Puck]

I just managed to beat Genichiro after what feels like 20 deaths. His second phase is pretty much the same as the first but with the addition of his lightning attack. Pain in the butt.

 

[Sexual Tyrannosaurus]

Welp I finally got a chance to play this again this weekend. Im guessing by now y’all must be way past me. I’ll stay away if it gets into any spoilers stuff but I know you’re ahead of me either way.

I did a solid run and took down a few mini/bosses. That seven spears guy was a lot of fun to fight. I loved his moveset, but damn I wouldn’t want to take him on with both health bars full. He bodied me the most thus far of any boss, and I loved every second of it (except the trek back lol)

The Ashina elite was surprisingly easy after the initial shock when I first walked into the room and got the surprise of a lifetime when he 1HKO’d me lol. Did a 2nd run to get his moves down, then beat him on the 3rd run without even using one health gourd.

For some reason I always forget to use my prosthetics during the fights lol, so it just comes down to the swordplay which I am loving more and more, especially as we take on more human characters.

I took down Genichiro on the first go and thought is that it for the main bad guy so far?, but of course then phase 2 got me with the lightning surprise.

I also realize I was talking about a different purple ninja now that I faced the one Maul was talking about. If I have time later I’ll try him tonight.

I’m exploring Mt Kongo currently, saving up for the iron fan thingy as I was on the way to the Gun Fort the midget was talking about and it seems that’ll be useful. Don’t know what to do with that kite you can lengthen yet either.

I noped it out of that second cursed one’s lair in the dungeon. Clearly there’s more to the dungeon but I can’t see how yet. Maybe doing the favour for the guy.

Also I can’t seem to break the hats of the poison midgets right on the other side. They’re the most annoying enemy by far. Maybe I need to upgrade my shit s’more.

 

[Darth Maul]

My reflexes have gotten better. Not quite my Ninja Gaiden days, but close enough to make a difference. I’ve rarely died to anything since my initial problems early in the game. Usually it’s because I tried doing something I shouldn’t have attempted anyway.

Not to mention, actually killing the damn bosses helps in more ways than one. You kinda learn what they tend to be capable of and the eventual stat increases help out a lot. Also, having most of the skills in the three main skill trees helps a shit ton.

The Ashina Elite kept killing me after reviving. The evade takes forever to register. The umbrella helps against him. The window for deflecting his attacks is so slim that I would miss one out of three times, if just using the sword—which ends up fucking you over hard. I’d body him now, with only the sword. The Well Ninja, the Topknot Samurai and the shotgun idiots will force you to get better at the game.

The prosthetics can be useful, but aren’t mandatory. They mostly act as situational gimmicks. Throwing stars against aerial opponents, fire against “demon-eyed” beings, the axe against shielded enemies (also good for just generally hypering through an attack and dealing massive posture damage). Sabimaru is good against a certain rifle using bitch. The umbrella is good for many situations, like the firecrackers.

I don’t often use the spear, flame vent, mist raven or sabimaru. The fan is good for farming though.

Speaking of which, I’ve done everything in the game that I possibly can, before fighting Genichiro, with the exception of the two Headless I’m able to fight. Once he’s dead, I’ll have to revisit all these areas and see what I can take on next.

I’m not even worried about spoilers with this game. I’ve looked up so much shit now it’s not even funny. You’ll definitely have to look up what to do with the kite... as you really don’t want to miss what that allows you to do.

Also, I beat the fuck out of that Shichimen Warrior. All you need is a bunch of pacifying agents (the thief merchant sells an infinite number of these if you advance his quest line) and a decent amount of divine confetti (which you can farm from the Ashina Tower Topknot Samurai), as without the latter... you can’t even hurt the thing. He’s similar to the headless.

The poison midgets from the top of one of the temple squares? I stealth kill them, generally speaking. They’re easy to take out if you use the gouging top throwing star and bum rush them.

The only thing I have trouble fighting in the Temple areas are the three guys with the dual curved swords right outside of one of the idols and whatever the hell you call the immortal monks with giant centipedes living inside them.

I’m about to fight Genichiro. I’m expecting to die, but I know I can beat him in at least two attempts.

 

[Darth Maul]

Okay, maybe not. Killed him on the first go this time. I can’t remember how many times I tried him before. Maybe twice? Both times he killed me after I got him down to the second healthbar.

I completely annihilated him in the first phase. Second phase threw me off slightly and had to heal a few times. Somehow missed a mikiri counter too, lol. I mistimed a jump in the last part of the fight and he fuuuuuucked me up. Had to revive. Then I shadowpierced his vagina and ended the fight almost immediately, lol.

He’s definitely still one of the harder boss fights, I’d say. Still, it was more fun than many of the mini-bosses.

 

[Puck]

Beat Owl earlier only after a bit of trouble with him. I chose the second option he lists beforehand to follow the path towards the good ending (there's actually four all together). Using Ichimonji double does some decent damage to his posture and recovers some of your own. The best time to use it is when he throws shuriken and follows up with a jump attack, after you dodge to the side of course.

Corrupted Monk was a joke since you can skip her first two phases by stealth attacks from the trees if you time it right. Her spirit form you fought earlier was far tougher.

Guardian Ape was a remarkable boss fight as well. One of my faves just based on the design and setting, plus how brutal it is. Good luck with him. He legit lobs shit at you as well.

 

[Darth Maul]

Wow, I’ve had to reset Orin of the water five times now. I keep trying to kill her with the sabimaru, because deflecting her isn’t raising her posture bar anywhere remotely high enough and I’m having a hell of a time remembering to jump her perilous attack.



Edit: Goddamn, she might be the hardest fight in the game, for me personally. There’s just something about the fight I’m not grasping, even with deflecting and going in with the sabimaru. I can’t finish that last little bit of health on her second bar.

I think the thing throwing me off is her visibility. And then she essentially ghosts you and takes no damage. Lastly, her huge posture bar just absorbs your deflects. She is absolutely positively not worth fighting legitely. I dragged her ass across the bridge and cheesed her on one of the corners where she couldn’t really hit me.

Did I seriously go from the single easiest boss in any Fromsoft game (you guys will know the one—it was just slightly before Orin) to one of the most difficult, even by Ninja Gaiden standards? That’s some piss poor design.