Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice is a fun game. It will also make you its bitch if you play the game carelessly. We’re here to help you out if you’re stuck in the early parts of the game.

We’ll divide this guide into two parts: one for basics and intermediate knowhows, and the other for early bosses. We’ll be putting spoiler tags for the latter; don’t worry.

On with the tips!

Basic Stuff

Visit The Dilapidated Temple Often

If you want to get powered up with skills and prosthetics, you need to visit this temple in the early part of the game. You can also test out new abilities with Hanbei, so that you can use them for real.

Learn To Stealth

You’re a shinobi, and not the 90s kind from Sega. That means you have to use stealth as a means to kill enemies or severely damage bosses. Use common sense and ninja tactics if you want to survive. For instance:

• Scope out the lay of the land as much as you can.
• Find high ground via your grappling hook or climbing.
• Use tall grass for cover.
• Plan your escape; find a route so that you can get out of a bad situation.
• Be smart about which enemy to take out. If you spot a swordsman and archer together, for example, take out the swordsman first. The archer will not win in a close-ranged fight against you in this situation.
• The red dot on enemies is your friend; that’s when you can use stealth deathblows. Remember: while regular enemies can die with these, mid-bosses will only have one of their deathblow markers removed. At least it’ll make the fight easier.

Be Brave & Fight Mid-Bosses

Sure, it’s fine to run away, but if you fight mid-bosses in decent conditions (ie no smaller fries to deal with), then you can reap the rewards. They usually drop Gourd Seeds and Prayer Beads for upgrades. Plus, mid-bosses can teach you how to fight better.

While you’re at it, spend all of your gold and EXP points before going into boss rooms that you can’t escape from. If you die, you’ll lose a good chunk of it.

Be Mindful Of The Combat System

You need to learn when to block, parry, dodge, or run. While blocking and running is fine for most parts, some of the larger and tougher enemies can drain your posture meter quick with their large swings. Some enemies have such high Vitality that you need to whittle it before you can make a dent to their Posture.

But remember: the lower the Vitality, the slower their Posture recovers. Just hit and run these fools until you see that opportunity to score that deathblow. You’re a shinobi; you’re supposed to fight dirty and tactical. Be patient and wait until the time is right to act.

Use Your Goddamn Items

Sekiro expects you to use your items to make certain fights and stealth bits manageable. Don’t use them on-the-fly and with reckless abandon; pick your battles and the right time to use them.

Your Fistful of Ash can stop a lot of enemies and certain bosses; it’s best to save them when you know you can get the upper-hand in battle. Use Ceramic if you see one lone enemy you can lure outside for a stealth kill. Use your stat-boosting items when you feel confident with a particular battle that’s in your favour.

Get The Mikiri Counter First, And Then These Other Skills

Try not to die and build up skill points, then get the Mikiri Counter. This skill lets you counter unblockable thrust attacks. Then, focus on these other skills:

• Whirlwind Slash: great AoE crowd control.
• Nightjar Slash: good move for closing distance and doing hit-and-runs.
• Grappling Hook Attack: another complementary hit-and-run move.
• Run and Slide: spot a ranged attacker from a distance? Run up and slide to kick their asses without getting shot.
• Suppress Presence: makes you harder to spot even if you’re not completely concealed. Handy for shinobis.

Use Your Prosthetics Wisely

Know the ins and outs of your metal arm gadget thing. For instance, the Firecracker can distract beast-type enemies but they need to be used within the enemy’s field of vision. The Shuriken can interrupt attacks and pick off fleeing enemies. Flame Vent can add damage over time effects on enemies, which you can use as a viable hit-and-run tactic.

Rest Up When You Can

Use Idol Sculptures as checkpoints if you want to take a break and recuperate. The catch? Enemies will respawn all across the map. Also, if you used up Resurrection, it’s usually best to just run and recoup instead of possibly getting killed again and losing your money and experience.

Get Coin Purses

Speaking of which, buy Coin Purses which allows you to keep your money when you die. There are going to be some instances when you can’t avoid a boss fight; might as well find some way to save your hard-earned gold, right?

Boss Guide

Ogre

This guy fights using grabs and sweep attacks. Use dodge when he uses the former, and just jump and kick when he uses the latter. You’ll know it’s a sweep attack when he comes charging at you with a move that looks like a grab.

Wait for him to pull off a dropkick so you can wail on him when he recovers. When he performs his kicks, just get the flow and rhythm of these attacks since they can be parried. Gadget-wise, use the Firecracker and Flame Vent. The former can stun the ogre, while the other can apply damage over time effects on him before he eventually gets stunned. Use these opportunities to deal extra damage on him.

Juzou

You need to sneak around and deal with his guards and henchmen; start from the left of the building then work your way slowly to each enemy until Juzou is left. You do not want to approach the ally Nogami Gensai yet until Juzou is the last man standing.

Once that’s done, just sneak up on Juzou and deal the deathblow, then lead him to Nogami. Now it’ll be a two-against-one fight; be the harasser while your ally gets in a few attacks on this clown. Eventually you’ll get your next deathblow indicator.

Blazing Bull

You’ll need to prep for this fight; bring Dousing Powder and Withered Red Gourd to lessen burn damage. When fighting this bull, you’ll need to parry its attacks sparingly and dodge/hit/run a lot.

You’ll get quite a bit of Posture damage from all that burning attacks you parry. You may want to use your Firework prosthetic skill to distract it when it’s charging at you. Be patient with this animal; you’ll eventually whittle its vitality soon enough.

Corrupted Monk

Just dodge all of his polearm attacks. When he starts swinging them horizontally, jump backwards and out of the way. When he disappears, just run all around the bridge. Run, jump, whatever you can do to avoid his shadow sneak attacks. When he rears up to do his whirlwind sweep attack, just make sure you have a lot of room at the back to jump out of the way because it will track you.

When his vitality gets low, he can summon more shadows for sneak attacks; just be vigilant here when running and dodging.