Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice - Tips for Beginners

Draw in Items

When enemies drop items, press the □ button on PS4 or X on Xbox to draw them to you. You won’t be able to collect items if you don’t do this.

Jump Directions

After performing a jump, you won’t be able to change your direction in air. This means that you could accidentally jump to your death if you aren’t mindful of the direction you are facing.

Game Controls

Healing Items

With Sekiro’s challenging combat, you’ll find yourself using the Healing Gourd and some recovery pills to survive various encounters. While staying alive is your highest priority (as dying punishes you severely), keep in mind that you can only replenish the Healing Gourd at Sculptor’s Idols. Since the distance between Sculptor’s Idols tend to be long, always be mindful of when you should use healing items.

Gourd Seed Locations

Combat Tips for Beginners

Use Sneak Attacks

Sneaking up on enemies allows you to perform Shinobi Deathblows regardless of their Posture. This allows you to avoid a lengthy encounter if the opponent has a chance to react and fight back. Always aim for stealth kills if you can, as you want to end battles as quickly and safely as possible.

Crouching

Enemies will have a harder time detecting you when you are crouching. If you try to approach your target by running, they will likely notice you before you can go for the kill. Always move slowly when going for a stealth kill.

Attack When Unseen

Minor enemies in Sekiro are not very sensitive to sound, though their eyes can detect anything within their field of vision. Always be aware of which direction your enemies are facing.

Engage When Prepared

Be sure to position yourself well when preparing to engage enemies. Ensure your footing and placement are favorable for the encounter ahead.

Use the Sculptor’s Idol to Reset Alertness

Resting at a Sculptor’s Idol repositions all enemies in the area. Make sure that you are a good distance away from them when you interact with the Sculptor’s Idol.

Tips for Battling Mini Bosses

About Mini Bosses

Mini bosses are different from bosses, though they can still provide quite the challengee. They are typically larger then normal enemies, and have red eyes and unique names.

Tips for Combat

How to Defeat Bosses and Mini Bosses

Weaken By Using Shinobi Prosthetic Tools

Some enemies can be weakened with specific Shinobi Prosthetic Tools. For Example, Chained Ogre is extremely weak to fire and can be easily dealt with by using Flame Vent.

A lot of human enemies can be stunned for a brief period using Shinobi Firecracker, giving you a chance to attack them while they are defenseless.

Use Shinobi Deathblows

A Shinobi Deathblow marker is shown atop a boss or mini boss’ HP bar. You will not be able to defeat enemies simply by depleting their HP. You instead need to perform a Shinobi Deathblow to finish them off. You need to break their posture in order to do this, so it is important to know how to effectively deal posture damage.

Posture Recovers Slowly at Low HP

When enemies are low on HP, their posture recovers slowly. This means that reducing your foes’ HP allows you to disrupt their posture more effectively.

When an enemy’s HP falls to 0, his Posture will be immediately broken. Of course, you still need to land a Shinobi Deathblow to finish them off. This is how some players prefer to defeat bosses.

Things that Beginners Should Unlock Early

Using Skills

How to Learn Combat Arts Quikcly

After you reach Hirata Estate in the game’s main story, you will be able to obtain the Shinobi Esoteric Text from the Sculptor upon returning to the Dilapidated Temple. The text allows you to learn various combat arts and skills from the Sculptor’s Idol.

Practice with Hanbei the Undying

You can try out any newly acquired skills or combat arts by going to the Dilapidated Temple and talking to Hanbei the Undying. Practicing on him allows you to master different techniques that will help you in actual combat.

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