Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice: Beginner's Guide & Best Tips

Introduction — My honest take on Sekiro

Look, I’ve been playing FromSoftware games since Demon’s Souls on the PS3. I’ve beaten Orphan of Kos with a broken straight sword, I’ve no-hit Sister Friede, and I’ve done SL1 runs in Dark Souls 3. But Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice? That game broke me. Twice. For three weeks, I couldn’t get past Lady Butterfly. I alt-F4’d more times than I’m willing to admit. And then something clicked — not because I got better gear or leveled up, but because I finally stopped playing it like Dark Souls.

That’s the thing nobody tells you: Sekiro is not a Souls game. It’s a rhythm game dressed up like a samurai ninja nightmare. It’s about aggression, deflection, and posture management — not dodging, not stacking HP, and definitely not running away. If you try to play it like a knight with a shield, you’ll eat your own keyboard. But once you surrender to its flow? It’s the most satisfying combat system ever made. The clang of a perfect deflect, the shink of a deathblow, the way Genichiro’s entire health bar evaporates after you finally master his pattern — pure dopamine.

This guide isn’t some SEO fluff. I’m writing it because I spent my first three playthroughs making every mistake in the book. I thought stacking poison on the Guardian Ape was a good idea (it’s not, he’s immune). I farmed for hours thinking I could grind my way to victory (you can’t). I ignored prosthetic tools because they seemed weak (they’re the whole point). So here’s the shit I actually needed to hear, from someone who got his face caved in by every boss so you don’t have to.

Getting Started / First Steps — Stuff I wish I knew

First, unlearn everything from Dark Souls. Your dodge roll has almost no i-frames. The panic roll will get you killed harder than standing still. Instead, your best friend is the L1 button (block/deflect). You want to tap it just as an attack lands — that’s a Perfect Deflect, and it builds posture damage on enemies and prevents your own posture from breaking. If you’re just holding L1, your posture gets wrecked. It’s like parrying in other games but faster and more forgiving.

Right out of the gate, spend your first skill points on Mikiri Counter. That’s the skill that lets you stomp a thrust attack (the red kanji with a stab). Don’t listen to people who say “get the health upgrades first.” Mikiri Counter is a deathblow magnet on early enemies like the Tenzen Yamauchi and the Blazing Bull. I literally spent an hour dying to the Seven Spears guy in Ashina Reservoir because I didn’t have it. You step into that spear thrust and press dodge → forward — instant punish. It’s a cheat code.

Buy the Loaded Umbrella prosthetic before you do anything else. Not the Shuriken, not the Axe. The Umbrella. It costs 300 sen from the Peddler at the Dilapidated Temple. This thing blocks everything — including sweep attacks you can’t jump over, fire, and even the Guardian Ape’s terror scream. I used to swap it in for every miniboss and it never let me down. Upgrade it to the Suzaku’s Umbrella later and it’ll eat fire damage for breakfast.

Talk to the Sculptor and the Merchant every single time you sit at an Idol. That old man sells the Gourd Seed upgrades, and the merchant has an item called the “Robert’s Firecrackers” that you can get after beating the Blazing Bull. Those firecrackers are mandatory — they stun every beast in the game (the Bull, the Guardian Ape, the Headless, the Demon of Hatred). I didn’t realize they worked on the Ape until my third playthrough. I felt like an idiot.

• Don’t hoard your spirit emblems. They’re cheap (10 sen each) and you only cap at 20 until you get the upgrades. Use Firecrackers on every beast fight. Use the Shuriken to knock enemies out of the air. Use the Flame Vent on red-eyed enemies. I used to hoard them like a dragon and then realized I had 500 when I beat the game.
• Stealth deathblow everything you can. 90% of the zones have a stealth route that lets you wipe out half the enemies before the fight starts. In Ashina Outskirts, you can stealth kill the general, then the two spearmen, then run the fuck away. Don’t fight fair. You’re a shinobi, not a knight.
• Grinding is a trap. You can’t out-level Sekiro. Your attack power only goes up by killing bosses and mini-bosses. Your health only goes up by finding Prayer Beads. You can farm skill points for the skill tree, but honestly, the most important skills come from boss memories. So stop killing the same 20 soldiers in Hirata Estate for 10 minutes. Go fight something scary.

Core Mechanics & Progression — How the game actually works

So the game’s main progression system is a three-legged stool: Attack Power, Vitality, and Posture. Let’s break it down like you’re a sentient person.

Attack Power only goes up by using Boss Memories at a Sculptor’s Idol. Each memory gives you +1 attack power (up to a cap, but you’ll barely hit it in NG). That’s it. No grinding. No upgrading weapons. You kill a boss, you get a memory, you get stronger. It’s linear as hell and that’s great because it means skill is the only differentiator. I love that. I also hate that when I’m bad.

Vitality (HP) and Posture come from Prayer Necklaces. You find Prayer Beads by killing minibosses, looting chests, or buying from merchants. Every 4 beads = +1 necklace = +HP and +posture gauge. That’s your only defense upgrade. You can get about 20 necklaces in a single playthrough. The important part: posture is more important than HP. A bigger posture gauge means you get broken less often. And since breaking posture = automatic death, you want that bar to be fat. I prioritize the beads from the Great Serpent Shrine miniboss and the ones from the Guardian Ape’s second phase (the two white monkeys in the burial grounds).

Prosthetic Tools are your secondary weapons. You find them in the world or buy them. You upgrade them with Gourd Seeds (gives more healing charges) and Upgrade Materials (scraps from enemies and minibosses). The key upgrades you should rush: Loaded Umbrella (Suzaku’s), Spring-load Firecrackers (for the Ape), Flame Vent (Lazulite for endgame). I literally never use the Sabimaru or the Mist Raven except for niche fights. Firecrackers are the GOAT. They do no damage but the stunlock on beasts is insane — 3 seconds of free hits on the Guardian Ape.

Skill Trees are where your playstyle diverges. There’s Ashina Arts (deflection and sword arts), Prosthetic Arts (tool efficiency), Ninjutsu Arts (stealth and movement), and Breath of Nature (health recovery after kills). The best early skills: Mikiri Counter, Whirlwind Slash (good AOE), Mid-air Deflection (you can deflect while jumping — this is crucial for the Ape’s grab attack), and Prayer Bead upgrades (hidden skill nodes that boost your necklace find rate). Avoid the “Shadow Rush” or “Spiral Cloud Passage” early — they look flashy but cost too much spirit emblem for new players.

Resurrection Mechanic: You die. You get one free rez per fight (up to three if you have items). When you rez, the enemy gets a “Resurrection Block” — a black aura that means you can’t rez again until you get a deathblow or use a Jizo Statue. The strategy: don’t rez the second you die. Wait for the enemy to turn away or finish an attack. Rez behind them for a stealth deathblow. Also, Dragon’s Blood Droplets cure your “Unseen Aid” debuff, but honestly Unseen Aid is a meme — you’ll die 50 times per boss anyway. Just don’t worry about it.

Expert Tips & Tricks — The secret sauce

Alright, here’s the stuff I only learned after 200+ hours. Buckle up.

• The Blazing Bull is comically easy with Firecrackers. Seriously. Run to his left, throw a Firecracker, his AI breaks and he rears up for 4 seconds. Hit his head 3 times, repeat. He never touches you. I killed him in 45 seconds this way after dying 20 times trying to dodge his charge.
• Genichiro’s floating arrows can be deflected back at him. If you time L1 as the arrow is about to hit, it reflects with double damage. I’ve seen people do it in speedruns. I’ve done it once by accident. The window is tight (about 6 frames), but it turns his phase 1 into a joke.
• The Great Shinobi Owl fight has a massive cheese. You know the poison pool in the room? Lure him into it, then just keep your distance. He’ll do the overhead slam and then toss a firecracker — dodge left and hit him twice. His poison build up is slow, but he takes chip damage. I’ve beaten him without taking a single hit by just denying him the mirror.
• Demon of Hatred is optional but worth it. You can skip him entirely by jumping off the cliff near the Ashina Castle back gate, but his memory gives +1 attack power and the Malcontent ring stuns him. If you’re going for the Platinum, you need him. Also, his fire attacks can be blocked by the Suzaku’s Umbrella — the umbrella takes zero chip damage from fire. That’s absurd.
• Terror damage is resisted by the Purple Gourd. Mix it from the Sugimori Merchant. If you’re fighting the Headless or the Shichimen Warriors, drink that gourd before the fight. It gives 30 seconds of terror immunity. I did the entire Fountainhead area without fear because of this item.
• The Loaded Spear’s “Pull” attack (R2 → R2) can rip the Guardian Ape’s centipede out of his neck. I didn’t know this until my third playthrough. When the Ape is on the ground in phase 2, use the spear thrust and then press R2 again — you pull out the centipede and it does massive posture damage. Literally 30% of his posture bar gone in one move.
• You can skip the entire Great Serpent valley by sprinting left. After the first snake encounter, hug the left wall and you’ll find a hidden path to the Ashina Depths. I saved 2 hours on my second playthrough. Fuck that snake.

Common Mistakes to Avoid — What got my ass kicked

I’ve made every mistake. Here’s the shortlist so you don’t have to:

• Relying on dodging. The dodge in Sekiro is a movement tool, not a defensive one. You have maybe 4-6 frames of invincibility (compared to Dark Souls 3’s 13). I dodged into Lady Butterfly’s kick and got spanked. You should be deflecting or jumping over sweeps. Only dodge for grabs and big swings.
• Not using stealth on bosses. You can stealth deathblow most minibosses’ first health bar if you sneak behind them. The Seven Spears, the Armored Warrior, even the Blazing Bull (if you approach from the bridge). Each one has a backstab window. It makes the fight 50% easier. I didn’t know this until I saw a speedrun video and felt like an absolute clown.
• Ignoring the Loaded Umbrella for a playthrough. I refused to use it because I thought it looked weak. Then I fought the Demon of Hatred. He has a fire burst attack that covers the entire arena. Without the Umbrella, you have to run away for 8 seconds. With it? Hold L2, block the whole thing, then hit him for free. That’s a fight-winner.
• Spending skill points on “Breath of Life: Light” early. That’s the skill that heals you a tiny amount on deathblows. It’s like 10 HP per kill. Complete waste. Get the “Health Posture” node that reduces posture damage taken. It’s more value per skill point. I wasted 4 skill points on Breath of Life before realizing it was garbage.
• Fighting the Guardian Ape in the poison pool. His phase 2 has a scream that does terror buildup. If you’re in the poison water, you’re taking extra damage and terror. Kite him to the dry land near the trees. Also, the umbrella blocks the scream entirely (even the sound). I’ve done it.
• Not farming Fountainhead Palace for the Yashariku’s Sugar. That item increases your attack power by 25% but cuts your health in half. It’s busted for bosses. You can farm the blue-robed monks near the bridge; they drop it about 20% of the time. I stock up 10 before every boss fight. Pop it before a deathblow for massive damage.

FAQ

That’s it, folks. Go break your keyboards, learn the rhythm, and remember: hesitation is defeat. If you get stuck, just remember I was worse than you and I powered through. Good luck, shinobi.