How to play SEKIRO: Shadows Die Twice

Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice is brought to you by the Japanese developers, From Software and published by Activision. The game involves stealthy ninja battles and tight combat with intense bosses in a fictional world based in the 1500s Japan’s Sengoku period. Playing as the main character, Sekiro, the “one-armed wolf,” this game is designed to challenge your combat skills in action-packed gameplay. 

Use these 10 useful tactics to master how to play Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice, from combat tips to upgrading skills. 

What is The Story Line of Sekiro?

Sekiro, the game’s protagonist, is a  Shinobi or ninja, who served the Divine Heir, Kuro. Kuro was kidnapped by Genichori, Isshin Ashina’s grandson, to protect the fallen clan of Ashina from Kuro’s immortal army. The protagonist lost his arm during a battle with Geinchiro.

After recovering, the Shinobi receives a prosthetic arm from the strange Sculptor. The prosthetic arm is called Sekiro, or the “one-armed wolf.” The protagonist takes on this name as his own. Playing as Sekiro, players take revenge against Genichoro’s men.  

How to play Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice

The main combat features of the game are the prosthetic arm and the stealth ability. The prosthetic arm is a powerful tool in the game; it can be used as a grappling hook and deflect attacks. It can also be upgraded to obtain new skills such as ninjutsu, martial arts, and swordsmanship. The stealth ability allows players to sneak up on unsuspecting enemies and explore fortresses without being heard or seen. 

Players can also discover items during the game to increase health and upgrade Sekiro’s skills. Completing quests or side-quests also unlock upgrades. Enjoy ranged and melee attacks, parry, counterattacks, and deflecting attacks by leaping or rolling. When the character dies during combat, players begin at a check-point with lost experience points. Collect resurrection items from the gameplay, which players can use to revive themselves. 

Just watch out for the Headless Sekiro locations, as these bosses are challenging to defeat.

Sekiro Guide: tips and tricks

With a better idea of how to play Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice, here are some tips and tricks to improve your gameplay.

1. Don’t rush gameplay

From the beginning, take your time to explore the large map of Sekiro. There are many useful items to collect and side-quests that will help you upgrade your character for future combat, so thoroughly explore the interior of every building and dead-end. Essential items like tools to upgrade the prosthetic arm are often hidden in strange and hidden places. Don’t rush through the game without exploring every area you venture through. 

2. Get used to deflecting attacks 

Deflecting is the major strategy to follow in Sekiro. Besides attacking and dodging enemy attacks, deflecting by hitting the block button during an attack will protect you from about 90% of the attacks. Without deflecting, you will not win and most probably die. Deflecting also breaks down the posture of your enemy attacker. 

The more you deflect, the more your enemy’s posture bar fills up. Once their posture bar reaches the maximum amount, you can perform a death blow. A death blow is a one-hit kill of your enemy. Deflecting is vital later on in the game with the stronger bosses, so start practicing your deflecting skills from the beginning. 

3. Stealth is your best weapon 

Like all ninjas, stealth is Sekiro’s greatest weapon. Use your stealthy abilities to sneak up on enemies and to hide while exploring and collecting items. Crouch and stay close to walls to keep your enemies unaware of your presence. Enemies have an awareness bar, so take note of those to ensure they don’t know the ninja is near.

4. Upgrade your prosthetic arm 

The prosthetic arm is equipped after the tutorial section. There are many upgrades for this prosthetic tool throughout the game. The protagonist is the only character with such a tool, so players have an advantage over the other characters. 

Spirit Emblems, found throughout the map, are required to enable prosthetic tools and upgrades. Each upgrade has different abilities that affect each boss differently. This is where your creativity comes into play. Experiment with different upgrades to see what works best for each enemy boss. Combat in this game is difficult, so using your prosthetic arm can really help you enhance your combating skills. 

5. Use the Mikiri Counter

The Miriki Counter is vital for easier fights with mini-bosses. The Miriki Counter is the ability to counter enemy thrust attacks by directly evading them, so don’t be afraid to get close to your enemies. This ability is received early in the game so practice at the Dilapidated Temple with your ally.

6. Deflecting prevents your posture bar from filling up

The more hits your character takes in a fight, the more your posture bar fills up. When the posture bar reaches its capacity, your character has to take a breath which means you cannot attack or deflect hits. You can prevent this by deflecting at the right moment.

It may seem scary when an enemy is close, attacking you with a huge weapon. But, if you deflect at the right time, your posture bar will not break. Bonus hint: if the enemy doesn’t attack you at the moment your posture bar breaks, the bar will begin at zero again. 

7. Use the block button 

Using the block button will also reset your posture bar back to zero. If the enemy is attacking you and your posture bar is reaching its capacity, hold in the block button to refresh the posture bar. Fortunately, this doesn’t decrease your energy or your enemy’s posture bar. 

8. Buy Spirit Emblems

The game’s currency, Sen, is rewarded to you after fighting enemies, or you can find them throughout the game. Spirit Emblems are items that upgrade your prosthetic arm and power its abilities. So, it’s always a good idea to have a few of them saved up for when you need them. You can purchase Spirit Emblems from the Sculptor’s Idols which are green statues positioned at the save points in the game. 

Sen can also be used at the Memorial Mob, the merchants spread across the game. You can upgrade materials for more tools here and buy items like Gourd Seeds which gives your character more health. 

9. Move onto new areas if you get stuck 

This is a difficult game because of the intensive one-on-one combat battles from the beginning of the game. So, you may get stuck fighting a mini-boss where you keep on dying. If this happens, just move on to another area. 

Occasionally, there are items that you find in another area that will help you upgrade your prosthetic arm abilities so that you can go back and win the fight. Sometimes, moving onto another area gives you the new skills and experience you need to conquer a battle from the previous area. 

10. Don’t die too many times.

When your character dies, you respawn at a checkpoint with fewer experience points and Sen. Experience points, and Sen are rewarded for killing enemies. With enough experience points, your character receives a skill point. Skill points are used for new skills and upgrading abilities. 

So, if you are close to a new skill set or reaching enough experience points for a skill point, avoid moving on to a new area. Rather use the Sen for upgrading and earning enough experience points to upgrade before you fight a boss and potentially die. Dying too many times will prevent you from properly progressing in the game. 

Embrace the Shinobi

Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice is the perfect game for players looking for a game that will challenge their combative skills. The extreme combat and creative strategizing of this game will keep you entertained for hours. Embrace the Shinobi within and enjoy the “one-armed wolf”’s world.