Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice

[Lou Cypher]

I was that guy who was on NG 7 on DS and BB and never parried..lol. I just recently started new games on both and learned how to. It just always felt like a risky move so I stayed away from it. On Sekiro you almost don't have a choice because that shit is all about deflecting/parrying. Most of my deaths have also been a result of the parrying...lol. It gets easier though once you get it down. I've gotten better at getting that timing down and it's helped tremendously w/ running through enemies.

Yeah i almost never hold down the parry/block button either, i always just tap it when they are about to make impact. Works maybe 70 percent of the time but definitely is the reason I die mostly.

I just beat the Raging Bull last night. That was a fucking INTENSE fight. just constantly running and slashing when you can. Only took me like 5 attempts too. The General on the Horse was a bit of a pain until i figured him out. The fucking Chained ogre made me rage quit though. That motherfucker would jump and change directions in mid air. pissed me off so fucking much lmao. Took me a solid 25 tries on the ogre.

Then i went through some area with a headless ogre and that piece of shit was teleporting behind me and slamming me and killing me in one hit. Said fuck it and went the other way towards the castle. I dont need that negativity in my life.

 

[nex gin]

Yeah i almost never hold down the parry/block button either, i always just tap it when they are about to make impact. Works maybe 70 percent of the time but definitely is the reason I die mostly.

I just beat the Raging Bull last night. That was a fucking INTENSE fight. just constantly running and slashing when you can. Only took me like 5 attempts too. The General on the Horse was a bit of a pain until i figured him out. The fucking Chained ogre made me rage quit though. That motherfucker would jump and change directions in mid air. pissed me off so fucking much lmao. Took me a solid 25 tries on the ogre.

Then i went through some area with a headless ogre and that piece of shit was teleporting behind me and slamming me and killing me in one hit. Said fuck it and went the other way towards the castle. I dont need that negativity in my life.

Yeah I had the misfortune of running into the headless ogre early on. I haven't gone back to kill him yet, but you need to use a Divine Confetti in order to damage him. I'm fighting Genichiro Ashina right now. Made it to his 3rd phase w/ the lightening once and figured I better go do some leveling up. I'm at 6 gourds and attack level 3. About to grind and get the Shadowrush art. 15 more levels to go.

 

[AP3.0]

might cop this on the cheap

 

[Lou Cypher]

Yeah I had the misfortune of running into the headless ogre early on. I haven't gone back to kill him yet, but you need to use a Divine Confetti in order to damage him. I'm fighting Genichiro Ashina right now. Made it to his 3rd phase w/ the lightening once and figured I better go do some leveling up. I'm at 6 gourds and attack level 3. About to grind and get the Shadowrush art. 15 more levels to go.

Nice. I JUST found my 4th prayer beads. I gotta go back and do that Memory area you get teleported to. I had ran in there and got the Flamethrower tool then just homeward boned out of there, but i guess theres the hatchet in there somewhere too that i need to get because i just did this little side contract from that guy after you kill the General on the horse he wants you to kill those 3 little poison guys, aka "rats" that use their bamboo hats as shields. I cant figure out how to kill those fucking guys so luckily i was able to sneak up and kill 2 of them. The 3rd one I was throwing ash on but i ran out when he was on his last hit of health. Then i died and respawned when he was walking away and snuck up on him and killed him with his backed turned lmao.

so at the moment, i got 1 addition with the prayer beads, 1 memory unlocked, and my skills all got the very first skills unlocked. Not much unlocked in the prosthetic section though. Just unlocked that skill where when people try to spear you, you stomp on their blade and attack them. Havent gotten to use it yet but im gonna test it out this evening when im back at the memory/dream place.

 

[Kzzl]

The second bonfire, or buddah statue, in the Hirata estate seems to be a good place to farm xp and gold early on. I also found a third prosthetic tool in Hirata that lets you ninja evade if attacked.

UPDATE: If you're gonna farm that area. Before you start your farm run, use the blue water balloon looking thing that increases item drop chance before you start killing enemies. You can also use the gold water balloon that increases the money you get. You might have to use the balloons more than once depending on your pace. But you if you don't use the gold balloon at the start you can wait till your farm route is finished and collect loot on your way back to the buddah statue.

Spoiler

After the third bonfire that's right after the Shinobi Hunter. You gotta use the grapple hook when the icon pops up as you head forward pass the buddah. You'll land on top a little area facing a strong looking river with a bridge over it. Drop into the river and swim pass the bridge, kill the fish for an extra scale to trade, then use the grapple to pull yourself to a tree branch. Run along the path to find a cave blocked by some bambo sticks, cut them down to enter the cave.

Enter the cave and wall jump out of it once you get the spirits. Once out you'll land on a cliff over looking the bridge and river. There will also be some steps leading up to a temple, follow that temple up and you'll get ambushed by a mini-boss. You can ignore the mini-boss and run straight to the temple, open the door, and get the treasure box inside holding the new tool. I-frames make it so that you don't take damage while opening the door and chest, but you'll likely die trying to get out of there if you're not fast enough.

 

[Lou Cypher]

The second bonfire, or buddah statue, in the Hirata estate seems to be a good place to farm xp and gold early on. I also found a third prosthetic tool in Hirata that lets you ninja evade if attacked.

UPDATE: If you're gonna farm that area. Before you start your farm run, use the blue water balloon looking thing that increases item drop chance before you start killing enemies. You can also use the gold water balloon that increases the money you get. You might have to use the balloons more than once depending on your pace. But you if you don't use the gold balloon at the start you can wait till your farm route is finished and collect loot on your way back to the buddah statue.

Spoiler

After the third bonfire that's right after the Shinobi Hunter. You gotta use the grapple hook when the icon pops up as you head forward pass the buddah. You'll land on top a little area facing a strong looking river with a bridge over it. Drop into the river and swim pass the bridge, kill the fish for an extra scale to trade, then use the grapple to pull yourself to a tree branch. Run along the path to find a cave blocked by some bambo sticks, cut them down to enter the cave.

Enter the cave and wall jump out of it once you get the spirits. Once out you'll land on a cliff over looking the bridge and river. There will also be some steps leading up to a temple, follow that temple up and you'll get ambushed by a mini-boss. You can ignore the mini-boss and run straight to the temple, open the door, and get the treasure box inside holding the new tool. I-frames make it so that you don't take damage while opening the door and chest, but you'll likely die trying to get out of there if you're not fast enough.

I'm in that area now trying to clear it. I just got passed the first miniboss with the spear. Will have to look out for that.

I am backtracking to it right now tho, I had gone earlier just to grab the flame vent and hand axe and take off then continued on and am right passed the blazing bull.

The BEST area to farm early in the game if your passed the boss on the horse. Ashina castle gate is the statue. You get that quest from dude wanting you to kill rats, those little bastards with the hat shields. Theres 3 of them over the little wall. Jump over there, sneak behind the one that's alone and kill it. Then sneak up to the one that's closest to the wall. You'll have to run up to him then assassinate him. Then use the hand axe on the 3rd one. You get 11gold from the archer up the trail and 21xp, then each little rat guy is 39gold and 80ish xp. Once all dead just jump over back into the battlefield and rest at the statue then rinse and repeat. Each run takes you a little over a minute. I got 5k gold and 12 skill points in like 30 minutes! I didnt even think to pop a balloon now that I think of it lmfaooo fuck.

 

[nex gin]

I'm in that area now trying to clear it. I just got passed the first miniboss with the spear. Will have to look out for that.

I am backtracking to it right now tho, I had gone earlier just to grab the flame vent and hand axe and take off then continued on and am right passed the blazing bull.

The BEST area to farm early in the game if your passed the boss on the horse. Ashina castle gate is the statue. You get that quest from dude wanting you to kill rats, those little bastards with the hat shields. Theres 3 of them over the little wall. Jump over there, sneak behind the one that's alone and kill it. Then sneak up to the one that's closest to the wall. You'll have to run up to him then assassinate him. Then use the hand axe on the 3rd one. You get 11gold from the archer up the trail and 21xp, then each little rat guy is 39gold and 80ish xp. Once all dead just jump over back into the battlefield and rest at the statue then rinse and repeat. Each run takes you a little over a minute. I got 5k gold and 12 skill points in like 30 minutes! I didnt even think to pop a balloon now that I think of it lmfaooo fuck.

I've been farming at the Gun Fort save point in Sunken Valley. There is an enemy right by the save point that you can back stab for like 297XP and 53 Gold. Kill enemy, rest at save point to refresh enemy, rinse repeat

 

[nex gin]

A better place to farm experience is at the Mibu Village save point in Ashina Depths. In the little river area below the save point there is a guy you can sneak/backstab for 784 xp each time. You can kill/rest/reset to rack up xp quick. Also there are a shitload of little enemies in this area that appear to respawn infinitely. They're all over the place in big groups and can be killed w/ 1 hit for 87 xp each....plus they can't block your hits. I got those 15 skill points that I needed real quick in this area.

 

[Lou Cypher]

Goddamn in In Hirata estate and just trying to get all the items and im going for that last Prosthetic tool up in the trees but that motherfucker with the robe is quick af. I need to learn the combat better because i never just block, im always tapping the block button to try and get a deflection but Im only successful maybe 70% of the time and that 30% im not can easily kill me. Dude hits hard af and theres only one of him. I'll probably just try and run passed him but i really want him dead right now lol.

Might go back to my farm spot and pop a balloon and get some more skills unlocked but its starting to take longer as im leveled up a bit.

I got that skill unlocked that heals you with every deathblow though and thats pretty nice especially when fighting multiple enemies as im taking in a lot of damage missing blocks. Will probably watch some combat advice vids today since my boss is gone at work and i aint got nobody to tell me what to do lol.

 

[Lou Cypher]

Cleared out a majority of Hirata Estate last night. Didnt kill the boss yet, gonna save him for later, but got all the prosthetic tools from there.

Started progressing through the Ashina Castle and killed that general that was on top of the stairs surrounded by archers. He was a real bitch to kill. Then did the whole rooftop swings fighting through those flying fuckers. got to the area where the dudes in blue robes are introduced and got the prosthetic tool thats a poison blade. then logged off. Might have to farm some more skill points so i can get those Latent skills that deal more posture damage cuz those robed guys are a pain in the ass. My farm spot doesnt provide as quick of XP anymore though now that I've put so many points into my character.

What Combat ability do yall use? I got that one ability that you buy from the barrel merchant with Treasure Carp Scales, heard that was a real good one to use, but i dont see the hype with it. Leaves too many openings for folks to attack.

 

[SneakDZA]

This game is wrecking my life. I was doing good with the blood pressure and the heartburn and the drugs and tequila and all that but now I'm back to square one.

I just got past that fucking flaming bull and now there's ninjas on the goddamn roof.

 

[nex gin]

I'm currently at the Divine Child of Rejuvenation. I could fight the last boss now, but I'm working on getting the Return ending. Got a few more side tasks to complete first.

 

[SneakDZA]

I'm currently at the Divine Child of Rejuvenation. I could fight the last boss now, but I'm working on getting the Return ending. Got a few more side tasks to complete first.

must be nice.

 

[Lou Cypher]

I made it to Senpou Temple last night The monks are cool but those fuckers with the Dual bladed polearms are a pain in the ass. Downed the Armored Knight guy. He wasnt too difficult, but i fucked up and didnt kick him off the ledge the first attempt lol.

Just yesterday I took out the Drunkard, Lady Butterfly, and The Armored Knight. About to fight another boss but turned it off before i attempted it which was probably a mistake lol.

 

[Old Man Cain]

Heard this game is hard as fuck and was made by the same jackass's who made Denon Souls so yeah fuck this game. I'll wait till it's in the 15 bucks bin

 

[SneakDZA]

It's painful. And I may just be very early in but so far I'm not getting the same satisfaction as a Souls game where when you beat a hard enemy you get to go to a new area that looks and feels very different. Here It's like you beat a boss and then 2 minutes later there's another goddamn boss.

 

[Lou Cypher]

Heard this game is hard as fuck and was made by the same jackass's who made Denon Souls so yeah fuck this game. I'll wait till it's in the 15 bucks bin

In a lot of ways this shit is more difficult than Dark Souls.

Its just a different style you have to get used to. People familiar with Dark Souls and Bloodborne are used to dodging/rolling and blocking with a shield. This game only lets you block for so long until you have to get aggressive and attack even when you're low on health but the enemy is so fast you dont have the time to heal so you have to focus on when to attack, when to block, when to dodge, when to counter, or when to just gtfo. Shit is easily one of the most challenging games ive ever played. I dont think i've even had this difficult of a time with any of the Dark Souls games and I love those games. No online help with this game either. Gotta do it all yourself.

 

[Lou Cypher]

It's painful. And I may just be very early in but so far I'm not getting the same satisfaction as a Souls game where when you beat a hard enemy you get to go to a new area that looks and feels very different. Here It's like you beat a boss and then 2 minutes later there's another goddamn boss.

Lmao thats what I was feeling with the Drunkard/Lady Butterfly. Was one after the other.

I heard horror stories with lady butterfly too and she definitely was difficult, but I downed her on my 2nd attempt. From the beginning I was on her ass though slashing away and blocking. Shurikens when she went up in the air. Only difficult part is when she was in her second phase and summoned the ghosts. I only had that one Snap Seed, but luckily when she brought in the illusions the second time she was almost out of posture so I just attacked the fuck out of her and broke it then killed her. Shit was such a rush.

That blazing bull fight had my palms sweaty as fuck and heart pounding like a motherfucker though lmao. So fucking intense.

That very first mini boss though.. Chained Ogre. I had to of died to that fucking thing at least 30 times. By the time i killed him I had 3-4 NPC's with Dragon Rot lmao. Then theres the fucking general IMMEDIATELY after him. General wasnt too difficult but i notice they break my posture pretty quick and Im not sure how to lower my posture mid battle. I think attacking lowers it a little bit but if they deflect an attack that hurts your posture. So many times ill have my posture broke and wonder why the hell my character isnt moving so I have to figure out which button to push to get the hell out of the way.

Im sure a lot of you noticed already and i may have already said it in thread, but if the enemy does one of those unblockable attacks where the symbol pops up, double jump TOWARDS them. You will jump off of their head and do a good amount of posture damage. I find that being aggressive is surprisingly the best route to killing a lot of these enemies, but you really gotta be on top of your blocks and know when to attack and when to Jump out of the way so still a good amount of deaths trying to figure everything out.

 

[SneakDZA]

Lmao thats what I was feeling with the Drunkard/Lady Butterfly. Was one after the other.

I heard horror stories with lady butterfly too and she definitely was difficult, but I downed her on my 2nd attempt. From the beginning I was on her ass though slashing away and blocking. Shurikens when she went up in the air. Only difficult part is when she was in her second phase and summoned the ghosts. I only had that one Snap Seed, but luckily when she brought in the illusions the second time she was almost out of posture so I just attacked the fuck out of her and broke it then killed her. Shit was such a rush.

That blazing bull fight had my palms sweaty as fuck and heart pounding like a motherfucker though lmao. So fucking intense.

That very first mini boss though.. Chained Ogre. I had to of died to that fucking thing at least 30 times. By the time i killed him I had 3-4 NPC's with Dragon Rot lmao. Then theres the fucking general IMMEDIATELY after him. General wasnt too difficult but i notice they break my posture pretty quick and Im not sure how to lower my posture mid battle. I think attacking lowers it a little bit but if they deflect an attack that hurts your posture. So many times ill have my posture broke and wonder why the hell my character isnt moving so I have to figure out which button to push to get the hell out of the way.

Im sure a lot of you noticed already and i may have already said it in thread, but if the enemy does one of those unblockable attacks where the symbol pops up, double jump TOWARDS them. You will jump off of their head and do a good amount of posture damage. I find that being aggressive is surprisingly the best route to killing a lot of these enemies, but you really gotta be on top of your blocks and know when to attack and when to Jump out of the way so still a good amount of deaths trying to figure everything out.

Yo I just beat that butterfly bitch by just bumrushing the shit out of her and spamming stars whenever she flew up. I only had a sliver of health left and she just spawed a bunch of illusions so I had to just go for it. If i didn't get her that time I was gonna put this game down for a very long time.

Now my heart is beating all fast and my hands are shaking and shit.

 

[Lou Cypher]

Yo I just beat that butterfly bitch by just bumrushing the shit out of her and spamming arrows whenever she flew up. I only had a sliver of health left and she just spawed a bunch of illusions so I had to just go for it. If i didn't get her that time I was gonna put this game down for a very long time.

Now my heart is beating all fast and my hands are shaking and shit.

Haha yeah she was a bitch but ultimately I found her to be easier than the first main boss on the horse. Every area you go to adds a new element that you have to adapt to whether it be thrusting attacks or rapid attacks. Definitely a lot of trial and error but I still get that rush of joy every time i clear out a tough area or defeat a boss. This game would have been interesting if they did it online, but im not sure it would be able to work out the same way as dark souls online would.

PVP would be interesting af, but I know id be pissed off everytime I got invaded because I already got enough stress with the regular enemies lol. Dont need some speed running asshole fully geared up showing up in my game just to fuck with me and my progress.