Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice (topic now 200% easier to find)

Strange. He has an internal cooldown for it near as I could tell so you can’t chain spam it, but if I hadn’t used it in a while it always worked on him.

You can’t spam it to him. He’ll start ignoring it. If you use the strategy, you’ll be able to smack him for a good 10 seconds before he runs away. Then you do the firecrackers when he charges.

Maybe that’s what I’m missing, I just assume it would work twice or three times in a row and it doesn’t.

Usually I use it and then he hits me and he’s rearing up afraid and I’m getting up at the same time, wasted.

Perfect parries aren’t cheese. That’s ninja badassery! The timing on the second one is so wide you’re almost guaranteed to hit it as long as you hit the first one, which is obviously the hard part.

There are definitely some cheese strategies for some bosses if people are stuck. Some that are pretty much cheating, some that are 100% safe but tedious if you play it like a Souls boss.

Post up your roadblocks, everyone!

You have the upgraded one equipped right? Just to be sure.
The upgrade is nice because it makes basically a wall in front of you. If he’s about to charge just toss it out and he’ll run into it most times.

No, but spamming whirlwind is according to most people and I used the shit out of that on him as well.
Wasn’t as effective as people claimed though, so I did have to pull out the parry, but at least it meant I only had to do it a couple times. Really the worst part is not being able to heal half the time.

For the bull, just rush him, constantly.

I had no trouble once I decided to just constantly sprint to his side and attack him. It causes him to mostly just run away. Periodically he’ll do a side attack, but if you didn’t at all it avoids damage.

Just charge him down.

Oh yeah, have I posted the number one boss fight tip yet?

Lock-on sprinting

You have infinite stamina. If you want to play footsies (may or may not be advised due to the combat mechanics in this game) it’s better to full sprint while they attack and then sprint in after the last swing to do a hit or two of vitality damage. This is very similar to Nioh.

Also helps you chase down enemies to get close up if they struggle at that range.

Uh… it creates a new version I have to equip? That’s kind of… odd? No, maybe I don’t.

I think what I have been missing with the fight is I’m not blocking when I should try to block, dodging and scooting around just don’t seem to work in this game, or at least I can’t pull it off. I’m almost never far enough away to avoid the attack I’m trying to avoid, I’d have been better off just blocking/deflecting, which I’m pretty fair at. I’ll make sure I have the upgraded Fire Works equipped, and I’ll try to keep to his back side when I can. I’m sure I’ll still have him teleport and suddenly be on me with me feeling helpless about it, but hey, I’m having fun, right?

Guys? Right?

Only use the step dodge if you know exactly what you’re doing or against certain attacks and bosses. First consider blocking, parrying, jumping, or lock-on sprinting. Step dodge is definitely powerful but 80% of the time it’s a horrible decision.

I think you can even step dodge into a sprint, which is extremely powerful to escape long sweeping combos.

Definitely this. I sprint a LOT.

Yes, this is key, and not obvious.
Upgraded weapons are DIFFERENT weapons. You need to equip them.

No idea why it’s like this, since they all seem to allow you to use them in the original mode anyway.

It does and that version is a lot easier to use. No idea why it does it, but… it does.
The “upgraded” version throws out a big semicircle in front of you that basically makes a wall.

Dodging is a lot harder because there aren’t invincible frames, so you actually need to dodge things. Jumping is better against most enemies than dodging if they aren’t thrusting. It’s more a matter of figuring out which one works, but usually jumping away is safer than a dodge. You know, until it isn’t and you have to dodge or you’ll die horribly. :D

Problem with jumping is that apparently you take more damage if you’re in the air (maybe to balance it out). There’s a skill that allows you to deflect on air, which might help.

Yeah, that’s why you only want to really jump if that’s the correct move. More often than not it is, but sometimes it isn’t. Odds are you’re jumping some unblockable attack anyway so the deflect probably wont help a ton, though it would be nice against mooks and dudes with guns.

I can’t bring myself to jump around like a madman. It’s just too janky.

I’ll confirm how step dodge sprinting works when I get home tonight.

You can step dodge into a sprint.

Sprinting starts as a dodge. If you hold down the button, you just start running.

Does the snake respawn after getting stabbed in the eye?

Yes. at least until you make it through that entire area. I haven’t gone back since.

This is what I did to stay on the back side of the bull and reposition. My first two attempts were just deflection, but the burn dot did me in. My 3rd time was sprinting unlocked and that just felt like crap. Locked on sprint 4th try and didn’t have to heal at all.