I am completely in love with this game. I replayed everything until Genichiro’s castle. Have not seen him yet, didn’t follow the stairs after I killed that bull (which was very easy the moment I read that I have to chase him), then I discovered the Longsword-mini-boss I somehow button-smashed down and now I want to kill a Spearmen-mini-boss that gives me trouble because there’s too much going on before I get to him. Can’t find a nice shortcut. But I am so excited continuing tomorrow. I love the art, the sword-gameplay and the movement so much!
You can literally use the same stealth path you used in the opening prologue to get behind the Seven Spears mini-boss.
Nice! Glad you’re enjoying it as I am glad I gave it a second chance. I didn’t play this at all today, but I’m going to give the last battle another try tomorrow. I hope I can pull it off as it would suck to fall short at the end.
Heavily inspired by your playthrough. So whoever’s still standing I hope you will beat him! ;)
Yep, thanks. Still takes quite some time : (
I guess I need at least ten or fifteen more tries before I am close. At least I am somewhat successfully practicing the (just unlocked) Mikiri Counter.
Memory does serve, except the monk is apparently actually a she.
I’m starting to get a bit frustrated in the last battle…
I can make it to the second phase maybe 20% of the time, maybe a third if I don’t count the battles I start of poorly and die in a minute. When I do make it to the second phase, I can last for a bit, but I barely do any damage to him - maybe 0.5 inches of his health bar.
I just watched a video of the first part of the fight, so I’ll see if that helped at all. I don’t like trying to figure out how to play games by watching videos, because if I ever make it, it kinda decreases my sense of accomplishment. Kind of like how I don’t like to read strategy guides for strategy games - but with this one there is not way I would have made it without the help in this thread or a couple videos I watched.
Damn, I think I’m gonna fall short. I’ll probably try some more before I go to bed tonight at least want to beat the second stage.
I would die countless times to his sword only phase because I couldn’t figure out how to deal with certain attacks.
Namely the sword glint fast attack immediately followed by a perilous sweep, which I now can punish every single time.
His thrust attacks are also easy to punish.
The hardest part is just his regular sword combos and his combat arts. The latter if you can side dodge you can punish but I find it easier just to deflect.
Nobody here is falling for such blatant foolishness.
I fought him in close quarters some of the time but also kept my distance and found my guaranteed openings. Took many patient nights but it was always fun, even when frustrating.
I totally agree with you about watching videos. This advice is the most helpful thing I read for Sekiro:
There is something to be learned from a rainstorm. When meeting with a sudden shower, you try not to get wet and run quickly along the road. But doing such things as passing under the eaves of houses, you still get wet. When you are resolved from the beginning, you will not be perplexed, though you will still get the same soaking. This understanding extends to everything.
-Hagakure: The Book of the Samurai
I’m very impressed by those of you who finish this beautiful beast without YouTube videos and such. I had to lean heavily on that - especially for the very last boss. I take comfort in this phrase I found when googling Sekiro Honor:
For a shinobi, there is no distinction between victory and honor . You have a job, you do it by all means necessary. Defeat is not an option. Defeat IS dishonor
Plus the game is mostly about execution. Just because you watched a video of someone perfect deflecting all attacks doesn’t mean you will now magical be able to.
The usefulness is in things you didn’t realize you were doing which were counterproductive, or discovering openings for attack you didn’t know existed, or using a particular prosthetic tool you would have never thought to use on your own.
For the last boss there is no real silver bullet though. It’s the final test and you either sink or swim.
For his spear phase I would recommend trying to focus more on deflecting and trying to stay close to him. He excels at the native range of his spear. When you are point blank all up in his grill, he has to resort to using his sword…with his free hand. Mikiri counter is also always your friend. Most of his combos end with a perlious thrust attack.
It’s the last phase where I panicked, hyperventilated, and proceeded to jump off the cliff edge for no apparent reason. The ultimate choke test! (In my defense it was during a lightning reversal attempt)
Very thematic advice from both of you :-)
Yes, there is a big difference between knowing I need to parry a set of attacks and actually doing it :-)
Ha! When I wrote that last night, I was in my whiskey and being silly/sarcastic. (The film Ghost Dog is on my mind also which is where I saw that quote.) But it’s actually maybe somewhat helpful advice for Sekiro! It will give you a good soaking. :D
In my own blood :-)
OK I finally removed 2 health dots. I somehow need to figure out how to stay alive long enough to take out 2 more. I haven’t been using any consumables other than my healing and 1 resurrection . Trying to reserve everything in case I make it to the last step.
Now I can sometimes beat the first phase without taking damage, maybe 10% of the time. Maybe another 30% where I don’t need to use healing. I’m removing the first red dot of the next phase maybe 25% of the time. Still haven’t made a big dent in the next phase.
I still get caught in the first phase sometimes and get out of whack and then I get defeated. If I start off really bad I just let him kill me. I’ve still got a long way to go.
My main problem with the game so far is: I cannot stay cool. I will always get so nervous that I do stupid mistakes. Stage-fright or something like this? I am still trying to beat the Seven Spears mini-boss. Yesterday was the breakthrough, 90% Mikiri Counter-success rate. I had him at orange/red posture bar for the last five attempts - then I had to go bed because of an important appointment today. Coming home I was thinking “yeah, max. 30min.”. Now it’s an hour. Two or three times I was sure that was it but… I got so nervous I did the stupidest thing. Mainly panic-jumping. Last five fights 50% of the Mikri Counter went wrong. I am losing it. I need a break. But, oh my, why do I get so nervous? It’s a stupid computer game!!! Grrr ;) Much to learn…
I can’t count the number of times over the years I have panicked playing Dark Souls. I’d see I had the boss down to a sliver and I’d just try to attack it like crazy , instead of sticking with what got me that far. And then I’d die.
If you feel yourself panicking, try to back off, remember what you were doing to get you there, and then contimue.
I guess back off is key. But even that’s so hard to remember when the brain’s going wild.
Well, I did it : ) And it was sooo easy. No loss of life, just one healing gourd. Oh my. Puh, on we go! Just 3-4 hours and it was a… mini boss. Oops.
edit.: On the way to Lady Butterfly (I had to read it up because I wasn’t sure that ‘dream’ already was for me) there also was a mini boss with a spear: First try. Now I feel good!
There you go!