Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice

J. Marston

J. Marston wrote: »

Is it as bastard hard as I keep reading it is? I love the Soulsborne games and looked forward to the challenge but the more I read about this it just puts me off.

Maybe I'm getting old and the "Git Gud" fun just doesn't have the same draw it once did.

Yes it is, don't believe otherwise. I find the coaxing of people trying to imply that it's not odd

mirrormatrix

FINALLY beat Lady Butterfly yesterday. That second phase was tough, but once I took the time to properly learn her attack patterns, and shuriken her every time she gets airborne, it suddenly became doable.

I then beat that general in the castle and the jimjam mini boss in quick succession. Maybe I'm starting to get the hang of this game - but I don't feel overly confident..

Don't feel at all ready for Genichiro yet though. Where would you recommend that I head to next?

Have you been to the Ashina Reservoir again?

I rage quit at the top of the castle, another mini boss that wrecked me over and over. I can see what I need to do and it's simple but the execution just wasn't happening.

sweetie

I've only beaten a few main bosses and mini bosses but i love that the game is still letting me explore away, get some more skills and stuff and not be stuck doing a boss over and over. Stuck at Lady and genichiro but got past snake eyes last night and reached hidden valley. Loving it!

mirrormatrix

No, haven't been there yet. Will go there next so.

I've also probably left a load of loot up on the rooftops of the castle, so need to revisit this. Ran past about half of those nightjar assassins, as every time I tried to take one on, he would call about 3 of his mates to jump in.

If the mini boss at the top of the castle is the samurai lad, he's not too bad once you figure out that you have to dodge left every time his sword flashes. Once I sussed that, I barely got hit by him.

petes

mirrormatrix wrote: »

If the mini boss at the top of the castle is the samurai lad, he's not too bad once you figure out that you have to dodge left every time his sword flashes. Once I sussed that, I barely got hit by him.

Double tap the deflect button when his sword flashes either, posture will raise really quickly.

SomeSayKos

I'm at

Great Shinobi Owl

. This is gonna be toughie!

Rob2D

I just beat

corrupted monk

. Had way more trouble than I'd like to admit. Definitely the most souls boss so far. That's probably what threw me. :pac:

And yer'wan with the guitar was a pain too. She hit harder than anything else in the game so far!

petes

SomeSayKos wrote: »

I'm at

Great Shinobi Owl

. This is gonna be toughie!

Same after the weekend, will try and have a go at him during the week!

Somedaythefire

I'm just too much of an idiot for these games. I know exactly what to do, but I just can't do it.

johnny_ultimate

Deleted User wrote: »

In another post I mentioned the frequency of mini bosses and a section of stealth being enjoyable I'd be curious on your thoughts there.

I think the mini-bosses need to be pretty frequent to keep you on your toes - they're really the only chance to try advanced combat outside of the main bosses. I do have some issues with how they handle them - towards the end of the game a bit more repetition becomes apparent with stronger versions of older bosses. But the vast majority of them are skippable, and generally they're a regular opportunity to test your skills. Can be a little bit challenging when they're surrounded by a mob that need to be picked off first, mind

mirrormatrix wrote: »

Don't feel at all ready for Genichiro yet though. Where would you recommend that I head to next?

I know this isn't a majorly helpful suggestion, but... you should tackle Genichiro :pac: If you've beaten the other two bosses up until that point you're ready. It's not an easy fight, no doubt about that. But it's sort of like a test of everything you've learned to that point. Once you've bested him, you're pretty much sorted for the rest of the game.

SomeSayKos wrote: »

I'm at

Great Shinobi Owl

. This is gonna be toughie!

Actually not the worst! One of those bosses where it definitely took 5-10 attempts, but I was noticing myself getting better and better with each go. The main trick is to learn the signs for any status effect or stun moves, as they're reasonably easily avoidable once you've got them down. Then it boils down to a battle of attrition It's one of the best fights in the game, and in classic From manner it goes from seemingly insurmountable to completely negotiable in a satisfying way.

Rob2D

johnny_ultimate wrote: »

you should tackle Genichiro :pac: If you've beaten the other two bosses up until that point you're ready. It's not an easy fight, no doubt about that.

I dunno, I thought he was handy enough. He doesn't do much really.

derfderf

Rob2D wrote: »

I dunno, I thought he was handy enough. He doesn't do much really.

He's pretty handy if you're playing the game as it's supposed to be played, rather than trying DS tactics.

SomeSayKos

should i bother with Headless? They don't drop prayer beads so I'm not sure what the point is really. I took down the first one but have just been skipping the rest. Is there a case to made for killing them other than that they're there to be killed?

johnny_ultimate

SomeSayKos wrote: »

should i bother with Headless? They don't drop prayer beads so I'm not sure what the point is really. I took down the first one but have just been skipping the rest. Is there a case to made for killing them other than that they're there to be killed?

Same as yourself, got one and haven’t really bothered with them since. I’m sure there are benefits but the terror status is a pain. Finally unlocked an endless supply of

divine confetti

in the shops though so that’ll help if I do bother.

There’s an

underwater

one later which is annoying, especially with a weaker one firing at you as well. There’s actually a prayer bead beside them but managed to grab it without bothering with them :pac:

nix

Fred The Red wrote: »

Yes it is, don't believe otherwise. I find the coaxing of people trying to imply that it's not odd

It's more of a case of trying not to discourage people from trying it, as like souls, although hard at first, gets easier the more you play/learn. Mr Marston has completed the soulsborne games, so he is well capable for this game.

When i started the game i found it very hard, im still not that far into the game, but I now dont think the game is anywhere near the level of difficulty I was expecting to put up with the entire way through the game. In fact, im finding it kinda easier than soulsborne now as you have alot more tools/abilities to dispatch enemies.

petes

petes wrote: »

Double tap the deflect button when his sword flashes either, posture will raise really quickly.

Popped a sneaky gummy bear and got behind him for the first deathblow, then as you said for the second. Never swung at him during the fight, felt like I cheesed him as the fight was over in seconds but I guess thats how the game wanted me to beat him.

brianregan09

I'd never played a souls or bloodborne game properly before and yes at the start it's really really hard ,but you can progress slowly and get better as you go , I find the bosses are the worst part obviously but all of the regular soldiers are very handy and by the time you get to Gyoubu and Lady Butterfly you are well able for most things , you definitely progress with the game , it's the most satisfying game I've played in ages and a massive departure from most AAA games which is the usual kind of stuff I'd play

petes

[Deleted User] wrote: »

Popped a sneaky gummy bear and got behind him for the first deathblow, then as you said for the second. Never swung at him during the fight, felt like I cheesed him as the fight was over in seconds but I guess thats how the game wanted me to beat him.

Actually never thought of that and was stuck there a while!

nix

Went on a streak there, killed the

monkies (easy)

, then i went and had another run in with the

snake

, then i went and spanked a big

ape

.. and then the

snake

again in a cave.. and then ran into and killed another

ape who summoned a smaller ape in phase 2

, lit him up also.. Is it the same

ape

you fight the first time?

And then i went on to finish the

big snake

, and landed on the other side of the drop, then went over to the collapsed bridge to see if any ledges below and fell through the bridge and now cant get back up :mad:

Am i missing anything big up there? think i seen an item or two nearby when i landed..

On to the forest next, ill tackle that in a while..

Where do you finish off the snake?

johnny_ultimate

[Deleted User] wrote: »

Where do you finish off the snake?

You need to make it

across the canyon at the start of Senpou. There’s a short subquest and mini-puzzle you need to figure out to get there.

nix

Deleted User wrote: »

Where do you finish off the snake?

EDIT: What Johnny said, or read spoiler below :P:pac:

I gave the rice from the divine child or whatever its called to the old hag praying near the monk temple, she then tells you to use the mind control ninjitsu on the rat by the kite device, he then uses the lever and holds the kite in place (he holds it in place, even if you rest/travel), then you go back to the big tree near the old hag and you can jump across and grapple the kite to get across. Then you can progress from there, Its pretty straight forward after that, enjoy!

I was doing ok against Genichiro Ashina not winning but I could get through the first deathblow without damage and manage the second. Didn't have my Mikiri timing right in the third but coming back to him now tonight he's just been spamming arrows ffs :mad:

johnny_ultimate

Folks it's my sad duty to inform you that the last boss in this hard game is in fact hard

YouSavedMyLife

johnny_ultimate wrote: »

Folks it's my sad duty to inform you that the last boss in this hard game is in fact hard

Hah. Which one are you fighting?

Oh and the headless guys drop unique items. I forgot what but 2 of them drop reusable Ungo and Ako power ups that use emblems

Oh and if you are at the part where you come back to Ashina castle for the second time go look in all areas around the castle, don't just head for the roof. Lots of surprises, teehee

johnny_ultimate

YouSavedMyLife wrote: »

Hah. Which one are you fighting?

Sword Saint

. Bastard hits fast and hard, and it's a four-phase fight

manual_man

Is there any option to turn off the gore(blood) in this?

Here's my biggest problems with the game so far and I've pumped in about 15-20 hours since launch.

The game forces you to play in a specific way. I find the lack of variation when fighting the bosses / mini bosses after a while the bad type of repetitive / frustrating.

If I compare it with Bloodbourne of Dark Souls each new bosses presented new or additional challenge accommodated with multiple methods of defeating them and also depending on your playing style / build.

Sekiro shoehorns you into a path that you must learn via repetition. It reminds me of Hotline Miami in a way.
Most of the time it boils down to parry parry, block block, attack rinse and repeat. It's a chore with some of the bosses.

Also some sidenotes:
The soundtrack is terribly grating after while. I had to mute the music.
And I have mentioned this already but the input lag on console (Xbox One X) get's progressively worse the further you get into the game.
From Software get a way with murder and never patch there games properly.
I have actively press block / parry only to have Wolf do nothing or have a delayed response in his block animation so many times at critical points of a boss fight. It's just not good enough for a game so specific around learning attack patterns.

sticker

I'm into a good portion of the game and sucessfull parrying is still a nack I'm struggling with. If I wait patiently and tap L2 when the strike is about to hit, I get hit and posture damage.

Do you guys have any advice on this? Hit just before? I faced the armoured knight and whereas he can be somewhat sloe in strikes, I could not parry him...