Very Quick Tips: Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice

Go forth, young Shinobi

Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice is quite different compared to your typical Souls game.

Everything from leveling your character to basic combat is utterly new, so here’s a few tips to get you sorted on this jarring journey.

• Always remember to actually “rest” at the sculptor’s idol shrines (bonfires). They don’t queue up automatically after interacting with them and you need to hit the “rest” menu option manually to get your restorable consumables back.

• Since you can’t traditionally “farm stat leveling XP,” you’re going to want to comb through every area. Every finite item and consumable counts: in some cases, more than a stat point would.

• Upgrades come in the form of skills (XP earned from defeating enemies), prayer beads (collectibles that grant extra health and posture, typically dropped from mid-bosses), and memories (boss drops that add attack power). Tools (like shurikens) also have elaborate skill tree upgrades that can be paid for with cash. The latter two are finite and rack up in New Game+: so at some point you will need to fall back on your raw talent rather than boosting levels, as skills need to be wielded effectively. You can’t rely on pure stats to push you through, hence the “actually look for everything” tip above.

• You can pause the game and adjust your tactics or loadout at any point. If something isn’t working, even a skill, pause and change the way you’re approaching the fight. You can even add in health items late in the fight if you feel like you need them to push you over the edge.

• Jumping is a dodge: remember to use it. Oftentimes enemies will sweep you and a standard dodge won’t cut it. Jumping is always one of the safest options.

• Dying slices your current skill progress (basically your skill XP) and cash hoard in half, but there’s ways to cut your losses. At shops you can “invest” in several gold pouches for a 10 coin premium from vendors. Basically you’re paying 110 coins for a 100 coin consumable in case you die. For skill XP, remember that you can’t lose progress lower than your current level.

• You do not need to beat the entire Hirata Estate area right away. If you’re having trouble, leave, then come back when you’re stronger.

• A good mid-game skill XP farming spot is the Gun Fort waypoint. There’s three easy to clear out enemies in there that grant decent XP and the first one can be assassinated immediately.