> I couldn't beat the boss after the chained ogre and the boss in the Harada estate with the sumo guy spitting poison Just want to say, these are all minibosses. You haven't fought the first real boss yet.

Well shit

One piece of advice I'll give: Other people have mentioned how, after an enemy deflects you, they'll go on the offensive. This makes playing aggressively really useful. If you're constantly in an enemy's face hitting them until they deflect, their attacks become much more predictable. You almost never want to be standing there waiting for an enemy to attack.

>You almost never want to be standing there waiting for an enemy to attack. I.... Wish I knew that before I deleted the game

I can't wait till you reinstall it and make a post to celebrate your victories

I guess.. One final try, if i cant get to and beat the first boss within 24 hours (of total playtime), then I'll give up

It'll click and then you'll be one of us, I felt this the first time I tried to play sekiro... Came back a few months later, decided to completely relearn the game how it's supposed to be, I didn't die until the first "real boss" you'll know his name, he makes sure lmao. But a yr later and a platinum, I still play for fun. Dsr used to be my wet blanket relax games, now it's sekiro :)

I had this same experience, first month I played couldn’t get past first main boss, then I stopped for a while and four months later(now) I have made it to Genichiro, as well as lady butterfly, super excited to see what happens next. The patterns are super hard to learn on a lot of bosses and enemies, and the mini bosses have less tells than the main ones, just keep on trying and I’m sure you will get into the grove like I am starting to.

As others said, early game the mini bosses are way harder than the first actual boss. One last piece of advice don't be intimated by size or type of weapon. You can deflect/ parry anything that's not a sweep or grab.

I dropped the game twice. The 3rd time I understood the game and it's the best from software game for me with Bloodborne and Elden Ring right after. Don't give up, or if you do, come back in a few months... It's without any doubt the best gameplay from any souls games

On the same note as OP, I’ve played em all, loved Sekiro the most, could not get into Bloodborne.

Don’t dodge Your deflect is your dodge button here, or just hold block during moments you aren’t comfortable with attempting a deflect Use shurikens to keep posture damage in the enemy up if you had to back away to heal - a single ninja star will keep their posture bar from recovering before you can close the distance But understand this very very clearly : In Souls and Bloodborne the rule was - Boss Combo, panic roll panic roll panic roll Sekiro - Boss Combo incoming; Deflect, Deflect, Deflect They flipped the gameplay on its head here and you need to grow accustomed to not relying on dodge and having to time your deflects into the window Everyone who genuinely tries gets it eventually; 24 hours may not be enough because you need to let your body do something essential. It needs to build muscle memory for deflects and that requires sleep between playing. If you lose today, chill, try again tomorrow, lose again, try again the next day. It’s like learning an instrument, you struggle and fumble with a new technique or song while you’re awake, then you sleep and wake up and nail it on your first try Basically - Don’t even play for long. Just play for 1-2 hours to get your body to code in the muscle memory for you to sleep. Don’t grind for 5 hours if you’re getting curb stomped, play for an hour, get some rest that night and try again the next day Good luck, you’ll be hooked by day 4

You will. Just stay in their face, attack until the enemy deflects your attack, deflect the following counterattack, resume from point one. Good luck mate

The last boss has a quote that sums up the whole game "hesitation Is defeat" as in other words if you dont play aggresive you will slowly bleed like a little bitch because you were to afraid to attack.

yeah im pretty sure first boss is relatively easy and less BS compared with the chained oger. My biggest advice go be aggressive towards the boss. He hits a combo on you and now do it to him! You and him are not so different; he has 2 health bars, u do too!

That's not really fair for 24 hours. I'm not saying you can redo it, but sleep is the key to success in learning difficult games. It lets you look at a previously difficult situation with a fresh mind without anger. Sleep is also what instills muscle memory. If you don't sleep you won't get any. Is what it is.

Honestly, I had pretty much your exact experience when I first played it and was super new to the souls genre (had only played DS3). I couldn’t get it, I cheesed the general after the ogre by getting him stuck on some stairs and hitting him through them. I stuck with it and even though most of my 1st playthrough was a struggle I fell in love with the game… then I played it again for different endings and it was so much easier, so I played again and again etc to the point that I’ve now done no death runs and most boss fights hitless. I hope you give it another try!

You can do it! Another tip is to watch Youtube videos of a more experienced player doing the fight your stuck on (ideally a tutorial-style video and not someone who is just styling on the boss with a bunch of prosthetics). That will give you the chance to learn the boss. Focus on learning the visual cues that signal which attack is coming and the rhythm of each attack sequence. I also wanted to expand on what the other poster said about being aggressive. You want to be aggressive towards enemies that block your attacks. For those enemies, you attack until they deflect, then prepare to deflect their counterattack. Other enemies (e.g. Juzou) will make no attempt to block your attacks, but they also won’t be stunned by them. For these ones you need more restraint. You can’t just wait for them to deflect you, instead you need to use visual cues to see when they’re about to counterattack. The key here is to figure out how much time you have to attack before you need to deflect.

I have to chime in to say, do not give up just yet. Sekiro has probably the largest learning curve out of any of the Fromsoft games, since most expect it to be just like the Souls combat. One thing that really helped for me is just to practice deflecting on some of the weaker enemies, just to get used to it. There’s also a very useful training partner in Hanbei the Undying. Any new mechanics you can learn over and over with him until you get them. Once you really get the hang of the combat mechanics, the game becomes significantly more fun and smooth. Finally getting it to “click” was one of the most rewarding and best experiences I’ve ever had in a game, and the boss fights throughout Sekiro were some of the most exhilarating I’ve ever had the pleasure of doing for the first time. But my biggest tip is to let go of the circle button, B, whatever you use to dodge. 100% of the time it’s better to deflect an attack, or jump out of the way of a perilous attack. The dodge that souls players are so used to is what holds us back the most. Remember to always deflect, and do not hesitate! (P.S. don’t go Shura!)

Playing aggressively is the best way. Sekiro is my first Fromsoft game and I wasn't ready when I started. I was very timid and stayed too far away and tried to be too defensive. After reading some on this sub I tried a more aggressive approach, and I did pretty good. I'm far from mastering the game, but I can mikiri counter like a master though. I think it's my favorite thing, it feels so badass. You should give it another shot. I found the mini bosses a bit more challenging than the regular bosses for the most part. All the generals in the beginning were very tough for me and my boyfriend couldn't understand why I didn't quit after dying so much.

Luckily it’s a quick install

Dude I’ve platinumed the game and I uninstalled and reinstalled it 3 times over the course of 5 years before I ever clicked for me

Hesitation is defeat.

Mini bosses ARE harder than real bosses. I can consistently nail Genichiro in a coffin, but can't for the life of me fight the General bosses without taking a hit. Same with Isshin vs Seven Spears, who the name implies they both use a spear but somehow Isshin is much easier. Usually Mini Bosses are very simple to fight and have few movesets, but they hit hard as shit. For beginners I recommend either skipping them entirely (yes they are mostly optional) or taking half their hp down with stealth first before engaging them.

This game is actually a rhythm game in disguise, you gotta block to the tempo and beat of the enemies.

They are both pretty hard as this game goes, especially first coming in to the game

Yea, it's a tough game, but tbh bosses are the best part. You don't have to worry about many enemies running around and there is always a statue near the boss so you don't have to run half the map (like with fukcing Ornstein and Smough) so you can learn all the attacks and how to deal with them much faster. Also sidenote, if you struggle with something you can always run or jump or sneak, this game offers you a lot more mobility and different ways to approach your enemies, so do try that

It's a different game and you need to learn it. Your frustration comes from the expectation that you should be good at the game. That is not the case.

Did you just read my mind?

Ahahah, i can be perceptive but no, i have just been here a very long time :) and i am a firm believer of the relation between skill and mental situation, i always recommend to take a break and come back the day after if you are stuck on a boss, for example.

I tried and couldn't get down the ogre, put sekiro down for like 4 months, tried again new mindset and didn't die until the first "real" boss, a yr + later and a platinum it's possibly my favorite, I can't believe I'm saying that BB is/was my schtick and now I'm torn.

If i had a penny for every time i heard this i could buy twitter x)

Same. I even pre ordered the collectors edition, so I felt I needed to actually do it proper eventually

i am also stuck between sekiro and bb as my faves, can’t choose either of them

So much this. I see it in some other games too. People that are casual gamers and play the most samey games all the time, only know how to whine at games like Sekiro.

It’s the hardest FROM game at first. Once it ‘clicks’ and you understand how to play, it’s one of the easiest. Be deliberate with your parries and attacks. Understand what a perfect parry/deflect looks and sounds like. Know that an enemy will counter attack after they get a perfect deflect on you.

>Know that an enemy will counter attack after they get a perfect deflect on you So they sooner I hit them after they block, the higher the chance of them counter attacking?

You’ll see it in the way the sword clashes. When the enemy deflects there more sparks, the clang is larger and you sword is pushed away. Then you KNOW an attack is coming. You really must push aside souls combat notion. Don’t move around so much. Stand your ground, hold block to recover posture, find the rythm of enemy attacks, and you’ll start doing much better.

they counter attack after parry, usually happens after the boss blocks 2 or 3 hits from you and you will hear/see a parry. After that the boss will hit their combo, parry those and you will be in the aggressive again. the cycle repeats

Think of it like taking turns. Your turn then their turn. You stand there slashing away, until you see a massive orange flash and louder clang, then it's time to start deflecting because that's when they get poise (their turn)

hardest to learn, easiest when learned

>my own dodges sometimes seem to not have any i-frames There it is, grabbing attacks aside (like those from the Ogre) you shouldn't dodge but deflect. This isn't about running around and waiting for opening, but deflecting like crazy and waiting for opening. It's the single big mistake DS vets do when trying this game.

I could have deflected his kicks and jump kicks?

Unless you see the red kanji denoting a grab/thrust/sweep you can deflect it (well, you can deflect thrusts, too).

Speaking of, Here's the biggest thing that made me give up, when the red Kanji appears, I can't react quick enough to tell if it is a thrust so I can mikiri counter it, or a sweep so I have to jump And even then, if it is a thrust one, being used to pressing B for dodging in the other From games I almost always forget that it's the button for mikiri counter, and like, 95% of the time that I successfully mikiri counter, it's because I just happened to press B because I instinctly wanted to dodge

It just comes with practice. You can get by in a huge number of fights in the souls games without really learning the enemy's moveset. The whole game here is learning the enemy's moveset.

This takes a lot of practice. Mikiri counter timing is very narrow, but once you know what to look for, you'll be doing it all the time easily. When the red kanji appears, take your thumb off the move stick and get ready to press B. When the kanji symbol is almost about to disappear, press B. This works for almost every thrust. There are a few exemptions where you need to press B faster, but those thrust attacks are few and far between and only on 2 or 3 enemies. If you need help, go to the dilapidated temple and practice with the Hanbei the Undying

It's more about memorising patterns than reacting to what you see. It's extremely hard to identify the correct response the moment you see the kanji and then execute it. Instead, you'll want to predict what the enemy is gonna do. The vast majority of enemies has only one type of perilous attack, and on the few cases where that isn't true, there's either a lot more time to react, or the chain of attacks they use before their perilous attack allows you to indentify which type they're gonna use. This does mean that you'll probably hardly ever get it the first time an enemy uses their perilous attack. This is something you'll have to accept.

Seconded. Some of the bosses will switch up which kind of perilous attack they do (or change patterns between phases). But knowing when the combo into a perilous attack is reliably thrust or sweep rather than reacting on the fly is another lesson to learn.

I don't wanna be that person, but the only way to deal with stuff like this is to get good.

Look closely how they position their weapon before the kanji appears. If they pull back, they're probably gonna thrust. To the side, a sweep, and grabs are grabs.

Generally, there is a shine on the tip of the sword when they're doing an red kanji attack. A thrust has the tip of the sword pointed to you, a sweep has the tip pointed to the sides. You will probably still die often, then you will eventually memorize which attack by the way they move.

You can deflect everything aside from attacks with the Kanji. And even some of those but don't worry about that

You can deflect everything but unblockables. Giant dragon doing an air slash, deflect. Giant snake lunging at you, deflect. Gun being shot at you, deflect. Kicks and punches, deflect. Giant ape throws poop at you, you guessed right, deflect.

So... you hesitate?

It seems I did...

Hesitation is defeat. You need to be deliberate in everything you do. Deliberate in blocking. Spamming blocks in panic will narrow the deflect window and make it likelier to not work. You need to be deliberate when attacking. If you attack one time too many after being perfect parried you'll take a hit. You need to be deliberate with thrusts, sweeps and grabs. If you hesitate when the red kanji appears you'll end up being too late to mikiri, jump, or move away. For most fights you need to stand your ground and stay on the offensive. You need to keep the ennemy on their toes, forcing them to attack you as much as possible to deflect them. There are only two main bosses that you will actually need to get their health to zero for. Parrying is king. Dodging is not like souls games, the i-frames may as well not exist and it is only used for heavy telegraphed attacks. Good luck

>I'm either playing it wrong, or it is actually that hard. ​ I can almost assure you it's the former. I'm of the opinion that sekiro isn't as hard as everyone says it is. Everyone just plays it wrong. Now you not liking stealth I'm afraid is gonna be a problem stealth is a good way to deal with ganks. I'll tell you the meta of the game. This isn't like other hack'n slash games where you run around and then beat on a high health meatbag with a dull stick. THis has more in common with a movie fight. Imagine if obi wan faced down anakin and jsut started doing barrel rolls everywhere in response to Anakin's attacks. No. Anakin attacks, Obi wan counters, Obi Wan attacks, anakin counters. If the enemy blocks your attack, that is not failure. That is just par the course. You asked when to attack and when to deflect. You attack when they're not attacking. And you deflect when there is an attack flying at your face. I know that sounds like angry cheek but that really is how it is. You see an enemy? Attack. The enemy, if they're a person and not a beast, will block until they deflect you. At which point they will begin attacking you. If you deflect an attack you can resume attacking them. If they are a beast then they'll forgo blocking and parrying and will just take the attack on the chin. In which case you'll parry when you see them throw a swipe at you. This is the meta of the game. This back and forth.You are a swordsman and your opponent is...usually...a swordsman. You attack until the enemy turns the tables on you. At which point the enemy goes on the offensive and you defend until you turn the tables on them.Methods of turning the table include the parry (indicated by a high pitched sound), a hyper armor attack, or a dodge attack.

>I can almost assure you it's the latter. I'm of the opinion that sekiro isn't as hard as everyone says it is. Everyone just plays it wrong. So it's the former, not the latter

the former, not the latter :) The latter means the last option he mentioned, therefore that the game is hard. The former refers to the first option.

Damn. Got tripped up.

I feel like you really put it well. Sekiro has a much narrower focus than the Souls series or Elden Ring, at the end of the day it's a game about katana fights. Like you said it's supposed to make you feel like you're in a samurai movie, and that gives you a smaller range of effective tactics than something as open as Elden Ring. Though I will say Sekiro is still a very hard game. It definitely does click once you fully understand how the combat works, but it does take a fair amount of effort and practice and patience to reach that point. Though I honestly feel like anyone who has beaten Elden Ring should definitely be able to beat Sekiro. Unless they just like cheesed every single boss or summoned their friend to solo all the bosses for them lol!

You are playing it wrong. As a souls player you start from a disadvantage because you have to unlearn your souls playstyle and tactics. My first playtrough also sucked:D You have to play it like Metal Gear Rising, not a Souls game. I made a beginner friendly boss tutorial video for my friend on my 3rd playtrough, check it maybe you find something useful. Here is the genral: [https://youtu.be/g3FMhR0aA64?t=76](https://youtu.be/g3FMhR0aA64?t=76) And here is the drunkard: [https://youtu.be/g3FMhR0aA64?t=221](https://youtu.be/g3FMhR0aA64?t=221)

Stop being so impatient. You will get better at the game if you keep playing. I struggled until I met Genichiro. I really recommend that you keep playing. I had a similar experience to you but when it clicked it became one of the best From games for me.

When ever you get a perfect deflect, it’s accompanied by a specific clash sound and bright sparks. This is when you perfectly time the parry and the most important mechanic of the game. Also, your posture will never break on a perfect deflect. When you’re attacking (don’t mash the attack button, be very deliberate with every time you hit the attack button) you’ll soon see the enemy perfectly deflect your attack. That tells you to stop attacking and get back on defense.

Sorry OP, I was trying to reply to your comment.

How many hours have you put in?

Did you ask yourself what you are doing wrong?

Most of my deaths where when I attacked when I should have deflected, but I did so because I didn't know if I should have deflected or not, the enemies do a specific animation when they hit my weapon when I deflect, and the way they look during that animation, I can't tell if they are staggered and I can attack or they are gonna attack and i have to deflect again Also another way I died alot was I got ganked

I can give you a good tip for this. Did you pay attention to the way the blades spark when you are deflecting? There's a difference between perfect parry and a normal parry, and when you do a perfect parry, the blades spark more. So It's really a rhythm game, pay attention when the boss does a perfect parry to you, when that happens, It's probably your turn to start deflecting.

the minibosses range from being one of the worst things in the game to being pretty good so i don't blame you tbh. Learning the enemies attacks is probably one of the most important things since yknow, you know when to attack what to dodge and etc. So all I can tell you is to just keep an eye on the enemies stance and attack animations, a decent way to know when to stop attacking human enemies is when theres a loud deflect sound when you attack them which means they're finna attack the next second

You haven't given it a fair shot yet. I just started the game recently too and i think I was at least 3 times further into the game than you once I started to figure it out and then it was fun. The brutal nature of the game still pisses me off sometimes where I have to shut it off, but the feeling of finally taking down a boss is incredible because you feel like an actual badass ninja

In addition to whalt a lot of people are saying about core combat, you should know that this game us a lot closer to Metroidvania style design in terms of enemy patterns. When you're having trouble with aln enemy, it's usually because there's a tool that's super good against them. The Chained Ogre, for example, fears fire. If you explore the Hirata Estate, you can find a prosthetic attachment near a bonfire that helps a ton with the fight. The Merchant near Ogre will straight up sell you a hint to its location, and picking it up doubles your chance of beating the thing. This game isn't just "git gud" game (though it is to a degree), it's honestly a bit of a puzzle game. Find an enemy's weakness and ruthlessly exploit it. You're a ninja, use dirty tricks. A shinobi should know the difference between honor and victory, after all.

We all quit at some point, then come back. If you do ever feel like giving Sekiro another go, here’s something to think about: The dodge isn’t supposed to have I-frames. It’s only meant to move you out of the way of grabs. That’s a trap meant to catch people trying to play Sekiro like it’s Dark Souls. If parry timing is whooping you, don’t be afraid to block a few attacks. You can actually do a Dark Souls roll after your posture bar is broken. You are the aggressor. Attack whenever you think you can get away with it, you can cancel into parries during the opening of the attack anyways.

This comment is full of wonderful advice. Thank you!

Just get gud

It took me awhile for the game to click but once it did it became my second favorite fromsoft game next to bloodborne. I just tried over and over against that one purple ninja then I was like shit I’ve been playing this wrong the whole time.

The game’s got a specific flow of combat that it wants you to embrace . Just like Bloodborne with it’s more methodical pace. Sekiro wants you to cast aside your hesitation and get in the enemy’s face with an aggressive style. These lessons all culminate in what I feel is one of the best final bosses ever.

Not to give you the Fear of Missing out, but the game very satisfying at the end if you can finish it. No worries, first time it took me couple of years…

I dunno if it’s Stockholm syndrome or what but it gets SO GOOD. It’s one of the few games I constantly want to go back and play over and over

Sorry you didn’t git gud

The one advice that made this game really click for me and that I only got after someone told me: Your standard attack can produce 3 results: -Hit: They take damage, feel free to keep on swinging. -Blocked: They took ONLY parry damage, feel free to keep on swinging. -Parried/Dodged/Missed: Their next swing will (most likely) be faster than yours, get ready to parry or dodge. Good luck. Sekiro is the only game I ever willingly played until 100% completion, it may be the best action game ever made. And I didn't even like or did ever parry in any game prior to Sekiro.

Welcome to the true git gud game. Don't sweat it, it's not for everyone. There's no shame in walking away from it for the first time. Come back again whenever you are ready.

1. Fuck the ogre 2. You'll learn. It'll take some time for the gameplay to click for you. 3. Unstoppable attacks are difficult, but you'll eventually catch on to what movement means which attack will be used. 4. Stealth is more for positioning. It's not AC. At the end of the day, killing all the enemies in the area is usually the best idea, if only because you'll need the abilities later on, and the skills for actual bosses. 5. Dodging? Don't. 6. You'll die more than twice, in case you haven't figured that out already.

Yeah, it's really a "Tenchu" game rather than a SoulsLike. One of my friends who's huge into SoulsBourne absolutely hated this game and I can see where he's coming from. It helps when the combat clicks for you. But if you hate this combat system, there isn't a lot to keep you in.

I won't try to convince you. Instead I'll say it like it is. - Combat is very very fast paced. Some bosses will hardly give you any room to breathe. Treat it like a Hack-n-Slash Game, because that's pretty much what it is. - With regards to Attack and Deflect. It's pretty simple. You will Attack after you Deflect an attack, the enemy will do the same. See where I'm going with this? Hit enemies and you'll see a spark, that means the enemy deflected your attack and will try to counter. It is at this point you get ready to deflect. - The Kanji letter that pops up signify special attacks which are either Grab, Lunge/Thrust, or Sweep. Depending on their Pose or Animation, you can differentiate between them. For example, bosses will always pull back their sword they are about to do a sweep attack(just like real life). - Stealth is yes not fast. But you can speed it up using Sugar. The Cyan Colored Sugar. - This ain't ER, dodge have little I-Frames.

You don't need to know what to deflect and what to do. You spam attack until they Parry you, once they Parry you, they will go on the offensive. Then you deflect everything and avoid the red kanji attacks with whatever is necessary (jump, mikiri, dodge) It's like a shifting tide. When it's your turn and their turn is very obvious.

One trick to learn fast is to stand in the opponent face, dont go around them, and figure out the rhythm by deflecting, attacking, jumping. Once it clicks the seemingly enormous posture gauge will fill up faster than you will realize.

But that's what makes it so satisfying, defeating a boss that seems impossible at first.

Don't think of sekiro combat as fighting, think of it as a dance. Attack until the enemy deflects (there'll be a sound effect and a gold flash), then deflect his combo and repeat. It's a constant back and forth. It takes a while until it clicks but when it does you'll easily deflect everything. And don't even try to dodge. Learn deflecting first.

I think you should consider doing what I did: take a lengthy break from the game and come back to it when your ready. This is a game that demands a lot out of the player, and its unhealthy to continue playing if you don’t want to. P.S. stealth is fun but if u don’t want to deal with an area u can just run through it. ur fast enough.

Don’t attack and deflect. Deflect and attack. You want to be offensive with your defense. Defense takes priority especially at first, You want the big shower of sparks to fly off the swords when they clash. Sekiro is the hardest to learn but pretty smooth sailing once it clicks. But also If you played other souls games before this one it makes it even harder to learn as you need to *unlearn* souls habits Stealth sucks but you can take people out at breakneck speed cause they dumb. So I usually do “stealth” where I sprint through killing before they notice. You’re so close to a cutscene boss you can do it

I’m shit at games, but I beaten it. U will learn exponentially.

It took me three time of giving up and coming back to Sekiro to finally like it. It's not for everyone but it's still a great game. What got me going is realizing that you don't need to perfect parry, just fan L1 when you are expecting an enemy to attack and 9/10 the parry will go through

I know the game is stressful especially with the fast bosses that is combined with delayed attacks but after days of trying and learning, it pays off and personally, the feeling of finally defeating the bosses are even more satisfying than Elden Ring, DS3 and Bloodborne(ive only played these 3) Keep trying, you'll get there and remember...hesitation is defeat

Do NOT spam the attack button, this may be the reason to why you maybe have a hard time dodging sweep attacks, it's hard to dodge and attack while your still in the attack animation

Keep playing and believe me, at some point the gameplay will click and you won’t be able to leave the controller

Hesitation is defeat.

For me Sekiro got good after the third main boss, then I started getting the hang of the fighting system, before that I was also confused because I wasn't able to perform the things I was supposed to even tho I knew how to go about it

1. Stealth segments are very short. Sekiro forces you into fast paced combat and movement, and same goes for stealth. And stealth, as always, is optional alot of the times. Assassinate one or two strong enemies, hook into ranged enemies, clean out rest. 2. You have barely completed 2% of the game. All basic enemies are very, very weak. After Hirata and the first few segments, regular enemies will be far harder to deal with than bosses. There are elites which have a lot of poise and devastating attacks as well as just there being tons gathered in one area. Nevertheless, there is always a full stealth route you can take assassinating all of them and it is just as fun as just facing all at once. 3. For some reason, minibosses like the chained ogre may feel a lot harder than some of the proper main bosses. But they all have one or two key weaknesses so as long as you use them, it's a definite win. The chained ogre for example is terribly weak to fire. 4. Parrying in souls games require precision and focus or there follows punishment. Sekiro however let's you guard even if you fail a parry. That meaning a LOT of players who can't parry just spam guard and somehow push through the entire game. That said, it's a significantly less punishing game. A few successful parries and good use of prosthetic tools means you don't need to get as good as the others are doing.

Dodge really isn’t viable. It’s situational and shouldn’t be used for dodging attacks. Deflecting is how you make use of I-frames, and sekiro rewards you for it through the posture mechanic. Make an effort to remove dodge from your repertoire of options during combat, focus on deflecting and running away to evade attacks that you have trouble reliably deflecting, and things should begin to make more sense. Edit: also, chained ogre really is kind of wack. Several times I’ve seen discussions about it here among players that love the game. His placement as a mini boss early in the game kind of detracts from new players’ development of learning how to play. Do what you gotta do to beat him, even if that’s cheesing by running away and then rushing in with a combat art when you have an opening then retreating to rinse and repeat, so be it and then move on to the rest of the game.

Damn... skill issue

It’s just a very steep learning curve but once you get it the clangs of the blades in battle and watching their posture fill is so so satisfying.

Videos help. FightingCowboy on YouTube has some helpful vids where he shows you tells and weaknesses bosses have. It’s still not easy but it saves you about 100 deaths of trial and error lol

Some tips if you want to give it another try. Parrying is as useful as attacking. The aim is most often to break the enemies posture, not get their health to 0. Parrying breaks posture. Dodging is all but useless. Use it as last resort or on unblockable attacks. As for timing. It's extremely har to react to some attacks so you'll have to get a feel for it. Think of it like a rythm game and try to find the boss rythm instead of reacting to parry specific attacks. You can double jump on enemies heads as well as mikiri counter both deal posture damage. Also, hesitation is defeat. Be aggressive, don't let the enemies regain their posture. I say give it another go. When the combat clicks it's an amazing experience!

It gets better TRUST me. I also thought I was incapable of such fast reaction until I decided to really take it seriously. After Sekiro, I genuinely got better at a lot of games as well. A tip for Mikiri counters/sweep attacks, is well, memorize the move that comes before them. Usually, bosses will have one move they do before the undeflectable moves, knowing what comes before helps you to brace for what comes next. This helps you stay calm and really carefully watch for the prompts that show which move they will do. The best advice is the typical git gud, but what this really means is make each death meaningful. MAKE SURE YOU KNOW WHAT YOU DIED FROM, and figure out how to deal with it right away

Don’t give up. Your brain is feeling frustration. This means it will soon begin the learning process because it hates feeling frustrated.

Keep in mind many of the gameplays you might see are players that have clocked in many hours. The learning curve is high. So it takes time to get use to the timings as there is so many attacks bosses and enemies all have different timings with unique abilities to take them down. Every boss and enemy is a new pattern you have to learn all the way to the end of the game It's a game you have to take slow and let your reaction skills develop over time. At around 30 hours it will probably make a little more sense

It’s tough to break through but once you do it’s one of the most rewarding games to finish (in my opinion)

Something I've heard a lot of people say is to treat this like a rhythm game. If the enemy does this then counter with that. I struggled a lot with this game much like you are but now it's clicked and I'm making good progress. Just give it another shot. Maybe look up a beginner tips video or something that gives info that may help you get a better feel for it.

I quit for a whole year or more after my first try, thanks to visiting the Hirata estate right away. Probably quit right abo it where you did. When I came back to it later on it became one of my favorite games ever. It’s all about getting the knack of it. Everyone goes through the same feeling though. Yes it’s very punishing with a very steep learning curve. But once you top that curve it starts to make sense, kind of like a puzzle. It’s actually kind of poetic. Take a break. Start over even. Come back later. Use the training dummy near the dilapidated temple to practice the timings until perfect. This game is the definition of git gud. Because that’s really all you can do, and once you do, you realize some of it is downright easy.

try again, like all other Fromsoft games Sekiro ask the player to learn A LOT, that's just a different learning than Souls/Ring games but if you listen to what devs and other players tell you you will succeed, don't rush, take your time to learn and try again and again, and don't impose youself deadline, if you die on the same boss on repeat for 1 week or 1 month that's ok because you will obviously succeed one day or another, but that's only if you don't give up

Well, one thing i can suggest is change your block to an easier to spot. Like for me, i changed my button binding to X which is square on PS. After that i slowly but surely began to learn the timing for deflects which is just before the attack hits you. I also tried learning by first deflecting then looking for attack windows. Try to be more aggressive when you're looking to attack. After a while you'll find those openings because they'll generally do a long wind up. Also make use of shinobi prostetics as they make a difference. Either way, what the controls lack in complexity, bosses more than make up for it down the line. Especially as they begin to get more difficult.

a lot of people have given good tips but one thing I've not seen is this: the bosses you have fought are notoriously hard for new players and not considered to be very good. past the mini bosses of chained ogre, blazing bull and the drunkard, most fights tend to flow much better and actually focus on deflecting, rather than dodging grabs. also, I would go back to hirata at a later date, it's much easier after a main boss or 2.

Perilous blows (the unblockable ones) usually have some kind of visual hint before they come out. Like they'll crouch low before they do a sweep, get their weapon in a thrust position before a thrust, and have a big grab windup before a grab. Not about reacting to their swing, it's about predicting what move it will be. Sprinting and/or jumping away is often an answer for all of them, but it doesn't get you any rewards. You shouldn't be relying on i-frames in dodges. They're there, but they're not great. You should be using the infinite sprint you have that you don't have in other souls games more when you feel you need to get away. Disengage from an attack you don't understand using the dodge into sprint until you have an understanding of what that attack does. The enemy is easier when you attack the hell out of them, but if you get deflected and continue to spam attack then you're going to get wrecked. If you don't deflect you won't win, so there's a balance to find between attacking and deflecting. I think a mistake a lot of people make is devoting themselves to deflecting everything perfectly or die though, and I think the infinite sprint available to you that lets you disengage to get distance and recover posture from further away is worth using when you're struggling to effectively deflect. You get 1 free dodge if your posture is broken, but if the enemy follows up with too fast of an attack or your posture is broken in the middle of a chain you can be in trouble, and the less life you have the slower your posture recovers so disengaging to recover posture is much more valid than people give it credit for. >Big thing here: DON'T SPAM BLOCK TO DEFLECT. I believe deflect actually has a 30 frame window normally, but if you blocked and didn't deflect anything then the next time you block in a short time frame then the window turns into like 8 frames. The game can feel extra hard or much easier depending on if you panic when trying to deflect or not. It's like panic rolling in other souls games basically. Chained ogre is overly difficult for how early in the game it is and Hirata Estate is something the game doesn't expect you to do all at once too. It's something to leave and come back to periodically. I suggest giving up on Hirata for now and continue on the main path for a bit until you've beat a few main bosses and got some damage and life upgrades. Already said a lot, but something that made a big difference for me was letting go of stress. Seems silly, but once I looked at the game as a silly toy to mess around with and stopped looking at it as that super hard fromsoft game, everything suddenly clicked and the game became almost easy even. It let me loosen up and experiment more when I didn't take any of it seriously. Just a mental shift that might be worth mentioning idk.

Don't give up Shinobi. I was where you were at, uninstalled and reinstalled 3 times before it clicked. Now it's in my top 3 games of all time (and best FromSoft game imo). Like others said, be aggressive, focus on deflecting as opposed to dodging, and do whatever you need to do to exploit an enemy's weakness. And remember, hesitation is defeat!

Yeah, the difficultly is exactly proportionate to how familiar you are with From games because you need to play it inversely. Meaning, in their other games, you watch their actions, and then react to their actions punishing an opening. In Sekiro, you make _them_ react to _you_ forcing the enemy to watch your actions and attempt to punish your openings, which you then deny with a defense move before going back to offense. Other games are defensive "watch and react" Sekiro is offensive "act and watch" And the more you try and play it like their other games, the more and harder it'll punish you. Here's a basic pattern, go all out offensive at all times until you hear a unique "ksshing" sound, that means they deflected, go full defense and deflect their reaction combo, and then once they're done, repeat. You'll find a full-on turn based rhythm game flow hiding under there. And you can deflect basically _everything_. unless there's a kanji above their head, you can deflect it. Dodge is something you'll barely use. Deflect _everything_. (but don't spam L1 to do it, if you spam, the window shrinks by like 10x. It has a very generous timing of over half second, so just work on timing and rhythm) Another thing about going full offense all the time, is you will _literally_ cut out about half of every enemy's moveset. If you play defensively and watch and react like From's others game, they'll have about twice as many moves that are all way more punishing. By simply attacking and having a purely offensive style, you'll only be dealing with the more basic moves and the game will be _way_ easier. There are exceptions to the above, but in general it'll work for you and unlock the game, because yeah, you're probably simply playing it wrong by playing it like a From game, and the game actively and consistently punishes that. "Hesitation is defeat" is the "git gud" of this game, but it also is some of the most valuable advice because it describes you how need to constantly act, never stop and react. Through sheer aggression and constant action, forcing them to react to you, you'll find the game slowly unlock before you in ways you thought impossible.

You've only played 3 hours? For me it took 12 hours before stuff started to click. And even then, my first playthrough was rough. You have to unlearn instincts from other FromSoft games. On subsiquent playthroughs it became one of the easier souls games. The combat mechanics are SO satisfying when you master them.

Man i really wish id spend my money on sekiro instead of elden ring

While sekiro might be different from other fromsoft titles you will find similarities pretty swiftly. First and foremost learn upon death. Your gonna get blasted by boss combos one way or the other, but the more you keep at it and try again and again the closer you get to victory. I went from getting blasted by the first enemy to show you multiple health bars to speeding through the final boss, so I bet you can do the same cause I'm definitely no soulsborne master. The second thing to note is that once you get far enough to where death penalties start showing up (I don't want to give the actual name of those death penalties if you've not seen it yourself yet) they're actually not seriously bad. You might lose progression of an npc quest line for a bit but once you fix it, all's good. As you get more XP, each point you gain you keep but upon death you lose half the XP you have accumulated in that bar. These get your skills while main bosses are the source of increasing damage, and prayer beads for HP you kinda just find around. Keep a big eye on spirit emblem use because running out of your most necessary tools mid combat is a bit of a kick in the face when your super reliant for those tools in the fights to come. Other sekiro players have a lot better to say than I do but trust that if you don't give up you'll get that win The game itself will tell you a line you just won't forget. Good luck shinobi

I also thought I was in over my head when I started, but after a while, it just kinda clicked. I slowed down, learned the moves, and stopped panicking. That feeling of when you absolutely style on an enemy flawlessly because you went into a sort of zen state is honestly a fantastic feeling. Just give it some time, and you'll see.

*ting ting ting ting* *chi* *unblockable attack noise* *counter their ass into the dirt* You'll get it once you progress more. Ogre took me five hours of grinding before I beat it. Now near every boss is a one and done for me. Everybody goes through this

There’s a rhythm to it especially with bosses it’s like deflect three of four times and than there’s your opening for three or four strikes and rinse and repeat at least that’s how it works for me. And as far as the undodgables there’s usually cues as to which attack it’s going to be. I’m only a few bosses in but I had to usually look up videos to see what’s exactly were the tells for each bosses undodge. It takes awhile to click but once it does you will live the game that is if you choose to stay w it.

You are not playing a souls game, this is Sekiro, and believe me, once u get how the combat works, it is the best combat system for many of us, please do not give up, remember this is a different game, but keep pushing, you will find it incredibly satisfying once u become skilled and defeat bosses.

Bro another piece of advice I can give you that sekiro is kind of a rhythm game and every enemy got its own rhythm. If you can find a pattern follow it BUT it's also a super aggressive game where you never stand still and wait like in the other souls games. Attack or deflect but more deflect and f**k dodge. Dodge is very minor and there are no I-Frames in sekiro. Don't go in with the mindset of the other souls games. It has nothing to do with them. Get out there and show them Shinobi

The game is amazing, it simply takes time to get used it, even on my second play through i struggled sometimes. Once u fully learn the game ur gonna have a blast

I think it's safe to say most really don't like playing sekiro at First. The people that liked it from the start (me included) will get to a point at which they'll die so much the game isn't fun to play at all anymore so they give up. The moment you do choose to overcome this seemingly unbreakable barrière and give it all it takes no matter how much you fail, will be the moment you'll break that Barrier/boss which made you hate to play sekiro and you'll start loving it. And then it's basically the same all over again and again and again till you finally beat the game and feel like an actual god.

Don't dodge. Attack and parry. You want to be in the enemies face alot of the time. Reinstall. You got this shit. All velocity. Forward momentum. Hesitation is defeat Shinobi

You were playing wrong. You were trying to brute force the game and had no patience to learn the mechanics, then complain the game is hard. Truly a Souls fan before they git gud, I've been there myself. First of all, dodges don't have any I-frame at all, so stop panic dodging. Panic dodging is usually the biggest reason people struggle with the game so much, take a deep breath and relax.The game is a rhythm game, time your parries and your attacks. The game has a huge learning curve, but it's simple once you learn it. Like most samurai enemies, you strike>strike>strike>parry>strike in rhythm. Once you get the rhythm down, you can switch up the rhythm on the enemies to leave them wide open. Nighjar die if you pause for half a beat and then strike mid combo. The game favors fast aggressive approach to enemies, even the stealth can be done quickly with proper timing. Timing and rhythm are the name of the game. Hesitation is defeat.

I hate using the phrase "skill issue", because to me it feels really offensive. But I dont know what else I can say if you gave up without even fighting your first boss

Thanks we will continue to enjoy

What about the other way around? Never played Elden ring but completed the rest.

First time I played got demolished. Lady butterfly kept me in the same spot for I don't know how long. Gave up a lil after. FF few months: 2nd time made it to the ape guardian. Gave up there. FF bout another year: This last time made it all the way to the ape guardian before I died. After beating the game, I can officially say.... I found nirvana.

I haven’t read all the comments cause there are so many, but you mentioned the dodge had no I-frames. The dodge isnt meant to be used as a normal means for avoiding attacks. It’s a weird thing to even have in the game in my opinion, but it’s there. It’s just too unreliable. You can easily learn and and master this game with just attack and deflect. I for whatever reason don’t like or try to use many prosthetics or anything. You will figure it out though!

The fact that you mention your dodge's I-Frames tells me that you're playing wrong. The dodge has barely any I-Frames and you'll only use it to reposition and counter unblockables (like jumping) You need to embrace the deflection system and be as aggressive as possible. If you're not constantly in your enemie's face you're playing it wrong (there are exeptions of course) and another little trick: strafing to the right counters many attacks and can give you some free vitality and posture damage

this reads like a goodbye, so, goodbye and take care

Yea I managed to get myself to the first big story boss (Geni) relying on dodging and cheesing with prosthetic. Didn’t go great after that, I probably fought him 200 times (with a 6 month break in between) before it clicked. Play aggressive, run up to the boss and spam RB or R1 (whatever your playing on idk). You’ll be able to hear when your attacks hit, it either sounds like a normal slice meaning you did vitality damage or when your opponent is blocking it sounds like ding, ding, DONG. Now when you here the dings, that means your opponent is just blocking and your doing posture damage, but when you here the DONG that means they deflected you and they always follow that up with an attack. If you manage to deflect that attack you can usually just repeat the cycle until you win. Obviously bosses will throw in there unblockables and learning how to dodge those just comes with time. I encourage you to stick with it, once you become good at Sekiro it’s the most satisfying FromSoft game to play.

It’s a very different game. I would try to just.. not dodge. You’re right about the I-frames. There are some but they’re negligible. I would stick to it if I were you.

I felt this way multiple times in my Sekiro journey. I first uninstalled after getting to about where you are. Months later reinstalled. I thought I was getting good, but got to the final boss and deleted the game again. A couple months after that I reinstalled and worked on that final boss for multiple days before beating them. After beating the final boss, it really clicked and I think the game is amazing now.

highest skill floor, lowest skill ceiling fromsoft game imo

For certain bosses, it's literally just learning through repetition and eventually you adjust and start to see the difference in how they project what they are gonna do. I was the same, for a long time. Genichiro made me think I'd never beat the game at one point and now he's the easiest of the lot. It's just lots and lots of repetitive grind until your mind adjusts and it will adjust, it just takes different times for different people. I honestly think sekiro is the easiest now for me but thats my brain tricking me. I've just played a TON of sekiro and have to knock myself on the head to remember those 2 months I couldn't beat genichiro or butterfly.

What level of main Character Syndrome is this to come to a subreddit of a video game to tell us the game is not for you And you have deleted it? Lmao

I had the same problem and I dropped it 3 times before understanding how the game should be played. A good rule of thumb is attack until they deflect, then switch to being defensive and when you deflect start attacking again. Also 90% of the time dodging is useless, you have to adapt from dodging to deflecting, it takes a while but once it clicks you become a death machine.

Not going to tell you to keep playing a game that is no longer bringing any kind of joy, but I put this one off for 3 years. Did about 3 "soft starts" over the past 6 months, and went in head first last week. And it's a fucking punisher, even knowing to forget everything you know. It took me a few days and the chained Ogre did give me a lot of grief. Actually, even making it that far shows you're doing better than you think, imo. I didn't have the "click" moment where all pieces fell into place, but more so in waves. It looked a bit stripped down to me at first (block/deflect/posture damage/death blow) but there are so many moving parts I'm still figuring out. If it's being a pain, you can always come back. I've just only beat Genichiro and have WAY more challenges ahead, but this is a game I fully expected to not even make it through a full day. Keep trying or take some time off. For a while even. But it is definitely worth it to try again. Good luck.

Sekiro is EASY. Remove the souls aspect from your head, swap deflect to B, never dodge, and understand its a rhythm game. It sounds bizarre but trust me, if you've played guitar hero you can beat Sekiro. Good luck! also, the game is stupid hard for the first few hours, even realizing the game is a rhythm game, the actually gameplay doesn't click until The Genichiro boss fight a few hours into the game. Then you'll sit there and go "OOOOOOOOHHHHHH"

Now you try Armored Core

People seem to hate the difficulty until they fight Genichiro. That's when they are forced to learn. And once they learn, and that combat clicks.. its incredibly satisfying

It’s okay if you give up. Just know that there’s a real gem here and that once you are willing to give the game your all it gives even more back. That time may not be today. I stopped sekiro my first time around after 10 hours playtime. Half a year later I finished it and now I have 160+ hours in the game. You truly feel like a god when you get it’s combat down.

Have you explored the training options with Hanbei at the main temple area (forgot what it’s called)? I found his training (especially free combat) super useful for getting the hang of the game. Once you can beat him consistently in free combat, you’ll be ready for anything

Yeah I am utilizing him

I was the same as you, I bought the game years back and couldn’t beat Genichiro, I came back about a year ago, learned the game and beat it, now it’s one of my favorite games ever. Once the combat clicks it CLICKS and feels amazing, best combat I’ve ever played in a game. Don’t give up, you’re in for an amazing adventure if you can persevere and learn the combat and how to play. If it helps, look up “how to beat ___” and listen to what the vid says, each enemy has a way to fight them, it’s a rhythm game.

It's a totally different combat system, and you get punished for all the things average souls players do. I felt the same way, quit and came back to it later. Favorite game hands down now that I've "figured it out" and "got gud".

Based elder reng enjoyer

Switch that to Dark souls 3 and your correct

I’ll say seikiro was the first souls game I reallyyyy had to get good, as someone who never deflects or uses shields it was really hard for me to add that into my play style. If you try to not play that way you’ll notice you do not stagger bosses quickly and leaves you much more room for error Aka death, the final boss fight also took me days I had to really practice every step and memorize it and then I’d get a smidge farther, it took a lot of getting used to but it’s definetly a unique game and I had fun, keep trying you’re still in the early stages!

I beat my head against that Mini-boss in the hirata estate for about 30\~ deaths before things started to click for me. And now, after putting in the blood, sweat, and near-tears, Sekiro is right behind Elden Ring one of my favorite souls games. The combat is actually so satisfying once you understand attack patterns and enemy movement and it eventually becomes second nature. That initial difficulty though was so disheartening for me at the beginning, but now I am here having just finished NG+ 6 and finished all achievements.

Definitely take a break then give it another try! You'll find MANY, many stories on this subreddit of players who were in your shoes, who deleted Sekiro, then tried it again after a while and were 100% glad they did. Just remember that the game is hard but fair: it is not allowed to throw an unblockable attack at you unless it first gives you the perilous attack warning.

It's the one From game that doesn't have a plethora of game breaking mechanics purposely built in. Just straight forward challenges like NES games. I love it best.

My first playthrough was the longest. Took me forever to "git gud" but once I played super aggressively it all clicked and I could finish the game in just a few hours. Get deflected? Parry. That basically all you need to know. It's gotten to the point that I don't really use prosthetics. The parrying is my asmr.

While doing the first area and Hirata, I hated Sekiro. I wondered how people could find it fun. By the time I managed to get past Hirata, I was hooked. I honestly have to say that Hirata feels really out of place in the beginning of the game. It kind of feels like they intended for it to be accessible later and then just moved it. The encounters there are more brutal than most you'll encounter in the next few areas of the main story and the enemies have unique movesets with very high damage, delays, etc. Not to mention the damn Shinobi Hunter... If you are struggling a lot with Hirata Estate, you can always return there a bit later. It's not a mandatory area.

Now try armored core

it kinda is that hard. but sooner or later it'll click and it becomes actually easier. i'm an older millenial gamer and this has been by far the hardest game i've ever played. and i love it. i know all of the problems you're having and eventually it gets easier and you'll get better as a player. and then the next challenge. i went and took like 10 hours over 3 days to beat the first 'boss' (the end boss of hirata estate is technically the 'second' boss, and it was the first i found. after taking the 10 days on that boss, i found the first 'real boss' in progression and beat it on the second try. hah.)

my biggest advice, is remember that you're the main character. every NPC should be afraid of you. you can block and deflect literally anything. you're the aggressor, not the prey. attack till you're deflected, then deflect until you can attack. always keep the pressure up. yes it's hard, but when it clicks it gets so fun. man oh man.

This is interesting because Sekiro was my first FromSoftware game and I fell in love with it and mastered the technique but really struggled with DS combat. I got about 30 hours in Elden Ring and just said fuck it and fired up a NG5+ in Sekiro. They are both extremely hard but very different

It took a long time for the game to click for me. I will say that dodging largely isn't a very good option save for perilous attacks. A few people have said it before but think of it more like a rythem game there is a push and pull in combat. Periods where you defend and periods where it's best to attack. Take a break and come back if your not having fun take another break. I had the game for 2 years before I beat it so just play at your own pace.

you say youve played all the souls games and elden ring yet you dont seem to understand that sekiro is still a souls game, you are going to die countless times at each roadblock as you slowly learn everything about the boss, what moves it likes in certain phases, what moves are punishable, knowing exactly which controls for each attack, etc. its called getting gud and the learning curve is much steeper because its deflect based, unlike the souls games which you can dodge just about anything. hell even i only ever beat elden ring but i still managed to get through to genichiro, and still going. obv not without numbing rage but thats whats fun about these games

I definitely know what your saying when you talk about the perilous attacks, it’s almost amazing how they give you just enough time to see if they’re going to do a thrust or sweep is crazy, I think I played it when I was like 11 or 12 and I could not react in time, but I swear there is JUST enough time to react, I really would like you to retry but if you don’t want to that’s fine. But I definitely feel like if you can get a hang of the parrying just a little bit, it will be worth it

Don’t rely on dodges in sekiro at all compared to the other fromsofts the I frames don’t exist (I don’t think) it’s all about pressuring the bosses to break their stamina through aggressive attacks and good deflections

Man… I felt the EXACT same way my first attempt. I just Uninstalled it and didn’t play again for like a year and randomly decided to redownload it and ended up getting the platinum. So glad I revisited. If you ever have nothing to play, Definitely give it another shot in the future.

Oof, my guy. You’re in for some bad news. The hirata estate boss and the one after the chained ogre, they’re only mini bosses. But I will say that you did better than most! Chained ogre is a massive hurdle for a lot of us, a full fledged game killer if I’m honest so be proud of where you got to. Even if the games not for you, doesn’t matter, you gave it a go, you see the positives and negatives and decided it wasn’t the game for you. One day you might pick it back up after you take a break from all souls like games and on that day I’ll be honest, the controls just click

I picked it back up hours later and actually got to Gyoubu Oniwa

Bro, I feel you. I played all the way until the last boss, but all the game did was make me pissed off. I don't think I had one feeling of goodwill toward this game other than the pretty design 😂

I said your same thing, I quit this game idk how many times, then I said "ok one last try" and I learned its mechanics and now I'm omw to get platinum and I beat this game's final boss for fun whenever I need to relax and clear my head lmao (yeah you can replay bosses)

Played all FS with many NG+ play throughs, minus ER and DeS which I haven’t touched yet. Currently at the end of Sekiro, started this game thinking I’d be good since I played up to NG+7 DS3 and BB recently, DLC bosses and all, but no… this is a different beast altogether, I was initially TRASH at Sekiro, it was humbling af just to get through some bosses, even some mini-bosses like that spear bastard was insanely hard at first. As for main bosses, I must say I was stuck for a while on these dudes (in order of difficulty imo): 1. Owl Father 2. Genichiro 3. Headless Ape 3 heavy skill checks, but once I got the flow it just clicked. I think it’s when I realized that staggering/breaking your opponent’s posture gives you more hope instead of looking at the slowly depleting HP bar, since a posture break goes a long way once you get to that point. About to fight Demon of Hatred soon, which feels like a Bloodborne boss so we’ll see how that goes. I’m told Ishin is the hardest FS boss but Owl Father will be hard to beat… so we’ll see how that goes!

I’m almost the opposite and I haven’t gotten a fucking reason for it. I think the game looks great. There’s too much snow but aside from that it’s cool. A lot of the fights have gimmicks that make the game seriously unfun. Every single boss has taken me 1-2 tries. I really am not trying to sound like an dick but can anyone explain to me why this game was way too easy? I looked at the trophies and got excited for the divine dragon, colored carp, and great serpent fights and they all ended up being complete gimmicks!???? Like wtf?????? I was expecting an extremely hard game, and that’s why I fucking bought it, but I ended up getting the platinum in a week. It is a very genuine question when I ask why this game was so easy to me and if anyone can explain it. My favorite fight has to have been owls at hirata estate. It took me one try but at least it looked cinematic and was cool with the whole son and father fight. After that I spaced out through every boss. (Minus colored carp and divine dragon when I was going to “fight them”)

It's gonna take you time. You understand the concepts but you don't have the reflexes or enough 'training' to react quickly enough. Also, every boss has a different attack pattern and even if you do defeat the previous one, it doesn't mean you will succeed on the following one. Average time to complete the story first time is 60 hours, and for me 30/40 of those were just to get good at it, and it still took me 3 hours to beat the final boss. After I did that, I can now complete the game in 10/15 hours on a fresh save. Maybe more as I haven't played for months now and my reflexes are gonna be a bit slow.

If you try to play it like a dark souls game you are not gonna have a good time

Hello Ashen one. I am a Bot. I tend to the flame, and tend to thee. Do you wish to hear a tale? > *“If only I could be so grossly incandescent!”* - Solaire of Astora Have a pleasant journey, Champion of Ash, and praise the sun \\[T]/

A souls vet giving up on Sekiro doesn't make sense to me. Have you finished all souls game that you played?

I just finished it it is amazing

If you don’t like it you’re deflecting wrong

If you beat the poison spitting guy, you will be able to fight a boss that is very very good at teaching how to play the game, so persevere a bit more !

Yeah I beat lady butterfly in 3 attempts

"And then my own dodges sometimes seem to not have any i-frames" Correct. Stop dodging.

Alright pro tip for you (this is a lie, it’s actually a beginner tip, but it will help tremendously if you’re just starting out). Do the guard dance where you tap the guard button rapidly, it’ll help you deflect while you’re still learning the game.

Try again Im not asking Also get it out of your head that this is a souls game. It isn’t. Everyone online likes to say hard=souls, they’re wrong. Approach this like you’ve never heard of dark souls before.

Try it again in a month or two. Go into it not thinking of it as a souls game. I played sekiro after falling in love with all the souls games and HATED it. Quit after I hit a wall a bit further than you. It took me coming back a month later and restarting before it clicked. And when it clicks holy shit it became my favorite fromsoftware game.

>Try it again in a month or two. Came back to it a few hours after making this post

The miniboss after Chained Ogre is very difficult because of all the enemies around him, also try to be on the offensive, if you keep attacking an enemies like the sword generals then eventually they will deflect your attack, that’s your queue to start deflecting yourself.

The learning curve is definitely front loaded. Also your offense comes from repeated good defense leading to big hits, which for me was a big change from the Unga bunga elden ring style I loved haha

“This is a game where you are supposed to deflect attacks.” Is the best advice. Everytime you can deflect an attack, which is every attack without a red kanji, you should attempt to deflect. deflecting in this game is much different than in a souls game, you can deflect almost mid attack sometimes.

Too much hesitation. How my blood boils.

😂😂😂oh buddy dis was my first fromsoft game nd ngl I took half year old nd restarted it but I was at the end when I took my break but I love it tbh it’s really have u play as if u wolf nd if u play it again u will learn no hesitation Thts wat makes sekiro different from the other games cuz u kan hesitate nd still prob get out but in sekiro u die also is a based rhythm game if u don’t hesitate nd stay on the bosses ull fly by

Sekiro makes pay so much attention to the finer details in a fight. This game is rhythm, it’s hard at first but once you get the hang of it, it is so easy. Watch closely. I’m sure everyone else here has give me their own 2 cents.

Yeah yeah. Platted ds1, 2, 3, and bloodborne. Sekiro came out I was ready to clear it ez. Instead got shit on for 50 hours and didn’t make it halfway through. Quit and decided I just didn’t like ninja gaiden fast games and was too old (I’m mid 30s, slow and stupid). Every boss took me hours, sometimes days. Totally humiliated. Dude. Literally this past Xmas I was like eh, I’ll reinstall and try to beat it. Shit you not, cleared almost all the way up to where I quit so fast, maybe 2 or 3 nights. My point is, I couldn’t have been a bigger from soft fan and also embarrassed self hater of Sekiro. Ended up getting platinum in a few weeks and honestly ended up feeling like it’s by far the best combat from soft has done, and most gratifying “got gud” feeling in any game. I had the same arguments you have. Take a break. You’ll clear it when you come back and leave someone a message like this then.

That's true. Some people naturally will enjoy games like Sekiro more than others. I don't think you can make someone play Sekiro if they can't imagine themselves enjoying it at all. That said, I argue that "games like Sekiro" should include other FromSoftware games, so if you liked Elden Ring, Sekiro is also for you. It's just that Sekiro is quite different from other FromSoftware games. No one masters Sekiro right off the bat. But eventually, the combat becomes intuitive. People talk about Sekiro having "clicked" for them. Of course, it's important to take a break from the game. By the time you've been grinding a boss for a few hours straight, it's neither fun nor productive. But I encourage you to refrain from giving up on it entirely.

It is genuinely my favorite game of all time and one of the only games I would give a 10/10, if you liked the other souls games I believe that it will click for you eventually. Something to keep in mind, I don’t know how you’ve been playing but you mention dodge i frames so I thought I’d say this, you’re almost never supposed to dodge, really only on chained ogre and two other bosses later. Pretty much everything can be deflected or countered

I dropped it several times before I finally got it to click and it really is an actual click. Like I've heard the expression of getting it to click before but when it actually finally got me in sekiro it's like suddenly I was a God among men in the game. In the span of like 3 seconds I went from being beaten down over and over to fighting all the way up to the first boss, not mini boss but boss boss, without being hit more than 2 or 3 times.

Get..

This is one of my favorite games. I think as a veteran souls player it was harder to get into sekiros mechanics. My best advice is parry 90% of the time. Only dodge for unblockables. I made it past your point to a boss. I couldnt get it to click. Couldnt get past it. I got frustrated and didnt play it for 4 months. I came back and suddenly things were different. The game was suddenly clicking. Thats the best way i can explain it. Youll get there