Topic: Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice (PS4)

@JohnnyShoulder Right, nice one. From Software games have a habit of throwing worrying systems at you without explaining how to fix it. I'll speak to Emma next time I play. I've not been popping back to the temple as much as I could have.

I've been doing the same with the skill points. I did some grinding until I could unlock the 'heal upon deathblow' skill, then I carried on until I'd got the general gourd improvements. I must have killed those three weird little guys near the trees about a hundred times.

@Gremio108 Dragon rot seems like a real pointless feature IMO. I saw a video which suggested it was originally supposed to play a more important role (NPCs did start to die).

@Gremio108 The sculptor installs new prosthetics and upgrades them, so that is another reason to go back.

I found I didn't use too many of the skill moves that often, apart from the odd boss fight here and there. So I concentrated on getting the passive skills mostly. Combat Arts are hella cool though.

@kyleforrester87 Yeah it did seem a bit half arsed. Towards the end I, mostly just left it apart from when i was doing a bit of grinding. There needed more a reward for curing it, only getting a 30% chance of not losing everything is a bit bunk.

I just beat lady butterfly, only died 5 times i think. But i cannot beat the ninja that is in front of the temple where u get the raven feather prosthetic. Hes just a regular enemy but that dude is tough.

@JohnnyShoulder have u finished this game yet?

@ellsworth004 Yeah got all but one of the endings and not beaten the two bosses to get to that ending. I have a save on a USB stick so can go back to it.

Well done on defeating Lady Butterfly, took me frikkin many tries to beat her and not till quite a bit later in the game. What method did you use with her?

@JohnnyShoulder dodge counter attack

Killed the guy at the top of the tower in the castle a little earlier, he was really tough, probably died a little more than 10 times to him

@ellsworth004 You can use the same method for the Ninja dudes but I eventually was able to deflect their attacks. The one down in the hole I struggled with due to being in a narrow corridor.

Is that the guy with all the shooters around him or the one with lightning attacks? Either way the game has opened to you now and are free to explore the other areas of the game.

@JohnnyShoulder genichiro ashina is very hard, probably died 20 times so far, i dislike him alot

@ellsworth004 Yeah he is one if he toughest fights in the games. Once it clicked with me I thought it was one of the best as well though. The flow of the fight just felt so good. His third phase is not as difficult as it initially seems, most of the moves are repeated from the first two stages he is just faster and his attacks go on for longer. His lightning attacks can either be countered or dodged (therefore leaving himself opened for a couple of swipes) and his lunge attack can be mikiri countered. And try not to heal during the third stage as he will punish you.

@JohnnyShoulder did a little grinding and got the latent skills that increase posture damage, they seem to help alot

@ellsworth004 Think I found the latent skills more useful than the majority of the combat skills.

@JohnnyShoulder what is ur favorite prosthetic? I know alot of them are situational, but which one do think is most useful?

@ellsworth004 I think I probably used the axe the most. It can stagger some bosses, but is a bit slow for some of the quicker ones. The fireworks are surprisingly useful at staggering most bosses too.
The shurikens are good for stunning enemies when they are in the air.
The armour tearing spear sounds good, but I only had to use it twice to ripp off armour. One of the upgrade branches you can imbue it with fire which is really good.
The umbrella I used a lot not only for deflecting bullets, but it is really useful against the Headless and Shaman enemies.

For the first time with a From Software game I'm a bit disappointed by the ambience. All looks way too "normal", without the epicness seen in the 3 Souls and in Bloodborne. Discovering a new area, new enemies have always been part of the show, while here that feeling it's clearly missing... Am I the only one feeling this way?

@andreoni79 Kinda know where you are coming from, but I think mainly it has different feel to those games, which is what From were going for I think. And there are certainly epic moments in the game. The last area especially is truly outstanding and one of my favourite in a recent From game. And hiwnyou get their is totally bonkers lol.

I had a day off yesterday and I finally got the house to myself, so after doing all my jobs the day before, I'd carved myself out a full six hours to devote to gaming. I resolved to sit down and properly get back into this Sekiro.

After an hour or so of backtracking to re-familiarise myself with the controls etc, I went and dished out some pain to some of the bosses who had been tormenting me. Seven Spears got beat, Snake Eyes got beat, even Genichiro got beat (I did his final phase on my first try, somehow).

I'd say yesterday was one of the most rewarding and enjoyable gaming sessions I've had in years.

I beat Genichiro tonight after I totally forgot about him for days! In the meantime I reached Senpou Temple, Ashina Depths and Mibu Village: once there I finally remembered I was missing a boss... 😂

@Gremio108 Well done! Although officially hate you for beating Genichiro's final phase so quickly!

@JohnnyShoulder I got a bit lucky. I got right in his face. I was never more than a foot away from him. Whenever he jumped in the air I dodged to the right, that seemed to work. I think it helps that I've mastered the Mikiri counter, at long last.