Activision While Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice swapped out the slow, methodical mechanics and abstract, obtuse story of Dark Souls in favour of faster, more active combat and a narrative that is (relatively) straightforward, it's still very much a FromSoftware game. Consequently, you can bet you'll be getting your a** handed to you by the countless bosses littered throughout Ashina. However, Sekiro does tackle bosses slightly different from its Soulsbourn bretheren. Mini-bosses are far more prevalent, while there's only a handful of what would count as "actual" bosses in From's other releases. That doesn't mean it's any easier, though - these sub-battles are in many cases even more difficult than the big bads you'll be facing off against. Just ask anyone who couldn't get past the Chained Ogre right at the very beginning. Even better, there's a good chunk that you have to seek out for yourself. You'll bump into most while out exploring, but it's always advisable to find as many of these guys as possible, as not only do they provide some of the best fights in the game, but they'll award you with essential prayer beads and other items that will be essential for the endgame.<doc-sep>Genichiro Ashina makes the other Sekiro bosses seem like pushovers. In this guide, we’ll show you his moves and teach you how to react and beat him. The worst mistake you can make in any Sekiro boss fight is attacking without a plan. You can avoid this mistake. The best Prosthetic Tools, items and skills for Genichiro Ashina There are always items and attacks that work well against Sekiro bosses. These are our recommendations for the best items to bring to your fight with Genichiro Ashina. Loaded Axe Prosthetic . You probably won't be able to use this much because he’s relentless, but it’s a great way to deal Posture damage and even interrupt his attacks. . You probably won't be able to use this much because he’s relentless, but it’s a great way to deal Posture damage and even interrupt his attacks. Eel Liver Quick Item . You can find these super rare items as you explore the castle on your way to fight Genichiro. They reduce the amount of damage from lightning attacks, which is a bonus in the last stage of this fight. But again, they’re super rare, which makes them ultimately unreliable. . You can find these super rare items as you explore the castle on your way to fight Genichiro. They reduce the amount of damage from lightning attacks, which is a bonus in the last stage of this fight. But again, they’re super rare, which makes them ultimately unreliable. Ichimonji Skill. This is the first skill you unlock win the Ashina Arts tree. The drawback: It takes a long time to execute. The benefit: Ichimonji shreds enemy Posture. On bosses like Genichiro, it’s a reliable way to add chunks to their absurdly large Posture meters. Phases 1 and 2: Genichiro Ashina in armor The trick to defeating Sekiro bosses is identifying and responding to their attacks. Then the fight becomes an if-then statement: If they do this, then I do that. In this section, we’ll show you Genichiro Ashina’s attacks (the if part) and how to respond (the then part). The beginning The beginning of this boss fight is always the same. As soon as you gain control, block. He’ll shoot an arrow, roll, and then attack with his sword. Just block. Know what’s coming, react, and take no Vitality damage. You do have the opportunity to attack, but it’s easy to get carried away, and he can counterattack. It’s safer to play the first moments of this fight defensively and save your health. Basic attacks Genichiro Ashina has several not terribly difficult to read or block attacks. They’re smaller and less damaging than his others. Focus on blocking — though you can disrupt his attacks with attacks of your own, too — and watch for him to pause at the end of his attacks. This is your opportunity to close the distance between you and attack. Jump attack Genichiro Ashina will jump into the air, hover for a fraction of a second, and then land with an overhand sword attack. When he jumps, Step Dodge away. Then press the attack button for a counterattack. Perilous Attacks: thrusts and elbows and swipes Genichiro Ashina has a couple of Perilous Attacks — the ones that make the red kanji symbol appear above Wolf’s head. The first is a sword thrust. When you see this coming (he pulls his sword back and pauses for a moment), you can Step Dodge to the side (not away from him, or he’ll hit you) to avoid the attack. If you’re confident in your ability to pull off the Mikiri Counter (blocking, moving toward Genichiro Ashina, and pressing the dodge button), you can catch his thrust and deal a good chunk of Posture damage. His second Perilous Attack is an elbow to the face or a swipe with his sword. (They may technically be two different moves, but they're so similar that we’re treating them as the same). It looks a lot like his thrust. Just get away. Flurry Genichiro unleashes a flurry of powerful and fast attacks. Block them all. Never try to interrupt the flurry. Your only goal is to survive it. Feel free to repeatedly press the block button. You’re likely to get in a couple of perfect Deflects in there and deal some Posture damage. If you’re not confident in your ability to do that, just focus on surviving. The important thing here is that he’s vulnerable after the attack. It takes a lot out of him. And that’s an opportunity to counterattack. He ends his flurry with a powerful upward attack. Look for that. It’s your signal that it’s safe to respond. Sometimes, what looks like a flurry ends after a couple of attacks. That seems good, but he sure likes to follow those up with other attacks, like a jump. Don’t immediately attack when he’s done. Wait to see if he’s transitioning into another move. Bow and arrow attacks (and healing) Genichiro Ashina’s bow and arrow attacks deal absurd amounts of damage. You could Deflect them. Or, if you have excellent timing, you could Step Dodge it. But if you miss the timing, you’ll kiss half of your health (or more) goodbye. Let’s talk about dealing with the varieties. His first bow and arrow attack is a single shot. He likes to use this especially when you’re taking a drink from your Healing Gourd at a distance. Great news: You almost always have enough time to drink (once) and block before the arrow strikes you, as you can see above. Whenever you heal and you see him draw his bow, hold block while the drinking animation is active. You’ll get your sword up in time to block the arrow. His second bow and arrow attack is a replay of his first attack. He fires an arrow (or two), rolls, and rises with a sword attack. It’s possible to interrupt the attack, but it’s safer to block through it and attack when it’s over. His final bow attack is the most dangerous. He unleashes a volley of arrows — sometimes from the ground, sometimes from the air. Block. Block. Block. And then get away to recharge your Posture. Phase 3: Genichiro, Way of Tomoe (now with lightning) The last phase of the fight is the worst. Or at least it feels like that. Turns out, it’s not that bad — as long as you know what to do. Don’t panic. Let’s break it down. The beginning of the fight Genichiro, Way of Tomoe wastes no time in beginning the fight, and he can cause severe damage super quickly. But he’ll always do the same thing, which means you can always do the same thing to avoid him. He begins with a Perilous Attack that involves an improbably long dash and ends with a twirling sword swing. Lock on. You have time to heal immediately if you need to. At about the moment that the red kanji fades from your screen, he’ll start his sword attack. Jump to the right. You’ll soar over his attack. Lightning attacks When he jumps into the air, he’ll call down lightning from the sky and into his bow. You have a few options: Perform a Lightning Reversal. Jump. Hit the attack button after you get struck but before you hit the found, and you’ll pull off the reversal. Step Dodge to get out of the way. Attack him to interrupt his attack. You can see us do the second and third options above. If you’re having tons of trouble with this part, feel free to use an Eel Liver Quick Item. More of the same The rest of his attacks are either direct copies or minor variations on what you saw before he took his shirt off. If you see him jump, for example, do what you did in the first phase(s) — get out of the way to avoid his plunging attack and follow up with an attack of your own. If you see a kanji symbol, watch out for his swinging sword attack. If he pulls back his bow, block.<doc-sep>Gyoubu Oniwa (and his horse Onikage) is the final boss you’ll encounter in the Ashina Outskirts region of Sekiro. When you first see him riding across a corpse-strewn battlefield on his towering horse, he’s more than a little intimidating. But with our help, you’ll be able to defeat him. This guide will get you ready for the fight with advice for skills to have before you start, the best Shinobi Prosthetic Tool for the boss, a quick path from the nearest Sculptor’s Idol, and tips on facing Sekiro’s horse boss. Best Shinobi Prosthetic Tool to use against Gyoubu Oniwa You’ll get a hint on your way to face Gyoubu Oniwa about the best tool to use against him. The hint comes from a grieving man you can eavesdrop on not too far from the Ashina Outskirts > Ashina Castle Gate Fortress Sculptor’s Idol. The Prosthetic Tool you’re after is called Robert’s Firecracker — which the Sculptor will turn into the Shinobi Firecracker. This isn’t one you can find, though. Instead, you’ll have to purchase it from a Memorial Mob vendor. Happily, there’s one earlier in the game that you probably missed (we sure did). How to get Shinobi Firecracker early You’re looking for the house where you speak to the old woman — Inosuke Nogami’s Mother — who gives you the Young Lord’s Bell Charm. It’s about halfway between the Ashina Outskirts > Ashina Outskirts and the Ashina Outskirts > Outskirts Wall – Gate Path Sculptor’s Idols — it’s not too far past where you fought General Naomori Kawarada. From that house, head downhill a little more, past Inosuke Nogami (her son). Just before you reach the gate — where the guard with the mortar cannon will spot you, turn to the left and grapple up. At the ledge, turn left again and grapple up again. Follow the path you land on a little ways until you can grapple up one more time. If you’re quick and watch where you’re headed, you can hit all three grapple points without touching the ground like we did in the video above. At the top, you’ll meet the Memorial Mob. He’ll sell you an item called Robert’s Firecrackers for 500 sen. (If you need money, you’ll find three Light Coin Purses in the hidden room under the old woman — just watch out for the two roosters guarding it.) Take this back to the Sculptor and he’ll turn it into the Shinobi Firecracker. Best skill to use against Gyoubu Oniwa There’s one skill we recommend above all others for making your fight against Gyoubu easier, and it’s a cheap skill you can pick up early. The Grappling Hook Attack Prosthetic Art allows you to add an attack after using your Shinobi Prosthetic as a grappling hook. You need to head into Hirata Estate and retrieve the Shinobi Prosthetic Tools hidden there — the Flame Barrel and Shinobi Axe of the Monkey — before the Sculptor will give you the Prosthetic Esoteric Text. We talked about picking up those prosthetics in our Shinobi Hunter Enshin of Misen boss guide. Luckily, Grappling Hook Attack is a first tier skill that only costs one Skill Point. The opportunity to use it is going to come up pretty often during the fight. It’s not necessary, but without this skill, you’ll be wasting precious seconds when you could be dealing damage. Approaching Gyoubu Oniwa There are a lot of enemies in the area between the Ashina Outskirts > Ashina Castle Gate Fortress Sculptor’s Idol and the battlefield where you face Gyoubu Oniwa. You’re welcome to face as many of them as you like, but we’re going to recommend a path that takes you straight to him without having to deal with any enemies. From the idol, look straight up and grapple to the roof of the wooden tower. Turn to your right and grapple over to the wall. It’s right above the guy that you can eavesdrop on (he’s mourning his horse and giving you a hint about the best Shinobi Prosthetic to use). Turn left and run along the narrow wall. You’ll pass one patrolling guard — feel free to hop down and handle him if you’d like, or you can just keep running past him. Finally, grapple to the tree behind that guard and up to the top of the gate overlooking the battlefield. When you drop down to the ground, run a little way to the gate. Gyoubu Oniwa and Onikage will crash through the gate ahead of you and to your left. Gyoubu Oniwa boss fight Gyoubu Oniwa is huge and he’s riding a huge horse, and that makes him very intimidating. The first thing to remember is that it’s possible to beat him — just don’t give up and fight smart. Here are a few other general tips before we get into specifics: He’ll come to you . You don’t have to worry about staying close to Gyoubu. In fact, you can mostly stand still for a lot of this fight if you want to. He’ll even run away periodically and then come charging back. Don’t seek him out — let him come to you. . You don’t have to worry about staying close to Gyoubu. In fact, you can mostly stand still for a lot of this fight if you want to. He’ll even run away periodically and then come charging back. Don’t seek him out — let him come to you. Treat Gyoubu and his horse as one entity . You don’t have to worry about hitting Gyoubu himself. Landing a hit against the horse is just as effective. . You don’t have to worry about hitting Gyoubu himself. Landing a hit against the horse is just as effective. Block constantly . Gyoubu has a huge spear that he swings around wildly while riding a moving horse. Don’t try for Deflects. Instead, just block all the time. Any time he’s remotely close and you’re not attacking, block. . Gyoubu has a huge spear that he swings around wildly while riding a moving horse. Don’t try for Deflects. Instead, just block all the time. Any time he’s remotely close and you’re not attacking, block. Don’t go behind the horse . Just like in real life, being directly behind the horse is dangerous. Onikage will kick you and deal a lot of damage if he catches you back there. You’ll be circling and dodging enough that this shouldn’t come up often, but if it does, get out of the way fast. . Just like in real life, being directly behind the horse is dangerous. Onikage will kick you and deal a lot of damage if he catches you back there. You’ll be circling and dodging enough that this shouldn’t come up often, but if it does, get out of the way fast. His left side is safer than his right . Gyoubu carries his spear (lance?) in his right hand — the left side if you’re facing him. That means his left — your right — is (marginally) safer for you. It’s harder for him to hit you on that side. When you have to option, dodge or run to your right. . Gyoubu carries his spear (lance?) in his right hand — the left side if you’re facing him. That means his left — your right — is (marginally) safer for you. It’s harder for him to hit you on that side. When you have to option, dodge or run to your right. Remove everything from your Inventory except what you’re using. We mentioned this in our 11 tips to get you started guide, but it bears repeating here: Empty everything out of your Quick Items and Prosthetic Tools except what you’ll be using. For us, that meant only equipping the Shinobi Firecracker Prosthetic Tool and only putting the Healing Gourd and some backup Pellets in our Quick Items. This will make it much easier and faster to find exactly what you need so you don’t accidentally use the wrong thing. Gyoubu Oniwa boss fight: first Deathblow<doc-sep>
Sekiro’s Armored Warrior boss fight isn’t like any of the others you’ve faced so far. Your job isn’t to wear him down and get a Deathblow — his armor makes stabbing him impossible. Instead, your goal is to kick him off the bridge where the fight takes place. Without a plan or an understanding of the odd rules of this fight, facing the Armored Warrior can be infuriating. Our guide will walk you through how to beat him and save you that frustration. How to find the Armored Warrior boss fight Getting from the Senpou Temple, Mt. Kongo > Shugendo Sculptor’s Idol to the Armored Warrior boss fight is a bit of a hike, but if you know where you’re going, you can do it in less than 30 seconds fight, like we do in the video below. (And it’ll save you on burning any items or drinking from your Healing Gourd.) From the Idol, head forward to the ramp. Jump out and grapple across to the branch ahead of you. When you hit it (or just before), grapple again to the ledge above and ahead of you. Jump up onto the ascending ramp, then look for a branch to grapple to. Grapple up, then jump back down to the ramp. If you’re lucky, you might jump past the enemy waiting there. If you don’t, make sure you cancel the lock-on, jump over him, and continue up. Shortly past that enemy, you’ll run out of ramp. Jump to the ledge on your right and climb up. Jump up to the ledge next to you, then jump again to the next ledge. Head through the gap in the stones until you can grapple up to the branch above you. Before you land, you can hit another grapple point above you on your left. Grab that one, and you’ll land on the cliff near the bridge where you’ll have your fight. The best items and moves for the Armored Warrior Since your fight against the Armored Warrior doesn’t work like other fights, the tools you usually use won’t work. There’s no secret weapon for this fight. Instead, you should focus on your options that deal a lot of Posture Damage. You can deal plenty with just your sword and some careful dodging, but some extra oomph is always useful. You’ve probably seen the eavesdropping hint about the guy in armor. You may have also found Gyoubu’s Broken Horn and turned it into the Loaded Spear — and its description implies it’s the perfect weapon for this fight. The spear works fine in this fight, but it’s not a magic bullet — you’re not going to strip off his armor. The main benefit of the Loaded Spear Prosthetic Tool is the range it offers. Of your other Prosthetic Tools, the Loaded Axe is your best bet. It becomes even more useful if you add on the Fang and Blade Prosthetic Art skill. That skill lets you follow your axe attack with a powerful sword attack afterwards. The Ichimonji Ashina Combat Art, comes in handy here, too. Not only does it deal a respectable amount of Posture Damage, but it also recovers some of your own. Armored Warrior boss fight General strategies This fight works so differently from what you probably expect that the first obstacle to overcome is your own instinct. Your goal here is to break his Posture when he’s close to the edge of the bridge. To do that, you’re going to have to stay alive. Luckily, the armor that makes him impervious to blades also makes him fairly slow. He’s very strong, though, so when he does hit you, you’ll feel it. Your task is to block what you can, and do you best to dodge everything else. Any time you get the chance — especially when you’re behind him — deal some damage. Armored Warrior’s attacks The best way to avoid the Armored Warrior’s attacks is to know what’s coming. Here’s how to identify his attacks, and how you should respond to them. Perilous Attack 1: Thrust The Armored Warrior only has one Perilous Attack. It’s a big and far-reaching thrust of his sword. While you might be able to counter this with a well-timed Mikiri Counter, we don’t recommend it. You have plenty of time to dodge during his windup, so get around to his side or behind him, let him make the attack and get in a couple swings.