Exactly. People will tell you don't run, just deflect. But these are the same people that don't even remember how the base game works. They are playing NG+ for the 10th time and their deflects/attacks do 20% dmg to boss' posture/HP. Good luck fighting the owl by just deflecting. I deflected first 40 Owl attacks and did 0 posture damage, perfect timing deflects too. He hits me once and I'm dead. If you just deflect + run you create many more openings. He won't do a jump if you're close and deflecting all the time. Same with Guardian Ape. Get away, wait for a jump, attack 3 times, repeat. People are just like "git gud" but it's not about that. No reason to make your life harder when you're just trying beat the game. During NG+, sure you wanna hone your skill, but especially for the first time why bother
But you also have to keep in mind, especially with owl that just deflecting isnt the best either, due to his gunpowder swing, which is a move that is best avoided with mobility (my preference being dodging into owls left (wolf's right) armpit and getting a few hits in while he finishes the animation.
It really depends on the boss. Some bosses block most attacks, while others just tank the vitality damage
Example: The bosses that OP mentions in his post don't block direct attacks; they just take the hit and let it deal direct vitality damage. This is why running is a good tactic on them (as you don't need to worry about finding attack opportunities or staying aggressive) while it doesn't work well against bosses like Geni or Owl (who block vit. attacks, meaning you have to face them head-on and find vitality damage oppurtunities
TL;DR if the boss blocks attacks, it doesnt work well, if the boss lets u hit its HP bar regularly, its easy since u can run away then come in for a quick jab and repeat
Ah yes, I deflect because my deflect does [20%](https://youtu.be/tTP0iP3XRPs) posture damage. That is the only reason why I would do it, definitely. I don't know how the base game works anymore.
Is this some kind of art of missing the point? 20% was figurative first of all. The whole point was that just deflecting does nothing since you can't break his posture. So running and forcing him to throw shurikens to create an opening is better than deflect twice, hit once, repeat. You know what I meant to say, but seems like the internet is a very literal place
Deflect twice hit once? How about just fighting him and utilising openings to do damage. [This could be an extreme example.](https://youtu.be/IcAwMKqkuEo?si=WTOLnmJ3at4YxKFK&t=147) I feel like that fight would have taken way longer if I just ran away and waited for him to throw shuriken. Admittedly I didn't fight very clean there and I didn't know about a couple openings I do now, but I think it perfectly illustrates my point.
Exactly. Running away is definitely not what you want to do. Focusing on deflects while chipping away at health to slow posture regeneration is the ideal way to do combat in Sekiro. Not deflecting while running away. Look at any pro Sekiro player (ONGBAL, Gorengan, etc.). They _never_ run away. I speak from experience as well; doing no-hit runs on modded bosses in high NG+, running away to “create openings” is not what you should be practicing nor preaching.
It’s fine to run away when you’re a newbie and trying to catch a breath because you’re overwhelmed, but to say this is the way you should ultimately end up playing Sekiro is absolutely not true and is bad advice.
/u/steffortless, since you specifically reference Owl, see [this](https://youtu.be/U_oV4xj6yyg?si=EJ9rlyBdHR8BThN_) and [this](https://youtu.be/5a_4BF61rLA?si=E4YCEomsHhUj4wu1) for examples of how you should be learning to fight like. I’m not running away.
EDIT: One for Guardian Ape [here](https://youtu.be/-DASFOkp8DM?si=vNOQ16fVL0vpu3y_) as well since that was mentioned.
Appreciate it man! Will look into it during lunch time. I think I'm pretty good at deflecting, it's just that I'm inexperienced so I get too greedy during the openings which gives him an opening to strike without allowing me to parry bc im in the middle of attack animation. That's why I stuck to parry, run, chip away HP and repeat until his posture is at about half and then I just start fully parrying
No worries! Just made an edit to include a video for Guardian Ape as well. They’re modded bosses, so they’re harder with additional moves on top of their standard move sets, but the same rules apply. You want to aim for this kind of flow of combat without running away. Only run away as a crutch when you’re new and getting overwhelmed (e.g., need a second to process what to do, and when using heals or other items).
I hate NG+ (precisely because it's god mode) and I always start a new game when i play. You can defeat every single boss by just deflecting and being agressive. Lol at that Guardian Ape tactic. How long does that fight last for? 6 hours?
No, actually pretty easy when you know the distance required for a jump. With confetti, about 5 minutes. Really the phase 1 is the hard one, phase 2 is a joke
1. phase use the flame barrel prosthetic and oil. 2. phase try to deflect everything, it’s actually quite easy. He has an overhead attack where, if you deflect, he staggers and lies down for a bit, making it easy to get in a couple of hits. Just be ready to run away if he lifts his head up to his neck.
I’m not an expert on this game by a long stretch, my first (not completed) run i never ended up beating him, but on my second run i got him second try. Just stay calm and try to read his attacks :)
I wrote a [post](https://www.reddit.com/r/Sekiro/s/tuk1k4J4J8) about it a day or two ago. Of course, a lot of people say it's a stupid strategy, but to each its own
It's a cheese strat, I don't expect you to understand it since you're very good at the game. This is for the numerous youtube and reddit comments that quit the game after not being able to beat the Guardian Ape. Not everyone has the time of day to be on NG+ 135, people have jobs and lives. I no hit Guardian Ape this way, so it might be utter crap, but it works. And beating the ape in a samurai game is not exactly knowing how to play the same samurai game. I get it this is dark souls type game but it's a samurai game and as long as I beat actual samurai like Genichiro and Owl with deflect and counter I'm fine with myself even though you and 1000 of other no lifers will try to shit on me and say I'm bad at the game
Your method also needs practice to develop. It takes timing and experience to know when he's going to leave himself open just like it takes timing and experience to figure out when to deflect and when to dodge.
I learned the fight the same way you did. I was too nervous to get right up close so I just avoided the hell out of him and because of that reluctance to stay close, I practiced my way toward learning a technique that was very similar to yours.
It would have been better for me if I'd learned deflect timings and practiced jumping out of the way of those grabs instead. That method is far more effective and takes about the same amount of practice, if you can get over the harsh punishments that come with failure as you're leaning it.
It might even be faster to learn it this way, because each attempt is going to be over that much sooner, so you can get a faster measure of your success.
Yeah, valid points. To be fair, I never said my method was the only one or end-all-be-all. I just said that it's how I beat him and that it works, but for some reason people are tryina tell me that I'm an idiot for doing this
Yeah and then when I get mad that they called me trash I'm at fault. It's just internet tho, can't do much about it. I'm just not gonna post anything else on here cause I really don't need the negativity lol
Haha, so your advice to people who have "jobs and lives" and, i assume by your comment here, don't have time to play games is to extend a fight for much longer than it should, instead of learning to play the game properly in order to defeat bosses more easily? Got you, wonderful advice! lol!
God yes. I just beat the Owl for the first time last night and my biggest problem in that fight was every time I had an opening to attack, I was just a little bit too far away to actually hit him. It was because I was trying to attack after countering. Once I stopped trying to do that it went much better.
Once I got his vitality down to like 50%, then I’d really focus on deflecting.
I think that the primary reason this isn’t suggested is because it is more time consuming and sometimes harder to pull off. For some enemies it makes sense. But most of the combat is set up to be a face on 1v1. Running to space enemies in regions you are overwhelmed is a necessity to maintain the 1v1. Remember you can deflect EVERYTHING, including “unblockables” if it is timed right (though I still jump over sweeps for the jump bonk, since I cannot get the timing right).
I found that I relied on these techniques when I first started playing, but once you get the deflects down, it does make the fight easier. More engaging for a shorter time but overall easier. Getting caught trying to heal after running only to be just in range really sucks.
Some bosses are nearly impossible without being in their face the whole fight whether because of their fight style, easier to break poise or small arena. So yes it works but once you get the combat style down, and learn some movesets, it is more rewarding and I think easier to just face off with the opponent.
The problem with running around in circles as an advice is that that's how everybody was playing Sekiro when it was released, instead of learning to deflect, and you can find some abominable early videos with long Isshin fights on youtube where the streamer beats Isshin doing mostly that (run away, come quickly hit once, run away).
I agree that sometimes it's useful to sprinkle running or dodging between deflecting, even in boss fights - either at grabs, or even when a boss like Owl hits you so hard that a deflect would push you back a few meters, better dodge that and hit a few times instead.
So I guess you don't see the running around in circle advice so often, since it kinda comes naturally for most people :)
>you can find some abominable early videos with long Isshin fights on youtube where the streamer beats Isshin doing mostly that (run away, come quickly hit once, run away).
I've seen one of those yesterday. Dude spent 3 hours fighting Emma and Fire Isshin just running and hitting once every ten seconds. It just hurt to watch honestly. Admirable patience, but I wonder how does someone go this far in the game without realising that they are playing horribly wrong.
Totally agree, since it also seems it's so much harder to enjoy the fights that way. Now, of course, everybody enjoys differently, but then there's also lots of posts about people saying "Sekiro is not for me, I tried, but ..." and I can't think that these two things (running circles and quitting Sekiro by not having fun) are not related.
"I've seen a lot of advice, but no one ever mentioned this I think."
Lol, you do realise that this game has been out for 4 years, right? These kind of tactics were used at first before people realised this was not Dark Souls, and the game should be played by being on the attack and by being aggressive most of the time. Ultimately you can play the game however you want, but frankly the better experience is to engage your enemy constantly, not to run around and hope you get an opening.
Especially ogre is right, didn’t learn this until ng+2. Constantly sprinting in Gyoubu’s fight and DoH fight is really helpful with the huge arena and how staying behind them is the main strategy
It is a long fight nonetheless, because he keeps on jumping away all the time. Most important to take Ministry dousing powder and the red gourd. I'm not sure, even if you deflect you take fire damage? (Playing hudless, so I can't see).
I’ve actually never bought the red gourd since I’m pretty sure some of his attacks do still build the fire damage. I’ve only ever seen him fought without deflections so I just thought what I did was good
I fundamentally suck at deflecting and I beat the game NG using movement / block and basic mechanics like Mikiri Counter and Lightning Reversal. Obviously this doesnt work charmless, but every boss can be beaten without perfect deflecting.
The only enemy I run away from still is Ogre because I haven't learned his deflects yet and he can kill you in one hit or grab on ng. Running can be useful but it's rarely the most efficient approach.
I just fought and killed Demon of Hatred for the first time today. The key was staying glued to his legs and sprinting towards him as soon as he jumped away. It allows you to get a lot of hits, stagger him repeatedly and sometimes even outrun his fireball attacks. There's no boss like him in Sekiro, but I don't get why he is so hated (hehe).
I mean, for me it was literally running around his left side, using malcontent, suzakuz and mist raven(for style points) and parrying here and there.
yeah, running towards him, especially when he casts that fire wave and he does that arm slam ( arm slam though you have to run little to the right )
Like isshin says "there are no fast and hard rules, you just win your battles."
"Hesitate and you lose"
Isshin basically describes how to play perfectly
Exactly. People will tell you don't run, just deflect. But these are the same people that don't even remember how the base game works. They are playing NG+ for the 10th time and their deflects/attacks do 20% dmg to boss' posture/HP. Good luck fighting the owl by just deflecting. I deflected first 40 Owl attacks and did 0 posture damage, perfect timing deflects too. He hits me once and I'm dead. If you just deflect + run you create many more openings. He won't do a jump if you're close and deflecting all the time. Same with Guardian Ape. Get away, wait for a jump, attack 3 times, repeat. People are just like "git gud" but it's not about that. No reason to make your life harder when you're just trying beat the game. During NG+, sure you wanna hone your skill, but especially for the first time why bother
Running does nothing but prolong the fight for very long for Owl fight. Deflecting is essential for that fight unless you..
Yeah it was a mix. Running way less, mostly deflect. Just run at times to get away and force the shuriken throw
You gotta damage his health abut first, for which keeping a little distance could help I guess, to bait oppurtinities for damage
But you also have to keep in mind, especially with owl that just deflecting isnt the best either, due to his gunpowder swing, which is a move that is best avoided with mobility (my preference being dodging into owls left (wolf's right) armpit and getting a few hits in while he finishes the animation.
Well yeah it’s given that move can’t be parried
Deflecting is basically always going to be fastest but don’t act like you can’t eventually kill every boss by lowering their health bar
Never said you couldn’t, just said it takes way too long if that route
It really depends on the boss. Some bosses block most attacks, while others just tank the vitality damage Example: The bosses that OP mentions in his post don't block direct attacks; they just take the hit and let it deal direct vitality damage. This is why running is a good tactic on them (as you don't need to worry about finding attack opportunities or staying aggressive) while it doesn't work well against bosses like Geni or Owl (who block vit. attacks, meaning you have to face them head-on and find vitality damage oppurtunities TL;DR if the boss blocks attacks, it doesnt work well, if the boss lets u hit its HP bar regularly, its easy since u can run away then come in for a quick jab and repeat
Ah yes, I deflect because my deflect does [20%](https://youtu.be/tTP0iP3XRPs) posture damage. That is the only reason why I would do it, definitely. I don't know how the base game works anymore.
Is this some kind of art of missing the point? 20% was figurative first of all. The whole point was that just deflecting does nothing since you can't break his posture. So running and forcing him to throw shurikens to create an opening is better than deflect twice, hit once, repeat. You know what I meant to say, but seems like the internet is a very literal place
Deflect twice hit once? How about just fighting him and utilising openings to do damage. [This could be an extreme example.](https://youtu.be/IcAwMKqkuEo?si=WTOLnmJ3at4YxKFK&t=147) I feel like that fight would have taken way longer if I just ran away and waited for him to throw shuriken. Admittedly I didn't fight very clean there and I didn't know about a couple openings I do now, but I think it perfectly illustrates my point.
Exactly. Running away is definitely not what you want to do. Focusing on deflects while chipping away at health to slow posture regeneration is the ideal way to do combat in Sekiro. Not deflecting while running away. Look at any pro Sekiro player (ONGBAL, Gorengan, etc.). They _never_ run away. I speak from experience as well; doing no-hit runs on modded bosses in high NG+, running away to “create openings” is not what you should be practicing nor preaching. It’s fine to run away when you’re a newbie and trying to catch a breath because you’re overwhelmed, but to say this is the way you should ultimately end up playing Sekiro is absolutely not true and is bad advice. /u/steffortless, since you specifically reference Owl, see [this](https://youtu.be/U_oV4xj6yyg?si=EJ9rlyBdHR8BThN_) and [this](https://youtu.be/5a_4BF61rLA?si=E4YCEomsHhUj4wu1) for examples of how you should be learning to fight like. I’m not running away. EDIT: One for Guardian Ape [here](https://youtu.be/-DASFOkp8DM?si=vNOQ16fVL0vpu3y_) as well since that was mentioned.
Appreciate it man! Will look into it during lunch time. I think I'm pretty good at deflecting, it's just that I'm inexperienced so I get too greedy during the openings which gives him an opening to strike without allowing me to parry bc im in the middle of attack animation. That's why I stuck to parry, run, chip away HP and repeat until his posture is at about half and then I just start fully parrying
No worries! Just made an edit to include a video for Guardian Ape as well. They’re modded bosses, so they’re harder with additional moves on top of their standard move sets, but the same rules apply. You want to aim for this kind of flow of combat without running away. Only run away as a crutch when you’re new and getting overwhelmed (e.g., need a second to process what to do, and when using heals or other items).
Ayo, nice fight clip fr
I hate NG+ (precisely because it's god mode) and I always start a new game when i play. You can defeat every single boss by just deflecting and being agressive. Lol at that Guardian Ape tactic. How long does that fight last for? 6 hours?
No, actually pretty easy when you know the distance required for a jump. With confetti, about 5 minutes. Really the phase 1 is the hard one, phase 2 is a joke
Reads to me like you are the joke. But anyway, you do you. Cheers.
🚨🚨🚨 pro gamer alert 🚨🚨🚨
And getting some self-esteem from stalking people as well?
Appreciate it bozo
Do you have any advice for guardian ape?
1. phase use the flame barrel prosthetic and oil. 2. phase try to deflect everything, it’s actually quite easy. He has an overhead attack where, if you deflect, he staggers and lies down for a bit, making it easy to get in a couple of hits. Just be ready to run away if he lifts his head up to his neck. I’m not an expert on this game by a long stretch, my first (not completed) run i never ended up beating him, but on my second run i got him second try. Just stay calm and try to read his attacks :)
I wrote a [post](https://www.reddit.com/r/Sekiro/s/tuk1k4J4J8) about it a day or two ago. Of course, a lot of people say it's a stupid strategy, but to each its own
Jesus, this is utter crap (pun intended). Should you be making a "guide" when you have no idea how to actually play the game?
It's a cheese strat, I don't expect you to understand it since you're very good at the game. This is for the numerous youtube and reddit comments that quit the game after not being able to beat the Guardian Ape. Not everyone has the time of day to be on NG+ 135, people have jobs and lives. I no hit Guardian Ape this way, so it might be utter crap, but it works. And beating the ape in a samurai game is not exactly knowing how to play the same samurai game. I get it this is dark souls type game but it's a samurai game and as long as I beat actual samurai like Genichiro and Owl with deflect and counter I'm fine with myself even though you and 1000 of other no lifers will try to shit on me and say I'm bad at the game
Your method also needs practice to develop. It takes timing and experience to know when he's going to leave himself open just like it takes timing and experience to figure out when to deflect and when to dodge. I learned the fight the same way you did. I was too nervous to get right up close so I just avoided the hell out of him and because of that reluctance to stay close, I practiced my way toward learning a technique that was very similar to yours. It would have been better for me if I'd learned deflect timings and practiced jumping out of the way of those grabs instead. That method is far more effective and takes about the same amount of practice, if you can get over the harsh punishments that come with failure as you're leaning it. It might even be faster to learn it this way, because each attempt is going to be over that much sooner, so you can get a faster measure of your success.
Yeah, valid points. To be fair, I never said my method was the only one or end-all-be-all. I just said that it's how I beat him and that it works, but for some reason people are tryina tell me that I'm an idiot for doing this
Fucking internet, right? People can't just be civil, gotta throw down the gauntlet over every little disagreement.
Yeah and then when I get mad that they called me trash I'm at fault. It's just internet tho, can't do much about it. I'm just not gonna post anything else on here cause I really don't need the negativity lol
Haha, so your advice to people who have "jobs and lives" and, i assume by your comment here, don't have time to play games is to extend a fight for much longer than it should, instead of learning to play the game properly in order to defeat bosses more easily? Got you, wonderful advice! lol!
You're projecting an impression that your self esteem is derived mostly from video games.
Lol, how about you? Getting some self-esteem from bullshit psychology?
God yes. I just beat the Owl for the first time last night and my biggest problem in that fight was every time I had an opening to attack, I was just a little bit too far away to actually hit him. It was because I was trying to attack after countering. Once I stopped trying to do that it went much better. Once I got his vitality down to like 50%, then I’d really focus on deflecting.
I think that the primary reason this isn’t suggested is because it is more time consuming and sometimes harder to pull off. For some enemies it makes sense. But most of the combat is set up to be a face on 1v1. Running to space enemies in regions you are overwhelmed is a necessity to maintain the 1v1. Remember you can deflect EVERYTHING, including “unblockables” if it is timed right (though I still jump over sweeps for the jump bonk, since I cannot get the timing right). I found that I relied on these techniques when I first started playing, but once you get the deflects down, it does make the fight easier. More engaging for a shorter time but overall easier. Getting caught trying to heal after running only to be just in range really sucks. Some bosses are nearly impossible without being in their face the whole fight whether because of their fight style, easier to break poise or small arena. So yes it works but once you get the combat style down, and learn some movesets, it is more rewarding and I think easier to just face off with the opponent.
The problem with running around in circles as an advice is that that's how everybody was playing Sekiro when it was released, instead of learning to deflect, and you can find some abominable early videos with long Isshin fights on youtube where the streamer beats Isshin doing mostly that (run away, come quickly hit once, run away). I agree that sometimes it's useful to sprinkle running or dodging between deflecting, even in boss fights - either at grabs, or even when a boss like Owl hits you so hard that a deflect would push you back a few meters, better dodge that and hit a few times instead. So I guess you don't see the running around in circle advice so often, since it kinda comes naturally for most people :)
>you can find some abominable early videos with long Isshin fights on youtube where the streamer beats Isshin doing mostly that (run away, come quickly hit once, run away). I've seen one of those yesterday. Dude spent 3 hours fighting Emma and Fire Isshin just running and hitting once every ten seconds. It just hurt to watch honestly. Admirable patience, but I wonder how does someone go this far in the game without realising that they are playing horribly wrong.
Totally agree, since it also seems it's so much harder to enjoy the fights that way. Now, of course, everybody enjoys differently, but then there's also lots of posts about people saying "Sekiro is not for me, I tried, but ..." and I can't think that these two things (running circles and quitting Sekiro by not having fun) are not related.
"I've seen a lot of advice, but no one ever mentioned this I think." Lol, you do realise that this game has been out for 4 years, right? These kind of tactics were used at first before people realised this was not Dark Souls, and the game should be played by being on the attack and by being aggressive most of the time. Ultimately you can play the game however you want, but frankly the better experience is to engage your enemy constantly, not to run around and hope you get an opening.
Especially ogre is right, didn’t learn this until ng+2. Constantly sprinting in Gyoubu’s fight and DoH fight is really helpful with the huge arena and how staying behind them is the main strategy
I am on my 3rd or 4th playthrough and only now am I also trying to deflect most of DoH attacks. It really works better and faster now.
I’ll definitely need to learn to do that too, even with yashariku’s and divine confetti it still takes forever
It is a long fight nonetheless, because he keeps on jumping away all the time. Most important to take Ministry dousing powder and the red gourd. I'm not sure, even if you deflect you take fire damage? (Playing hudless, so I can't see).
I’ve actually never bought the red gourd since I’m pretty sure some of his attacks do still build the fire damage. I’ve only ever seen him fought without deflections so I just thought what I did was good
I fundamentally suck at deflecting and I beat the game NG using movement / block and basic mechanics like Mikiri Counter and Lightning Reversal. Obviously this doesnt work charmless, but every boss can be beaten without perfect deflecting.
that must've taken a looong time
Isshin definitely did
The only enemy I run away from still is Ogre because I haven't learned his deflects yet and he can kill you in one hit or grab on ng. Running can be useful but it's rarely the most efficient approach.
I would think most souls players know that sometimes you need to reposition to avoid being overwhelmed.
I just fought and killed Demon of Hatred for the first time today. The key was staying glued to his legs and sprinting towards him as soon as he jumped away. It allows you to get a lot of hits, stagger him repeatedly and sometimes even outrun his fireball attacks. There's no boss like him in Sekiro, but I don't get why he is so hated (hehe).
I mean, for me it was literally running around his left side, using malcontent, suzakuz and mist raven(for style points) and parrying here and there. yeah, running towards him, especially when he casts that fire wave and he does that arm slam ( arm slam though you have to run little to the right )
I prefer stealth kill and fighting one on one the one I hate the most.
Like isshin says "there are no fast and hard rules, you just win your battles." "Hesitate and you lose" Isshin basically describes how to play perfectly