Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice managed to have the most easily digestible and understandable narrative FromSoftware has released in ages. The cast of characters made their mark and seared themselves into the memories of players around the globe.
Lord Ashina is a character that the player interacts with at several key junctures in the game. He'll serve as the game's final boss for many people, in a fight that most fans of the series consider one of the toughest challenges FromSoftware has ever implemented in one of their games.
10 He's An Optional Final Boss
Now, in terms of being an optional boss, it comes down to the decisions the player makes. The final boss for most people ends up being The Owl, or Lord Ashina in his Isshin, the Sword Saint form.
The latter fight tends to be the one most people encounter and that is why this article is being written. He's a boss with four total phases, with each phase having its own unique set of challenges to overcome. Lengthy fights often come down to consistency and stamina, both of which the player will need in droves.
9 Be Prepared For A Long Fight
As previously mentioned the dual with Isshin, the Sword Saint is a fight that takes four phases to complete. Simply knowing the length of the fight puts a real mental block on players as they struggle to understand how they even stand a chance.
The best course of action is to treat it like four separate and self-contained boss fights. By doing so it makes it more digestible and making the goals smaller help build momentum for the player and adds to the feeling of accomplishment overall.
8 Free Early Hits
It's hard to find something better in video games than taking advantage of long animations to land free damaging hits on an enemy or boss.
During the first phase of the fight when players think they're dueling Genichiro, his first combat arts attack will take a while to charge up before he strikes, meaning players can land more than a couple of meaningful strikes on him.
The combat art he uses is called Whirlwind Strike and players can dodge by stepping through it and can land even more free damage after their initial onslaught.
7 Get In And Get Out With Patience
Isshin, the Sword Saint is the type of boss that's best fought, at least in his early phases, by staying as close to him as possible. His attacks have pretty long telegraphed movement and can be dodged through or around.
Players should take advantage of this and get in with a flurry of attacks and get out of harm's way as soon as they're done. Knowing how many attacks one can land will mean the difference between efficiently attacking and letting greed cloud a sound strategy.
6 So Many Perilous Attacks
Most bosses in Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice have a couple of Perilous Attacks that need to be avoided. With Isshin, the Sword Saint having four phases he knows a good handful of Perilous Attacks that can abruptly put an end to a player's happiness.
By this point, it should be clear when an opponent uses a Perilous Attack and how the player can take advantage of that. Just don't underestimate how many Perilous Attacks are at his disposal, as well as when and where he's willing to use them.
5 Deflecting And Dodging
The Mikiri Counter is a game-changer when players learn the technique, but it can quickly become a crutch that halts progress in combat skill. To keep an enemy's posture bar full, players must attack often and deflect incoming attacks by either parrying or step dodging.
The Mikiri Counter and other combat arts should be a part of the game plan, but remembering the fundamentals can make an overwhelmingly difficult boss fight feel manageable simply due to knowing the basics of how to fill up an enemy's posture bar.
4 Heal Between Phases
Every new phase of the fight comes with an animation related to how the boss' attacks and attitude change throughout it. Try and use a healing gourd or pellets in these moments so heading into the next phase you're at full health, or at least close to it.
By taking advantage of these moments, it limits the time in which you as the player must try and heal while in active engagements with a boss that moves much quicker than anyone can anticipate. Opportunistic behavior should be a key focus at all times.
3 Watch His Hands And Weapons
Veterans of the FromSoftware catalog know that pattern recognition is key in boss fights. By knowing what the startup animation of certain attacks looks like, or how a boss likes to combo moves, players can know what's about to happen.
Since Isshin, the Sword Saint is a four-phase boss that may seem like a lot to memorize, but with enough time and effort, it will feel less like a memory test and more like a natural flow of movement as the boss' moves become overly apparent and telegraphed.
2 Parry Everything & Countering
In regards to his third phase, this is where parrying his attacks becomes critical. He'll attack early and often and understanding that parrying his attacks will help you needs to be at the forefront of your mind as the player.
He has two attacks that could and should be countered, one is his spear-slam and the other is a Perilous Attack in which he thrusts his spear. By doing these two things his posture bar will fill up in no time and you can overcome this phase through finishing blows.
1 Mikiri Counters And Lightning Counter
Isshin, the Sword Saint's final form in the fourth phase of the fight is easily the most visually intimidating, but in terms of difficulty, it may be one of the easier phases. Since he throws lightning, players can activate the lightning counter and throw these bolts of energy back at him.
In addition to this, the use of the Mikiri Counter can have this boss defeated in no time flat. The key will be mastering the lightning counters, as one wrong move with those attacks will result in heavy damage on the player in the blink of an eye.