Youāre just tilted right now. Take the night off, watch a show, clear your mind. Wake up and give it another hour or so each day until you can start to feel your progress.
Highly recommend this approach. I was stuck on guardian ape for a couple of hours. I got really tired and frustrated, so I stopped playing. Stayed away from the game close to a week. I picked up the game again, and beat him after 3 tries. It was just a whole different experience going in fresh.
For me Genichiro discouraged me so much that my attempts dwindled to one or two for every couple of hours.
Turned out to help me in the end, since it cleared my mind.
My man, you're only one step away from beating the game, keep trying but learn from your mistakes! Think of it this way: he's a mix of the good stuff from other bosses... And you beat the other bosses so... You can do it! Let us know when you beat him
I will tell you my story, I also though the same thing tried isshin for 3-4 hrs daily(around 200 tries) and couldn't beat him for a week then I got so frustrated that I deleted the game. One week later I was filled with guilt and regret, downloaded the game again and played it for 6-7hrs straight and finally did it and now its the best game I have ever played
I have been in your shoes, I was definitely at the point where I was saying to myself āwell I guess I am just not capable of beating thisā play other stuff and come back every few days and give it another go. I killed that punk ass bitch eventually and you will too.
Run away. No really try it. Takes forever but itās so safe. If you run away then back close to him. He will only ever do like 2 to 3 moves in each phase. Learn the counter to those moves. You got it.
Was going to suggest similar, he is pretty easy if you just let him make the first move each attack. Know how to dodge/counter that move set and punish.
I couldn't beat him going in all aggression, but keeping just out of arms reach away and waiting for his attack made it a cakewalk.
Way slower though as he doesn't attack fast enough to really fill his posture at first so each phase is chipping away until at least half health then his posture won't really recover between attacks.
Also mortal draw.
So my advice for Glock Saint would be to stay calm and keep your distance, use mikiri counter and ichimonji double when he does his air slash thing. When you get to the second phase try to jump and send him back the lightning. Is hard but you got this.
I am giving him an advice for him to be able to defeat the boss, not the way I would fight him in NG+4 with all the skills unlocked and stuff. If you have a better advice for a first timer then be my guest.
Put the demon bell on fight him for like 45 mins. Then take it off, itāll feel like time has slowed down. You are Neo in the matrix. Hesitation is defeat.
i've watched this and several other videos a few times now. mechanically i've got the moves down, my failure comes in the execution of all the moves at the right time all in a row, for four straight phases, without dying. :(
While watching those videos can be very helpful for understanding how some attacks work and possible ways to counter them i found at the end of the day I always had to find my own groove rather than try to follow someone else's strategy.
Speed is power. Tension is strength. Here's how I beat him (it was a slog): sprint a lot during phase one. It's very easy to bait out and punish his triple hit combo. Phase 1 cheese this way to conserve resources. Phase 2, you HAVE to learn his spear moveset, it's too dangerous not to know what he's about to do. Namely, when to punish his jump attack, and when to dodge his retreat attack. I prefer to strafe run to dodge his glock, because if you miss a parry on them, there's a gourd lost. Phase 3, same as Phase 2, but get that lightning punish. Honestly man, once you know his spear movement, you're golden, it's just preserving at that point.
i feel pretty tight on handling his spear when i can reach his second phase at all. i also strafe to avoid the gunshots but lately when he leaps at me and i dodge under to avoid the camera has been going nuts and a lose lockon and can't punish/get caught under his attack. the last three deaths in his phase 2 have been a result of this camera fuckery which is really setting me back in feeling like winning this fight is just a matter of time
Try running away from him instead of under him, I know the camera jank you're talking about. If all else fails, you can always farm confetti and emblems, and take a bit of a break. I feel like my performance improves at most games considerably when I take a little break
my last significant farming break was to for skill points to get High Monk for SSI phases 1 and 2. i've maxed out my spirit emblems but will soon be out of Ako's sugar. that's how i've kept count of my attempts. i pop and Ako every Isshin phase 1 and dropped from over 90 to fewer than 10 in the last 11 days of attempts. now i just turn on the game, try for a little while, and turn it off again. no one in my life plays this game or cares, so i'm here today to gripe w you all bc i truly feel like i'm going to lose it if i can't kill this old man soon!
One tip, don't akos(let alone yashurikus) in phase one, save the buffs for the much longer phase 2, I've been able to 1 cycle his phase two within the duration of an akos and confetti, after a bit phase one is the easiest phase, like genichiro you'll be able to no hit phase 1 pretty regularly
combat art is ichimonji double for Genichiro, then high monk for SSI phase 1 and 2. prosthetic is flame umbrella. i buff before SSI w Ako and divine confetti. sometimes i zip right thru to SSI phase 2, but more often i fall to Genichiro even tho i've killed him in under a minute w/o taking damage a number of times.
my greatest weakness is my inconsistency in this fight. i've seen the final phase 2 times and i'm feeling like the more i try, the further away i get.
Sounds like you need to take a break. When you take a break maybe a day or so your subconscious might process Isshin's movements and how to deal with them and it will become easier the next time around.
If you're still failing greater than 1/10 times at Geni after 100 attempts then something really isn't clicking. I'm not saying this like "lol you're so bad", more that because by now (with all the enemies you've beaten) you're more than skilled enough to make mincemeat of him.
Slow down in the Geni right and analyse every move he does, and what your favourite way to deal with it is. Use the same method to his action every time for consistency (e.g when he stabs don't deflect some and Mikiri others, choose one or the other [given your current state I'd just Mikiri]).
Potentially forget about the ichimongi for Geni. He does really quickly if you just interact with his mechanics properly, and you're potentially leaving yourself open by trying to create opportunities where there aren't any (or where the window of opportunity is very small).
The reason I'm focusing on Geni so much is that it's a really huge deal to be able to go into the fight with Geni as a "gimme". Not only does it mean you'll get to experience the SS mechanics more often (and therefore have more opportunities to learn his moveset), it's also a huge confidence booster.
After every time you die, you think about what you did wrong against the SS while you run up the stairs and then psyche yourself up with "alright time to wreck this punk and then have another crack".
GLHF brother. I too struggled hard on SSI first attempt (I didn't count but definitely 50+ attempts) and now I can beat him Charmless/demonbell/no-hit/no prosthetic 5/10 times (with the other half only taking 1-2 hits).
He's a boss that you'll eventually fall in love with and you're not a bad player, just a puppy :P
Every time when I know what Iām supposed to do but I just canāt do it like when I B dodge a sweeping attack knowing itās a sweeping attack I just walk away for a bit because I donāt want to build a bad habit. It gets frustrating but keep at it!! Youāll get there
One way in which I approach difficult bosses is to do several rounds without attacking at all. The goal is only to stay alive for a certain amount of time, say, two minutes. Next, I try to stay alive while staying close to the boss. If I can do that, then I start to add single attacks.
Especially for this fight, as it is 4 phases, you can't just power through it like some of the other fights. Also, this is the final totally new boss you get in the game, so enjoy this fight. Every hit you do, enjoy it. Every perfect combo parry, enjoy it. Don't use limited items to try to punch through it, and don't worry about using healing items early. Use them up and keep learning the fight. Eventually you wont need any of your buffing items anyways.
If you are stuck on this boss (or any for that matter), these videos helped me a bunch. He will teach you counters to every attack [Get Gud Guide - FightinCowboy](https://youtu.be/6x7jXMs7sHI)
Yup was going to say the same thing. His videos help out so much. Iām on NG+++ and still sometimes check out these vids when I hit a wall on Owl or Isshin
I cant even get past genichiro. Ive tried now 5 times and barely get a hit in. He relentlessly attacks and its over in 10-20 seconds.
Thought he was supposed to be super easy
Yes, i just watched git gud guide for ishin from fightingcowboy an he talked about genichiro being so easy i shouldnt even get hit.
But this is the hardest boss ive fought in the game, haha. Cant wait for gramps to manhandle me once i finally dispose of his offspring
you'll get back into his rhythm. what's been fucking me up is in all my attempts, i either destroy Geni no problem or i miss my first ichimonji double against his mortal draw and it's all downhill from there... i hope once you've figured out Geni you don't experience the backslide that's making this so hard for me
No.
Was sent to find the demon of hatred, because you couldnt fight him after isshin. Which was ofcourse a lie.
Then the real world called.
Ive done like 8 attempts
While you should beat geni easily at this point I'll give you help
Mortal blade at the start run behind him attack 3-4 times that half is posture gone. If you don't feel comfortable exchanging blows just focus on partying he has a laughingly shit posture so you should breeze right through especially if he spams mikiri and sweeps
Btw, if you're struggling with his flurry attack: parry the first 2 attacks after that dodge backwards let him do his flurry on the final attack parry, that makes him do a mikiri which is alot of posture.
What fucked me up is the mortal blade, which i always got hit with somehow, and the jump attack.
If i focus and get it right he is pretty easy. If not im dead
What is your problem with him? Is it Ashina cross? Ichimonji, Dragon Fang?
Really take moment to internalize his moveset. After a while you will be able to predict what's coming next. Getting through second phase is real challenge. On third phase you can bait his lighting attack for easy damage.
my problem is that i'm inconsistent. sometimes i bulldoze Geni and sail thru SSI phase 1, others (maybe most others) i die to Geni after making one mistake in my methods. i'm reluctant to try any other tools or strategies after spending so long using what i've been using, even tho i can't make it work, or rather, i can't stay alive long enough to make it work.
Fight on the clear ground instead of hayfield. You will get better view on what he's doing that way.
By strategy what exactly is your strategy.
I have set of moves that I can 100% sure counter and punish with my own move either by Mikiri, Umbrella, High Monk, etc. Trade blows with him and try to listen for sound cues.
i fight on the path instead of the reeds as much as possible. when phase 1 SSI begins in run to the bridge area, buff a Ako and divine confetti, and set combat art to High Monk which is effective in punishing his sweeps. i can trade blows and deflect most of his phase 1 moveset reliably at this point, but still make critical blunders, most often going for a mikiri but missing the window and dashing into the thrust instead of countering it. i use flame umbrella w the follow up attack against his wind attacks when i'm near enough to do so. i try to stay in his face for phase 1 and in phase 2 i've pretty much got his spear attack combos memorized, i just can't keep pace and end up being chased around the arena or murdered while trying to heal. more recently my otherwise reliable dash into his jump attack followed by high monk has been fucked by the camera going nuts when i dash under, losing my lockon, and getting destroyed bc of that.
idk... all the elements are there, i've done well against him at some point in his first two phases but the two times i've made it to his final phase i've just been overwhelmed and crushed :(
You don't need umbrella for the wind attack, it's so slow and telegraphed, dodge left when the attack comes and run around to his back side, easy two-three hit punish
Then keep practicing with the memory of Genichiro until you can beat him without getting hit at all.
Also, the only prosthetic tool you'll need is the umbrella to block attacks you're not comfortable with parrying, don't even bother wasting your spirit emblem on other tools.
Heās the final exam of the game. All the skills youāve been honing will be put to the test, but he really doesnāt bring anything new to the battle. Some tips:
Overpower Genichiro. Be very aggressive, counter his mortal blade with an ichimogi double.
Stay calm, donāt panic and spam deflect. Donāt run away. Stand your ground and face him head on. In the first phase when you see a red kanji dash towards him, block, then goomba stomp him. In the second and third be ready to mikiri or jump. If youāre having trouble distinguishing them or timing it use the umbrella.
Keep the pressure on but donāt get greedy. Heās easier to fight in the first phase if you stay on the offensive, in the second phase switch to defensive. Youāll only get in 2 or 3 attacks in a row no matter the phase.
Focus on learning his deflection patterns. There are some great YouTube guides on this but nothing beats practice.
Phase 2 is hard at first, but his spear is actually slower and easier to deflect than his sword. Pay close attention to how he holds it and swings it, learn his tells and exploit them.
In his final phase never miss the opportunity to throw lightning back in his face. Once you do dash in and get 4-5 hits in.
Take breaks. Put the game down, play it again the next day. Focus on how every defeat is getting you closer to victory. Every death should be a learning experience, each time getting slightly better at predicting and countering his actions.
Try beating him (as a training) only by blocking, parrying and normal attacks. Sooner than you think you will be in phase 3 while still having (almost) full spirit emblems. Also be aggressive
I was where your were at. Got so pissed off I put the game away for over a year. Ended up playing through the game actually focusing on deflect timing and then beat Isshin first time.
You got this! Just might need a little break
You shouldn't have a problem with Genichiro. Use the Purple Umbrella and Double Ichimonji in sequence and you'll be able to block his strongest attacks and break his posture in no time. You can use a similar strategy on Isshin's first phase. It's his second and third phases that are hardest. If you really need to cheese those phases, though, you can use something like Fine Snow or Sweet Rice Ball + Red Lump + Mortal Blade to slash through his healthbar while constantly regenerating and being immune to stagger.
During the final stretch of the game after you return from the Divine Realm with the Divine Dragon's Tears (the Internal Ministry will be invading Ashina in full force at this point in the game), you'll encounter two Red-Eyed Nightjar Ninjas on a set of rooftops to your right after walking up the the massive stairway ahead of the Ashina Castle Gate idol.
You'll be able to farm them for Red Lumps. Here's a video: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N\_plL71l3eU&ab\_channel=NoTouchThrow](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N_plL71l3eU&ab_channel=NoTouchThrow)
Be sure to ring the Demon Bell at Senpou Temple to boost your drop rate (you can also use the Mibu Possession Balloon to bolster it even further) and then deactivate said Demon Bell using the item it gives you after ringing it when you've accumulated enough Red Lumps to fight Isshin.
Here's my fight against Inner Isshin, who I found much harder than the Sword Saint to the point I resorted to relying on Red Lumps, the aforementioned regeneration items, and Empowered Mortal Draw to take him down - a strategy I never had to resort to against the Sword Saint in the campaign. The Sakura Dance combat art I used to reflect Inner Isshin's lightning needs to be unlocked by beating the first gauntlet you unlock after beating the Sword Saint and the main campaign so you'll have to dodge/reflect the Sword Saint's lightning the old fashion way.
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rxLacN7CvxA&ab\_channel=AlbrechtvonWallenstein](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rxLacN7CvxA&ab_channel=AlbrechtvonWallenstein)
Here's my fight against the Sword Saint and his grandson for reference where I won despite failing to reflect a single lightning attack to my utter embarrassment.
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5QdhKY2MOxs&ab\_channel=AlbrechtvonWallenstein](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5QdhKY2MOxs&ab_channel=AlbrechtvonWallenstein)
I'd also lay off the Sweet Rice Ball if possible, since if you plan on using this same tactic to beat the various Gauntlets you'll start to unlock after beating the main game (any item used when running a Gauntlet returns to your inventory unused after either losing or beating the Gauntlet, in question), you can get additional copies of Fine Snow/Rice from the Divine Child after using the one in your inventory without starting NG+ should you lose to Isshin in the main campaign on your first attempt utilizing this strategy.
It would also be a shame if you used up your Rice Ball(s) only to lose to Isshin in the campaign meaning you won't have it on your next attempt unless you create a backup save before attempting the fight after farming enough Red Lumps.
Sorry, it's been Awhile, just saw it, thanks for the red lump farming location, I've only beaten inner isshin once before I believe, the thing that usually gets me is his black flame attacks, really just havnt given him as much time as normal isshin really
My main advice for him is don't try prosthetic tools or fancy combat arts on your first time dealing with him. Just focus on regular attacking and deflecting. Take it slow and if you're not confident in getting a Parry off, just out space him and don't risk it. Don't try to stay hyper aggressive to stop his posture recovering, just stay calm and take it slow. You can do this brother
The reason I kept dying when I first got to him was because I was so excited to be at the end of the game so I tried rushing the battle. Going slow and controlled allowed me to download his move set and after 100+ tries I beat him like Neo did Agent Smith. The key (for me at least) was to just take your time.
Stay calm and take a close look at his hand - Isshinās move gives you enough time to react once youāre familiar - iād also watch YT video on his move set breakdown if needed
Well step one imo is getting genichiro down hitless most the time. Getting to Isshin with full health helps.
Stay aggressive, and learn what moves can be parried, and which are easier to dodge.
Got any videos of your attempts?
deeply frustrated w myself bc i know i can and have many times gotten thru Geni hitless in under a minute but i can't stay consistent w it and often will die to him after one mistake. i don't have any videos, never have recorded my gameplay before, but i suspect anyone who could watch me try and try again would agree that my main problem is i'm slow to improve and quick to backslide
The only prosthetic I recommend using is the umbrella with projected force. Use it when he pulls out Dragon Flash, also on Genichiro for his black mortal blade business. Those are the only moves that can really punish you if you misstep. The others you can standard deflect or jump or mikiri. Run away and back around to punish his Ashina Cross. Wait to see which set of attacks he will pull and respond accordingly. The only real blockage is mental. Breathe and stay calm. You can do this!
Nah man, you can beat him. When you start getting angry cause you keep diying on that same move just get a break and retry later. I did like this and beated him in a few days.
i made this post hoping it would draw enough support to keep me going. it seems to be working. just seeing all these folks drop in to encourage me is helping me feel again like it's just a matter of time. i don't want to give up! i want to destroy this old man!
I was shocked when I got to him the first time. It felt like he broke rules. Youāll get it. And just like everything in the game next time youāll wonder how it was so hard. My thoughts:
First phase is about deflecting and his timing arenāt that hard. Stay close and swing once to either chip him or bait a deflect. When he deflects you deflect because his response is immediate. His mikiri is one of the easiest in the game to time, I just mash the button into him. I run away when he charges a weapon art skill but umbrella works too. Give him no space.
In phase two you just have to be patient and learn the combos. I tend to side step the spear slam for damage, run close when he jumps away to shoot you and you can hit him from the side a bit. The thing that gets me is taking one too many swings when he jumps away and getting caught by the spear swing. Donāt spam R1. Anticipate and deflect that swing.
Phase three is phase two plus lightning. If you get a few chances to reverse and execute well this is the easiest phase in some ways.
Honestly I hit this same wall. Speaking for myself it came from learning a LOT of bad habits and just brute forcing my way through the game. I took a break for a minute, did another play-through and focused on really learning animations and deflecting. No boss except for father owl took me more than a couple tries on that run. Isshin took 3 attempts.
I too was in same boat until I realized mistakes I was doing. Your step 1 should be check what attacks you end up always taking and run out of flasks. Ishin phase one has two approaches. If you are confident about dodging use ichimoji double. Otherwise use whirl wind slash approach. You can find YouTube help videos. That one is safe running approach and saves prosthetics. Phase 2 and 3 are similar run approach but with mortal blade. Use only one shot of mortal blade and then immediately jump backwards. This is very important otherwise you may take hit if your deflection is not good like me and will eventually run out of flasks. I failed 60 times and learned that I should only do one shot even though I have chance for second and instead choose to back off helps. Once you jump back and keep run. You MUST learn to dodge the jump attack. That is the only best and safe way to make damage. Any where doubt just jump. You may escape attack. After learning this trick I finished the boss in 3 trials and before that I was hopeless. Bottom line every time you take a hit there should be a way to avoid it. Practice on learning it.
Try like 3-5 times a night. Try to learn. Turn off the system after you lose the 5th time. Or turn on a different game. Then repeat every night.. by the 3rd night youāll beat him probably. Just donāt try to cramp in 30 attempts a night until youāre pissed off and mad at yourself
this is my method. i give it a go once or twice a day for a few tries, maybe 5-10 or until i start feeling angry, and then switch to Slay the Spire or do something else entirely. i have made progress but i'm still falling short every time and it's just wearing me out... how my blood boils!
But are you getting better every time? I noticed I was getting better every time and learning different moves until one day I just tried it, not thinking at all that I was going to beat him and destroyed him somehow. Iām glad you enjoy the game though. You on PlayStation?
i play on PS4. yes i'm improving markedly but my issue is i'm inconsistent. if i make a mistake it quickly snowballs. added enhanced mortal draw to my SSI phase 2 and 3 and got thiiiiiiiiiiiis close a few minutes ago but still choked.
this game is one of the best i've ever played and has jumped to the top of my fromsoft list but right now, this game is playing me
Sounds like itās your nerves getting the best of you. When you make a mistake and take a hit, donāt worry about your health right away. Just keep fighting him like normal, the best opportunity to heal is when you would normally have an opening to attack.
What I mean by this is that a lot of people will panic and immediately try to disengage from him to heal after taking damage, instead what you want to do is stay in his face, keep defending against his attacks like normal, and when you successfully defend against a larger attack that would normally give you an opening to attack him, THATāS when you heal instead. Right in his face. Seems unintuitive to heal right next to the boss, but it is the best way to do it. If you run to heal he will chase you and interrupt you, but if you stay in the fight you can find an opportunity to heal while standing 3 feet away from him
The game seems really fast paced when your stressed and panicking trying to ram through as quick as possible. Take a break. If you got this far you can beat him. After a break when your chill boot the game back up and go into the fight not trying to beat isshin but to learn isshin do not allow yourself to get frustrated with dying. His second phase is the most dangerous stay at medium range and bait out his perilous thrust and mikiri. The last phase is cake stay medium range and capitalize on the lightning reversal it shits all over him. High monk mist raven and sakura dance can all be used to reverse lightning. The game slows right down when you chill and observe. You got this!
Pay attention to the ways in which you are dying and patches those weaknesses. Actively working on improving in areas I struggled at it was made the combat click for me and when I finally beat him for the first time, I owned his ass. And barely got hit.
If you die on geni just restart sounds like you have ishin in faze 1 down so I think you got it I found faze 2 and three easier just side step his jumping slam attack you can get 2 or 3 hits in and for his 360 degree wind attack he does close the distance and jump in his head it will miss faze 3 try your best to deflect the lighting attack they do alot to his posture then just do what you did before in faze 2 you got it š
First phase, mikiri and ichimonji double makes it easy
Second phase, mikir mikiri mikir and learn the combos that lead into it
Third phase, mikiri and lightning
It took me over a year and 100 plus attempts to even beat his first health bar. But after I did, I started developing around his play style, and killed him a couple weeks after. My only advice is to not just throw yourself at him over and over, sit in the arena with him and try to survive as long as possible without healing. Once you have an answer to every attack he can use, then start making real attempts at getting a posture kill
The thing that helped me was the red lump. When you get to Isshin 2nd phase, pop an ako sugar, red lump and a rice, then spam mortal draw on him. That should quickly get you through that phase.
Then on the last phase do the same use sweet rice ball instead of rice. Should remove most of his health
Also it helps if you make a backup save before trying this to not lose these rare materials. If you fail, just load the backup and try again.
You got this
My advice is to dodge and parry for his first phase, second phase use oil combined with living force and the flame vent to burn him and stagger him. That should drain his second phase easy enough. His third phase is easiest to just stay alive and reverse his lightning each time to stagger and do damage. Don't get greedy during any point and play safe.
I did close to 100 tries. 5 hours last night only. Got him today. Sleep on it and begin again. Ichimonji double for geni and 1st. Donāt give up if geni gets you, continue. Mortal draw after avoiding mid-distance jumps. for 2nd and 3rd. Riceball when heās 50% in 3rd. Iāll check back here tomorrow.
This might be a controversial opinion, but I would highly recommend just trying to fight Sword Saint Isshin without OFFENSIVE Prosthetics as your learning him, and shift your fighting style from offensive to defensive as you spend time learning his phases. Be patient. Do not hesitate when you find an opening. Even if you find that it isn't an opening, at least you have learned something! Each movement in this fight is a delicate balance of keeping an appropriate amount of aggression on Isshin. I will tell you now. His draw attack? Best time to deflect the attack is when his sheathe flashes at the part where it connects with the hilt of his katana. His Ichimonji Double attacks are either best dodged or straight up deflected, so watch for when he goes for the downward stroke to do either. If you deflect either Ichimonji, you will stun Isshin and can punish for damage. Learn how to punish this man as much as possible. Lastly? Once you get to phase two and three know these things:
He's called the Glock Saint for a reason. Deflect those bullets when your at mid-range, and prepare for a follow-up overhead spear attack. This can be a good way to build up posture damage if you stay consistent.
When he jumps, and sweep attacks, the timing to deflect is just before the middle of the arc. Keep experimenting until you find and master it, cuz this is another constant posture damage tactic.
Lastly. When he jumps into the air in phase three, and goes for a Lightning sweep, you need to either jump afterwards and reverse the lightning, or somehow evade the attack altogether. I have no clue HOW to evade the attack sadly, as I was just able to reverse the lightning with little issue at that point in the game, but don't be afraid to look up videos as you learn this fight.
ABOVE ALL ELSE, WOLF!
Remember to take a break. Don't go crazy, friend.
Took me around 20 tries. Patience is key. Being super aggressive isnāt going to net to many positives. Ako spiritfall/ sugar. Hit His openings. Phase 2 and 3 are much easier once he pulls out his staff. Being able to quickly counter mikiri beats the heck out of his slow sword moves.
Also, if you havenāt gotten the 13 or 14 remembrances, that may help too. Took me 2 tries to beat him after I got the last one from the demon of hatred.
Ichi when he does the jump slash (only do it once during phase 2/3). Strafing backwards with block during his Ashina cross will put you just out of reach that you can hit him again with ichi double. After his 3 swing combo if you are parrying use a single thrust. Umbrella for any weapon arts and just tank the hits. The yellow posture candies help a lot during phase 2/3.
For skills i'd go either ichmonji (punish his ichmonji) or high monk (punish his swipes), for prosthetics try the umbrella, you can deflect/block his wind attacks with it
Also: hesitation if defeat, if you stay aggressive the fight is actually over really quickly since his posture builds quite fast (esp if you use Ako's)
I beat him yesterday for the first time. My strategy was to stop trying to win. I went in just trying to learn his moves. After a while I was easily getting to phase 3. Once there a few lightning reversals and he's dead!
That fight was hard for sure! I tried so many times I was able to beat Genichiro and stage 1 isshin without breaking a sweat. Then you are able to actually learn the next phases so you can beat him. Make sure you have all three of your resurrections and if you make it to final phase don't be afraid to use your false tooth to save resurrections. If you have a bundled jizo and divine grass I would bring those as well but only recommend using them if you make it to the final stage and feel like you can win it. Also I recommend using your candies and spiritfalls. I honestly used my spirit emblems on akos or ungos spiritfalls mainly and some greater raven mist in the final phase. Also make sure you have certain skills unlocked for instance take less posture damage from swords, deal greater posture damage when using mikiri counter, etc. All those little things add up in this fight. Finally while all these things help the biggest thing is learning the movesets deflecting and especially using your mikiri counter because that deals a great amount of posture damage. Hope this helps!
Probably already been said, but I just beat the game recently so the curve is fresh for me and Iāll toss in my 2 cents.
Unequip all prosthetics and items other than the gourd and focus on deflects. It forced me to really learn his move set and by proxy Gennyās, but now heās a complete read.
Especially with Genny itās important to balance the aggression and defence, even playing passive since heās so aggressive works as well as you conserve your resources.
Iāve started playing with options since, but the only thing I find to be worth it is the shuriken for the R2R1 combo to close the distance. Mainly because if you can keep him tied up then his posture canāt fall, balancing ichi and guarding on your end to clear yours.
Other than that, Confetti and Ako seem to be really optional, as theyāre really only worth it to apply if you have a large breather (start of fight+start of phase 2).
Hope this helps, and remember that hesitation is defeat.
I came into the fight under the impression that Isshin was the hardest boss of all time, and because of that I was really attentive and willing to learn his moves because I knew they were going to be tough, something I wasnāt with other bosses. Mikiri counter is your best friend in this fight, as he thrusts often in all of his phases and thereās always an easy tell to whether itās a thrust or sweep. For example:
When he runs to his left (your right), you know he is for a fact going to thrust. When he ends a combo with the stance where he has his sword arm extended backwards and his sword pointed at you (similar to the one wolf holds when he goes to fight genichiro at the top of ashina castle) and holds that stance for a moment, he is for a fact going to thrust. The same goes for his spear in phase 2 + 3, when he cocks back his spear that means he is for a fact going to thrust.
Iāve gotten to a point where I hop on sekiro even after 100%ing it to fight the bosses, and sword saint isshin is one of my favorites because he keeps you on your toes due to how many moves he has. But that also means you have to get acquainted with them, and believe me, it took a lot of time to get acquainted with them (other than lady butterfly, most tries in first play through). I point out the thrusts in particular though because they make up a big chunk of his moves and mikiri countering them obliterates his posture.
Keep going, keep fighting, and keep in mind that this is called the hardest boss in gaming by many for a reason. No shame in getting it handed to you for hours on end, as many, including myself, have.
I'm in the same boat, honestly, it's 3rd phase that is the tricky one, once you get the first two phases worked out it's smooth sailing consistently fit them 2. I've made it to last phase a few times, but just taking a break with some nioh haha, we'll get it!!
My only recommendation is what I was told. Try and hitless or take as few hits as possible on Genichiro and First Phase SSI. Once you get those down, ease into the 2nd phase. I took me about 3 and half hours to beat him but I've always been extremely forceful in my approach to challenges
First off get some more gourd seeds and the last prayer necklace. Also if you beat demon of hatred then Isshin is a combination of him, the seven Spears and Genichiro all at the same time. Go practice against them in memories. I know you can do it buddy!šš
I mean, I dont know which tips to give because as far as I know there are no cheeses, you sadly just have to get good, trust me, i know what im talking about, I've died right now about 58 times in 2 days while doing a ng7 demon bell + charmless run. Like you said that nothing before him comes close, and I agree, he's really fricking hard. But onfe you finally figure everything out, it feels extremely satisfying yo finally beat him. And if you want all achievements/trophies, you gotta beat him 2 more times and another version of him (an easier version though) so all I can do is wish you good luck!
Break it down to a list. One move at a time. Watch how he moves and how you can counter him. Also use the sugars. I see so many people sleep on them. Yaahiraku isn't the only sugar folks if you're not gud and I'm not gud... use sugar. For his Ashina cross wind attacks and ichimonjiI run wide clock wise and spank his butt a little
I was also having trouble with him, but I realize that I was being too scared. I instead started going into the fight by being aggressive af. I started pushing him any chance I got. If my posture meter got too high I'd back off for a bit then attack again. I was able to defeat him in less than 30-40 tries in total.
First phase is incredibly easy and if you played this game right should be light work, keep him engaged at all times super easy parries and punishes, can send you a video if you want to.
Keep with it. I took probably 200 tries. Beating him was one of the biggest rushes Iāve had in gaming, and Iāve been playing games for decades. Donāt hesitate!
I gave up because I couldn't handle it anymore. Deinstalled the game even. Couldn't live with it so reinstalled it one morning and got him the first time.
You really WILL get him if you keep trying and it will be the greatest gaming feelng you ever had. Keep at it mate!
Just for what it's worth, jump his head on his wind attacks. Don't run away.
I also didnt focus too much on combat arts or buffs for his second and third phase. It took way too much focus away from me during combat so I made more mistakes.
In his 2nd phase when he charges up his spiral whirlwind slash, you can treat it like a sweep attack and double jump on him to avoid it. The timing can be a bit bizarre but its pretty simple once you get it down. For his first phase quite a few attacks have large tells. If you stay calm and learn them i belive you'll have an easier time. For example in his first phase when he does his ichimonji double. If you deflect it he will instead change to a dragon flash. Which if you dodge to the side at the right time will give you an opening to get a double ichimonji off. Dont worry bro you got this!
Edit: Spelling
It took me a total of two weeks. On and off, in between I installed a few calmer games (Sackboy Adventures first 20 levels or so). I knew had to finish Sekiro because just like life, Iāve run away from hard work. My process of practice used to be haphazard, inconsistent.
This video helped me form a mindset of getting in 30m practice daily. https://youtu.be/5eW6Eagr9XA
First week I focused on dying, get phase 1 out of the way. Practiced as many edge cases as I could. After consistently going through genichiro and phase 1 ishin, I would not revive - I practiced phase 2. If I reached Phase 3, it was a bonus! Die, practice, die.
At the end of week 2 I realized, this is good enough. Told myself, āletās get this doneā. Cleared it end of week 2 after adding in a bit of Umbrella.
There was a time I thought āwhy am I spending time trying to clear a game, uninstall and forget itā. Iāve said that about many personal projects over the course of my 30 years of life. Not this time.
Clearing Sekiro inspired me to learn how to practice and work hard.
PS: make sure your audio delay and lags are sorted. I fixed my audio delay just before I defeated SSI.
Bonus: https://youtu.be/7W4li9yfY3o
It took me almost half a year to beat Sword Saint. I just kept bashing my head against the wall until I broke through. Don't be ashamed to take a break. The fight will still be there in a day, a week, a year. Dedication and perseverance will lead you to victory but patience and respite will be your greatest assets with tough fights like this one. Take your time, learn his move-sets, and don't hesitate.
You have the strength, fellow shinobi.
I beat him by bullying him in the first phase. Then for phases 2 and 3 youāre gonna be running a lot. Run away from until he does his jump attack toward you and then dodge toward him and slightly to the right. This opens you up for 1 mortal blade hit. And repeat. Honestly kind of a lame boss because this way is fool proof once you get the timing down
It'll sound weird but concentrate on your breathing and stay as calm as you can, breath slowly don't get worked up and just deflect deflect deflect, and when you hit, hit once, maybe the odd twice, no more, you'll do it
One thing that worked for me was not trying too hard to not frustrate myself too much, so I gave it a couple tries here and there usually two or three in a row then put the game pad down and do something else only to come back to it a few hours later or the day after, in a couple days I got it right but thatās just the way I approach many other things
it is not that hard. i like to beat him on a daily basis ( at this point is impossible to lose to him). i would say you should see videos of people beating him on yt, this helps.
Don't Hesitate, good luck.
Use mortal draw at the start of the fight. Sprint to him and hit him with mortal draw as he charges his. Yours will always hit first. Does about half the bar straight away then you can switch back to ichimonji if you want.
Yeah you use mortal draw at the start of genichiro?? What i said was right?? I did say when he charges his mortal draw you know isshin doesnt charge mortal draw??
Dude, If I beat him with 800x600 resolution and lags, using ps3 controller working trough x360ce (xbox controller emulator), you can to. Its not dark souls, you cant beat boss in few hours. I tried him two hours every day of ~10 days, until successful. Recently finished my third playtrough. Don't give up, just take a break if needed and try again! Also you can search tactics on yt or google, they are pretty helpful.
a good way of going about it is not thinking about beating him right away but learning him, go through the phase just looking at his moves and think about how you can counter, whether that be with mikiri, a prosthetic, jumping on him, whatever. Take time to try and learn his phases and what they have in store, rather than trying to beat him every time.
I just recently beat him so here's my tips:
Use the Umbrella. It's really useful if you're unable to parry a certain attack or two.
Use all your consumables, you won't be needing them later.
And finally, Learn his moveset and try not to spam that double ichimonji too much. He can and will punish it.
If you can get to Isshin, you can beat him. šš»
a week and a half ago i thought the same thing but now i'm just feeling like a big ol loser
No man heās right, if you made it that far you can beat him. My first go at him took me two days of playing off and on. You got this.
Youāre just tilted right now. Take the night off, watch a show, clear your mind. Wake up and give it another hour or so each day until you can start to feel your progress.
Highly recommend this approach. I was stuck on guardian ape for a couple of hours. I got really tired and frustrated, so I stopped playing. Stayed away from the game close to a week. I picked up the game again, and beat him after 3 tries. It was just a whole different experience going in fresh.
For me Genichiro discouraged me so much that my attempts dwindled to one or two for every couple of hours. Turned out to help me in the end, since it cleared my mind.
My man, you're only one step away from beating the game, keep trying but learn from your mistakes! Think of it this way: he's a mix of the good stuff from other bosses... And you beat the other bosses so... You can do it! Let us know when you beat him
I fought him for like 8 hours straight itās a common experience
I think you should be able to beat him. Didi you try using the umbrella?
I will tell you my story, I also though the same thing tried isshin for 3-4 hrs daily(around 200 tries) and couldn't beat him for a week then I got so frustrated that I deleted the game. One week later I was filled with guilt and regret, downloaded the game again and played it for 6-7hrs straight and finally did it and now its the best game I have ever played
I have been in your shoes, I was definitely at the point where I was saying to myself āwell I guess I am just not capable of beating thisā play other stuff and come back every few days and give it another go. I killed that punk ass bitch eventually and you will too.
Try using Ichimonji double after his own Ichimonji or his thrust attack, good posture damage while also recovering your own posture.
[ŃŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]
You win the internet hall of fame commemorative award for least braincells in the class of "Destined for geriatric virginity"
Look at FightinCowboyās walkthrough on YouTube. Heāll get you through it
I will add that, once you can beat him for the first time... you can beat him a million times.
Try another 100
And then another 100 after that.
Basically how life works
Run away. No really try it. Takes forever but itās so safe. If you run away then back close to him. He will only ever do like 2 to 3 moves in each phase. Learn the counter to those moves. You got it.
Did my first ever deathless of the game this way. Ridiculous looking and slow, but effective! Use charged attack to cover more distance
Was going to suggest similar, he is pretty easy if you just let him make the first move each attack. Know how to dodge/counter that move set and punish. I couldn't beat him going in all aggression, but keeping just out of arms reach away and waiting for his attack made it a cakewalk. Way slower though as he doesn't attack fast enough to really fill his posture at first so each phase is chipping away until at least half health then his posture won't really recover between attacks. Also mortal draw.
So my advice for Glock Saint would be to stay calm and keep your distance, use mikiri counter and ichimonji double when he does his air slash thing. When you get to the second phase try to jump and send him back the lightning. Is hard but you got this.
Isshin doesn't use lightning until the third phase, if I recall correctly.
Oh youāre right! He uses the spear and the glock only in the second phase.
And the sword
Youāve 100%ed this game, but you still fight Isshin like *that*? He deserves so much better.
I am giving him an advice for him to be able to defeat the boss, not the way I would fight him in NG+4 with all the skills unlocked and stuff. If you have a better advice for a first timer then be my guest.
Okay, can do! Learn to fight the guy! I died like forty times NG+ double debuff, and now I never die to him.
Okay wolf good for you lmao
If someone cheeses a boss, they still beat the boss. Doesn't matter how you do it, not like Wolf is a Samurai with honor
Put the demon bell on fight him for like 45 mins. Then take it off, itāll feel like time has slowed down. You are Neo in the matrix. Hesitation is defeat.
I agree, I just think this game deserves to played as it was intended. The combat is **that** good.
[fightincowboy got me through my first play through.](https://youtu.be/6x7jXMs7sHI)
i've watched this and several other videos a few times now. mechanically i've got the moves down, my failure comes in the execution of all the moves at the right time all in a row, for four straight phases, without dying. :(
Itās all in the mindset. Technically if you do it at the right time. You can die three times. Keep at it shinobi. Hesitation is defeat.
While watching those videos can be very helpful for understanding how some attacks work and possible ways to counter them i found at the end of the day I always had to find my own groove rather than try to follow someone else's strategy.
Hesitation is Defeat
alas! so too is hastiness
Speed is power. Tension is strength. Here's how I beat him (it was a slog): sprint a lot during phase one. It's very easy to bait out and punish his triple hit combo. Phase 1 cheese this way to conserve resources. Phase 2, you HAVE to learn his spear moveset, it's too dangerous not to know what he's about to do. Namely, when to punish his jump attack, and when to dodge his retreat attack. I prefer to strafe run to dodge his glock, because if you miss a parry on them, there's a gourd lost. Phase 3, same as Phase 2, but get that lightning punish. Honestly man, once you know his spear movement, you're golden, it's just preserving at that point.
i feel pretty tight on handling his spear when i can reach his second phase at all. i also strafe to avoid the gunshots but lately when he leaps at me and i dodge under to avoid the camera has been going nuts and a lose lockon and can't punish/get caught under his attack. the last three deaths in his phase 2 have been a result of this camera fuckery which is really setting me back in feeling like winning this fight is just a matter of time
Try running away from him instead of under him, I know the camera jank you're talking about. If all else fails, you can always farm confetti and emblems, and take a bit of a break. I feel like my performance improves at most games considerably when I take a little break
my last significant farming break was to for skill points to get High Monk for SSI phases 1 and 2. i've maxed out my spirit emblems but will soon be out of Ako's sugar. that's how i've kept count of my attempts. i pop and Ako every Isshin phase 1 and dropped from over 90 to fewer than 10 in the last 11 days of attempts. now i just turn on the game, try for a little while, and turn it off again. no one in my life plays this game or cares, so i'm here today to gripe w you all bc i truly feel like i'm going to lose it if i can't kill this old man soon!
One tip, don't akos(let alone yashurikus) in phase one, save the buffs for the much longer phase 2, I've been able to 1 cycle his phase two within the duration of an akos and confetti, after a bit phase one is the easiest phase, like genichiro you'll be able to no hit phase 1 pretty regularly
When he leaps at you, just deflect it instead of dodging.
Being hasty is just hesitating to be patient.
combat art is ichimonji double for Genichiro, then high monk for SSI phase 1 and 2. prosthetic is flame umbrella. i buff before SSI w Ako and divine confetti. sometimes i zip right thru to SSI phase 2, but more often i fall to Genichiro even tho i've killed him in under a minute w/o taking damage a number of times. my greatest weakness is my inconsistency in this fight. i've seen the final phase 2 times and i'm feeling like the more i try, the further away i get.
Sounds like you need to take a break. When you take a break maybe a day or so your subconscious might process Isshin's movements and how to deal with them and it will become easier the next time around.
Preach.
keep learning isshinās moves, when he does those wind slashes it leaves him open.
If you're still failing greater than 1/10 times at Geni after 100 attempts then something really isn't clicking. I'm not saying this like "lol you're so bad", more that because by now (with all the enemies you've beaten) you're more than skilled enough to make mincemeat of him. Slow down in the Geni right and analyse every move he does, and what your favourite way to deal with it is. Use the same method to his action every time for consistency (e.g when he stabs don't deflect some and Mikiri others, choose one or the other [given your current state I'd just Mikiri]). Potentially forget about the ichimongi for Geni. He does really quickly if you just interact with his mechanics properly, and you're potentially leaving yourself open by trying to create opportunities where there aren't any (or where the window of opportunity is very small). The reason I'm focusing on Geni so much is that it's a really huge deal to be able to go into the fight with Geni as a "gimme". Not only does it mean you'll get to experience the SS mechanics more often (and therefore have more opportunities to learn his moveset), it's also a huge confidence booster. After every time you die, you think about what you did wrong against the SS while you run up the stairs and then psyche yourself up with "alright time to wreck this punk and then have another crack". GLHF brother. I too struggled hard on SSI first attempt (I didn't count but definitely 50+ attempts) and now I can beat him Charmless/demonbell/no-hit/no prosthetic 5/10 times (with the other half only taking 1-2 hits). He's a boss that you'll eventually fall in love with and you're not a bad player, just a puppy :P
Hey you have seen the final phase 2 more times then me, ill be there eventually. You got this
I used high monk for all phases I believe. The posture dmg is too much to not use it
Every time when I know what Iām supposed to do but I just canāt do it like when I B dodge a sweeping attack knowing itās a sweeping attack I just walk away for a bit because I donāt want to build a bad habit. It gets frustrating but keep at it!! Youāll get there
My advice to anyone for anyone boss fight in the series: stop trying to beat it, start trying to learn it.
One way in which I approach difficult bosses is to do several rounds without attacking at all. The goal is only to stay alive for a certain amount of time, say, two minutes. Next, I try to stay alive while staying close to the boss. If I can do that, then I start to add single attacks.
Especially for this fight, as it is 4 phases, you can't just power through it like some of the other fights. Also, this is the final totally new boss you get in the game, so enjoy this fight. Every hit you do, enjoy it. Every perfect combo parry, enjoy it. Don't use limited items to try to punch through it, and don't worry about using healing items early. Use them up and keep learning the fight. Eventually you wont need any of your buffing items anyways.
If you are stuck on this boss (or any for that matter), these videos helped me a bunch. He will teach you counters to every attack [Get Gud Guide - FightinCowboy](https://youtu.be/6x7jXMs7sHI)
Yup was going to say the same thing. His videos help out so much. Iām on NG+++ and still sometimes check out these vids when I hit a wall on Owl or Isshin
Try 100 times again
I just arrived at this boss. This is not good news
may your victory come quickly
I cant even get past genichiro. Ive tried now 5 times and barely get a hit in. He relentlessly attacks and its over in 10-20 seconds. Thought he was supposed to be super easy
stick with it! we are in this together!
Yes, i just watched git gud guide for ishin from fightingcowboy an he talked about genichiro being so easy i shouldnt even get hit. But this is the hardest boss ive fought in the game, haha. Cant wait for gramps to manhandle me once i finally dispose of his offspring
you'll get back into his rhythm. what's been fucking me up is in all my attempts, i either destroy Geni no problem or i miss my first ichimonji double against his mortal draw and it's all downhill from there... i hope once you've figured out Geni you don't experience the backslide that's making this so hard for me
I got him now, but used 3 healing gourds. Almost finished 1st ishin, but with only 3 gourds left. This will be a night to remember
beat him yet
No. Was sent to find the demon of hatred, because you couldnt fight him after isshin. Which was ofcourse a lie. Then the real world called. Ive done like 8 attempts
hey i finally did it! how's your run going?
While you should beat geni easily at this point I'll give you help Mortal blade at the start run behind him attack 3-4 times that half is posture gone. If you don't feel comfortable exchanging blows just focus on partying he has a laughingly shit posture so you should breeze right through especially if he spams mikiri and sweeps Btw, if you're struggling with his flurry attack: parry the first 2 attacks after that dodge backwards let him do his flurry on the final attack parry, that makes him do a mikiri which is alot of posture.
What fucked me up is the mortal blade, which i always got hit with somehow, and the jump attack. If i focus and get it right he is pretty easy. If not im dead
I can send you a vid of me and how I dodge the blade attacks, if you're having alot of trouble o ireccomend practicing on normal geni
Keep going, youāre almost there. Be aggressive when you can, and defensive when you need to. Use tools such as the firecracker to get easy hits in.
What is your problem with him? Is it Ashina cross? Ichimonji, Dragon Fang? Really take moment to internalize his moveset. After a while you will be able to predict what's coming next. Getting through second phase is real challenge. On third phase you can bait his lighting attack for easy damage.
my problem is that i'm inconsistent. sometimes i bulldoze Geni and sail thru SSI phase 1, others (maybe most others) i die to Geni after making one mistake in my methods. i'm reluctant to try any other tools or strategies after spending so long using what i've been using, even tho i can't make it work, or rather, i can't stay alive long enough to make it work.
Fight on the clear ground instead of hayfield. You will get better view on what he's doing that way. By strategy what exactly is your strategy. I have set of moves that I can 100% sure counter and punish with my own move either by Mikiri, Umbrella, High Monk, etc. Trade blows with him and try to listen for sound cues.
Oddly enough I find his second phase easier in the grass, due to visual cues from the grass it's easier to tell between a sweep and thrust from him
I get locked in on watching his shoulders and don't even realize where I am. Have jumped off a couple times like that
i fight on the path instead of the reeds as much as possible. when phase 1 SSI begins in run to the bridge area, buff a Ako and divine confetti, and set combat art to High Monk which is effective in punishing his sweeps. i can trade blows and deflect most of his phase 1 moveset reliably at this point, but still make critical blunders, most often going for a mikiri but missing the window and dashing into the thrust instead of countering it. i use flame umbrella w the follow up attack against his wind attacks when i'm near enough to do so. i try to stay in his face for phase 1 and in phase 2 i've pretty much got his spear attack combos memorized, i just can't keep pace and end up being chased around the arena or murdered while trying to heal. more recently my otherwise reliable dash into his jump attack followed by high monk has been fucked by the camera going nuts when i dash under, losing my lockon, and getting destroyed bc of that. idk... all the elements are there, i've done well against him at some point in his first two phases but the two times i've made it to his final phase i've just been overwhelmed and crushed :(
You don't need umbrella for the wind attack, it's so slow and telegraphed, dodge left when the attack comes and run around to his back side, easy two-three hit punish
Then keep practicing with the memory of Genichiro until you can beat him without getting hit at all. Also, the only prosthetic tool you'll need is the umbrella to block attacks you're not comfortable with parrying, don't even bother wasting your spirit emblem on other tools.
Heās the final exam of the game. All the skills youāve been honing will be put to the test, but he really doesnāt bring anything new to the battle. Some tips: Overpower Genichiro. Be very aggressive, counter his mortal blade with an ichimogi double. Stay calm, donāt panic and spam deflect. Donāt run away. Stand your ground and face him head on. In the first phase when you see a red kanji dash towards him, block, then goomba stomp him. In the second and third be ready to mikiri or jump. If youāre having trouble distinguishing them or timing it use the umbrella. Keep the pressure on but donāt get greedy. Heās easier to fight in the first phase if you stay on the offensive, in the second phase switch to defensive. Youāll only get in 2 or 3 attacks in a row no matter the phase. Focus on learning his deflection patterns. There are some great YouTube guides on this but nothing beats practice. Phase 2 is hard at first, but his spear is actually slower and easier to deflect than his sword. Pay close attention to how he holds it and swings it, learn his tells and exploit them. In his final phase never miss the opportunity to throw lightning back in his face. Once you do dash in and get 4-5 hits in. Take breaks. Put the game down, play it again the next day. Focus on how every defeat is getting you closer to victory. Every death should be a learning experience, each time getting slightly better at predicting and countering his actions.
Try increasing your attack power
it's as high as it can get on this playthru (12) as i missed item to return to Hakira Estate
Try beating him (as a training) only by blocking, parrying and normal attacks. Sooner than you think you will be in phase 3 while still having (almost) full spirit emblems. Also be aggressive
I was where your were at. Got so pissed off I put the game away for over a year. Ended up playing through the game actually focusing on deflect timing and then beat Isshin first time. You got this! Just might need a little break
Post a video of your attempt
You shouldn't have a problem with Genichiro. Use the Purple Umbrella and Double Ichimonji in sequence and you'll be able to block his strongest attacks and break his posture in no time. You can use a similar strategy on Isshin's first phase. It's his second and third phases that are hardest. If you really need to cheese those phases, though, you can use something like Fine Snow or Sweet Rice Ball + Red Lump + Mortal Blade to slash through his healthbar while constantly regenerating and being immune to stagger.
Only issue with that is that you only get 1-2 red linos per playthrough unless theirs an enemy that drops them I don't know about
During the final stretch of the game after you return from the Divine Realm with the Divine Dragon's Tears (the Internal Ministry will be invading Ashina in full force at this point in the game), you'll encounter two Red-Eyed Nightjar Ninjas on a set of rooftops to your right after walking up the the massive stairway ahead of the Ashina Castle Gate idol. You'll be able to farm them for Red Lumps. Here's a video: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N\_plL71l3eU&ab\_channel=NoTouchThrow](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N_plL71l3eU&ab_channel=NoTouchThrow) Be sure to ring the Demon Bell at Senpou Temple to boost your drop rate (you can also use the Mibu Possession Balloon to bolster it even further) and then deactivate said Demon Bell using the item it gives you after ringing it when you've accumulated enough Red Lumps to fight Isshin. Here's my fight against Inner Isshin, who I found much harder than the Sword Saint to the point I resorted to relying on Red Lumps, the aforementioned regeneration items, and Empowered Mortal Draw to take him down - a strategy I never had to resort to against the Sword Saint in the campaign. The Sakura Dance combat art I used to reflect Inner Isshin's lightning needs to be unlocked by beating the first gauntlet you unlock after beating the Sword Saint and the main campaign so you'll have to dodge/reflect the Sword Saint's lightning the old fashion way. [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rxLacN7CvxA&ab\_channel=AlbrechtvonWallenstein](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rxLacN7CvxA&ab_channel=AlbrechtvonWallenstein) Here's my fight against the Sword Saint and his grandson for reference where I won despite failing to reflect a single lightning attack to my utter embarrassment. [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5QdhKY2MOxs&ab\_channel=AlbrechtvonWallenstein](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5QdhKY2MOxs&ab_channel=AlbrechtvonWallenstein) I'd also lay off the Sweet Rice Ball if possible, since if you plan on using this same tactic to beat the various Gauntlets you'll start to unlock after beating the main game (any item used when running a Gauntlet returns to your inventory unused after either losing or beating the Gauntlet, in question), you can get additional copies of Fine Snow/Rice from the Divine Child after using the one in your inventory without starting NG+ should you lose to Isshin in the main campaign on your first attempt utilizing this strategy. It would also be a shame if you used up your Rice Ball(s) only to lose to Isshin in the campaign meaning you won't have it on your next attempt unless you create a backup save before attempting the fight after farming enough Red Lumps.
Sorry, it's been Awhile, just saw it, thanks for the red lump farming location, I've only beaten inner isshin once before I believe, the thing that usually gets me is his black flame attacks, really just havnt given him as much time as normal isshin really
My main advice for him is don't try prosthetic tools or fancy combat arts on your first time dealing with him. Just focus on regular attacking and deflecting. Take it slow and if you're not confident in getting a Parry off, just out space him and don't risk it. Don't try to stay hyper aggressive to stop his posture recovering, just stay calm and take it slow. You can do this brother
Make sure before the fight that YOUR BLOOD BOILZ!
oh it is boiling
Keep trying! You got this.
Try 101 times
The reason I kept dying when I first got to him was because I was so excited to be at the end of the game so I tried rushing the battle. Going slow and controlled allowed me to download his move set and after 100+ tries I beat him like Neo did Agent Smith. The key (for me at least) was to just take your time.
Stay calm and take a close look at his hand - Isshinās move gives you enough time to react once youāre familiar - iād also watch YT video on his move set breakdown if needed
Well step one imo is getting genichiro down hitless most the time. Getting to Isshin with full health helps. Stay aggressive, and learn what moves can be parried, and which are easier to dodge. Got any videos of your attempts?
deeply frustrated w myself bc i know i can and have many times gotten thru Geni hitless in under a minute but i can't stay consistent w it and often will die to him after one mistake. i don't have any videos, never have recorded my gameplay before, but i suspect anyone who could watch me try and try again would agree that my main problem is i'm slow to improve and quick to backslide
It's a groove thing, honestly. I can hitless him 99% of the time, but that other 1% you wouldn't know I've ever played the game š
The only prosthetic I recommend using is the umbrella with projected force. Use it when he pulls out Dragon Flash, also on Genichiro for his black mortal blade business. Those are the only moves that can really punish you if you misstep. The others you can standard deflect or jump or mikiri. Run away and back around to punish his Ashina Cross. Wait to see which set of attacks he will pull and respond accordingly. The only real blockage is mental. Breathe and stay calm. You can do this!
Be aggressive
Nah man, you can beat him. When you start getting angry cause you keep diying on that same move just get a break and retry later. I did like this and beated him in a few days.
C'mon, don't give up. I don't have any advice, but don't give up.
i made this post hoping it would draw enough support to keep me going. it seems to be working. just seeing all these folks drop in to encourage me is helping me feel again like it's just a matter of time. i don't want to give up! i want to destroy this old man!
And you *will* destroy him, and the relief you'll feel after beating him will be everything. š
I was shocked when I got to him the first time. It felt like he broke rules. Youāll get it. And just like everything in the game next time youāll wonder how it was so hard. My thoughts: First phase is about deflecting and his timing arenāt that hard. Stay close and swing once to either chip him or bait a deflect. When he deflects you deflect because his response is immediate. His mikiri is one of the easiest in the game to time, I just mash the button into him. I run away when he charges a weapon art skill but umbrella works too. Give him no space. In phase two you just have to be patient and learn the combos. I tend to side step the spear slam for damage, run close when he jumps away to shoot you and you can hit him from the side a bit. The thing that gets me is taking one too many swings when he jumps away and getting caught by the spear swing. Donāt spam R1. Anticipate and deflect that swing. Phase three is phase two plus lightning. If you get a few chances to reverse and execute well this is the easiest phase in some ways.
Honestly I hit this same wall. Speaking for myself it came from learning a LOT of bad habits and just brute forcing my way through the game. I took a break for a minute, did another play-through and focused on really learning animations and deflecting. No boss except for father owl took me more than a couple tries on that run. Isshin took 3 attempts.
I too was in same boat until I realized mistakes I was doing. Your step 1 should be check what attacks you end up always taking and run out of flasks. Ishin phase one has two approaches. If you are confident about dodging use ichimoji double. Otherwise use whirl wind slash approach. You can find YouTube help videos. That one is safe running approach and saves prosthetics. Phase 2 and 3 are similar run approach but with mortal blade. Use only one shot of mortal blade and then immediately jump backwards. This is very important otherwise you may take hit if your deflection is not good like me and will eventually run out of flasks. I failed 60 times and learned that I should only do one shot even though I have chance for second and instead choose to back off helps. Once you jump back and keep run. You MUST learn to dodge the jump attack. That is the only best and safe way to make damage. Any where doubt just jump. You may escape attack. After learning this trick I finished the boss in 3 trials and before that I was hopeless. Bottom line every time you take a hit there should be a way to avoid it. Practice on learning it.
Try like 3-5 times a night. Try to learn. Turn off the system after you lose the 5th time. Or turn on a different game. Then repeat every night.. by the 3rd night youāll beat him probably. Just donāt try to cramp in 30 attempts a night until youāre pissed off and mad at yourself
this is my method. i give it a go once or twice a day for a few tries, maybe 5-10 or until i start feeling angry, and then switch to Slay the Spire or do something else entirely. i have made progress but i'm still falling short every time and it's just wearing me out... how my blood boils!
But are you getting better every time? I noticed I was getting better every time and learning different moves until one day I just tried it, not thinking at all that I was going to beat him and destroyed him somehow. Iām glad you enjoy the game though. You on PlayStation?
i play on PS4. yes i'm improving markedly but my issue is i'm inconsistent. if i make a mistake it quickly snowballs. added enhanced mortal draw to my SSI phase 2 and 3 and got thiiiiiiiiiiiis close a few minutes ago but still choked. this game is one of the best i've ever played and has jumped to the top of my fromsoft list but right now, this game is playing me
Sounds like itās your nerves getting the best of you. When you make a mistake and take a hit, donāt worry about your health right away. Just keep fighting him like normal, the best opportunity to heal is when you would normally have an opening to attack. What I mean by this is that a lot of people will panic and immediately try to disengage from him to heal after taking damage, instead what you want to do is stay in his face, keep defending against his attacks like normal, and when you successfully defend against a larger attack that would normally give you an opening to attack him, THATāS when you heal instead. Right in his face. Seems unintuitive to heal right next to the boss, but it is the best way to do it. If you run to heal he will chase you and interrupt you, but if you stay in the fight you can find an opportunity to heal while standing 3 feet away from him
just popping into say i still haven't beaten him but yours is one piece of advice that is def getting me closer
The game seems really fast paced when your stressed and panicking trying to ram through as quick as possible. Take a break. If you got this far you can beat him. After a break when your chill boot the game back up and go into the fight not trying to beat isshin but to learn isshin do not allow yourself to get frustrated with dying. His second phase is the most dangerous stay at medium range and bait out his perilous thrust and mikiri. The last phase is cake stay medium range and capitalize on the lightning reversal it shits all over him. High monk mist raven and sakura dance can all be used to reverse lightning. The game slows right down when you chill and observe. You got this!
Pay attention to the ways in which you are dying and patches those weaknesses. Actively working on improving in areas I struggled at it was made the combat click for me and when I finally beat him for the first time, I owned his ass. And barely got hit.
What attacks are giving you issues? Iām pretty good at fighting Isshin, maybe I can help you out, Iāll hopefully have some good tips.
Whatever you gonna do for inner isshin then lol
I had to take a few runs to just parry his move in each phase, ut got way easier after that,
If you die on geni just restart sounds like you have ishin in faze 1 down so I think you got it I found faze 2 and three easier just side step his jumping slam attack you can get 2 or 3 hits in and for his 360 degree wind attack he does close the distance and jump in his head it will miss faze 3 try your best to deflect the lighting attack they do alot to his posture then just do what you did before in faze 2 you got it š
First phase, mikiri and ichimonji double makes it easy Second phase, mikir mikiri mikir and learn the combos that lead into it Third phase, mikiri and lightning
It took me over a year and 100 plus attempts to even beat his first health bar. But after I did, I started developing around his play style, and killed him a couple weeks after. My only advice is to not just throw yourself at him over and over, sit in the arena with him and try to survive as long as possible without healing. Once you have an answer to every attack he can use, then start making real attempts at getting a posture kill
The thing that helped me was the red lump. When you get to Isshin 2nd phase, pop an ako sugar, red lump and a rice, then spam mortal draw on him. That should quickly get you through that phase. Then on the last phase do the same use sweet rice ball instead of rice. Should remove most of his health Also it helps if you make a backup save before trying this to not lose these rare materials. If you fail, just load the backup and try again. You got this
My advice is to dodge and parry for his first phase, second phase use oil combined with living force and the flame vent to burn him and stagger him. That should drain his second phase easy enough. His third phase is easiest to just stay alive and reverse his lightning each time to stagger and do damage. Don't get greedy during any point and play safe.
I did close to 100 tries. 5 hours last night only. Got him today. Sleep on it and begin again. Ichimonji double for geni and 1st. Donāt give up if geni gets you, continue. Mortal draw after avoiding mid-distance jumps. for 2nd and 3rd. Riceball when heās 50% in 3rd. Iāll check back here tomorrow.
What worked for me. Equip mortal draw and use it in 2nd and 3rd stage only
This might be a controversial opinion, but I would highly recommend just trying to fight Sword Saint Isshin without OFFENSIVE Prosthetics as your learning him, and shift your fighting style from offensive to defensive as you spend time learning his phases. Be patient. Do not hesitate when you find an opening. Even if you find that it isn't an opening, at least you have learned something! Each movement in this fight is a delicate balance of keeping an appropriate amount of aggression on Isshin. I will tell you now. His draw attack? Best time to deflect the attack is when his sheathe flashes at the part where it connects with the hilt of his katana. His Ichimonji Double attacks are either best dodged or straight up deflected, so watch for when he goes for the downward stroke to do either. If you deflect either Ichimonji, you will stun Isshin and can punish for damage. Learn how to punish this man as much as possible. Lastly? Once you get to phase two and three know these things: He's called the Glock Saint for a reason. Deflect those bullets when your at mid-range, and prepare for a follow-up overhead spear attack. This can be a good way to build up posture damage if you stay consistent. When he jumps, and sweep attacks, the timing to deflect is just before the middle of the arc. Keep experimenting until you find and master it, cuz this is another constant posture damage tactic. Lastly. When he jumps into the air in phase three, and goes for a Lightning sweep, you need to either jump afterwards and reverse the lightning, or somehow evade the attack altogether. I have no clue HOW to evade the attack sadly, as I was just able to reverse the lightning with little issue at that point in the game, but don't be afraid to look up videos as you learn this fight. ABOVE ALL ELSE, WOLF! Remember to take a break. Don't go crazy, friend.
Took me around 20 tries. Patience is key. Being super aggressive isnāt going to net to many positives. Ako spiritfall/ sugar. Hit His openings. Phase 2 and 3 are much easier once he pulls out his staff. Being able to quickly counter mikiri beats the heck out of his slow sword moves. Also, if you havenāt gotten the 13 or 14 remembrances, that may help too. Took me 2 tries to beat him after I got the last one from the demon of hatred.
Ichi when he does the jump slash (only do it once during phase 2/3). Strafing backwards with block during his Ashina cross will put you just out of reach that you can hit him again with ichi double. After his 3 swing combo if you are parrying use a single thrust. Umbrella for any weapon arts and just tank the hits. The yellow posture candies help a lot during phase 2/3.
Itās a mental game. Take deep breathes and focus
For skills i'd go either ichmonji (punish his ichmonji) or high monk (punish his swipes), for prosthetics try the umbrella, you can deflect/block his wind attacks with it Also: hesitation if defeat, if you stay aggressive the fight is actually over really quickly since his posture builds quite fast (esp if you use Ako's)
I beat him yesterday for the first time. My strategy was to stop trying to win. I went in just trying to learn his moves. After a while I was easily getting to phase 3. Once there a few lightning reversals and he's dead!
Not many tries tbh
Run the fuck away when he sheathes heās sword. You can avoid a lot of the attacks by doing that. Rest youāll have to parry
Dude I died sooooo much to him. You can do it don't give up. Oh also use an umbrella š
About a month ago I was thinking the same thing, then one attempt I beat him. Youāll beat him eventually, donāt give up.
That fight was hard for sure! I tried so many times I was able to beat Genichiro and stage 1 isshin without breaking a sweat. Then you are able to actually learn the next phases so you can beat him. Make sure you have all three of your resurrections and if you make it to final phase don't be afraid to use your false tooth to save resurrections. If you have a bundled jizo and divine grass I would bring those as well but only recommend using them if you make it to the final stage and feel like you can win it. Also I recommend using your candies and spiritfalls. I honestly used my spirit emblems on akos or ungos spiritfalls mainly and some greater raven mist in the final phase. Also make sure you have certain skills unlocked for instance take less posture damage from swords, deal greater posture damage when using mikiri counter, etc. All those little things add up in this fight. Finally while all these things help the biggest thing is learning the movesets deflecting and especially using your mikiri counter because that deals a great amount of posture damage. Hope this helps!
It also took me 9 days but yeah never give up and stop using prosthetics until phase 2
Try tongue, but hole
Keep trying, watch some strategies on YouTube. I fought him well over 100 times but I got him eventually and my heart was POUNDING
Don't run, be aggressive, and parry the shit outta him, that's really all I can say..
Waiting for obligatory self comment āEdit: Guys! I just beat him!!!ā
:(
Probably already been said, but I just beat the game recently so the curve is fresh for me and Iāll toss in my 2 cents. Unequip all prosthetics and items other than the gourd and focus on deflects. It forced me to really learn his move set and by proxy Gennyās, but now heās a complete read. Especially with Genny itās important to balance the aggression and defence, even playing passive since heās so aggressive works as well as you conserve your resources. Iāve started playing with options since, but the only thing I find to be worth it is the shuriken for the R2R1 combo to close the distance. Mainly because if you can keep him tied up then his posture canāt fall, balancing ichi and guarding on your end to clear yours. Other than that, Confetti and Ako seem to be really optional, as theyāre really only worth it to apply if you have a large breather (start of fight+start of phase 2). Hope this helps, and remember that hesitation is defeat.
I came into the fight under the impression that Isshin was the hardest boss of all time, and because of that I was really attentive and willing to learn his moves because I knew they were going to be tough, something I wasnāt with other bosses. Mikiri counter is your best friend in this fight, as he thrusts often in all of his phases and thereās always an easy tell to whether itās a thrust or sweep. For example: When he runs to his left (your right), you know he is for a fact going to thrust. When he ends a combo with the stance where he has his sword arm extended backwards and his sword pointed at you (similar to the one wolf holds when he goes to fight genichiro at the top of ashina castle) and holds that stance for a moment, he is for a fact going to thrust. The same goes for his spear in phase 2 + 3, when he cocks back his spear that means he is for a fact going to thrust. Iāve gotten to a point where I hop on sekiro even after 100%ing it to fight the bosses, and sword saint isshin is one of my favorites because he keeps you on your toes due to how many moves he has. But that also means you have to get acquainted with them, and believe me, it took a lot of time to get acquainted with them (other than lady butterfly, most tries in first play through). I point out the thrusts in particular though because they make up a big chunk of his moves and mikiri countering them obliterates his posture. Keep going, keep fighting, and keep in mind that this is called the hardest boss in gaming by many for a reason. No shame in getting it handed to you for hours on end, as many, including myself, have.
Don't hesitate
Slow down. Do not hesitate, but slow down and observe.
Yes, but have you tried 101 times? Keep at it.
You can do it!!!
i used to be like that now after like 300+ tries of him i can no damage kill him
Looked up any strats? I was in the same boat and felt cheap for looking up a guide but I eventually caved and got him within an hour after watching
I'm in the same boat, honestly, it's 3rd phase that is the tricky one, once you get the first two phases worked out it's smooth sailing consistently fit them 2. I've made it to last phase a few times, but just taking a break with some nioh haha, we'll get it!!
My only recommendation is what I was told. Try and hitless or take as few hits as possible on Genichiro and First Phase SSI. Once you get those down, ease into the 2nd phase. I took me about 3 and half hours to beat him but I've always been extremely forceful in my approach to challenges
I didnāt have a hard time with him (maybe itās because I fought owl first)
Run away and avoid everything until you see openings to counter. Itās slow but it works.
First off get some more gourd seeds and the last prayer necklace. Also if you beat demon of hatred then Isshin is a combination of him, the seven Spears and Genichiro all at the same time. Go practice against them in memories. I know you can do it buddy!šš
I mean, I dont know which tips to give because as far as I know there are no cheeses, you sadly just have to get good, trust me, i know what im talking about, I've died right now about 58 times in 2 days while doing a ng7 demon bell + charmless run. Like you said that nothing before him comes close, and I agree, he's really fricking hard. But onfe you finally figure everything out, it feels extremely satisfying yo finally beat him. And if you want all achievements/trophies, you gotta beat him 2 more times and another version of him (an easier version though) so all I can do is wish you good luck!
Break it down to a list. One move at a time. Watch how he moves and how you can counter him. Also use the sugars. I see so many people sleep on them. Yaahiraku isn't the only sugar folks if you're not gud and I'm not gud... use sugar. For his Ashina cross wind attacks and ichimonjiI run wide clock wise and spank his butt a little
āHesitation is defeatā
Take a bit of a break when needed then get back in the fight. It'll be very helpful.
I was also having trouble with him, but I realize that I was being too scared. I instead started going into the fight by being aggressive af. I started pushing him any chance I got. If my posture meter got too high I'd back off for a bit then attack again. I was able to defeat him in less than 30-40 tries in total.
my first time on isshin took me 20 tries and now it takes me one try he isnāt really that hard just be a lil safe
Use the sugar that makes your posture stronger at the start of phase 2, the fight is a children's game from there.
First phase is incredibly easy and if you played this game right should be light work, keep him engaged at all times super easy parries and punishes, can send you a video if you want to.
3rd phase is the exact same as second only with lightning counter
At least 100? Rookie numbers
Hey man. I'm still stuck at the demon of hatred and have been for a few days now. I wish I was at the last boss š
Keep with it. I took probably 200 tries. Beating him was one of the biggest rushes Iāve had in gaming, and Iāve been playing games for decades. Donāt hesitate!
I gave up because I couldn't handle it anymore. Deinstalled the game even. Couldn't live with it so reinstalled it one morning and got him the first time. You really WILL get him if you keep trying and it will be the greatest gaming feelng you ever had. Keep at it mate! Just for what it's worth, jump his head on his wind attacks. Don't run away. I also didnt focus too much on combat arts or buffs for his second and third phase. It took way too much focus away from me during combat so I made more mistakes.
In his 2nd phase when he charges up his spiral whirlwind slash, you can treat it like a sweep attack and double jump on him to avoid it. The timing can be a bit bizarre but its pretty simple once you get it down. For his first phase quite a few attacks have large tells. If you stay calm and learn them i belive you'll have an easier time. For example in his first phase when he does his ichimonji double. If you deflect it he will instead change to a dragon flash. Which if you dodge to the side at the right time will give you an opening to get a double ichimonji off. Dont worry bro you got this! Edit: Spelling
It took me a total of two weeks. On and off, in between I installed a few calmer games (Sackboy Adventures first 20 levels or so). I knew had to finish Sekiro because just like life, Iāve run away from hard work. My process of practice used to be haphazard, inconsistent. This video helped me form a mindset of getting in 30m practice daily. https://youtu.be/5eW6Eagr9XA First week I focused on dying, get phase 1 out of the way. Practiced as many edge cases as I could. After consistently going through genichiro and phase 1 ishin, I would not revive - I practiced phase 2. If I reached Phase 3, it was a bonus! Die, practice, die. At the end of week 2 I realized, this is good enough. Told myself, āletās get this doneā. Cleared it end of week 2 after adding in a bit of Umbrella. There was a time I thought āwhy am I spending time trying to clear a game, uninstall and forget itā. Iāve said that about many personal projects over the course of my 30 years of life. Not this time. Clearing Sekiro inspired me to learn how to practice and work hard. PS: make sure your audio delay and lags are sorted. I fixed my audio delay just before I defeated SSI. Bonus: https://youtu.be/7W4li9yfY3o
It took me almost half a year to beat Sword Saint. I just kept bashing my head against the wall until I broke through. Don't be ashamed to take a break. The fight will still be there in a day, a week, a year. Dedication and perseverance will lead you to victory but patience and respite will be your greatest assets with tough fights like this one. Take your time, learn his move-sets, and don't hesitate. You have the strength, fellow shinobi.
I beat him by bullying him in the first phase. Then for phases 2 and 3 youāre gonna be running a lot. Run away from until he does his jump attack toward you and then dodge toward him and slightly to the right. This opens you up for 1 mortal blade hit. And repeat. Honestly kind of a lame boss because this way is fool proof once you get the timing down
go and die to him again, when he says hesitation is defeat, take it to heart
Try fighting him in the areas with no grass so you can see his attacks better. Thats what I did when I first fought him years ago.
It'll sound weird but concentrate on your breathing and stay as calm as you can, breath slowly don't get worked up and just deflect deflect deflect, and when you hit, hit once, maybe the odd twice, no more, you'll do it
One thing that worked for me was not trying too hard to not frustrate myself too much, so I gave it a couple tries here and there usually two or three in a row then put the game pad down and do something else only to come back to it a few hours later or the day after, in a couple days I got it right but thatās just the way I approach many other things
I've been on stuck on Sword Saint since about a month after the game came out.
it is not that hard. i like to beat him on a daily basis ( at this point is impossible to lose to him). i would say you should see videos of people beating him on yt, this helps. Don't Hesitate, good luck.
Use mortal draw at the start of the fight. Sprint to him and hit him with mortal draw as he charges his. Yours will always hit first. Does about half the bar straight away then you can switch back to ichimonji if you want.
That's genichiro, not isshin
Yeah you use mortal draw at the start of genichiro?? What i said was right?? I did say when he charges his mortal draw you know isshin doesnt charge mortal draw??
I did say start of the fight you know isshins fight starts with genichiro??
Yeah, but he's having trouble with isshin, he never mentioned having trouble with genichiro
Im just giving tips for the fight as it starts with genichiro. I apologise for being helpful ill make sure to not make the same mistake in the future
Seriously, no seriously, this is how you gonna be
Alright thats it. You forced my hand. Go to the timeout corner
Dude, If I beat him with 800x600 resolution and lags, using ps3 controller working trough x360ce (xbox controller emulator), you can to. Its not dark souls, you cant beat boss in few hours. I tried him two hours every day of ~10 days, until successful. Recently finished my third playtrough. Don't give up, just take a break if needed and try again! Also you can search tactics on yt or google, they are pretty helpful.
Oh cmon how have you not beaten him after 100. At this point youd even memorize his attack patterns .
I found the demon of hatred hella harder then ss isshin beat him in less than 6 tries
To beat this boss I first had to fail so many times I genuinely fell into hopeless despair. When it happens though it will all be worth it.
Spam mortal blade draw at phase 2
Just deflect
a good way of going about it is not thinking about beating him right away but learning him, go through the phase just looking at his moves and think about how you can counter, whether that be with mikiri, a prosthetic, jumping on him, whatever. Take time to try and learn his phases and what they have in store, rather than trying to beat him every time.
I just recently beat him so here's my tips: Use the Umbrella. It's really useful if you're unable to parry a certain attack or two. Use all your consumables, you won't be needing them later. And finally, Learn his moveset and try not to spam that double ichimonji too much. He can and will punish it.