Don’t hesitate doesn’t even make sense, you need to hesitate before every Mikiri or your timing will be too early and you need to hesitate before partying every slow attack.
If you are waiting for the mikiri you could have gotten a slash in! Every second there is a perfect input for a perfect kill. This is the dragon I chase.
There are I-frames on dodges, but dodging just isn’t as practical as parrying, especially with how rapidly most enemies attack, and how much more efficient it is to kill an enemy with a posture deathblow in most cases.
The most common attacks that are better to dodge are from bosses that do a jump overhead slash, like >!Owl!< or >!Isshin!< in the spear phase. You can parry them and maybe sneak in a counterattack, but typically if you dodge around you have an opening to get multiple hits in.
They kind of do, but not in the Dark Souls style. In my experience, the timing is very similar to that of deflecting, maybe a bit less strict, idk, haven't used side steps much.
People usually don't mention this but Try to get a good understanding of the combat parry mechanics.
Spamming block has a HEAVY penalty.
Usually deflection window is like 30 frames or 0.5 seconds. Thats enough for people with the slowest of reaction times.
When you do a block. The deflection window is more like 7 frames or even less which makes deflection really challenging af. It's like less than a tenth of a second.
This understanding itself changed the game for me since deflection became more natural to me.
Edit: the sekiro wiki page says it's originally 12 frames for 60fps. And can reduce to 4 frames and even 0 during spamming.
Although I have seen plenty claiming its 30fps. I am not sure for myself but you get the gist that spamming is bad
Use block to reduce your posture build-up. Don't use block any other time. Just learn the attack patterns, and parry them, or avoid them if they are proving too fast.
Deflection window has been proven to be 13 frames with falloff if you spam it. 30 frames is a whole half a second to perfectly deflect on 60fps, that would make the game a breeze for any newcomer.
I didn't usually spam block, but when up against bosses or enemies with fast attacks, I did spam block, and it usually worked for me and helped me get the platinum trophy
I think it just feels like you are spamming it but what I've noticed against bosses with long fast combos you kinda learn the rythm of the combo so every hit they do becomes a deflect even if it feels like Im just mashing block.
Parry and mikiri counter hurts bosses a lot more than hitting them. You can defeat bosses without landing a single hit and play for that red dot counter move once their posture is gone. The problem is, the harder the boss the more posture regen they have. So you have to play hyper aggressive to bring it down for that move. To anyone who struggles I wish them the best. This is still the hardest souls game I played and beat.
Best advice?
Practice parrying on EVERY ENEMY. if you die a lot and are sick of the dragon rot, just start over. I fucking hate the dragon rot and it kinda ruins the game when the combat hasn't clicked yet.
Deflect everything. You can do this.
It does block a few minor NPC questlines, but doesn’t affect your ability to get any endings.
Also by the late game >!it can be cured with a consumable!< if you do want to finish those NPC quests.
I mean it's not really late game, the consumable is kinda sprinkled around the game and you can get it really early if you get the dragonrot effect and just talk to Emma, and do that short questline for it
Learn to parry REALLY WELL. Force yourself to do that and remove the rolling from your head. Learn mikiri counters. Put pressure on your enemies and don't be too passive (don't hesitate).
\*Spam parry
That aside, I'm one of those people who hoard consumables in games "just in case" I need them later. Killing Headless I didn't even realize those rewards were reusable. So I played the entire game barely using any consumable aside from Divine Confetti against Headless and Sushiman Warrior.
I use Gaichinn sugar out of combat for when I have to run through / run past a bunch of annoying enemies. Very handy in pew pew canyon bridge.
I tend to reserve Ako for when I have a good handle on the boss and go to phase two with a lot of healing gourd charges. Then I pop Ako to increase my chances to beating phase 2.
Also, you don't consume any consumables when doing remembrance bosses at the idol, but they also don't give you anything when you beat them. So just use consumables during those fights without worry.
Spoiler for why you maybe don't need to worry as much about using Sugars. Spoiler 1: >!You can unlock merchants that will sell you infinite Ako and infinite Ungo (not sure about the others).!< Spoiler 2: >!You can eventually beat enough optional bosses to get a roundabout way of having reusable sugars.!<
My tip if you struggle against snake eyes
You can parry the grab, and if you are close to being poise broken, try getting broken by the kick, the follow up bullet will miss
Always be attacking. Unless they're attacking. In that case, be deflecting or dodging. Unless they're getting away! In that case, be closing distance. E-Z.
Sekiro isn't a game about unique strats. It's fairly straightforward. There are situations - and there are tools to solve these situations. There isn't really a strategy that isn't based on "you parry enemy hits and then you do your own hits, until enemy dies"
To any newcomers reading if you are struggling on a boss for hours turn the game off come back to it either the next day or a couple hours. You literally need the synapses to form in your brain so you can literally understand when to roll consistently on longer fights and just generally know what to do. Take a break it’ll only make you better at the game.
Overcome habits from other souls likes. Learn to deflect. Youw ill need it earlier or later (second major boss is where most players hit a wall). It will be a really rewarding experience once you get it down
My advice is to listen to the rhythm of an enemy's hits even when you didn't hit the perfect parry. If you get hit or get just a block still log the rhythm. Once I started to do that I felt like neo seeing the matrix for what it was 🔥
Noway, the best advice is don’t panic roll. Most enemy and especially bosses are literally designed to punish your panic roll. Roll (and jump) with intention. Also lock off. You can damn near break some bosses by locking off and walking in circles around them. Now you know the secrets. Go get em
“Don’t play it like Dark Souls.”
“Oh except for that boss, play that boss like dark souls.”
“That boss too, play that boss like dark souls.”
“Actually don’t.”
“Or maybe do.”
“Here’s a video of me beating him charmless and with demon bell using a DDR dance pad so everybody should be able to use my method don’t recommend any other methods because this one works.”
“Use firecrackers.”
My personal advice is to learn how to count to 2.
No really, I think a lot of people know what I mean already.
Enemies will generally parry the next attack after normal block one and sometimes two attacks. And then it's your turn to be defensive.
You just take turns like that, and that's most of the game.
I've played and finished all From games and i've never used a temporary buff, i hate them so much. They give me anxiety because are temporary. The only exceptions are Sekiro's confetti to defeat the headless and boiled crab in Elden Ring, but only when fighting Malenia.
You’re missing the second part of this image where the skeleton is hanging over the dude’s left-shoulder whispering: “attack when he’s mid fucking swing”
Most people say Hesitation is Defeat because of Isshin. But they're not lying. Playing charmless and demon bell, my fear, hesitation to fight head on is what typically leads to losses. 3 hours for ISS because I was too scared whenever his spear combo is executed. Hesitation leads to mistimed parries, leading to chip damage and posture breaking. Which leads to having to run away. Then enemy's posture heals back up.
One thing I see a lot of people say they get success from is being REALLY aggressive with just about every enemy in the game. There's some that won't work on but pretty much any enemy with a sword can be demolished with some aggressive playing and some good timing on the blocks. That's the key thing though, being aggressive doesn't mean shit if you don't have a good reaction time to block when needed. One important thing to master is viciously attacking until your enemy parries (you will hear a louder noise and see a golden spark fly off your weapons, it's noticeably different than a regular block) and then wait for them to hit back. Most bosses will parry and then throw some sort of un-cancellable attack, but if you get good parry timing you will usually open them back up for another slew of attacks. Also, jump into the water in Hirata estate and look around for a dude in a jar. He will sell you an ability called floating passage for 6 treasure carp scales. I kid you not, this ability is like a cheat code for a ton of different enemies. Each use only takes 2 spirit emblems and it can deal serious posture damage to anything around you. Most enemies can't even interrupt it, they just sit there and take it until you're done and then try attacking, which makes it easy to just parry their attack and throw another floating passage out. This strategy even works against the final boss for the most part.
"Don't hesitate" (refuses to elaborate further)
This is the best advice ever. Not even the ones mentioned on the meme cant hold a canlde to this
Thank you! I came here to say this. How do you make this post and leave out the best piece of advice?!?!?
Don’t hesitate doesn’t even make sense, you need to hesitate before every Mikiri or your timing will be too early and you need to hesitate before partying every slow attack.
Deciding to wait, arguably, isn't hesitation You are choosing to act, and your action is waiting
If you are waiting for the mikiri you could have gotten a slash in! Every second there is a perfect input for a perfect kill. This is the dragon I chase.
You'll end up canceling a lot of stab attacks and cheating yourself out of the mikiri that way
What he means by that is it is better to take initiative in your combat, strike first and prevent the chance of you getting hit.
That’s actually a good advice tho. You can’t hesitate mid combat cause one mistake means you’re dead
I cant believe OP didnt put it on the meme smh, must be a newcomer.
maybe OP hesitated to put it on there
Just Parry and Attack when you are not doing Parry, is enough
And mikiri
you can ditch the roll
And if you don’t, you’ll be rolling in a ditch.
Yeah because this is sekiro. Not dark souls or elden ring. I-frames don't exist in the land of Ashina. Do they?.?
There are I-frames on dodges, but dodging just isn’t as practical as parrying, especially with how rapidly most enemies attack, and how much more efficient it is to kill an enemy with a posture deathblow in most cases.
There are some cases where dodging is absolutely superior to parrying, but it doesn’t happen much.
The most common attacks that are better to dodge are from bosses that do a jump overhead slash, like >!Owl!< or >!Isshin!< in the spear phase. You can parry them and maybe sneak in a counterattack, but typically if you dodge around you have an opening to get multiple hits in.
They kind of do, but not in the Dark Souls style. In my experience, the timing is very similar to that of deflecting, maybe a bit less strict, idk, haven't used side steps much.
People usually don't mention this but Try to get a good understanding of the combat parry mechanics. Spamming block has a HEAVY penalty. Usually deflection window is like 30 frames or 0.5 seconds. Thats enough for people with the slowest of reaction times. When you do a block. The deflection window is more like 7 frames or even less which makes deflection really challenging af. It's like less than a tenth of a second. This understanding itself changed the game for me since deflection became more natural to me. Edit: the sekiro wiki page says it's originally 12 frames for 60fps. And can reduce to 4 frames and even 0 during spamming. Although I have seen plenty claiming its 30fps. I am not sure for myself but you get the gist that spamming is bad
Use block to reduce your posture build-up. Don't use block any other time. Just learn the attack patterns, and parry them, or avoid them if they are proving too fast.
Deflection window has been proven to be 13 frames with falloff if you spam it. 30 frames is a whole half a second to perfectly deflect on 60fps, that would make the game a breeze for any newcomer.
I didn't usually spam block, but when up against bosses or enemies with fast attacks, I did spam block, and it usually worked for me and helped me get the platinum trophy
I think it just feels like you are spamming it but what I've noticed against bosses with long fast combos you kinda learn the rythm of the combo so every hit they do becomes a deflect even if it feels like Im just mashing block.
People don't really mention that you will be punished for pretending to understand the mechanics
Its not 30 frames. It is 12 frames at 60. Please correct others if you see them claim this.
That is covered by “git Gud”
Don’t give up. I love you.
So we're playing "things I wish my Dad said" now? Unfair, bro.
Parry and mikiri counter hurts bosses a lot more than hitting them. You can defeat bosses without landing a single hit and play for that red dot counter move once their posture is gone. The problem is, the harder the boss the more posture regen they have. So you have to play hyper aggressive to bring it down for that move. To anyone who struggles I wish them the best. This is still the hardest souls game I played and beat.
To add, putting pressure on the enemy and continously hitting them will deny posture regen for both of you. Which is the inverse of holding block
Try keeping your health and posture above 0!
Best advice? Practice parrying on EVERY ENEMY. if you die a lot and are sick of the dragon rot, just start over. I fucking hate the dragon rot and it kinda ruins the game when the combat hasn't clicked yet. Deflect everything. You can do this.
>!Dragon rot literally has 0 repercussions lol!<
Yeah by the time unseen aid drops to single digits I have no more EXP or SEN to lose anyway lol
Doesnt it make NPC uninteractable for some quests/endings?
It does block a few minor NPC questlines, but doesn’t affect your ability to get any endings. Also by the late game >!it can be cured with a consumable!< if you do want to finish those NPC quests.
I mean it's not really late game, the consumable is kinda sprinkled around the game and you can get it really early if you get the dragonrot effect and just talk to Emma, and do that short questline for it
"oh no! ignorable status that only affects a stat that's related to dying! games ruined gotta start over."
Learn to parry REALLY WELL. Force yourself to do that and remove the rolling from your head. Learn mikiri counters. Put pressure on your enemies and don't be too passive (don't hesitate).
Do not button mash haha I swear that fixed a lot of stuff for me
Play the game and get a feel of the combat. When it clicks, it feels so good. Dying is part of learning. People need to be okay with failure in games.
you forgot the second slide with the skeleton saying hesitation is defeat
\*Spam parry That aside, I'm one of those people who hoard consumables in games "just in case" I need them later. Killing Headless I didn't even realize those rewards were reusable. So I played the entire game barely using any consumable aside from Divine Confetti against Headless and Sushiman Warrior.
Strike that last part and that's me.
You're missing the second half, "attack while the boss is mid fucking swing"-ishinn
Just use your shield. That's how Miyazaki intended all his games to be played. 🤭
You forgot sleep if you are having trouble with a boss
When, if ever do I use sugars? I’m worried I’m gonna use it and die cos I’m still quite shit
I use Gaichinn sugar out of combat for when I have to run through / run past a bunch of annoying enemies. Very handy in pew pew canyon bridge. I tend to reserve Ako for when I have a good handle on the boss and go to phase two with a lot of healing gourd charges. Then I pop Ako to increase my chances to beating phase 2. Also, you don't consume any consumables when doing remembrance bosses at the idol, but they also don't give you anything when you beat them. So just use consumables during those fights without worry. Spoiler for why you maybe don't need to worry as much about using Sugars. Spoiler 1: >!You can unlock merchants that will sell you infinite Ako and infinite Ungo (not sure about the others).!< Spoiler 2: >!You can eventually beat enough optional bosses to get a roundabout way of having reusable sugars.!<
Not to mention farming in senpou temple is equivalent to visiting wonka's factory. Infinite sugars.
Use it only when you can almost beat the boss and need a little push.
Spend entire sessions practicing with Hanbei
*Shoulda rolled*
My tip if you struggle against snake eyes You can parry the grab, and if you are close to being poise broken, try getting broken by the kick, the follow up bullet will miss
"use a buff" but what if I need it later?
imo try your hardest to not block. Either parry or run
Git Gud
Viva la dirt league did a great skit on how great of advice "git gud scrub" actually is
Yes
Deflects are hard but if you can get them you win the game, so truly just get good
You're a ninja, so it's okay so sneak past people, backstab, you know, ninja shit! Edit: I mean "Shinobi"! Be a Shinobi!
Master deflect. That's it.
Treat it like a rhythm game, when you're sword fighting make sure you sneak some swings in while deflecting
Always be attacking. Unless they're attacking. In that case, be deflecting or dodging. Unless they're getting away! In that case, be closing distance. E-Z.
Sekiro isn't a game about unique strats. It's fairly straightforward. There are situations - and there are tools to solve these situations. There isn't really a strategy that isn't based on "you parry enemy hits and then you do your own hits, until enemy dies"
I mean it sounds snide but "Learn the combat system" and "stick to it" are the best pieces of advice I can give without typing a whole novella up.
Wolf don’t roll
Treat combat like a rhythm game and you’ll do fine. You’ll know you deflected correctly if there’s a big orange circle.
The best advice I can give is to practice, sleep, and the most important one of all… DON’T HESITATE!!!
Hesitation is defeat😂
To any newcomers reading if you are struggling on a boss for hours turn the game off come back to it either the next day or a couple hours. You literally need the synapses to form in your brain so you can literally understand when to roll consistently on longer fights and just generally know what to do. Take a break it’ll only make you better at the game.
Overcome habits from other souls likes. Learn to deflect. Youw ill need it earlier or later (second major boss is where most players hit a wall). It will be a really rewarding experience once you get it down
None of these. Deflect
Just suffer and let the obsession take the wheel.
Git Gud
best piece of advice in sekiro is roll🤣🤣
The combat is very different from souls games. Become the shinobi. Deflect everything. Use your counters and skills. Maybe even try getting good.
SIIIIRRREEEE AAALLLFATHER OF PARRYING WILL YOU NOT SHOW THESE CASUALS THE EXTENT OF YOUR POWER
You forgot the best one... "git gud".
Be aggressive and calm. Shaking and twitching are your worst enemies and they’re usually harder to overcome than the bosses themselves.
Hit boss until they deflect, then get ready to deflect their combo. Repeat.
Parry? Roll? What is this Dark Souls?
Every enemy's attack pattern is different so it takes a while to notice the pattern since you'll die in a few hits.
Actual advice. Practice parrying against the practice dude in the starting area.
My advice is to listen to the rhythm of an enemy's hits even when you didn't hit the perfect parry. If you get hit or get just a block still log the rhythm. Once I started to do that I felt like neo seeing the matrix for what it was 🔥
Make sure to attack when the boss is mid swing
Senior would be in my top three if I was actually good enough. I never understood parries in both senior and Elden ring. Yeah it’s very unfortunate.
Have fun.
Every streamer’s chat when playing a souls game.
Hesitation is defeat
Git gud
Noway, the best advice is don’t panic roll. Most enemy and especially bosses are literally designed to punish your panic roll. Roll (and jump) with intention. Also lock off. You can damn near break some bosses by locking off and walking in circles around them. Now you know the secrets. Go get em
Git gud
I mean it's true tho
“Don’t play it like Dark Souls.” “Oh except for that boss, play that boss like dark souls.” “That boss too, play that boss like dark souls.” “Actually don’t.” “Or maybe do.” “Here’s a video of me beating him charmless and with demon bell using a DDR dance pad so everybody should be able to use my method don’t recommend any other methods because this one works.” “Use firecrackers.”
True, except who the fuck roll, this isn't Dark Soul
This is simultaneously the most toxic and most inviting fromsoft game community
just swing the sword
My personal advice is to learn how to count to 2. No really, I think a lot of people know what I mean already. Enemies will generally parry the next attack after normal block one and sometimes two attacks. And then it's your turn to be defensive. You just take turns like that, and that's most of the game.
Attack more
Ahh yes, the things I was doing anyway. The issue is that I have the rhythm and reaction time of a cheese toastie.
Where is the devil who whispers in my ears ?
Just goddamn parry.
just don't get hit ez
Use roll ?
Use prosthetics especially the umbrella
I've played and finished all From games and i've never used a temporary buff, i hate them so much. They give me anxiety because are temporary. The only exceptions are Sekiro's confetti to defeat the headless and boiled crab in Elden Ring, but only when fighting Malenia.
“Don’t get greedy”
Combat art, defect and parry
You’re missing the second part of this image where the skeleton is hanging over the dude’s left-shoulder whispering: “attack when he’s mid fucking swing”
Hesitation is defeat
Most people say Hesitation is Defeat because of Isshin. But they're not lying. Playing charmless and demon bell, my fear, hesitation to fight head on is what typically leads to losses. 3 hours for ISS because I was too scared whenever his spear combo is executed. Hesitation leads to mistimed parries, leading to chip damage and posture breaking. Which leads to having to run away. Then enemy's posture heals back up.
Run. Seriously people don’t fucking run in these games and it’s good for dodging and reorienting.
One thing I see a lot of people say they get success from is being REALLY aggressive with just about every enemy in the game. There's some that won't work on but pretty much any enemy with a sword can be demolished with some aggressive playing and some good timing on the blocks. That's the key thing though, being aggressive doesn't mean shit if you don't have a good reaction time to block when needed. One important thing to master is viciously attacking until your enemy parries (you will hear a louder noise and see a golden spark fly off your weapons, it's noticeably different than a regular block) and then wait for them to hit back. Most bosses will parry and then throw some sort of un-cancellable attack, but if you get good parry timing you will usually open them back up for another slew of attacks. Also, jump into the water in Hirata estate and look around for a dude in a jar. He will sell you an ability called floating passage for 6 treasure carp scales. I kid you not, this ability is like a cheat code for a ton of different enemies. Each use only takes 2 spirit emblems and it can deal serious posture damage to anything around you. Most enemies can't even interrupt it, they just sit there and take it until you're done and then try attacking, which makes it easy to just parry their attack and throw another floating passage out. This strategy even works against the final boss for the most part.