Sekiro Best Skills Guide: What Skills to get first, what are the Best Skills

[@Fextralife]

Written article here!: fextralife.com/the-best-skills-in-sekiro-shadows-die-twice/ Wiki: sekiroshadowsdietwice.wiki.fextralife.com/Skills+and+Skill+Trees ▶️ Streaming Sekiro on Twitch twitch.tv/fextralife 💖 Become a Fextralife VIP fextralife.com/Be-a-vip/ 💸 Sponsor us for more great content! goo.gl/yyPtda

[@andrewcleary9952]

I just like how there's a "skill" to breath underwater. Like, Sekiro just reads a paragraph in an old manuscript and goes "Huh! So THAT's how it's done!" and he now knows how to breath underwater.

[@calvinwithak7514]

He's also literally incapable of descending in water until he reads something that says "hey just swim down dipshit"

[@Jamanator9]

Although with infinite breath underwater. So he must be doin somethin special o_O

[@Kmaaq]

I like to think that all it said was “hey, water is actually 3D.”

[@shadowstrider23]

He just filters the water out of his lungs. I think...

[@victorbitencourt9481]

time is convoluted... wait wrong game

[@westwind429]

I think Ichimonji and the Double upgrade need to be included here as well, not just for their ability to punish dodged attacks with big posture damage, but because they quickly and significantly reduce YOUR posture meter as well, which is just as important in some boss fights. If you perfect deflect you won't get posture broken, but Ichimonji can keep you away from the breaking point, which I think can be very helpful for a first playthrough while gitting gud.

[@andrewdavis9738]

NO DOUBT. So many of the bosses have gigantic windows of opportunity, as well as combat arts that the Ichimonji can interrupt.

[@graphen_5181]

yeah and it's extremely good against Isshin in shura ending

[@denisruskin348]

You can farm the snake eyes minibosses with it.

[@ThomasSaffel]

Yea I was pretty surprised that Ichimonji wasn't mentioned. I've found it to be the best combat art by far for the reasons you mentioned.

[@nejihiashi]

nah shadowfall and shadowrush are better, safer, faster, great rannge and more damage than ichimonji

[@littlegiantrobo6523]

You pronounced one of the boss name incorrectly. His NAAAAAAME. is GYOUBU. MASATAKA. ONIWA!!!!!!

[@fataconsilium4890]

Miguel Flores mate he was making a joke. Don’t be a div.

[@zenick4803]

@@miguelflores7035 me bitch

[@orangesoda4535]

@@miguelflores7035 I feel ashamed to share a name with a stick in the mud such as you.

[@thebombdiggity3941]

@@miguelflores7035 Edge lord mc cool guy over here

[@PatLink]

Alfonso Padilla your 7 months late

[@KamelGuru]

If you get Ichimonji: Double and Mid-Air Combat Art, you can punish sweeps even more effectively than Senpou Kicks. Do the jump-punish as normal, and start ichimonji in the air as the enemy flinches. It will almost always land, and unless it is a rare enemy with massive hyperarmor, the second Ichimonji will land as well, and even if the enemy blocks both ichimonjis (many bosses will) at least you'll clear out your own posture bar all the way if below 80%

[@toufiq309]

i used mid air axe most my first playthrough and yah i can see ichimonji being superior.

[@KillerandUndertaker]

Its crazy how much posture damage they take when they block it, almost as good as hitting them.

[@Dazen101]

Ichimonji is seriously the most OP combat art and you get is so early. It makes everything else feel so underwhelming. Sure, I can hold sheath my blade and unleash a devastating Dragon Flash shockwave or... I just two hand the sword and it does way more posture damage and keeps me alive. Tough choice

[@KamelGuru]

@@Dazen101 I think Miyazaki is a fan of Musashi. "All movement that is not essential is wasteful, and will leave you dead against a more skilled opponent." Effectiveness is king, flashiness is death.

[@dakarai47]

@@139-b7j high monk is inferior in every encounter compared to monji

[@MrJade12]

Really not even mentioning literally the best skill in the game? Your lord and savior Ichimonji.

[@SammyAvalerion]

MrJade12 Ichimonji: Double 😍😍

[@eekajmoneybaby9309]

Casuals😂😂

[@chrism4403]

No skill is "literally" the best skill in the game, it's all a matter of opinion.

[@sirbukkake]

just beat genichiro using ichimonji double. really really helpful with the correct timing!

[@eekajmoneybaby9309]

@@chrism4403 it's the cheese skill so yeah it's a bit broken. People have posted them beating the final boss using it maybe it will get nerfed but Miyazaki will probably say it's working as intended

[@GewalfofWivia]

Mikiri is a MUST-HAVE. Get it first. Ascending Carp and Descending Carp ASAP.

[@chrism4403]

Did you even watch the fucking video before leaving this comment?

[@NWOtion]

Man you guys are unreasonably angry... relax

[@HailTheShogun]

@@chrism4403 who hurt you?

[@guidomista1459]

@@chrism4403 Someone had a bad day

[@gianfrancoguevara5636]

Chris is right tho that was the most unnecessary comment ever

[@dante19890]

Firecrackers into ichimonji double can really turn the tide when u get pressured against bosses to regain momentum.

[@fiercemushroom4840]

Firecrackers are over rated, mist raven all the way.

[@kaz7886]

@@fiercemushroom4840 That requires more skill than firecrackers, and that's why it's underrated

[@IWantToStayAtYourHouse]

I like to mist raven and ichimonji

[@MatthewTheUntitled]

@@fiercemushroom4840 This dude really said firecrackers are overrated @_@

[@lorenzo8208]

@@MatthewTheUntitled yes they are. And I'm really going to say it... DIVINE ABDUCTION IS BETTER

[@shekelsnatcher8504]

I love the "reverse nightjar slash" it helps you leap toward enemies with an attack or get away with an attack. Very useful..

[@PuppetFacade]

Shekel Snatcher it totally fits a fast paced playstyle and „escaping“ an attack with a backflip looks totally dope. Loved it against the Owl or Isshin.

[@ronwisegamgee]

One of the most versatile combat arts. It worked well for me vs. the true corrupted monk.

[@alicaido6616]

Never actually used it, might have to try it out. I just use the spear, but the downside is getting deflected/mikiri countered

[@saintcirone1]

Late to this party, just playing now. After I got the Nightjar reversal, it's become my go-to. I'm working my way to High Monk now, since sweeps always get me. 😂 Mainly cause they drilled mikiri counters so hard that my first instinct half the time I see a perilous attack, I just straight go for the mikiri on instinct. Need a cool sweep killer that will actually get me excited to see sweeps coming at me for once.

[@mrorlov2706]

Its good against such enemies as ogre or taro unit

[@Mr_Maiq_The_Liar]

Mid air combat arts plus ichimonji double is way better than using the kick on sweeps

[@alicaido6616]

Maiq The Liar VII yes, but... leaping kicks look dope as hell :D

[@heycidskyja4668]

Fun fact: I had to see a doctor about my ichi monji once

[@Humblemumble7]

Stephen Vittles hahahaha! Lost my shit on this one. Lmfao

[@Jhon11226]

Stephen Vittles You My Friend, Either Shared Or Created GOLD... Your Country Thanks You For Your Efforts 🙏🏾

[@thorcarbon8770]

Oh my God...😂😂

[@Altairego]

@dragon ball legends He's talking about his posture- ichimonji is an attack that restores your posture

[@taywhit2593]

While suppress presence is a must have, you can get through the game without suppressing sound. It’s nice but there are other places for your points.

[@JR-mk6ow]

Yes, just press Alt or pop a suppress presence candy. You'll end up the game with 25 of them anyway.

[@RGates33]

How can it be a "must have" but not be worth the points simultaneously? I think those are mutually exclusive. I agree you don't need it but people saying they didn't notice a difference are crazy or just don't remember. With it you can full speed run around backstabbing with vision being the only limiting factor. Without the skill its a crouch-fest or you're heard which gets a bit old (especially when farming xp/items).

[@RGates33]

I don't know what to say champ try sprinting up behind an enemy without it and then with it, very simple test and there will be different results. They can hear you without and will be alerted, with it they stand there and you backstab. I'm not entirely sure why you think From put a fake talent in the game but I assure it does something. Again its not a must have, nothing is. You could beat the game without using a single skill point. The vast majority of latent skills are fairly subtle (ie emmas potency and aroma didn't seem to do much early game) but over the course of the game they are helpful.

[@JJ_9642]

My favourite farm spot in this game is in mibu villa where i stealth kill the lone shadow guy who is near the shrine. When i snuck up on him with just suppressed presence he would always detect me but when i brought suppressed sound i would always successfully sneak up behind him

[@alicaido6616]

Ryan why in the world would you be sprinting up to an enemy anyway? If you're stealthing you're very likely taking your time. Since my first play through I've ignored both suppress presence and sound on alternate saves. Not worth it and would rather get other skills quicker.

[@zimmy4868]

I can’t tell you how many times the ichimonji double skill saved me in this game. It should’ve definitely been included in this video. It deals heavy posture damage while also regaining some posture at the same time. A must have!

[@eldudereno204]

so far I haven't found that one useful. I feel like it takes too long to perform lol.

[@blueexorcist_]

​@eldudereno204 same lol i have seen people do it quicker but mine doesnt

[@ali_jn6685]

Whirlwind slash is great Alot of people think it's useless cuz it's the first skill that you obtain or it doesn't cause much damage but it's truly perfect for enemies who do don't usually deflect.(like monks,lady butterfly,ashina elite guy etc..) and it's useful when you are fighing multiple enemies.

[@xane7045]

I’ve used whirlwind slash to beat several bosses and mini-bosses because it does damage even if they block so you can chip away at their health making their posture go down faster.

[@feircy]

Ichimonji double is easily my favorite combat art, one of the best, can be used to punish and regain posture, and even works with mid air combat arts well.

[@WraxTV]

Mikiri Counter Breath of Life: Light Ichimonji: Double Emma’s Medicine: Potency Emma’s Medicine: Aroma Devotion Those are the ones I'd focus on getting again if I went through the game again without NG+.

[@bobbycaldwell9460]

Yep...... That's the strat right there. Throw in divine abduction sabimaru and shuriken with puppeteer ninjitsu and you got my focus.

[@sampleentry5253]

Bobby Caldwell Puppeteer's fuckin hilarious.

[@WastePlace]

Sample Entry i accidentally puppeteered a tiny lizard and it had me dying laughing for a min

[@bobbycaldwell9460]

@@WastePlace Dude i puppeteered a chicken while fighting one of the headless enemies and it made the fight way harder.... I think I posted it if u wanna see.

[@WraxTV]

On New Game Plus, I actually Puppeteered Lone Shadow Vilehand. Too bad I couldn't take him into the next boss encounter with... the guy who drops the balls that disable your item usage (only way I can describe without spoiling) but regardless it was amazing having a mini-boss under my control.

[@pwnmonkeyisreal]

Combat arts and prosthetics are good but I find myself just using attack dodge and block for entire fights and I forget about everything else

[@muhannabasalem574]

you mentioned all those skills that are important to increase posture damage and you didn't mention the OG ichimonji

[@luckerooni7628]

Ichimonji is like Dark Souls Zweihander power attack. It just stops nearly anyone's anything. So good.

[@jonbinley8927]

Breath of light first, then you can grind the hirata estates area and get the rest of that very quickly.

[@damp2269]

castle gate loop killing the rifleman and 3 rats, best farming early game.

[@alicaido6616]

I find I don't even need to grind at all, but I kinda have my own route for everything up to just before the genochiro fight so I can efficiently start new saves

[@MatthewTheUntitled]

@@damp2269 It's nowhere close to hirata estate lmao

[@Xovnnas]

I personally love using Shadowrush. it's one of my favorite combat arts, in both style and effectiveness. I know Ichimonji is good but it doesnt look as cool as shadowrush. haha thought note to anyone who doesnt know yet, dont use it against Owl in either of his fights, he mikiri's the shit out of your ass.

[@PuppetFacade]

Xovnnas I loved using the spiral spear after he does his jump attack to hit him multiple times in his back - he cannot mikiri this. ;)

[@damp2269]

he countered me several times cuz i tend to charge the regular attack, a very painful lesson.

[@MatthewTheUntitled]

I'd love to have sekiro 2 or some game similar to sekiro, maybe as other shinobi or maybe story from one of ashina's perspective, where you are able to switch your skills and all prosthetics, you can do it anyway by switching it out mid fight. Ashina: Shadows Cry Twice

[@jpbeyond5764]

I used shadow rush on owl the whole fight and he never mikiri countered me, is that a ng+ only thing

[@RuvenCH]

on my 3rd NG I rushed the prosthetic ultimate art that allows to enhance your sword with fire for a short time. Imo it's one of the strongest upgrades in the game, makes so many bosses a lot easier, since you can burn them, which also stuns them and gives you somewhere between 6-8 free hits in, on top of some nice vit and posture damage

[@trza49er]

Grinding is a labor of love in this game, I really enjoy practicing my stealth and my deflection timing while picking up some extra skills along the way. Kinda surprised that there's no mention of the Ichimonji here though, I recently picked it up and I love it so far. Really punishes a whiff, hard.

I also really liked praying strikes as those are extremely fast to perform and many enemies give you a very short time window to attack them. Praying strikes can do some posture damage, and they can often give you enough time to get a chop in with kusabimaru.

[@ethandonnelly1973]

Enemies recover their posture after really fast, it also does no actual damage, so It's not really worth it to use, definitely not if you have leaping kicks or better yet high monk, which will cut at people while also using leaping kicks

[@rebingo1040]

In my opinion night jar slash and reversal best combat art it closes gaps so well, which is important for staying up in the opponents face

[@jackfinnegan2217]

Finally, I’ve been looking for a comment on my favorite combat style.

[@jeronimo196]

Not talking about Ichimonji, which people already need for the descending/ascending carps - that's a paddling. Combine Ichimonji with mid-air combat art, for the ultimate bonking experience. Jump + bonk has range and gets rid of the wind up. Enemy tries to stab you - mikiri + bonk. Enemy tries to sweep you - stomp on their head and bonk. The Enemy is staggered - big, slow bonk. Enemy is staying away, edgewalking - jump + bonk. The Enemy has built up your posture - throw a bonk. It's the most versatile combat art, costs nothing and restores your posture every time it's used. Downright broken, if you ask me.

[@orionsarrow2119]

Ichimonji and double are number 1 in my book, and Ashina cross is a close second. Ichimonji doesn't cost spirit emblems which is HUGE in this game. But also I love the cross because it deals a crazy amount of health damage (second only to the mortal draw and empowered mortal draw from my testing); and what's more, it's treated like a piercing attack meaning it'll still cut through and deal damage to enemies who are guarding. Maybe it's just my play style, but being able to hop back and ready an attack for when an enemy leaves themselves open to punish them with big damage is really nice. Makes Owl and even Isshin look like a joke

[@emsedgwick9521]

Hey! I just want to say Thank you so much for the Time Stamps!!

[@JR-mk6ow]

Ichimonji is decent skill to cheese out the game. Also mid-air deflect can save your life. Also the suppress sound is not very helpful. Most enemies don't have the time to react and most bosses don't care about the sound. If they do just press Alt or pop a candy to surpresa presence.

[@MangaGamified]

Yeap it's not worth the point if not all of them for suppress sound , if they have vision on you heard or not they will spot you, the Shinobi blood smoke screen does a better job at chaining Death blows

[@WastePlace]

J R I just fought Genichiro and I jumped over a stab by accident but last second I just instinctively hit deflect and parried the stab. The combat in this game makes ya feel like an anime character lol

[@warcrimesfordimes]

Spiral Cloud Passage got buffed as of the most recent patch, making it one spirit emblem every 3 cycles. Combine that With bestowal ninjustsu, divine confetti, living force, whatever your preference, and it melts bosses.

[@kolbywilliams6288]

I personally find living force an excellent skill. It has a lot of combos that make it good for any point in the game. Plus it saves your confetti, and allows you to coat your blade with the confetti effect without the long animation. That’s saved me against a headless more than once.

[@littlemoth4956]

I love the floating passage technique. Enemies will just stand there as they get beaten senselessly, even if they counter.

[@joaofeliz661]

I think that Living Force is also very useful, because it cause so much damage and when you take the final fire cannon, you don’t need to use divine confetti

[@originalfinalslasher]

Best skill is Empowered Mortal Draw because it is the ultimate Getsuga Tenshou

[@buttbutterson5326]

Idk about you but when I first got the mortal draw skill I would always say “Getsuga...TENSHOU”

[@buttbutterson5326]

Idk about you but when I first got the mortal draw skill I would always say “Getsuga...TENSHOU”

[@thenonexistinghero]

It's very powerful, but rarely do you have the opportunity to use it mid-boss fight. And the regular uncharged one still foes major damage. I do suppose it's the best of the ultimate skills, but only because the others are awful.

[@toogee1850]

the first skill you should get is mikiri, save your skill points if you have any and get the esoteric ashina text or whatever it is from tengu/isshin, do the rat quest and spend your skills in that tree. it has abilities like more damage done to enemies on deflection, less damage taken to posture from swords, and ichimonji/ichimonji double. definitely some of the best skills to pick up early, idk why you'd waste them on suppress sound. idk that just doesn't make sense to me

[@juliotitosagastegui9453]

I can't believe you omitted ichimonji (double) on this list; it is the best skill for bosses. It has severe posture damage and reduces your posture meter; Isshin was a piece of cake with this skill.

[@noahcl1]

This is last in the skill tree, but I would recommend getting Living Force (prosthetic art) as soon as possible. If you use it with the flame vent and oil, it does massive damage to mini bosses and most bosses. Not only does the art buff your sword attacks with fire, but it burns and stuns enemies for a short period allowing you to continue your combo.

[@MeneltirFalmaro]

The prerequisite (Projected Force) makes apparition fights a breeze if you use the purple phoenix umbrella too.

[@teddycouch9306]

thank you. Someone gets the usefulness of this skill

[@doombybbr]

Living force is some cheese alright, you can take out half a health bar with it.

[@diegocm8636]

The Temple Skill that makes cookie buffs last longer is a very good one in Late-game/NG+. Without it I never used these buffs because it made me play overagressively to "make use" of the buffs. Also, on NG+ or more where you have an almost unlimited number of cookies, it's very useful. The stealth buff can make you almost invisible, so you can go through hard areas without difficulty. Also the puppeteer ninjutsu makes late game areas where there's many hard enemies much easier... sometimes I can make my little army of 2 to 4 puppets

[@CooperStation01]

You mean candy? Because I have 50 hours on this game and I haven't come across coOkiEs. Also you'll have infinite candy buffs, so to speak, if you beat all the headless type enemies. They each give you one type of a buff (attack, defence, posture etc) which costs spirit emblems to use.

[@teddycouch9306]

@@CooperStation01 Yeah but sometimes its better to just use the candy rather than spend spirit emblems

[@alicaido6616]

Teddy Couch it almost always is better to use candy for bosses/mini bosses, as you don't want to waste your spirit emblems in a boss fight. Need em for prosthetics

[@teddycouch9306]

@@alicaido6616 See, there are a few bosses I don't use prosthetics on at all.

[@alicaido6616]

Teddy Couch which ones? Personally I don't use any for Genichiro just cos he's more fun that way, (okay maybe a firecracker here or there helps but I don't spam it). I'd still rather use the candy though, because I'm not putting up with terror fights until I have the lilac shield. I honestly can't be assed doing them any other way.

[@alexisguillen8400]

Firecracker, ash and some deflect combos always open way for one and just one hit at a time. The spin which deals damage even blocked should be use after each of this hits to maximize damage to the enemy hp. At least for the 100 to 50% of each enemy bar. Making said spin the best skill in the game, after the bar reaches half you might want to switch to ichimonji and maximize posture damage, but always go after hp first.

[@raynfir638]

Heh, my old school jrpg grinding mentality has me maxed out in shinobi, prosthetic, ishina and temple arts on my first play through and ive yet to beat genichiro...mibu village really is that good.

[@kylephillip6753]

Dam

[@zac6876]

raynfir there is straight up no way you are maxed in prosthetics on your first play through without even beating genichiro.

[@kylephillip6753]

@@zac6876 hes probably excluding the lazilite upgrades

[@protonjones54]

How long did it take you to grind all that xp??? Sounds like a massive waste of time.

[@lucamartinez1014]

Zac he means the Prosthetic combat arts not prosthetics

[@HYLOBRO]

Breathe of light life is the best skill in the entire game, I worked my way to it after Mikiri

[@Fyrlink]

Can’t wait for the advanced guide!

[@meganobgutzkraka2398]

for anyone looking through new for anything...new to know Anti Air Deathblow you buy it from am merchant and it lets you one-two shot a CERTAIN dark magic caster if combined with divinity damage buffs

[@ApathicCheese]

Great job ! But what about ichimonji and ichimonji double ?

[@cheffy539]

Floating carp was my favourite combat art from the dude in the water , also you can get a second text from the rat guy by killing all rats , last rat is black badger , but then you miss out on him in temple. His second text is the same as the end game one

[@andrewnixon5657]

Doesn't black badger not sell anything at the temple

[@Vulgarth1]

You can't get a second text from the Tengu by killing all the rats. He only gives you the Ashina Arts text, and the only way to get the Mushin Arts text is by buying at least one "ultimate" technique from any of the skill trees.

[@MrBoreal75]

Double Ichimonji is a no brainer. Used this one during all the game, from ashina castle to end game.

[@Robertys527]

The suppress sound and presence are godly for taking out multiple enemies near each other along with the ninjitsu from genichiro

[@alicaido6616]

John not worth the xp cost if you're just gonna use bloodsmoke anyway :P

[@Robertys527]

Alicaido but to get close enough to just use it over and over helps

[@alicaido6616]

John drop kills and ceramic shards/whistle/shuriken to seperate them. At the end of the day I'd rather run and reset the enemies than spend those extra points. Or even die on purpose to the other enemy to get the backstab then chain them with bloodsmoke.

[@ericcarlton87]

Just stumbled across your videos and DAMN they’re good!! Thank you

[@ikarus004]

The best combat art is senpou leaping kicks or high monk it really helps a lot with posture damage

[@TheSanozukez]

Actually, i am on my first playtrough and aside of training timing and read enemies atacks i am working on unlock those skills playing alot on places i already defeated. It turns out that some skils are awesome help for us since they can do massive damage do posture like ichimonji double, and using with prostetics and itens like, oil and dust, can make a fight that i was stuck now doable. And also the passive ones to get more uses, parry on air, atack art on air, and so on.... they can make the first playtrough less difficult, and also get us training alot.

[@eldudereno204]

I've just been banking up skill points lately, and farming xp for them. It can get a tad boring, so I only do it about 2 hours at a time. But I've banked 11 so far lol.

[@novelchaser3556]

Floating Passage is one of the best.

[@TheNewKG]

Shadow rush is also amazing if your timing is on point. Costs a lot but does huge posture and vitality damage.

[@ronwisegamgee]

If you like Shadowrush, you'll love Shadowfall; basically follows the air leap with a Whirlwind Slash and it costs the same 2 spirit emblems.

[@alchemira]

Save the skill points, complete the mask, raise your attack power with the skill points. being 5 attack powers ahead all the time makes a huge difference in the endgame.

[@TimothyGod]

Don't listen to this advice

[@danielschmidt7153]

Replaying right now after 3 years, Mikiri and Shinobi eyes are my first buys, then I grab Ichi-double asap, insanely overpowered, or grab the mid air combat arts for even more broken punishing, but I mostly remember how to cheese 90% of the boss fights anyway

[@hamedpakatchi4196]

If you know your way around the game you can get all the Esoteric texts very early. You can get all but Mushin arts after the first boss, Gyoubo. Mushin you can get after Genichiro.

[@RGates33]

That is true but if you know your way around the game that well you are either reading a wiki or have played before and probably aren't watching videos about best skills. First time through blind its pretty confusing.

[@hamedpakatchi4196]

@@RGates33 I agree. Just saying it's possible if anyone wants it.

[@yjLi]

Thank you so much for this guide. Sadly, I just defeated Guardian Ape at skill level over 80, and I do miss a lot of these useful skills. Alas, maybe that’s part of the reasons I really suffered during my first play-through. Thanks again.

[@doombybbr]

No, guardian ape is hard regardless, none of the super useful skills help with him outside of increased posture damage.... also I hope you are still playing after the SECOND time you met him.

[@neweden.]

You should definitely mention Flowing water, which is an amazing skill that decreases all posture damage taken while you fight enemy with a sword. Taking this skill will greatly help with a ton of minibosses, genichiro, shinobi owl and isshin.

[@loopybahamas672]

David Li wtf is floating water 💦

[@neweden.]

@@loopybahamas672 It's a skill.

[@damp2269]

@@loopybahamas672 passive skill

[@woder5823]

"Immediately after taking Mikiri Counter, you'll have the ability to obtain Surpressed Presence." Nice, taking that one. "I wouldn't recommend taking it immediately after Mikiri...." Fuuuuuuuuu....

[@yuumijungle548]

i think its best to only get skills that actually help you in combat: mikiri counter, ascending card, descending carp and flowing water would be the only ones that i would pick up, the rest of the skillpoints are way better spent on increasing your attack power with the mask right before the most diffcult bosses in the game, where you need it. you can have like 17 attack power without grinding right after youve beaten the true corrupted monk, making double ape, owl father, sword saint ishin and demon of hatred way easier. all the other skills that he recommended are like nice to have until then, but make barely a difference ultimately. the surpess presense and surpress sound skills are useless since you can just use a green sugar instead, also you have infinite of those after you beat the headless in mibu village. giving mikiri counter a little more posture damage is also not worth the investment, not every boss uses thrusting attacks and having more attack instead gives a bigger increase anyway. breath of life is also bad, the more gourd seeds you have the less useful this gets, early on where you would most need it you cant have it so whats the point, once your low on health you should rather use a gourd than gambling on deathblows, the lower you are the more risky it becomes. the healing increases are nice, but i rather have 2 more attack power instead, they are just too expensive to be worth it. leaping kicks is also worthless since the only combat art you should be using is mortal draw anyway.

[@raymund3642]

Thanks for this wonderfull tips bro it help a lot

[@Big_Chico]

All you need is shadow rush to cheese Genichiro and nightjar slash to cheese butterfly. Healing buffs and a few spirit emblem buffs and the rest Can go to upgrading attack power with skill points when you get the dragon mask

[@feircy]

Why spend skill points to cheese two of the easiest bosses in the game? Double ichimonji will save your ass and your posture in every fight.

[@vectorfox4782]

Popping a Gachin Sugar while you have Supress Sound/Presence will let you sneak up a Deathblow on numerous bosses.

[@Mrdestiny17]

Fextralife, your lack of faith in my ability to grind all the skills is dissapointing. The art of the grind was taught to me at the lotheric castle bonfire

[@mitchellll86]

If you need to top off a level before a boss battle or need some money heres the trick......Spawn at Gun Fort, back stab the shotgun guy around the corner, run back to idol, rest and repeat. You get 300xp and 52 yen.

[@CooperStation01]

That's a mid game farm. There's a few late game ones that I have. If anyone needs them just ask me I'll reply here. I don't want to accidentally spoil any areas for anyone.

[@user-nu4tm8fi2p]

Aryan J any recommendations for immediately after defeating chained ogre? Aside from (SPOILER ALERT)! Aside from Hirata estate after getting the bell?

[@CooperStation01]

@@user-nu4tm8fi2p I haven't done much early game but I think you should just stick to clearing out the basic enemies near and around the ogre's location. Might not be time efficient but it's probably your best bet. Hirata might also be a good choice for you. Maybe you could try the area where you get the loaded axe (or) the area with the spear Hunter. Lots of enemies that are easy to kill. Tell me how it goes.

[@xXjacobXxPR]

Ashina Castle Antechamber is the best exp/yen/pellets farm spot in the game. *Spoiler*: On your 3rd visit to Ashina Castle (unlocks depending on choice of ending) it gets even better. Backstab the first Ministry Shinobi, run to the room through the wooden place where you would drop to where you find Sabimaru (don't jump down there, just run through the door if you opened it) and you'll find another Shinobi. While you do this, the Ashina Samurai should be fighting against two other Ministry Shinobi in the room you just ran past through, so you can grapple up to the attic through the broken ceiling of the room where the 2nd Shinobi is, go to where the battle is taking place and you may be able to assassinate at least one other enemy while they're distracted (I recommend killing one Shinobi first and let the Samurai gang on the other Shinobi; attract one of them by throwing a shuriken). This should net you around 4k exp in less than 2mins if done right on NG, 8k on NG+1. Tip: All enemies here can be looped into a deflect trade, making them easy to kill. Ministry Shinobi in particular can be deflected 3 times, then they will do the Senpou Leaping Kick (deflect or side dodge, then jump over/Senpou Leap Kick over their sweep kick; both should break their posture easily, but the kick is a guaranteed faster kill).

[@CooperStation01]

@@xXjacobXxPR I have a run that gives you 2k in 30 seconds.

[@aleksbedriy]

Best ability is the mortal blade. It consumes emblems but it works even after you finish them. Even if the boss deflects he still gets a bit of damage and it's really a life saver.

[@pneumonoultramicroscopicsi4065]

Takes too long to perform tho and you're open

[@ShiranuiLoki]

I like the unblockable Shadowrush basically really good against any humanoid enemies.

[@damp2269]

i love that move and ashina cross but sadly ichimonji is better cuz there is no emblem cost to it.

[@pastorofmuppets4552]

Use it on Owl and you’ll get fucked

[@AceAviations2]

On my second playthrough (technically third as the first one the save file got corrupted after the Blazing Bull) I went into the second Genichiro Ashina fight with Breath of Life: Light, the Mikiri Counter upgrade and BOTH Ascending and Decending Carp. Third boss BTW so getting the Shinobi Eyes skill early on is very much doable, I did grind 10 Skill Points for the Mikiri Counter upgrade and the Breath of Life upgrade, but it didnt take that long. I went through the other areas to a degree, I got both the Gourd Seed and loose Prayer Bead (I had 3 health and posture upgrades) in the Sunken Valley, killed the Lone Shadow Longsword to get to the Ashina Depths Idol and got to the Senpu Temple area, but only to the first Idol. As you'd expect the fight went by quickly at a little under seven minutes WITH the cutscene included (Intro, mid and end) as a result.

[@scottnito2640]

Awesome guide. Thanks man

[@tpiechnik]

well I do not have problems with the game, but that skill templat I didn't know about and I didn't know that water creature so thanks hahah

[@ronaldwangdra9675]

4:55 Final Boss spoiler...

[@mahan4079]

Using Ichimonji is my second favorite thing to do in Sekiro. The first is Mikiri Countering them.

[@Disman45]

You are a life saver bro tysm

[@mrorlov2706]

Supress presence is only good as a skill to bypass in order to get other skills. Its not bad but definetely not essential especially considering the fact that you can use an invisibility candy.

[@OGRENZO94]

wait, you didnt even show leaping kicks/high monk actually proc the posture dmg effect like jumping on their head. Seems like a missed opportunity considering thats what you wanted to showcase the skill for. Should be a loud thump when it procs just like jumping over a sweep kanji.

[@tuberoako777]

High monk can almost lock down many bosses as well. They rarely attack in between the entire combo and eats their pose or they will attack and get punished and halts them. The leaping parts of the combo also generate hyper armor. If you stick near an enemy it also does damage on the first quick kick before the leap. The Leap is also a massive gap closer, twice as far than your basic charge attack. You can even use it as a bread and butter attack on most encounters. When you're not using monk, more often your gonna use prosthetics.

[@alicaido6616]

tuberoako777 this is why monk is a great alternate to ichimonjii and mid air arts

[@JamesGowan]

Great info - excellent voiceover. Subbed.

[@anubhabkaushik3368]

Early game:f*kin hard and challenging Mid to late:f*kin hard, challenging and fun

[@Okjsjdjsjss]

It’s all fun

[@exmalobonum1]

Thanks for casually dropping boss spoilers with zero warning.

[@SevenBlades]

Git gud

[@Narcissus7]

exmalobonum1 it’s a souls game, no one cares lol

[@mightymole2]

a video about skills is obviously gonna mention where the skills are useful

[@exmalobonum1]

Valette oh sorry, I’ll make sure to consult you what the entire community thinks next time. My bad.

[@exmalobonum1]

mightymole2 no, you don’t need to reference bosses when noting what’s works generally. That’s what boss guides are for....which Fextralife makes plenty of.

[@curtisbrown547]

Yo ichimonji and its upgrade are legit amazing for a combat art. Probably one of the best skills before you get mortal draw. Even then ichimonji still is useful because it doesnt cost any paper dolls

[@thenecromancer5007]

High Monk is an incredible skill in my opinion, better than senpou leaping kicks at least. Just have to time it right

[@derausmpark]

I am playing now with as few skills as possible to put my skill points into AP. Have only bought mikiri so far. As a conclusion: you don't really need any of these skills. I replace ichi with mortal blade and you also get heal-passives from bosses. Try it!

[@ladyhawk7408]

Breathe of life is worth grinding out early. Ascending carp and descending carp and top off your spirit emblem.

[@DivineDarkness91]

It makes me wonder why Mikiri is a skill. It's so necessary to the game so what if someone just didnt grab it

[@semiawesomatic6064]

Ichimonji is the best combat art.

[@monkewithagat8733]

Just putting this out there I suck at using Ichimonji so I mainly use shadowrush and at some point I'm gonna try to get the shadowrush that allows me to do this cool descending attack on my opponent

[@curtisbrown547]

I personally really enjoy mortal draw and ashina cross. Draw has insane range and sweeps out to multiple enemies for crowd control plus it does great chip damage through block.. ashina cross can get you in better than nightjar has 2 hits and gas chip damage comparable to mortal draw. Ichi monji double is also pretty good but i personally think its to slow and is kind of a worse mortal draw imho. Maybe im dead wrong and it just does so much more posture damage it justifies itself but mortal draw just seems like a solid upgrade all around. It just sucks it eats spirit emblems for some reason even though ypu can do it with no spirit emblems just fine...

[@TopBoy-Gaming]

Ichimonji.more of a crusader night stance but ye sound i use it alot havent tried the double yet been rocking with nightjar slash reversal; a good bit 2. mikiri counter - shinobi eyes iv used a cuple of times other than that sortin as many passive ability's as i can. its my first play through been at it about 5h, in the middle of that crazy bull fight past the ashina castle gate iv done hirata estate im hoping the games just startin but i hurd its not as long as dark souls 2 or 3

[@Rumbsy.]

fun fact it improves you like to dislike ratio when you dont show any bosses from late game!

[@mcveighsm]

Ichimonji double is BUSTED

[@borismotta3780]

Thanks. Good vid 2021-08-01 🥳🥳

[@srivr15]

For completing the game u need only 1 skill called mikiri counter. Dont waste skill points on getting the skills. Instead save it and buy the dragon mask and convert the skill points to attack power. Makes a huge difference against the final bosses.

[@TimothyGod]

Nah this is crazy

[@BingBangPoe]

No mention to Ichimonji? Simply the best combat art in the game.

[@lordofiraniangaming2811]

How can I get it?

[@BingBangPoe]

@@lordofiraniangaming2811 You get it from the Tengu of Ashina in Ashina Outskirts after finishing his sidequest to kill the "rats" on the way to Ashina Castle.

[@fiercemushroom4840]

Floating Passage is the best in my opinion. It's done great work for me, far more so than Ichimonji or it's upgraded variant.

[@guybrushthreepwood8174]

Getting SLK before Genichiro seems tough. So you just farm a ton? Or you don't get other good skills instead? Or is it for NG+?

[@NeonReaperMkVII]

What about "Ichimonji: Double"? It's by far the best art in the whole game, if you ever wanted an easy mode for Sekiro, now you found it, with firecrackers and jumping combat art you can punish sweep attacks and deal like 25% or more posture damage... and it cost NOTHING. How can you not include it?

[@Fextralife]

Because we wanted to leave combat arts for a later in depth video

[@NeonReaperMkVII]

@@Fextralife Uh okay nice. Makes sense.

[@_doop8257]

Only problem with this is you didnt include Ichimongi Double and Flowing Water

[@voodooozo3755]

Senpou temple archmonk's kicks is my favourite move in the game. I killed count less rats with it.

[@juliotitosagastegui9453]

I've already beaten the game 5 times; all I need is to unlock all the skills to get my last trophy. Why do they make it almost impossible to do so in the first playthrough? If you want to unlock them all, you'd have to farm exp for hrs.

[@georgegobin8726]

If you just farm for just a day you can unlock every skill in the game very fast!!!!

[@Whit3Whal3Music]

Farm for a day and very fast dont really go well together

[@georgegobin8726]

@@Whit3Whal3Music It not Imposeble! As long as you don't mind Dieing 😂!!

[@Whit3Whal3Music]

@@georgegobin8726 i never said it was impossible and no word abput dying either. I simply pointed out the fact that very quick and one day (about 12 hours) is in fact not quick

[@Sanbo254]

Was it just me that grinded all but one upgrade on the combat art. As well as grabble attack before gyoubu.

[@neuroni]

i got shinobi eyes but i got it before ashina way of tomoe..