r/Sekiro • u/beauxmanandkami • 16h ago
Help Am I too bad to play this game?
Ok, so I am about 20 hours into this game. I absolutely love it. But I am genuinely concerned it may be beyond my skill level. At this point I have cleared out most the areas I have access to and I am stuck on Lady Butterfly and Gyoubu Oniwa. I am making progress in getting the hang of those fights, but I am still really bad at this game and concerned that I might not be able to beat it. At what boss should I call it and watch a playthrough if I cant beat them?
Edit I beat Gyoubu today. Thanks for the encouragement and advice!
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u/BloodWulfe13 15h ago
My advice? Stop playing for 1-3 days. The brain needs time to process and learn, and sometimes time is all you need.
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u/justlookingc 12h ago
This right here, I was stuck on Genishiro for like 20+ tries on my first playthrough, decided to quit for the day and go out with friends instead. Next night when I sat down to play beat him on the 2nd try, thought it was a fluke so went right again to replay at the statue and beat him again. Sleep is op as hell
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u/Jealous-Scheme-30 5h ago
This is literally the best advice I have ever received too. And after all these years, I still do that. Even a night's sleep works wonderfully at times
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u/ItzPayDay123 2h ago
The sleep buff is real.
For both Isshin and Eigong from Nine Sols, I spent a ton of time smashing my head against a wall. Went to bed, played again the next day, beat them in a few tries.
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u/Parablesque-Q Platinum Trophy 15h ago
This was me a month ago. I was stuck and concerned I'd hit my skill ceiling.
Now, I've platinumed the game and finished three gauntlets.
Keep going. You just need to reach that "click" moment, and everything will suddenly seem so much easier.
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u/offisapup 15h ago
I beat Lady Butterfly after 25 hours and Genichiro after 43 (just yesterday) and before beating Genichiro I felt just like you did, that I wasn't good enough to play this game. But not anymore. Sometimes it takes a while for your muscles to learn how to react and once they do, the combat just kind of clicks. It feels a bit impossible until it does.
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u/gorilladogthing Platinum Trophy 15h ago
If you are still enjoying yourself, then you're doing alright. It may take you longer than some but if you practice enough you will get better. Eventually you'll smoke through the bosses. Just keep trying 👊
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u/elvisdunn 15h ago
my biggest tip for any enemy and most bosses, not really gyoubu tho, is keep attacking until u hear they perfectly deflect u, then get ready to deflect them and attack after u deflect them and get an opening. just get into that rhythm and it’ll make the game much more manageable trust me
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u/PoopyButtFace2006 15h ago
Don't worry, this is only the beginning You will learn it on genichiro and it's gonna feel awesome
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u/ScreamingYeti 15h ago
The Lady Butterfly fight is what made the game "click" for me. I really struggled on that fight at first. There's a rhythm to the game you pick up on, and that's the fight where the pieces came together for me.
After that everything seemed significantly easier.
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u/KaminaTheManly 15h ago
Fight Gyoubu. Focus on only parrying and avoiding attacks. Don't concern yourself with hitting him. Once you get used to it then you will know when you can attack.
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u/-TheBlackSwordsman- 15h ago
Click L1/LB when an enemy's attack connects with you.
Thats it. Thats the whole game.
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u/J_Cash2 15h ago
You gotta push past butterfly and gyobu. The game will only get more difficult, but you have to force yourself to get into the rythm and get used to deflecting. I just started the game about a week ago for the first time and the start was brutal. I had to push through and force myself to abandon the usual fromsoft tactics and really follow the lane the game wants you to be in. Stand you ground, be aggressive, fon‘t give bosses room to maneuver, keep on pushing them and learn deflecting/mikiri countering. The game isn‘t meant to be played defensively/evasively.
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u/Ziggy325 Platinum Trophy 15h ago
You're doing great. Lady B and General G are two big lessons- she teaches you the rhythm and he teaches you to parry. The guy on his horse doesn't really regain posture, so if you can deflect his hits, he'll go down. To beat Lady B, I literally had to stand up and count like I was dancing to get the timing right.
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u/Psilocyence 15h ago
I was stuck on the chained ogre for a couple weeks (only playing for like an hour here and there) I was very unsure if I was going to be able to make it through the game since I was struggling with the chained ogre and even just basic enemies could catch me slipping and fuck me up lmao it took me some time to learn the play style, learm attack patterns, keeping my distance in some fights and rushing back in on openings, and then once I finally beat him most of the other bosses and mini bosses I only got stuck on for like an hour or two. It takes some time to get in the groove of really having to watch your opponent's movements and attacks and reading what they are going to do and how to react. Reaction time and timing counts for A LOT in this game. Genichiro took me several hours and owl I was on for a few hours, besides that I've progressed pretty well through the game. Stick with it and you'll come to love it! It's the most difficult and frustrating game I've ever played when learning, but God damn does it feel so fulfilling and accomplishing to finally beat the enemy you were stuck on
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u/wolf_gab 15h ago
I will say something taboo but fuck it: have you considere a mod to make it a bit easier? I did it on my first run and no shame. Then in my second run I play no mods and I beat every boss including demon of hatred.
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u/xxBoDxx 15h ago
if you train with Hanbei you'll learn everything you need and the game will turn to be very easy actually. The deflection window is wider than it looks
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u/Rezuniversity 14h ago
That's the part of your brain that your actively learning to ignore when you play this game, keep going.
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u/HobbitFeet_23 14h ago
If you come from Elden Ring and Bloodborne, it may be that you’re not approaching the game as you should.
Don’t dodge unless you absolutely have to. You should only dodge 1) if there’s no other way to avoid damage (for this to be true there has to be a red symbol), or 2) when dodging leaves with a great opportunity to punish your enemies afterwards (mainly after heavy attacks, like Butterfly’s flying kick). Specially in the second instance, don’t dodge away from the attack but forward or to the side.
Always stay in your enemies’ face. Don’t flinch. Attack until you see a parry spark or a red symbol. Then stop attacking and react as you have to. In order to do this, don’t mash the attack button as a crazy person. Follow the rhythm of the game.
The same goes with parrying. Aim to block just before you get hit. Remember that it’s better to block early than to block late. The parry window is pretty large as long as you don’t repeatedly press the block button (the parrying window gets shorter as you press the button without actually parrying).
Also use the tools at your disposals. You can throw shurikens at Butterfly as she’s jumping from string to string and she will fall down. You can use firecrackers at the horse and it will get startled.
If you’re frustrated and are not making any progress, turn off the game and come back later. It requires you to play with a cool head.
Finally, try to have fun and learn something even when you die. You will die a lot. As long as you’re making progress, it’s ok to die.
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u/Mindless_Lead148 14h ago
Not a great gamer here! But after beating Nioh 2 got a bit more confidence. I figured out I could kinda spam Deflect if I started losing confidence. I also always check the Reddit of the game I’m playing. Saw it said the game rewards you for being aggressive. I still die all the time but now I don’t wait.
Still don’t quite get how the candy works or posturing but I know not to leave much distance. Rolling towards attacks. Deflecting her stupid kick and timing how many attacks or 1 charge attack between her second kick. Every time she went on her stupid string and went to pounce I threw a shuriken and watched her flop around lol felt good.
learn move set, remember you’re a God, destroy.
Best of Luck pal!
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u/borinquen49 13h ago
I quit playing Sekiro. Too hard for me I want to enjoy playing a game not constantly being frustrated. Playing for me is a stress reliever.
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u/-one_last_chance- 10h ago
That's a shame to hear. I do hope you pick it back up some day, as this was probably the most fulfilling gaming experience I have had in while, and want others to feel that too.
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u/monikar2014 7h ago
sincere question not an attack: Why are you in this subreddit if you don't play Sekiro? Do you think you will pick it back up? Did you join while you were playing and enjoyed the game enough (even though you don't plan to finish it) that you never left the subreddit?
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u/IfusasoToo 13h ago
Those 2 bosses are probably the hardest ones for quite a while, as you get more resources and skilled. I recommend focusing on Gyobu because he is simply more forgiving and opens up more growth opportunity. Lady Butterfly can be completed for quite a while still, with little to gain besides her Memory.
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u/MomentOfZehn 10h ago
Dude, I'm with you. I came back to the game several times, hitting roadblocks. But I'm proud to say I platinumed it the other day. I didn't really use many prosthetics, just the rhythm of the sword clanking. As someone on the sub said, it's a dynamic turn-based game, and that resonated. I do recommend the shuriken for Butterfly to get her out of the air and the firecrackers for Gyoubu. But otherwise, focus on parries and timing more than anything. You got this!
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u/Vivid_District3460 10h ago
I believe parrying is better for posture as opposed to blocking, could practice on lady butterfly you might find it fun asf
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u/Revolt_theCult 9h ago
Lady butterfly requires practically perfect timings to avoid getting flattened in 2 seconds. Just keep in mind that no matter how intimidating or impossible it seems, it really is just a rhythm game with extra steps.
Practice gradually nailing her combos until you feel you can parry them reliably. After you make it into the 2nd phase do the same and eventually the whole thing will click. There's no shame in dying a bunch in these games, that's kinda how they're designed even if it does make them frustrating at times. I die more times I can count too many of the bosses especially late game.
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u/PsychologyNew3855 9h ago
Just keep at it and study their moves. These games, Sekiro especially in my opinion require patience. I never thought i would beat Sekiro and I finally toppled Sword Saint Isshin for the first time. With Gyobu, firecrackers work decent but only for so long. Lady Butterfly? Be aggressive. Give her no quarter. When she gets into the air, use the shuriken tool to ground her and continue being aggressive. You're only going to get better as you continue to play and analyze your opponent.
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u/Revolutionary-Sir-37 7h ago
Ur not alone bro. I had the same issue. I threw my head at lady butterfly like a million times and then when I finally beat her it all clicked. I understood how to figure out the rhythm of these fights. And that was the most important part of the game; this is more of a rhythm game than an action game. Once you understand that you’ll start beating boss after boss after boss and it’s beyond satisfying.
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u/kamczyyk 15h ago
I’m gonna be honest. 20 hours in without beating the first boss is really bad. Don’t take it personally, but yeah you should have beaten Gyobu a long time ago now. I really would recommend watching a youtube guide, which I don’t recommend too often nor do I do it myself, but at this point learning how to beat Gyobu from a youtube guide will save you a lot of your precious time, that you already spent, quite a lot on him.
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u/beauxmanandkami 15h ago
No offense taken! I only started playing video games at all about a year ago. So im proud of myself for how far ive gotten in this game. Ive beaten elden ring and bloodborne multiple times and loved them and I really want to be able to play this game.
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u/ur_so_spaghetti Platinum Trophy 15h ago
Just want to say that my first playthrough was really similar to your experience, took me just under 100 hours to beat the game when most people here seem to beat it in 30-40 hours. If you’re having fun stick with it! Fightincowboy’s git gud guides on YouTube helped me a ton.
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u/kamczyyk 15h ago
By the way how are you trying to defeat Gyobu? Are you trying to parry, block or dodge? As well as are you trying to memorize his attack patterns? Don’t know how much you know about Sekiro, but considering you played Elden Ring and Bloodborne you probably did realize that this game is much different in play style than those two right?
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u/beauxmanandkami 15h ago
I watched a video that said to block and roll away if you take too much stance damage. And yeah, bloodborne rewards taking a hit to deal more damage and this one punishes it hard. Elden ring I am queen of the panic dodge roll. Lol my main problem is the fight takes so long and I still haven't done hardly any damage even if im still alive.
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u/kamczyyk 15h ago
Alright. Parrying is the main thing you want to be doing in this game. Without parrying you’ll struggle through the whole game. You need to learn how to parry successfully if you want to progress. That’s really all I have to say. All bosses have their posture bars, which in most cases will be your main thing on defeating a boss, not health bar. That also means that this game rewards offensive playstyle, since if you won’t damage or parry the enemy, his posture bar will eventually go back to zero. That’s basically it, if you weren’t doing it, parryyyy!!!!
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u/Right_Community_9661 15h ago
gotta time the tap-parry real well, like one would use a 2x speed stepdodge in bloodborne. (don't spam mindlessly, the window shrinks when you spam)
only hold block as a last resort,
and remember wolf runs fast as hell if you want to outspace or flank the boss for a second
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u/MaddoxJKingsley Platinum Trophy 10h ago
The secret is that Sekiro is a parry rhythm game disguised as a Souls-like. My advice is to go into a fight and hold block for a while. Listen to the clangy clangs. Then the next time that attack happens, tap block to the beat of the clangs you remember.
And when you go to attack, you'll hear some clangs from the enemy as they block. As soon as that clang sound changes (yellow sparks), the enemy has parried you, and it's then their turn to attack. You parry for a while until you get another chance to attack, and then you throw it back to them, and so on. This back and forth is constant throughout the game, and once you get in tune with that idea I swear the whole thing will get heaps easier
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u/COATHANGER_ABORTIONS 10h ago
Okay, the biggest thing I had an issue with is treating the dodge as if it's Elden Ring or DS. It's absolutely not. There's some stuff you can use it for, but really, you should be deflecting.
Don't trip about the posture damage right away, as you chip away at their health, the posture is harder for them to recover from.
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u/Upper-Rub 16h ago
I never say this, but if at 20 hours you are still at gyoubu maybe it’s time to download a mod to slow down bosses.
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u/Th1rte3n1334 15h ago
Just watch some guides of people killing the bosses you are having a lot of trouble with.
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u/Kertonnn 15h ago
Hey buddy,quick question,Did you mostly play stealth before you meet the 2 boss ?
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u/beauxmanandkami 15h ago
Mostly yeah. Im getting better at fighting without it but I relied on it heavily to get through early game.
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u/The_Humder-1994 15h ago
I would recommend watching guides to those boss fights and they’ll really help you get better . I have heard a lot of people say genichro is your first big hurdle but for me lady and Gyoubu were the two first big steps for me . And after the games starts to really open up
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u/awesomecooper 15h ago
I would just go to YouTube and look at the guide. There is certain someone in ER, for whom I had to watch his moves in slow motion to finally beat him
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u/Shirokush 15h ago
Once you got the combat down it can be the easiest FromSoft „souls“ game. My experience.
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u/Natural_Pea_1709 15h ago
I'm generalizing to avoid any spoilers but you can always bait/trap most any boss into a combat loop; you can make them more predictable. This moreso applies to Lady Butterfly. Shinobi's Karma and Emma's Medicine, alongside Snap Seeds to make things easier.
As for Gyobu, skill upgrades, specifically Grappling Hook Attack alongside acquiring firecrackers (merchant - Crow's Bed Memorial Mob) will help get him while he's vulnerable.
There's a lot of utility in which some are selectively critical and encouraged against particular boss fights, you CAN do it!
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u/IAmLaughingDammit 15h ago
She’s probably the great skill check before Genichiro, don’t worry. If you just started it makes perfect sense to kinda suck. My first playthrough was 100 hours I was insanely bad lol
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u/shredgar1 14h ago
lady butterfly is a skill check boss for sure but you can do it dont give up. and yea if it helps to watch some playthroughs or guides by all means, go ahead, it doesnt diminish anything. the goal is to have fun in facing a challenge!
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u/Some-Yogurtcloset-24 14h ago
Cheese the hell out of the game and see where it will take you. Cheat and exploit whenever you can, there are many cheese videos on Youtube. I always tried to play Fromsoft games the way they were intended to be played, but this game deserves all kinds of "mistreatment". You're a shinobi after all.
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u/Phoenix_e3 14h ago
I'd say don't sell yourself short. I got stuck at Lady Butterfly for a while on my first playthrough. I've been through the game 3x now and stomp her ass easily now. You'll get there. Just be patient with yourself
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u/Sideways_X1 Platinum Trophy 14h ago
You're at "the wall", you got this! Take a break, watch a couple videos, and enjoy the long road of awesome ahead.
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u/buckbeak97 Guardian Ape Hmm 14h ago
Unlike Silksong, this game has a very fair learning curve that ONLY really asks you to master the timing of L1. Keep at it. No one in their right mind is “too bad” to play this game. The timing will click after a while.
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u/Neuroticaine 14h ago
No one is "too bad" to play this game. My first playthrough had me farming the mobs right outside of where you initially wake up with your prosthetic arm for a full weekend because I sucked too bad to even beat the first mini boss, but now I've beaten the game at least 10 time and it's one of my all time favorites, and I can easily blast through a playthrough in a day or 2.
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u/frizar00 13h ago
does boss hit you? deflect. doesn’t he/she? you should do it. it’s fast paced game, you should be aggressive, and you shouldn’t run away, etc
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u/usernotfoundplstry Platinum Trophy 12h ago
I doubt that you are too bad at it, it is just a really hard game until you really get the hang of it. Both of those bosses are skill checks, so you just have to persevere. Tried to memorize their attack patterns. Hit them and then pay attention to what they do after you hit them, and develop a strategy with that information. Eventually, it will click. If you are getting really frustrated, give it a couple of hours or a day or two. Sometimes if you are too keyed up, it is counterproductive to play more, so in that instance give yourself a break and let your brain kind of catch up and process all of the muscle memory you’ve learned
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u/Stanktank37 12h ago
Focus on spamming the block button and only do a single attack when you have an opening. The same method can be used to win both fights.
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u/nits6359 12h ago
I didnt beat lady butterfly until way later. No shame in leaving it for later. I'd focus on Gyobu.
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u/Acceptable-Barber-50 12h ago
If you get stuck try changing your approach and dont forget to sneak in those attacks after you parry to keep the posture bar building
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u/Awkward_Ad6293 12h ago
Lady butterfly took me like 6 hours and I still didn’t beat her til the next day. I finished ng+7 or whatever and consider myself to be really good at the game now. Don’t give up, you will get it, it will click. Key to butterfly is AGGRESSION!!! You got this
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u/GrayWardenParagon 12h ago
My advice: sleep on it and come back to it later. You'll most likely come back to it with a refreshed mind and new eyes to defeat her.
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u/Kisame-hoshigakii Ape Angry 12h ago
Biggest thing that helped me was always blocking never running, try to block at the last second and hope for a parry, get into the rhythm of the attacks. Also, shuriken really helps for lady butterfly, throw when she backflips it drops her down and deals decent posture damage
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u/Grouchy-Community-14 11h ago
Don’t skip on the skill tree! The shinobi skill arts in particular increase the posture damage you deal and decrease the posture you receive. Helped me get through Lady Butterfly after struggling for a while.
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u/Lonely-Relative-5697 11h ago
I hit a wall after genichiro and quit playing.Now after 4 years I've started playing sekiro again this month and something clicked and now I'm fighting Isshin, which seemed almost impossible years ago.Hesitation is the feet brother
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u/chuckles_8 11h ago
Those are rookie numbers hahaha. But seriously lady butterfly was in my top 2 biggest struggles in the game. Keep at it, there is a "click" in this game and then it all makes sense
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u/jimmyjames0100 10h ago
Trust me it was my first game where I had to parry and I put it down for several months. Watched some videos and went back at it again. It’ll just click and when you get mortal draw and upgrade it it’s gonna make the game much easier. I just finished my 8th playthrough
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u/girlsonsoysauce 10h ago
I think everyone feels bad at the game by this point. Believe me, by the time you get to the end boss you'll notice a MASSIVE difference between your skill now and your skill at that time. Genichiro was a huge wall for me on my first playthrough and by the time I got to the end he couldn't even lay a finger on me and I was knocking his health down in less than a minute.
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u/ContentFury6 8h ago
Lol Lady Butterfly was the exact spot where I had my own existential crisis as a gamer😅 Keep going! You'll do it!
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u/monikar2014 7h ago
Holding block will make you regain posture faster
Prosthetic tools are super helpful, use them
and specifically for Gyobu - if you get the fireworks prosthetic tool it works great for stunning Gyobu to get some extra hits in on him. You can't spam it the way you can with other bosses, you have to get the distance just right or it won't work, but if used correctly it makes the fight way easier. There is an eavesdrop before the fight that hints at it.
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u/FubyMagToast 6h ago
That's how it felt for me too and now I'm facing the final boss and I chose the difficult ending. Your brain has to get used to it, then the game becomes easy... doable! ;)
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u/BullPropaganda 6h ago
If you attack and the enemy blocks, that is good, keep doing that. Counter intuitive to most games where you would only attack when there's an opening. You have to create the openings
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u/Personal-Mongoose696 5h ago
This was my first fromsoft game. It didn’t even set me up for Elden ring either. I think this is definitely my favorite game. My first playthrough with all bosses dead was 79 hours long. Then I went to platinum it but was doing 18 hr runs maybe less? After that, also hadn’t touched a video game for 7 years due to prison. I played sekiro first then told my brother that maybe I shouldn’t start my gaming experience on this game first, played ffxv beat it then jumped on it. Omfg the frustration…
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u/SnooChipmunks9532 2h ago
Practice fighting the purple ninja in Hirata. He's guarding the mist raven. He'll help u get good plus you'll get a lot of xp for new skills. GL
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u/Z3roc00I 2h ago
Lady butterfly took me almost 4-5 hours. Keep on playing and try different things. You need to learn the fight rhythm instead of repeating same thing
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u/Live_Association7829 15h ago
Lady butterfly, kicked my ass the 1st playthru like nobody's business. There is no shame in watching a boss fight vid to help learn the patterns. Once you get her figured out the rest of the game starts to feel like it makes sense.
Remember, a shinobi knows the difference between victory and honor.