Right, so its time for Part 2 of my look at the hardest bosses from the action game, Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice, which has its fair share of tough opponents and here I will look at who made it into the top 5.
So, with that said let's dive back in and take a gander at these fiendishly difficult bosses...
5. Isshin Ashina
So, at No.5 is the final boss of the game if you pick what is known as the "Shura" ending of the game that translates into the "bad" ending of the four possible endings you can get. This is actually a three phase fight where you fight Emma, the gentle blade in phase 1 and Isshin Ashina in phase 2 and 3 and this fight is no joke whatsoever!
WARNING: SPOILERS COMING UP!
As for the actual fight as I mentioned it begins with Emma in phase 1 who will fight you after Sekiro has chosen to forsake his Lord (Kuro) and Emma herself isn't too bad an opponent to face here but she can still deal out some hefty damage. And Emma's moves include an abbreviated version of the combat art, Ashina cross that deals brutal damage and is almost one-shot material. Emma also has a perilous attack where she can grab you and throw you to the ground that also deals out hefty damage aswell as a thrust attack. And lastly Emma has a sword and hilt flurry attack that must be blocked or else its curtains basically!
Moving onto the 2nd phase, after you have defated Emma, Isshin steps in to fight you and this is where the fight really begins. Isshin has a number of dangerous attacks at his disposal starting with Ashina cross, which is essentially a focused two hit slash that can whop away alot of your health. Isshin can also perform a Ichimonji double attack, where he performs an overhead sword strike twice that is also pretty devastating to your health bar. Isshin also uses a 3 hit combo attack with his katana and this can also hurt quite a bit if it full connects.
In the 3rd phase things get a bit crazier where Isshin gains a pyro ability of sorts that can set the room on fire and he can cause a trail of fire through an overhead sword slash that will cause hefty burn damage to Sekiro if he doesn't avoid it. Isshin also can perform a flurry attack consisting of a series of sword slashes that deal out alot of pain and certain death if not deflected or avoided.
Strategy wise...well I have to say this fight can be very challenging but phase 1 is easiest out of the thee for sure as Emma while she can definitely hurt you, she doesn't pose a huge threat. So to deal with Emma you can either use Ako or Ungo's sugar to reduce physical damage or increase your attack damage when taking hits or dishing them out (in that order I have written for Ako and Ungo!). Primarily though this is a fight where you want to deflect Emma's attacks, perform a Mikiri counter whenever she performs a thrust attack, step back when she does her Ashina cross attack and basically keep building up the posture damage from successive hits and eventually she will fall and by doing this, you character has hit the point of no return.
In the 2nd phase again Isshin's attacks should be deflected to build posture damage where possible especially when he uses his 3 hit combo. I would also use Ichimonji double after he has performed his Ashina cross which you should run round the back of so you don't get hit by it and then bonk him on the head with the double attack. If you can avoid his perilous attacks then step dodge away from them but if you can manage it try and mikiri counter the thrust and jump on his for the sweep attack but I must admit I'm not so great at pulling off either of these!
As for the 3rd phase, I would use the loaded umbrella to block his flurry attack and ensure that you have plenty of dousing powder to hand to nullify the burn damage from Isshin's fire attacks. If you have the upgrade you could also use the Sakuza's loaded umbrella, which does a great job at mitigating fire attacks and could make this phase alot easier but unfortunately I wasn't able to get the upgrade myself at the time. That aside you can also use the firecrackers to stun Isshin temporarily and use that to get a few hits in but he will block quickly after the second hit usually. Again though build posture damage through deflects, shinobi firecracker him to get extra hits, use Ako sure for extra damage and make sure to either dodge away from his fire attacks or get the umbrella upgrade to negate this and hopefully that should do it.
So, I would definitely say this is a pretty hard fight, especially Isshin's phases as his high damage potential and fire attacks can be pretty devastating if you are caught in them and even for an old guy he still makes a pretty formidable foe and on that deserves to be in the top 5.
4. Genichiro Ashina
So, at No.4 is this fella Genichiro Ashina, who Sekiro can face more often than any other opponent in the game depending on which end you choose to go for but this of course relates to his main fight when you battle him atop Ashina castle and it is hands down one of the hardest fights in the entire game.
Now depending on how you look at it, this is either two or three phase fight because Genichiro starts with two healthbars but when you have depleted both of them he goes into his final phase where he strips off his armour and gains lightning attacks. However for the sake of argument we wil call it a 2 phase fight.
So, in phase 1, Genichiro can deploy a number of different attacks such as his floating passage (sounds a bit dodgy actually lol!) where he performs a number of successive slashes. He will also use his bow frequently in the fight, especially if you keep your distance from him he will fire off a pretty hefty arrow, which will deal alot of damage but he can also perform a multiple bow attack as he fires off several arrows. Genichiro also has a grab attack that can be deal out alot of damage if it connects as well as sword attack and kick. On his second healthbar the main difference is that Genichiro alternates to a perilous sweep rather than a thrust attack.
As for his 2nd phase, Genichiro as mentioned, strips off his armour and gains lightning attack abilitiesand here he has three new attacks consisting of a leaping thrust, lightning smash and slam. The leaping thrust is easily the most dangerous of these attacks from the point of view of healing as it is very hard to do so when Genichiro uses this attack and the lightning attacks require careful timing to avoid aswell but I will mention more about them in a tic.
Strategy wise...well this really is a very tough fight and it took me 35 goes to get past Genichiro on my latest playthrough where I played the game un-modded on the PS4 as I played him in an easier PC mod on my first two playthroughs and he was much easier then but here he's a different kettle of fish!
Basically with Genichiro you are best to stay close to him and be aggressive and try to attack him as much as you can and deflect his attacks whenever you can. The perilous thrust attack in his first phase can be mikiri countered and you can bounce off his head like you would with other bosses when he does his sweep attack. As for his bow attack if you are at a distance he will for sure fire off his bow and you are going to heal at that point make sure to dodge just as you hear him pull back on his bow and readies to fire then you will not get hit. Regarding his multiple bow attacks you have to watch out for him jumping into the air and when he does instantly deflect his arrows as best you can. Lastly for phase 1 you can deflect his floating passage attack, which is very effective for building up posture damage on him.
Phase 2 is where things get a bit more annoying as it is almost impossible to find a good window to heal as Genichiro will leap at you right away with his new thrust attack, so you are best tyring to use the Mikiri counter on it if you can but I always found it tricky to time as I always sucked at this attack lol! Failing that just try and jump back to avoid his perilous thrust attack and then heal as he has landed. As for his lightning attacks...well this is where I did struggle quite badly because you are supposed to do the lightning reversal trick and leap into the air and throw the lightning back at him but I always found it VERY tricky to time correctly and died more times than not from shock! If you get a chance you could pop and eel liver which will help reduce shock damage from lightning attacks but again you might find it difficult to get a window.
To sum up, the main thing here is to stay aggressive and block his attacks whenever you can, if you can mikiri, great, if not try and jump back to avoid his attacks and also try your best to do the lightning reversal tricky but if not try again to jump back to avoid being caught in it. In between this just keep wading into Genichiro whenever possible and use firecrackers also to distract him and he should eventually fall.
So, Genichiro without a doubt deserves to be this high on the list as his fight is the first real test you will encounter in the game and its a real stern one to deal with and if you do its a great hurdle to overcome and one that is worthy of its place here at No.4.
3. Demon of Hatred
So, at No.3 is the Demon of Hatred, a big firey beast, who actually resembles a certain other Bloodborne boss by the name of Laurence, the First Vicar, who was also a beat and on fire just like this guy is! The only thing is that the Demon of Hatred may be even tougher as a boss than Laurence was which is saying something!
The Demon of Hatred himself primarily uses a series of fire attacks in the fight and they consist of an explosive body slam, a hand drag charge that is particularly nasty and can virutally one-shot a player and a fireball summon which the demon will throw at you when you are at a distance. His other attacks also include foot slams, fire melee combo, a head slam which he can do right infront of you if you are too close and a fire whip slam that has a pretty big range and again does heavy damage and he does a variation of this also in the 2nd phase. The 3rd and final phase will see the demon do a fire whip swing combo and a double hand drag charge similar to the first phase.
As for how to deal with this big beasty...well cheat basically lol! Well I must admit to my shame I did try the cheese tactic against this boss which did work that involves Sekiro climbing up a tower and jumping over to a wall and climbing up onto one of the buildings and going to edge of it, with the demon trapped in the corner, he will eventually fall to his death below! Its a big cheat for sure but it does work and I know that because obviously you will have a really hard time with him if you didn't.,
However I must admit I did fight this big guy proper solo too and by heck he is pretty brutal and his attacks are quite devastating and I found it hard to get past one health bar before running out of healing items! What I would say is to ensure that you have the Suzaku's umbrella upgrade before you take this big beat on because it does a great job at coping with his firey attacks, especially the body slam one.
That aside I would suggest using Ako's sugar and whacking away at what I can only describe as the demon's nutsack area to damage him! You can also use the Malcontent Shinobi prosphetic tool if you have it on you as it can disorientate him long enough for you wade in and get more damage done but it can only be used three times max before it wears off on the demon. Lastly make sure you use dousing powder or Ministry dousing powder which is a bit more effective or even the withered red gourd that also helps with fire/burn damage. Also be sure to run away and doge his fireball attack and watch out for when he is about to perform a hand drag charge and jump out the way and keep to his side to whack away at him whenever you can and eventually he will go down after many attempts!
So, for me I have to say that I did beat this boss twice on a PC mod, which was tricky but a fair bit easier than the standard difficulty mode of the game but I could see just how brutal he is un-modded so for that reason I have decided to put the Demon of Hatred here at No.3 where I think he certainly belongs.
2. Owl (Father)
So in the runner-up spot is Owl Father, who is basically a souped up version of the Great Shinobi Owl and by God this guy is tough! You actually meet the Owl Father in an alternate version of an area called Hirata Estates where you visited earlier to fight Lady Butterfly and in the same arena where you fought her and it is for sure one of the most demanding fights in the entire game.
As for Owl Father's moves he does a mix of combos and firecracker attacks in the first phase and all of these attacks are utterly devastating to your health bar and literally one-shot material in some cases especially the firecracker slash combo. Owl also does a leaping attack too which is easily avoided for the most part. What also makes the Owl difficult is his speed as he can zig zag very quickly throughout the area you fight him in. As for his 2nd phase, Owl then literally produces a phantom Owl that flies around and it can do a perilous fire attack, which cannot be blocked by the loaded umbrella. So all this adds up to a very very difficult battle.
Strategy wise...now your asking! Well for me the best and most efficient way to deal with the Owl was to use the Mortal Blade Draw attack, which is reliable for chipping away at the boss's health and posture but you need to carefully time your attacks or else you will be punished by the Owl with a one or two shot death! To avoid his other attacks you can try and deflect them however he can deal out huge posture damage so at best you can only manage to tank 3 hits before your posture is broken. As for his firecracker slash attack, simply back off and jump away as you will have enough time to do so if you keep an eye out for it. I would also recommend doing the same for his owl fire blaze attack as you cannot block with even the fire resistant umbrella.
But overall I would say the mortal draw attack is the best way to hurt the Owl and the best time to use is just after his leap attack, which you can back off from easily. So if you rinse and repeat with the mortal draw then the Owl will eventually fall and end a very tough fight indeed.
So, for me Owl Father without a doubt deserves the runner-up spot as he is a punishingly difficult boss with very fast attacks that deal ridiculous amounts of damage in fact I would even go as far as to say they even do unfair amounts of damage! Its just FromSoft again trying to top ways they can pulverise the play in one or two hits and succeeding! So, the Owl Father definitely earns his spot here at No.2.
So the hardest boss in Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice is....
1. Mist Noble
Yep at No.1 is the Mist Noble, yeah he is just absolutely brutal. I mean one hit and you are dead! Nah just kidding, this guy is easily the EASIEST boss in the game!
No, the real hardest boss in the game is....
1. Isshin, the Sword Saint
Yep, this one comes as little surprise but for me and many other players the hardest boss in the game is the final boss also and that is Isshin, the Sword Saint. In the Soulsborne games the final bosses tended to be a mixed bag difficulty wise but most of them proved pretty easy but here I think FromSoftware wanted to make up for their previous end game boss with something utterly unforgivingly brutal and they sure did it here with this guy!
WARNING: BIG SPOILER COMING UP IN THE NEXT PARAGRAPH!
Now, this fight actually begins with Isshin's grandson, Genichiro who Sekiro must ALWAYS fight every time you take on this boss battle as it leads into the main encounter with Isshin as basically Geni sacrifices himself to bring his grandad back from the dead by literally climbing out of his body! And this must rank as one of the most bizarre cutscenes that have featured in any game that FromSoftware have ever done!
As for the fight itself in the 1st phase, Genichiro will always begin with an attack from his black Mortal Blade that can deal out major damage if it connects. Genichiro's remaining moveset is very similar to the one in his previous fight with Sekiro that consists of his floating passage flurry attack, bow attacks but another new addition is a grab attack where he throws you down and stabs you to take away half your health bar!
After you manage to whip away Genichiro's health bar, he sacrifices himself with the mortal blade and his grandad, Isshin emerges from him and its a younger but still middle-aged Isshin but he is unfortunately for you now in his prime. So, with three daunting health bars to battle against with Isshin, his 1st phase begins with Isshy (for short!) doing similar attacks to his older version in the alternate ending of the game, which comprises of Ashina cross, three hit combo aswell as a perilous thrust and sweep attack. Isshin will also use the Ichimonji double too like he did in the other fight in the "Shura" ending of the game. And of course all these attacks can be pretty devastating to Sekiro's health bar!
However in the 2nd phase this is where the fight REALLY gets hard as Isshin whips out a big spear from God knows where but certain Youtubers suggested he pulled it from his ass, which suggests Isshin has a body like a TARDIS, i.e. bigger on the inside! Anyway...Isshin also takes out a repeating pistol that seems a bit ahead of its time period of the 16th century as repeating firearms weren't realistically developed until the 17th century but I digress!
Anyway so in the 2nd phase, Isshin does a series of brutal spear attacks and this is also not helped by the fact the spear is MASSIVE and it dishes out MAJOR damage. In fact I'm sure that the 2nd phase is where most people will struggle with this fight as Isshin's speed and his attacks are pretty overwhelming until you get the hang of his attack patterns. His repeating pistol attack is performed at random and overall doesn't do too much damage but Isshin still also uses his katana to perform combos as well as if all that other stuff isn't enough!
In his final phase, Isshin does more of the same spear attacks along with his pistol but this time he adds in some lightning attacks aswell just for good measure. The lightning attacks are also pretty nasty and will cause shock damage to Sekiro if he doesn't avoid them in time that will also destroy his health bar. Isshin also does some ranged whirlwind attacks. And guess what? Yep they also dish out large amounts of damage! So yep this is a whole lot BS to deal with from the game's final boss!
As for how to cope with this hellishly difficult fight...just give up! Nah kidding.
Well to break it down phase by phase as usual, for Genichiro's phase, its a simply case of staying very aggressive and for the most part you can even cancel alot of his attacks by spamming R1 and hitting him over and over but this isn't always 100% effective as he will block you after a short while. As for dealing with his attacks, run behind him when he does his mortal draw and you wont get by it and just follow it up with some hits of your own and Ichimonji double is pretty to use here to build posture damage. As for his perilous attacks, his jumping thrust can be deal with by a mikiri counter but only trouble is I suck at this move BIG TIME! So, I would also suggest jumping back if you aren't confident with the mikiri counter. Also I would suggest backing off when he does his sweep attack and run back in to get a few hits and you can even use the divine confetti and firecrackers to stun Genichiro to get more posture damage on him and he will eventually drop.
In the 2nd phase of the battle and Isshin's 1st phase try and deflect his three hit combo and when he performs his Ashina cross attack, get behind him and perform an Ichimonji double to get some posture damage and you can also do this when he performs his double projected force attack. For Isshin's perilous thrust and sweep attacks either back off or mikiri the thrust or jump off his head to get posture damage for his sweep. You can also use Ako's sugar to build on your damage to Isshin and again use the old faithful firecrackers to stun him.
In the 3rd overall phase and Isshin's 2nd phase, this is where things get way more difficult to deal with as he whips out his spear and pistol and for this phase I would suggest using Gokan's sugar to boost your posture because you will want to deflect a lot of Isshin's spear attacks. I would also suggest doing a mikiri counter for Isshin's perilous thrust spear attack and I found for the most part it was one of the easier attacks to counter this way and it does good posture damage. For Isshin's repeating pistol attack just simply block it with your katana and it should negate any damage it might do to Sekiro. Isshin also does a leaping attack with his spear and I would suggest either jumping out the way or even better block it with the loaded umbrella and if you can time well enough you can follow it up with a projected force attack that does decent posture damage and the same applies to Isshin's own projected force attacks.
As for the final phase of the fight, its simply a case of repeating the same steps as you would in Isshin's 2nd phase but this time you will need to learn how to time your lightning reversal attack to throw back Isshin's lightning at him. Now for me this was perhaps the single hardest part of the fight to time right as I always sucked at timing it! But what I've seen you need to jump in the air just as Isshin comes down from his own leap and performs the lightning attack and you then spam R1 or RB to throw it back at him and it does a fair bit of posture damage. You can though also jump back from this lightning attack too if you are able to then this would be a better solution than struggle with the lightning reversal trick. So, if you put all this together then hopefully it will lead to you being victorious over Isshin, the Sword Saint.
So for me Isshin, the Sword Saint is hands down the hardest boss in Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice and it is especially so given it is such a long fight at four phases and it more than deserves the top spot.
Right that's it for now and I will see you soon for another.
Till then its bye for now!
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