Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice

General Advice

• You can come back to the area accessed with the bell from Ashina Outskirts later if you're having trouble, but it's worth at least visiting as soon as you can for a couple of useful Shinobi Tools.

• Some controller users prefer moving the "Use Item" to the face buttons and "Switch Prosthetic Tool" to the d-pad to make item use in combat easier.

• There are some hidden doors in the game, opened by pushing up against them. Don't bother hugging every random wall, but keep an eye out for particularly conspicuous spots.

• If you're saving up for an item or don't have anything to buy but don't want to lose your money to repeated deaths, you can "bank" your coins by buying bags of sen from merchants at a very slight loss. The first merchant is semi-hidden and can be found in the Ashina Outskirts, before the castle area.

Combat & Killing Enemies

• It's better to time your Deflects a bit too early rather than a bit too late as the window is relatively lenient and being too quick means you'll still at least block any normal attacks.

• You can hold down the attack button for a charged-up stab.

• You can assassinate enemies while hanging from a ledge or from behind a corner if they're close enough. Ceramic shards are useful for this task.

• Look for opportunities to shave a Deathblow pip off of stronger enemies in the world by opening the fight with a stealth attack. Note that this only works for the first pip as they heal back if you try to disengage.

• Experiment with your Shinobi Tools freely, you get plenty of uses for them and many difficult fights can be made easier by using the right tool at the right time.