There are two types of bosses in Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice. There are major bosses, and mini-bosses. Mini-bosses are often completely optional. Both boss types are special, named enemies that are much harder challenges than standard enemies. Defeating them will drop useful items like Prayer Beads or Memories which will increase your health or attack damage respectively.
Bosses are the main enemies you’ll have to defeat to progress in the game. Some bosses will lock you into an arena, while others allow you to retreat at any given time. All bosses have two ‘Deathblow’ health bars. You’ll need to hit them with two Deathblows to defeat them. This is standard, but some bosses can be defeated with a single deathblow — or can’t be defeated with a deathblow at all.
- NOTE ON DEATHBLOWS: Many bosses can be attacked from stealth, allowing you to initiate a stealth Deathblow and cut down their health by 50%. You can only do this once. If you retreat and attempt to hide, the boss will fully recover. Initiate the battle after your stealth deathblow and finish the boss in combat.
Table Of Contents
- Ashina Outskirts Bosses
- Hirata Estate Bosses
- Ashina Castle Bosses
- Senpou Temple, Mt. Kongo Bosses
- Sunken Valley Bosses
- Ashina Depths Bosses
- Fountainhead Palace Bosses
- The Final Bosses
Boss: Corrupted Monk [True Form]
- Optional?: No [Main Ending]
- Stealthblow?: Yes
- Location: Fountainhead Palace
- Loot: Memory: Corrupted Monk
The Corrupted Monk [True Form] appears at the very first bridge of the Fountainhead Palace. This difficult opponent has three Deathblow Markers, and fights very similarly to the first form of the Corrupted Monk in Mibu Village. The boss gains new attacks after every Phase — remember that you can jump-counter her sweeps, and Mikiru Counter her thrusts.
- NOTE: Equip the Shinobi Firecracker for this boss. It leaves her open to attacks.
Phase 1: The Corrupted Monk fights almost exactly like the ghostly Corrupted Monk. She takes much, much more Posture Damage now, so learning to parry her Perilous Attacks will help you defeat her faster. You can also get a Stealthblow on the Corrupted Monk — immediately jump into the trees to lose track of her, and you can get an easy Deathblow.
Phase 2: For the second phase, the Monk will disappear and summon shadow copies of herself. Quickly grapple into the trees to avoid attacks and keep moving. You can get another Stealthblow here from the trees — when the Monk reappear from the mist, you can perform a jump stealth attack from above just as she reappears from a kneel. If you time it right, you can end this phase immediately.
Phase 3: For the final phase, the Corrupted Monk stops using a thrust Perilous Attack and instead spits gross gunk that causes Terror. Dodge sideways to avoid the spit, and save your Shinobi Firecrackers for this final phase. Attack when she’s open after a spit attack, and watch out for her spinning spear attack. If you get a Deathblow on at least one of these forms, you should have plenty of healing items to deal with the last phase.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZQQDL29Yu6E
Boss: Divine Dragon
- Optional?: No [Main Ending]
- Stealthblow?: No
- Location: Fountainhead Palace
- Loot: Memory: Divine Dragon
The Divine Dragon is a puzzle boss. After one round, you’ll be able to learn the Divine Dragon’s tricks and defeat the boss.
Phase 1: For this phase, multiple creepy dragon elders will spawn. You need to defeat the white dragons first — destroying the white dragons will drain the boss vitality gauge. Equip the Loaded Spear for long-range attacks, or use the Shurikens to deal with these enemies. You won’t need Prosthetic weapons for the second phase, so you can expend all your ammo.
Watch out when the dragons summon tree stalks. Sprint to avoid the stalks, and carefully manage the black dragons that spawn. Defeating the black dragons won’t ‘hurt’ the boss. You just need to take out the white ones.
Phase 2: The true Divine Dragon appears. To damage the dragon, you just need to grapple onto the trees with lightning crackling above. When the lighting strikes, attack to expel the energy and strike the dragon. As long as you’re in the air, lightning can’t hurt you. The dragon will launch a series of wind slashes — sprint to avoid them.
After doing enough damage, the dragon will knock you back with a massive gust of wind. Just dodge until the trees return (with the lightning) and you can finish the dragon off. This phase is easier than the first.
