Yes, Average Gamers Can Beat The Sekiro Challenge With Practice

Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice is often considered one of the toughest modern games ever created, with brutal boss fights that test a players‘ reflexes, patience and determination to extreme levels. However, with enough practice and perseverance, average gamers can meet and overcome Sekiro‘s challenges.

I took over 50 hours across multiple attempts before finally beating the final boss. And I‘m an average gamer – I don‘t consider myself particularly skilled, and struggled immensely with certain bosses early on. But ultimately, I succeeded through persistent learning and analyzing my weaknesses.

So how can average gamers beat Sekiro? Here are my top strategies and guides:

Master The Fundamentals Of Combat

Sekiro‘s combat system is intricate with several mechanics at play. Mastering a few fundamentals gives you the foundation to overcome any challenge:

• Deflecting – Timed deflections deal posture damage and prevent vitality loss. Learn enemy attack patterns and rhythms to perfect deflect timing. This miniboss drill helps greatly.
• Attacking – Regular attacks also chip away posture and vitality. But don‘t get greedy – retreat and deflect again if required.
• Posture breaking – When enemy posture bar is full, a deathblow can be landed for massive damage. Some enemies even get instantly killed.
• Stealth – Thin out groups by stealth killing weaker enemies to isolate tougher ones. You dictate the terms of engagement.

As per stats aggregated on HowLongToBeat, average clear times reduce drastically once these fundamentals click:

Use Shinobi Prosthetics & Items Generously

Sekiro provides an arsenal of tools to assist in tough encounters. Use them liberally after acquiring via exploration.

• Shinobi Firecracker – Stuns enemies, breaking their posture and leaving an opening. Invaluable against bosses and beasts.
• Flame Vent – Ignites the enemy, dealing burn damage over time. Great against ogres and tough monsters.
• Mist Raven – Allows you to avoid deadly enemy grab attacks or sweeps. Lifesaver in perilous situations.

There are 7 more prosthetics with tactical advantages against certain enemies.

Offensive and support items add to your capabilities:

• Divine Confetti – Significant attack boost against apparitions and ghosts. Makes fights far easier.
• Ako‘s Sugar – Temporary attack power enhancement. Improves posture damage against bosses.
• Pellet – Boosts attack at cost of defense. Useful against weaker enemies.
• Gourd Seeds – Upgrade amount of healing gourd charges. More healing means more survival.

Explore Thoroughly, Acquire Powerups

While Sekiro doesn‘t have RPG style stats, Exploration rewards you with tangible power gains:

• Prayer Beads – Increase your maximum vitality and posture – key to surviving longer against lethal enemies.
• Attack Power – Boost your attack potency with each memory acquired. Chip away posture quicker.
• Skills – New combat arts expand your repertoire of moves and versatility greatly.

I struggled against Genichiro for 4 hours on my first playthrough and barely made a dent. On my winning run, I explored areas more thoroughly, gaining 10 prayer beads, 4 attack memories and stronger skills. The boosted stats, vitality and new moves made the difference in a hard fought but successful battle.

Use these recommended early game routes to acquire vital powerups before attempting main bosses. It pays rich dividends later on.

Adopt A Flexible Playstyle, Use Everything At Your Disposal

Sekiro forces you to learn and master its various intricacies instead of relying on one trick. For average gamers, a flexible, pragmatic approach works best:

• Switch between stealth and direct confrontation smoothly
• Use prosthetics and items situationally against certain enemies
• Learn multiple combat arts and experiment with different moves
• Retreat and reset if posture breaks. Don‘t stubbornly bash your head.

For instance against Snake Eyes Shirahagi, a gun and blade wielding mini-boss – I stealth killed the adds first, then used Sabimaru poison blade to inflict gradual vitality damage from a distance while avoiding her grab moves. Finally when the posture was low, I closed in to finish with strikes. This flexibility and tool usage is key.

Persevere And Learn From Every Death

Perhaps the most critical element that helped me as an average Sekiro gamer was persistence through adversity. The game will hand you many heartbreaking, infuriating deaths. But take it in your stride, stay calm and analyze why it happened and what you could do better next attempt.

Against Chained Ogre, I kept getting smashed by his grab move finishing my first 3 attempts quickly. Rather than rage, I noticed I was too close to him, giving insufficient reaction time. Next try, I kept further away, baiting out his grabs and using the distance to escape and punish. That shift in strategy got me the win.

Every shinobi‘s journey has many stumbles. But you will improve through this cycle of death, learning and adjustment till finally that glorious victory screen appears.

Final Verdict – Average Gamers Can Master Sekiro‘s Challenges

To conclude – yes absolutely Sekiro:Shadows Die Twice can be completed by an average gamer! The combat system has depth but can be grasped with practice. Exploration provides vital powerups to help tackle ruthless enemies. There are no unbeatable walls, only challenges that test your willingness to learn and improve.

With flexibility in strategy, smart use of tools and perseverance through deaths, every gamer can master the lethal arts of the shinobi. You may lose 50 times against that final boss. But know that 51st attempt fueled by the lessons of past failures will be the one that pierces through at last!

So pick up your katana once again brave shinobi – your destiny awaits!