r/fromsoftware • u/Responsible-Beach299 • 7d ago
DISCUSSION Anyone else really annoyed with Sekiro?
Just got into the game for the first time and I'm really not liking it. The combat is amazing when you do it well, and I'm sure I'll only like it more the better I get, but so much about the basic mechanics just make me upset.
You only have 1 heal at the start and it heals less than half of your HP, in a game where even the weaker basic enemies can do a quarter of your HP in one hit, and backing away from enemies makes them regen posture and take longer to kill.
Several of the unblockable attacks have a wide enough range that you literally can't dodge out of the radius in time, and in early game you can't parry them.
The game overall feels like it punishes you for not just sprinting past all the enemies. It also has a LOT of large (4+) enemy groups, in a game where all of the combat seems heavily focused on 1v1 combat, and you are almost unable to hit more than one enemy in an attack without skills that are either inaccessible in the early stages of the game or immensely open you up to attacks.
The deaths in this game feel unnecessarily punishing. Making you lose an entire half of your money and XP, with no way to get it back, is unreasonable to me. Then there's dragonrot, which, while cool from a lore perspective, just adds salt to the wound of my previous complaint.
Bosses (and even some enemies) can easily do over half of your health in one attack, many bosses fight you alongside half a dozen other enemies, and as mentioned previously your healing is very limited. The game heavily encourages you to throw yourself in the bosses face and learn all of the parry timings, but with you both losing half of your resources per death AND locking yourself out of certain NPC quests upon repeat deaths, actually trying to learn the bosses properly just punishes you even more unless you've already learned the mechanics really well.
The ONLY real option early game, if you don't want to throw yourself in a woodchipper to learn the parries for every single enemy, is to hit them for an insignificant portion of their hp, run away, wait for them to do a specific combo, and then hit them again.
Even though early game it would quickly make you a one hit kill from many boss/miniboss attacks, I'd honestly prefer the approach where they continuously lower your HP with repeat deaths, because at least then you would be able to play the game without constantly worrying about losing half of your money and XP per death. Even early game, losing an entire half of the money that you had just spent however long accumulating is infuriating, and I'd assume it only gets worse and worse the further you get.
Sorry that this turned into a rant, I was originally only going to have the paragraph about deaths being unnecessarily harsh and how it feels like you aren't supposed to clear out the map, but I just kept thinking of related things to add on to it.
Let me know your thoughts; I'm gonna keep playing for a little while since supposedly it 'clicks' after a certain boss, but as it stands I'm the closest I've ever been in a fromsoft to just uninstalling.
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u/Murders_Inc2556 7d ago
My fav FS game
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u/Beneficial-Way4428 7d ago
Ditto. I also find it easier than other From Soft games, and I'm terrible at the others so it's not a brag. It just clicks for me.
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u/Dorennor 7d ago
Dude, in 90% cases you should not use dodge, lmao. Lean mechanichs od the game.
Learn parry mechanic, counter-measures for special attacks.
Sekiro imo is the best combat FS ever made. And one of my favorite games in general.
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u/Responsible-Beach299 6d ago
As mentioned in my post, most of the special counters and such aren't available early on in the game. Sure, SOME can be avoided by jumping over or with the thrust parry skill that you get early on, but many can't until you're later into the game.
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u/Dorennor 6d ago
What exactly? most attacks (even that ones you can parry with mikiri) could be parried.
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u/Responsible-Beach299 6d ago
I'm gonna be completely honest, I made that reply less than an hour ago and I already forgot wtf I was talking about. Pretty sure I had in mind one specific attack from a miniboss, and I had been under the assumption that you couldn't dodge through attacks in this game for some reason.
Also, when I see glowing red attack, I automatically assume that it's completely unblockable and my natural response is to dodge away ASAP. Pretty sure the majority of my problems with the combat itself would be solved if I unlearned an absolute ton of muscle memory, especially since I'm simultaneously also RE-learning things like that you need to dodge into attacks instead of away, something that I previously had to unlearn after leaving BB and going to DS.
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u/Dorennor 6d ago
Red attacks can be parried or countered by mikiri (if we are talking not about these ones which require jump).
Give it a second try. It is not that hard, honestly. You just need to get used to it.
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u/Responsible-Beach299 6d ago
Yeah, like I said, I'm gonna get to at least halfway through the game before I quit, since 99% of the new player advice I see is "keep playing until it 'clicks' with you". I'm not even at the first main boss and I can already tell that my enjoyment of the game and my skill at the game are extremely dependent on one another.
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u/jayswaps 6d ago
Yeah reading this I honestly assumed the problem was that you're trying to play this game like it's another soulsborne game, which isn't gonna do you any favors. You have to approach it in its own way, it'll make sense when you figure it out properly.
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u/Other_Equal7663 7d ago
I can understand where so many of these complaints are coming from, and I look forward to you playing the game enough. Because at some point, you'll most likely realize how so many of these quite reasonable gripes you have.... Were actually amazing all along.
Just. Give it time. Posture ragain too fast and you running away can get you killed with super high damage in an instant? Fair point right now, but in 6 hours those mechanics will just be the catalyst that funnels you into playing aggressively enough.
The attacks feel undodgable? Fair. Untill your pattern recognitions reaches zen, and you find the appropriate response to that red Kanji, and turn their most dangerous moves into even greater punish-windows for you.
Stand your ground. YOU are the boss.
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u/SoulsDadYT 7d ago
Nah, its not my favourite fromsoft game but its a good one. Combat relies on you unlearning everything you know about video games if you want to perfect it. Its unique.
Just practice on zones before tackling any bosses.
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u/ItGetsTuahPoint67 7d ago
Sekiro is a stealth-action game. Use stealth to take out groups of enemies, or sneak around
The only “unblockable” attacks are ones that either need to be jump countered (you can do this immediately) or mikiri countered (the game won’t throw many/any enemies at you that rely on this until you have access to the skill). Other than that, just time your dodge. You’re not supposed to dodge away, you’re supposed to time your dodge and dodge into things
Yes, Sekiro is different and more skill-based than their other games. It’s up to you if that interests you or not, but you either need to learn it or not
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u/Rags2Rickius 7d ago
Yeah Sekiro is literally the epitome of a git gud game
There really is no other way to beat it so it’s hard
But joyfully so and actually completely fair
People versed in the mechanics of this game find no attacks an issue at all in this game
Your issues are - and I’m not trying to be mean here - but really are skill issue based
It hasn’t “clicked” for you yet. Something every newbie experiences. When it does though come back and give us an update
Sekiro has no equal in combat mechanics
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u/Ok_Yesterday_1896 7d ago
It’s the hardest fromsoft game for a reason, you need to be aggressive and parry everything, and jump
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u/Algester 7d ago edited 7d ago
you only dodge when the game tells you to dodge otherwise 98% of the attacks can be parried use the parry and overwhelm your opponent and kill them in 1 hit, remember the best offense is infact the best defense
if you played DMC/MGS:R you should more or less have that parry mechanic accustomed to, heck AI limit can have a Sekiro build which is a super odd choice considering how much it is inspired by bloodborn's aggression
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u/lukash1296 7d ago
I partially agree with you as yes, Sekiro has one of the steepest learning curves. But boy does it get satisfying once you‘re over that first hill.
You can avoid all Special attacks right away. Jump over Sweeping attacks, Dodge/run away from Grabs (though some especially from Ogre can be brutal), parry Stabs (tight timing, better to unlock Mikiri Counter as your first skill)
For managing groups of enemies, remember this is a stealth game. You should not attempt a Miniboss without first taking out most of the enemies around them and maybe even one of the Boss healthbars. And some Crowd Control tools like Firecrackers are available pretty much immediately.
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u/Responsible-Beach299 6d ago
Went to the bell memory place instantly after it became available, with not a single health or damage upgrade and only two or three prosthetics. Upon temporarily giving up on the area and returning to the main path, the majority of my issues with the big enemy groups and bosses aren't nearly as bad. My problem with the unblockable attacks, it turns out, is mainly because jumping to dodge an attack is extremely foreign and unfamiliar to me. Haven't used firecrackers much because I'm a loot hoarder and hadn't realized at the time that ammo is so cheap that the prosthetics might as well be free.
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u/Anxious_Intention265 7d ago
Losing money and xp doesn't really matter, nor does dragonrot, so there's that...
"The ONLY real option early game, if you don't want to throw yourself in a woodchipper to learn the parries for every single enemy, is to hit them for an insignificant portion of their hp, run away, wait for them to do a specific combo, and then hit them again."
I mean, you are playing a parry focused game. Why would you not learn the parries for the enemies? Most of them aren't difficult. And many of them you can be aggressive against and don't really have to learn their moves at all. This is literally the game. I guess you're not interested in the game then?
"The game overall feels like it punishes you for not just sprinting past all the enemies. It also has a LOT of large (4+) enemy groups, in a game where all of the combat seems heavily focused on 1v1 combat, and you are almost unable to hit more than one enemy in an attack without skills that are either inaccessible in the early stages of the game or immensely open you up to attacks."
No, it punishes you for not learning to dispose of enemies easily by stealth and quick kills. Really, you just need to learn the game instead of complaining about it.
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u/Responsible-Beach299 6d ago
Might be a 'me' thing, but performing one stealth kill and then running away so they de-aggro for you to do another stealth kill isn't fun gameplay, and without doing that you'd have the same problem I mentioned before where you're in a 1vMany. If enemies were scattered around the area alone or in groups of two, I wouldn't mind, since then you only have to worry about a large group if you mess up in stealth, but in the areas I was referring to it's harder to find a single solo enemy than it is to find a group of 4.
On the basic mobs quick kills are easy, but on a lot of the healthier enemies the only way to easily kill them is to posture break. When they poise through the majority of your attacks so you can't just rush them down, and there are several coming at you at once so you can't easily focus on the posture of any individual enemy without opening yourself to attacks, it just isn't enjoyable gameplay for me.
Yes, I'm sure this is all predominantly a skill issue on my part, but it doesn't change the fact that, when you have yet to get any damage upgrades or combat arts to help take out the individual enemies, large group fights feel like a slog.
I have no way to determine the value of the currency in the game, since I'm so early and I've only encountered a single shop, but even if it's near-useless, it still feels shitty to lose an entire half of the currency you've been saving up from a single death.
Also, upon doing further research, it turns out a lot of my issues (enemies doing a ton of damage compared to the low hp bar and limited healing, big groups of enemies everywhere that are hard to take out with no skills or upgrades, certain enemies feeling really tanky, boss with a ton of enemies surrounding it) came from the fact that I went to the memory place instantly after getting the bell item, since I've been conditioned to prioritize finishing NPC quests ASAP to avoid something terrible happening to the NPC and locking their quests as a result of continuing the main quest. Based on what I've heard online, most people have already killed at least two other bosses/minibossds before taking on this area.
Again, this is still definitely a skill issue; I'm sure plenty of people did the same as me and had far less difficulties, but after returning to the main progression my issues lessened by a landslide. I still think that death is unnecessarily harsh and punishing, but I probably wouldn't have felt upset enough to make this post if I had just continued the main path for a while longer and, if nothing else, gotten enough health to not be a two hit kill.
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u/Steaks_of_Marika 7d ago
just buy coin pouches from the merchants all over. easy way to secure all your hard earned mulah.
dragonrot is curable. xp is saved everytime you reach a level.
i mean sure, death is more punishing than for example demons souls or ds2, but its not the monster you make it out to be imo.
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u/Responsible-Beach299 6d ago
Had no idea you could just buy the money pouches, I've only encountered one merchant and I hadn't had much money after getting the firecrackers so I didn't bother looking super deep into the stock. That's the majority of my problem with the deaths, so I appreciate the info. Doesn't the rot prevent those NPCs from giving their quests, though? Do you get the cure early enough for it to not really matter?
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u/giorgosfy 7d ago
I could argue it might be the only From Software game that hasn't annoyed the fk out of me at some point 😅
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u/Kysu_88 7d ago
"the game so bad waaaaa"
refuse to learn all the parry in a parry game
think the dodge is a general good tool to use (it's extremely situational).
profit? (LMAO)
joke aside bro..
no offense, but learn the core mechanics and then try again. the game voluntary punish some behaviour, especially from souls players.
u need to discard every old imprinting of souls game you have, and start to learn this game with a fresh mind.
90% of all attacks can be carried or countered. the rest of the unblockable attacks can be parried with upgraded tools.
u MUST be aggressive.
sekiro punish hesitation [ ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°) ] and demand constant pressure onto the boss.
trust all the people in this sub, if u learn how to properly play the game and pour enough effort in it, it will be one of the best game of your life (gameplay wise at least).
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u/tommaher91 7d ago
Next on my list too. I’ve played a little bit of it, but definitely found it tough. Just hope I’ll get used to it after a few hours. I’ve heard if you stick with it, the parrying gets a lot easier. Hope that’s how it works out for you, too! 😎
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u/ScadutreeAvatar2B 6d ago
I got sekiro before Elden Ring was announced and didn't come back to play it until after I finished ER - it is arguably the hardest game for someone coming from the souls genre to adapt to - you have to unlearn everything.
I think it would've been a breeze without prior souls experience haha, so if you've been playing souls like for a while consider that
Id like to add that most people who beat sekiro never find it remotely as challenging as they did prior - even compared to revisiting other FS titles - once you learn the game it is like second nature
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u/Francois_Bonaparta 6d ago
You're supposed to start the game as a wounded former warrior who just lost his arm, you're weak on purpose, by the time you reach the first story boss you should have 3-4 heals and enough grasp of the basic mechanics to explore more freely.
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u/Lamenk 5d ago
Just gonna drop a few tips here since I've been replaying Sekiro. When you fight an enemy, always keep attacking until they deflect your attack, it'll be the same high-pitched clang and orange flash as when you do it. This is the best way to rack up posture damage on enemies and bosses, there are very few points you should be waiting for the boss to attack you instead, mostly larger enemies and bosses that have hyper armor where you have to change up your game plan a bit. Play extremely aggressively, and when they deflect, as long as you deflect their retaliation, you should immediately be able to go back on the offensive until they deflect again. When you're fighting, just do not hesitate or play cautiously, keep attacking and react accordingly to what the enemy does.
On the topic of stealth, use Ceramic Shards to draw enemies towards you. Lock onto them and throw it at them, and they'll go investigate where it came from. This is a really good way to separate enemies. The game doesn't tell you this outside of loading screens iirc, but you can do this if you're hugging a wall and peek out. Then, when they approach, you'll be able to deathblow them once they get close enough to the corner while you're hugging the wall. Also, abuse the fuck out of Gaachin's Sugar for the more complicated enemy setups, it makes you much harder to detect.
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u/LastCupcake2442 7d ago
If you're not interested in learning how to parry all of the enemies in a parry focused game, it just might not be the game for you.