Gauntlet of Strength: Severance | Sekiro Shadows Die Twice Wiki

Video Strategies

Strategy Writeup

NOTE: This boss is capable of using a powerful Mikiri Counter which deals massive (often fatal) damage. As such, it is advised not to use thrust attacks unless Owl is open to counterattacks. Unlike his Hirata counter part however, Shadow Rush will not trigger his mikiri counter.

In phase 1 you want to bait him into doing 3 things. First is the 2x shuriken throw and overhead jump attack. When he does this you want to dodge or deflect the shurikens and sidestep the attack and then counterattack. Running directly behind Owl will allow you to make an extra attack before he is able to block again. Be wary, though: Owl also has an attack where he quickly throws a single shuriken, followed by a devastating sweep that deals high posture damage. Be sure not to confuse the two!

Second, you want to hit him when he tries to hit you with the green cloud that prevents you from healing and buffing. Sidestep and then strike, but make sure you don't get debuffed. You want him to keep doing this maneuver, and he will cease to do so if you get affected. However, the Divine Child of Rejuvenation's Rice is not prevented.

Lastly, you want to bait him into attacking with a two hit attack that starts from his right and then the second will be back to his left. You want to deflect the first strike and then dodge through the second and then punish him. Do not attempt this if the attack begins on his left, as it is much harder to dodge through this combo.

In phase 2 you want to do the same things, only you need to run away when he does the smoke. If you are not debuffed then he will usually try to debuff you here, which is easy to dodge. If you are debuffed, however, you will have to dodge a much stronger attack.

 Alternate strategy: Owl is, like Wolf, without super armor on his special moves. It is possible to use a normal sword swing to knock him out of his jumps, shuriken throw, anti-healing bomb and gunpowder throws. Attacking twice so that the second attack produces the deeper sound (enemy deflects you), then parry one sword swing from him, then repeat. If he attempts a non-sword move he usually will be interrupted by your attack.  It's quite possible to literally push him in a corner and pressure him to death in both phases. This works especially well since he will still try to dash back away from you occasionally, which results in him essentially jumping in place because he's against a wall, giving you some free hits. When your posture is low, back off quickly and block a short while to recharge, then go back in.  You may find this much easier than handling his large repertoire of moves when he is given space.

If you defeat the boss you will see the writing "SHINOBI EXECUTION" upon the screen.

 

 

Attacks & Counters

 

Great Shinobi Owl Lore

Dying to him in combat makes him recite the Iron Code including the third rule: "One! The parent is absolute. Their will must be obeyed. ...Yet I'm sensing some insubordination" "Two! The master is absolute. You give your life to keep him safe. You bring him back at any cost. ...At this rate, you'll lose him again" "Three! Fear is absolute. There is no shame in losing one battle. But you must take revenge by any means necessary! ...I wonder if you've got it in you - to bring me down." 

For other lore not directly related to this boss fight, see the Owl.

Great Shinobi Owl Notes & Trivia

If you attack with a thrust attack or a charged attack from the Loaded Spear prosthetic tool, Owl will mikiri counter it and perform a deathblow on Wolf.

You cannot apply a weapon buff such as Divine Confetti or Bestowal Ninjutsu prior to the fight as Sekiro will automatically sheath his sword when approaching Owl to initiate dialogue. You can however apply buff right in the border of the arena on the outside of the railings. 

Video Strategies

 

 

 

At Mibu Village (Illusion Monk)

The player must fight the single health bar illusion version in Mibu Village of the Ashina Depths to collect the Shelter Stone in order to proceed through the story. She is not an Apparition type enemy, so Divine Confetti will not deal extra damage to her however she is an illusion so, Snap Seed, Fistful of Ash and/or Lazulite Axe can be used to briefly stun her; with that in mind, it is possible to perform stunlocks and prevent any counter attack. If the player has the Phantom Kunai with swarming upgrade, this does a lot of damage. With the tanto to provide another 15 emblems, the Monk can be brought to about 25% health with Phantom Kunai alone. It may still be worth trying without the swarming upgrade. The Snap Seeds can also be used to significantly lower the Monk's health.

In this fight, the Corrupted Monk has a lot of health and takes very little Posture damage. Because of this, the only effective way to defeat her is to chip away her health by attacking when she is wide open, usually after her many swipe attacks. She has two perilous attacks, the sweep can be jumped, and a thrust that can be Mikiri Countered. Also, the Monk tends to use single big moves when Wolf is at mid range, jumping in for one air hit and two ground hits (let the landing cancel the air attack lag), then jumping away to mid range works well.

Many of her attacks have high ending lag, meaning the player can use this to their advantage and deal direct damage as she recovers. She has two jumping attacks one with a sweep and another with an overhead slash, which the player can run below and attack her exposed back; for the overhead slash, the player can also sidestep and strike as she lands.

One of her most dangerous attacks is a upwards slash that goes through Sekiro's defenses, meaning it cannot be blocked; however it can be deflected, though the timing is very precise. Another attack that should be avoided is a continuous spinning attack with the Naginata, which can quickly exhaust Sekiro's Posture gauge; since the area where she is fought is wide open, the player can run away when she performs this attack. She tends to perform this attack when away from the player, and has a higher tendency to do so if the player uses any consumable (such as the Healing Gourd).

The player will receive the Memory: Corrupted Monk and Mibu Breathing Technique Latent Skill upon defeating this boss.

 

At Mibu Village (deathblow strat)

(Works in earlier versions, need to confirm on v1.03) On top of the stairs on the boss stage, right besides the stone door, there are 2 monoliths (one on each side). Get the monk close to one of the monoliths with her back facing it. Use a firecracker to stun/Bait her into a jump attack and run towards the monolith. Jump towards the monolith and use the monolith to double jump backwards towards the monk. Lock on mid air and the aerial deathblow red circle should appear. If done right, you can instantly down her from full health to 0.

(Works with v1.04) Using the same strategy above, but instead jump on the monolith approaches very close to the monk from behind and using Aged Feather Mist Raven combined with Contact Medicine to teleport upwards, the deathblow red circle should then appear.

At Fountainhead Palace (True Monk)

The True Corrupted Monk will be fought at the entrance to the Fountainhead Palace. She must be defeated in order to proceed further into the palace. The boss will have 3 health bars that must be removed to be defeated.

Phase 1

This phase is very similar to her illusion fight at Mibu Village, however, she takes significantly more Posture damage, which makes deflecting far more effective. She also has less health, considering there are 3 health bars. The same strategy of  the Mibu Village fight can be employed here, as she has the same attacks. She tends to use her perilous attacks more often, though; additionally, she doesn't use her whirlwind attack until the third phase.

In this phase and all subsequent ones, she is susceptible to the Shinobi Firecracker, which can be used to briefly stun her; however, this is best used on the third phase.

Phase 2

At the start of this phase, the Corrupted Monk will disappear, and the area will be enveloped by mist. She then proceeds to three shadow illusions of herself to attack the player in rapid succession. The shadows disappear in between attacks, making lock-on difficult. The shadows do not need to be defeated in order to the illusion to be dispelled; the Monk will eventually end the illusion and return to fight the player. However, she may cast the illusion again if the player is unable to deal the second Deathblow swiftly. If you are having trouble avoiding the shadows, killing yourself with a Bite Down pill will instantly dispel them.

It is possible to perform an aerial Deathblow on the Corrupted Monk as she casts or dispels the illusion by positioning Sekiro on the tallest tree near the temple and jumping down when the Corrupted Monk appears in a squatted over position. Doing this will immediately end second phase. This is best done the moment after the player Deathblows her in the first phase, by grappling the nearest tree branch and proceed to grapple to highest branch, located on the left side of the bridge (with your back to the Idol). From there, look down to see the true Monk and standing in the middle of the bridge; if so, plunge attack her from here. This branch is also extremely useful for dodging the spirits she summons during her second phase, as only the first one seems to be able to hit you there, and not often.

The rest of her moveset remains the same as the first phase; so employ the same tactics.

Phase 3

In this phase, a demon centipede will erupt from her body through her neck. She retains most of the moveset from the first phase, but is far more aggressive than before; on the other hand some of her attacks are a bit more telegraphed and predictable. In this phase she tends to use overhead attacks as a finishing move.

Notably, she gains a new perilous attack where the demon centipede spews toxic goo in front of her, which can inflict Terror. It is advised to sidestep or use the jump kick when she uses this and retaliate, as this attack has a quite lengthy ending lag. Another attack involving the centipede is a toxic cloud; however this is not a perilous attack.

In this phase she uses the whirlwind attack seen in her fight at Mibu Village. Simply run away when she starts spinning.

She is very susceptible to the Shinobi Firecracker in this phase. Simply use the Firecracker, hit the Corrupted Monk 3 to 4 times, and use the Firecracker again, essentially stunlocking her.

Living Force with the flamethrower also works very well; the burning state procs easily and does significant posture damage.

After depleting her third bar, make sure to perform both Deathblows when prompted to finish her for good. The player will receive the Memory: True Monk and the Dragon's Tally Board Key Item upon defeating this boss.

"Cheesing" at Fountainhead Place

As of update 1.03 you cannot deathblow the Corrupted Monk at the beginning of the fight. While the fight against Corrupted Monk in Fountainhead Palace isn't a particularly difficult, there's an extremely easy way to deal with the boss by exploiting its AI. If the player grapples the high tree behind the Corrupted Monk, a Deathblow can be used on her, essentially allowing to skip the second phase. This can be done as soon as the second phase starts, as she will disappear to summon her shadow illusions and return to the same starting point when dispelling it.

In the third phase, since Corrupted Monk doesn't gain resistance to "stun" effects like the Shinobi Firecracker and the Fistful of Ash after being hit, you can cheese the boss by stunlocking her with these items and hitting her between them (firecracker, 2 hits, firecracker, 2 hits, firecracker, 2 hits, etc.) until you deplete her posture or health bar.

Attacks & Counters

Corrupted Monk Notes & Trivia

• The illusion version of this boss is one of two bosses that doesn't end with a special execution.
• Upon confronting the Memory: True Monk in order to increase Sekiro's attack power, it is revealed that she was the guardian of the Fountainhead Palace before being possessed, and that her name was Priestess Yao.
• She is based on a Japanese folk story of Yao Bikuni (八百比丘尼, "eight-hundred (years) Buddhist priestess"). The story begins with a fisherman who once caught a strange fish with a human face (Japanese mermaid-like creature called Ningyo, who's flesh is said to grant a long life). He served it's meat to guests, but the guests were wise and hid the meat in their robes to avoid eating it. One man was drunk on sake, and returning home he thoughtlessly gave the meat to his daughter and she ate it. The daughter would later marry, but she stayed young as her husband grew old and died. After marrying and widowing again and again she eventually became a Buddhist nun and wandered various countries. But everyone she knew always died, she came to hate her immortality and her life was filled with emptiness and suffering. At the age of 800 years she finally died despite her immortality, having simply lost the will to live. The story is know as a cautionary tale for those who fear death and wish for eternal life.
• The Corrupted Monk is depicted as wearing a Hannya (般若) mask, often characterized by two sharp horns, metallic eyes, and a leering mouth. The Hannya mask is used in noh and kyōgen Japanese theater, as well as Shinto ritual kagura dances. It portrays the souls of women who have become demons due to obsession or jealousy.
• The Corrupted Monk is found during the beta version of the game, which was playable at E3, Gamescom and TG

Corrupted Monk Lore

• Lore goes here

Video Strategies

 

Strategy Write-Up

During Phase One, Genichiro Way Of Tomoe will take off his armor and become more maneuverable--but he will switch to being primarily concerned with offense and stop defending himself as much. He gains some lightning-charged attacks which can be used against him with the Redirect Lightning skill. If they do hit, they may well one-shot you. He still keeps his bow but he uses it less often. He has a thrust attack where he leaps into the air and launches himself at you sword-first; use a Mikiri Counter when he does this and be sure to punish. Genichiro will swipe 5 times at the player, which the player can avoid using timed Deflects or correctly timed evasions. The swipes cover three quarters of Genichiro's surrounding area--the only open spot to attack is his back left. When he strikes, he will not stop until all 5 swipes are complete.

Sticking close and doing normal attacks, then deflecting once when he parries you (deeper sound), then keep normal swinging. The difference between this Genichiro and the previous armored version is that this one has no super armor on his moves any more. Hitting with a normal attack will knock him out of any aerobatics. Cornering him until his posture breaks is a relatively straightforward way to finish the fight.

His offense is a bit intimidating at first but his reduced defense, vulnerability to a lightning reversal, and his aggressiveness will see you through.

If you defeat the boss you will see the writing "SHINOBI EXECUTION" upon the screen.

Attacks & Counters

 

Genichiro, Way of Tomoe Lore

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Genichiro, Way of Tomoe Notes & Trivia

• When Genichiro "revives" after you first defeat him atop Ashina Castle, one can see that he has become a "Red Eye," type entity--which both the physician Doujun and his master Dosaku are researching in their quest to attain immortality.
  
  
• The blackened portions of Genichiro's body, which are mostly located across his arms and shoulders, are most likely remnants of his training to master the "Lightning of Tomoe," as they correspond to exactly where he channels lightning during his electricity-based attacks.

Video Strategies

 

Strategy Writeup

Phase 1: He will start as Genichiro, Way of Tomoe. The fight will be pretty standard as the 3rd phase near Kuro’s room on the rooftops. Aside from the big, black Mortal blade swings he starts with. You can dodge behind him during the first swing and get easy hits in, staggering his second set of swings. He will lunge, and with enough distance, Mikiri counter makes this fight simple. He only has one Vitality bar, and once you deathblow him, a cutscene will play as Isshin steps out of him.

Isshin Phase 1: He will start a decent distance away from you. His main attacks will be a rather quick. One of his main ones being a double slash with considerable distance. He will sheath his sword and it will flash white, then he will dash and double slash. Deflecting both attacks is an option however, you can run backwards and sprint to the side. Once he slashes he is open for a quick two hits. His main slashes are a three to four hit combo, delaying between each hit. A thrust for an easy Mikiri counter, which will be telegraphed as he will end up in the thrust position before committing. Along with these attacks, he will do a long range wind attack, which can be dodge by running sideways as you can get a couple free hits on him this way as well. And a close range, full screen sweep, giving you just enough time to sprint backwards before it goes off. Once you get the deathblow in phase 1, he may continue to attack for a second before stomping the ground to begin phase 2.

Isshin Phase 2: Phase 2 is a massive difficulty increase from phase 1.Once he stomps the ground, he will do knockback damage, but not Vitality damage. Pulling a spear and swiping it in a tight circle around himself. If timed correctly, you maybe be able to get a hit or two in before he begins his assault. Along with the spear, he will have a short sword with him, along with a rapid fire gun. During this phase, he will keep the wind sweep attack, using it randomly throughout the fight. He will be consistently more aggressive, moving towards you if you make too large of a gap, firing the pistol if the gap gets too large. Making a large gap, you may be able to bait him into using a thrust that can easily be Mikiri countered. He will do large, heavy hitting overheads, usually one after another that can be deflected at the cost of heavy posture damage. Dodging sideways as he descends from the overhead, you can easily dodge the hit and get a few hits in yourself. After Isshin deflects one of your blows, sometimes he will jump backwards and make a sweep at you with his spear. Right as he does this, dodging into the attack (towards him) will allow you to get several hits on him as well. Be careful doing this, as he may do another overhead directly after. Dodging can keep distance, as much as he may spam the gun, is the easiest way to bait him into thrusting, easy overhead dodges, and breaking his posture overall. NOTE: Using the Loaded Umbrella will save you from taking ANY vitality or posture damage if you are struggling to dodge/deflect some of the perilous attacks (unless he is using lightning, which doesn't come until phase 3) AND Isshin will take considerable posture damage if you are using the umbrella to deflect!! You can use the umbrella to help cheese your way through if other means are not working for you. Deathblow on this phase will move him into phase 3.

Isshin Phase 3: Almost the same as phase 2, except he has three new attacks. One being a large swing, in which he covers his spear in lightening and swings it at you. You will want to get close when he does this and jump, as to deflect it directly back at him for big Vitality and posture damage, along with a flurry of free hits. His second attack will be similar to his phase 1 long range wind attack, the main difference is instead of it being vertical, it will be more of a distance slash attack. Third new attack will be adding lightning damage to his large overhead attacks. You can deflect the lightning, although the timing can be difficult. Strategy will be the same as his phase 2 fight. Bait out the Mikiri counter along with his lightning attack, and this phase should go smoother than phase 2. Upon giving him the final deathblow, do not miss the Mortal Blade deathblow, or you will have to go at his third phase again.

If you defeat the boss you will see the writing "IMMORTALITY SEVERED" upon the screen.

 

Attacks & Counters

 

Isshin, The Sword Saint Lore

• The reason why this younger version of Isshin appears is due to Genichiro using the Black Mortal Blade on himself, as a sacrifice, to bring his grandfather back from the underworld. As described by the Black Scroll key item, the Black Mortal Blade: "is said to hold the power to open a gate to the underworld. It is through this power that it creates life."
  
  
• Why this younger version of Isshin chooses to fight you, rather than let you go, can be surmised in the dialogue right before the fight: Genichiro has used the blade to bind Isshin to his final wish, which is to bring glory to the Ashina Clan and win the war (by getting the blood of the Heir) where he could not.

 

Isshin, The Sword Saint Notes & Trivia

• Voice Actor: Andre Sogliuzzo (English), Tetsuo Kanao (Japanese)

• The Japanese honorary title of Kensei (剣聖) is only given to a warrior of legendary skill in swordsmanship. The literal translation of kensei is "sword saint", which implies a higher degree of perfection and moral dimension than the more commonly used "sword master" (剣豪, kengo). The title is not to be confused with the term "swordsman" (剣士, kenshi).