Isshin Ashina |
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|---|---|
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| Location | Ashina Castle |
| Weakness | Shinobi Firecracker Mortal Draw |
| Reward | Memory: Isshin Ashina Combat Art: One Mind |
| XP | NG: 10000 NG+: 20000 NG++: 30000 |
Isshin Ashina (葦名一心, Ashina Isshin) is a Boss in Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice. This Complete Isshin Ashina Boss Guide gives you strategies on how to beat Isshin easily, as well as tips, tricks and lore notes. Bosses like Isshin are special, dangerous Enemies that feature a special display on-screen when defeated, such as "Immortality Severed" or "Shinobi Execution". You will need to perform multiple Deathblows on them in order to defeat them, and filling their Posture Gauge is the only way to accomplish this. However, decreasing their health will make it so their Posture Gauge depletes more slowly, assisting you in accomplishing this feat.
Isshin Ashina Location
Where to find Isshin Ashina in Sekiro?
- See Isshin Ashina for the NPC version, and Isshin, the Sword Saint for another ending fight.
- Ashina Castle: Isshin is fought at the top of Ashina Castle, directly after Emma, the Gentle Blade fight. If killed by Isshin or Emma, you will have to fight Emma again to reach him.
- This boss is not optional, but is only encountered in the Shura ending.
- See Endings for information on how to trigger this fight.
Isshin Ashina Rewards
What do you get from defeating Isshin Ashina in Sekiro?
- Memory: Isshin Ashina
- Combat Art: One Mind
- 10,000 / 12,000 (without Kuro's Charm) Exp (NG)
- 20,000 / 24,000 Exp (NG+)
- 30,000 / 36,000 Exp (NG+2)
- 90,000 / 108,000 Exp (NG+7 and beyond)
Isshin Ashina Boss Guide Strategies
Sekiro Isshin Ashina Video Strategies
Sekiro Isshin Ashina Strategy Writeup
Phase 1: Deflect Isshin's standard attacks and follow up with your own attack. Most of his attacks are slower than Emma's so be sure to adjust to the slower pace of this fight. He likes to use Ichimonji and Ichimonji Double often so be ready to deflect it to gain a window to counter attack him or dodge to the side and punish (the second strike is interruptible). Since the Ichimonji Double has such a long windup phase it is possible to get one or two hits in before dodging/countering. When Isshin puts away his sword and it gleams he will do Ashina Cross, so run away and counter attack him near the end of the attack. Alternatively, if the player is somewhat close he will do a slice attack followed by a sweep. To counter, parry as soon as he draws his sword from its sheath and then jump over the subsequent sweep attack. There's a loop players can get Isshin in by swinging at him once, he will avoid and spin slash you. Players should swing watch for his counter then dodge backwards and counter attack. He will follow up with a dash swing and players can repeat this semi regularly. Be careful as he likes to grab and thrust often. Occasionally, Isshin may do a sweeping attack after a slash dodge backwards or jump over it and attack his posture. Isshin also has a grab, which he will occasionally do after he dodges. Dash or jump away. Or both.
Phase 2: In this phase the same tactics of Phase 1 will work but we must adapt to the new fire attacks and the onslaught of slashes. After the deathblow to enter phase 2, players have a moment which they can use Ichimonji double to damage Isshin's posture. When Isshin brings his sword up vertically with a raised leg he will step create fire and slash sending a firewave outwards. Pick a direction and rotate around him rushing to get a counter attack in once the attack is over. At times, if you are early you may get nipped by the sword. When Isshin sword is parallel to the floor he will engulf the whole room in fire. There are a few safe spots scattered about. Usually run to a corner and avoid the glowing spots. Prepare yourself to deflect a 1 swing, series of slashes, and a final slash. They all can be deflected which will grant players a window to attack if done right. Players can prevent his attack by using Shinobi Firecrackers, Flame Vent, or Mortal Draw as he is starting the attack. If you see Isshin stomp the ground quickly pick a direction and run as he will send a vertical firewave to your location. Players can circle back and attack him once safely.
If you defeat the boss you will see the writing "SHINOBI EXECUTION" upon the screen.
Sekiro Isshin Ashina Strategy 2 (Mist Raven)
Phase 1: Treat it like a normal sword fight, similar to Emma. There's a few moves in particular to watch out for
- If you start an attack and he dodges it, get ready to deflect, otherwise he will immediately hit you. Because of this, it's unwise to start a skirmish with him with a combo, stick with a single attack.
- When his sword gleams preparing for the Ashina Cross attack, sprint far away from him in a wide arc. The moment it finishes, continue your sprint towards him and punish him. This move is very difficult to deflect correctly.
- When he prepares to do the Ichimonji chop, wait a moment and then use the Mist Raven to teleport behind him for 1-3 free hits. Because of it's delayed onset, this might be tricky. Running directly away from it is also an option, as is dodging to the side.
- If you need to heal, run around him until he opens a combo or the Ashina Cross. When it finishes, you have time to heal without being punished.
- His grab is similar to Emma's and can be difficult. It has a slow onset but a huge range. You could jump over it and slash him, but the timing is tricky. You need to jump straight up and then press forward slightly so that Sekiro lands right behind Isshin. It's much safer to run/jump away from it as soon as you can, but jumping over the grab allows for a couple of free hits so it's worth it to get the timing down. If it does hit you, roll towards him when you get up so you can punish him from behind if he follows up with a slice (this also applies to Emma)
Phase 2: Just like phase one only now you have to counter the fire moves
- When he does the vertical chop that sends flames outwards, immedately sprint/jump to the right or left. This attack has unlimited horizontal range so never run directly away from it.
- When he fills the whole arena up with fire, run to a spot with no fire. He will then send flames upwards and prepare to attack you. Wait until the moment before he dashes towards you and use the Mist Raven to teleport near him (try to teleport to a spot without fire). Wait for him to finish his ball of swords move, then punish him.
If you use Mist Raven correctly, phase 2 is actually easier because many of the fire attacks can be easily punished.
Sekiro Isshin Ashina Attacks & Counters
| Attack | Counter |
| Phase 1 | |
| See Isshin, the Sword Saint | for most of the moves . he will not use any combat arts besides Ashina Cross |
| Dodge Attack |
If you Attack Isshin while he is in a neutral stance, he will dodge and attack |
| Grab |
Dash or jump away |
| Phase 2 | |
| Fire Attacks | Circle behind him and use ichimonji double. |
| Fire Eruption/One Mind | if you see him get in the stance, you have a few options. find a safe spot and deflect one mind, or interrupt him with either Flame Vent, Shinobi Firecrackers, Mortal Draw, or Ichimonji |
Isshin Ashina Dialogue
“Sekiro... You were a most unkind and inauspicious man... but for some reason I could not bring myself to hate you. It seems... I must cut you down before you fall to Shura.” Upon defeating Emma, the Gentle Blade.
”Shura... I never did think... I’d have to kill your kind again!” At the beginning of the fight.
”......... Sekiro... It was not... to be...” Upon his defeat.
Isshin Ashina Notes & Trivia
- The samurai facing the general with the spear in the opening cutscene of the game is actually Isshin twenty years earlier.
- While the One Mind skill is not required for the "Height of Technique" trophy/achievement, Isshin Ashina must still be fought if you wish to acquire all trophies; namely for the "Shura" ending trophy and the "Man Without Equal" trophy for beating every boss in the game.
Isshin Ashina Image Gallery
[images go here]
AnonymousSomething they should definitely add to the notes:This guy is immune to fire. And I mean IMMUNE. I doused him in oil 3 times then did a fully charged Okinaga 3 times, still not ablaze. Not even living force works against this guy.
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This was a pretty tough fight but the narrative outcome is such a bummer it keeps it from even being satisfying really. I went the Shura route on NG+ to get the achievement, probably won't revisit it.
Grab attacks in this game are so infuriating >:(
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Loaded umbrella makes his eruption/one mind combo useless turtle is non fire spot, spin initial slash, spin flurry slash, spin final slash and use projected force for nice damage and posture
- Anonymous
For his eruption plus one mind combo use loaded umbrella at magnet or higher, turtle in safe spot, one spin first hit, one spin flurry, one spin follow up and counter with projected force for nice damage.
- Anonymous
Whoever said to use Dragon Flash in his second phase is a genius lmao. Of course that's keeping in mind you can get him to phase 2, which is relatively easy. I kept on being aggressive to interrupt his Cross and deflected well enough. Used three gourds.
Anyways in phase 2, Isshin walks like a turtle so you can just run away from his old ass and spam Dragon Flash. I didn't use any sugar, but was still able to drop his health to 0 with 19 emblems and ceremonial tanto. It was my first time using the flash though, so I released it a bit early a couple of times.
- Anonymous
Ending SPOILERS
Even though it's the bad ending I think this one had the biggest emotional impact imo, the desperation Emma and Isshin show in trying to stop you, and the narration at the end drives home that, unlike other Fromsoft endings that might be ambiguous or open to interpretation, this is an actual bad ending, and the land and people are doomed because of your actions.
- Anonymous
Half-baked copy paste boss in a shitty arena. Fromsoft should have had more time to develop this game :(
- Anonymous
Got curious with this boss, so i backup my save, picked shura ending, and was able to beat him on my first playthrough (Attack Power 8). This is by far the best challenge ive faced, especially the 2nd phase - no cheese strat whatsoever, just pure deflect and dodge.
- Anonymous
crazy how people are saying owl father is a bad copy pasted boss, even tho the first phase of this fight is just the first phase of the sword saint fight, but missing 2 moves, and owl father has like 2 shinobi owl moves
- Anonymous
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Playing hyper-aggressively here work's especially well, but you still need to have a keen eye for when he's about to dodge. If he's slowly walking sideways, the next attack you throw out will be dodged, so prepare to immediately parry. A good strategy is to perform a thrust if he's remaining idle.
Aside from that, even in his third phase he can be interrupted so incredibly easily, you don't even need fire crackers.
For his flaming Ichimonji, you can dodge to the side and immediately throw and shuriken and follow up with a chasing slice. He will not go through with the follow-up AOE slash. For his trail of fire attack, shuriken him when he stomps, he will also refuse to do the follow up, and will end his attack at the stomp. Seize this opportunity by performing a chasing slice to continue pressure. If he does one mind, you can slap him out of it in the windup or deflect his double slash after the wind-up then immediately counter with a counter-slash to stagger him. Be wary of the erupting flames on the ground. His perilous sweep with flames is really the only one that can't be interrupted with a shuriken here.
- Anonymous
Suzaku's Lotus Umbrella just trivializes the second phase of the fight. Without it the you'll be most likely disintegrated in just one combo.
Isshin and Iroh were close friends,that's why he is a powerful firebender
- Anonymous
It's a beautiful day outside. Birds are singing, flowers are blooming...
On days like these, shinobi like you. . . Should be burning in hell.
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If you're on ng+ beat his first phase then for the second phase run to the edge of the arena and use dragon flash and repeat until this geezer dies
This takes literally no skill and trivializeses the entire second phase
- Anonymous
Mist raven to dodge his ultra mega fire shippuden combo of death
- Anonymous
I think its always individual, but for me its the hardest boss i dunno why I suddenly cant deflect any attacks :D maybe i have hard time because im on ng+ but its just impossible one mistake = death, i cant survive any combo to heal and even if i go to heal he follows with some more attacks. 24 tries and only one time got to phase 2 lololol and always death with 10 flasks cause there is no space to heal :D
- Anonymous
I would always dodge Emma's grab simply by jumping or dodging away, but Isshin's comes out so much faster that it just doesn't work, so now I have to unlearn all the muscle memory I built up. Actually, I still haven't been able to dodge it, do I have to dodge to the side? Or is the timing just really strict? What the hell do I do?
- Anonymous
Bro complains that I am becoming Shura, only to start using fire based attacks?
man the double standards of this man, I'm glad i stole one mind, the ability that he has been perfecting throughout his lifetime
- Anonymous
After the battle, owl: "ThAt ToOk a WhiLe"
Why didn't you help then you pos?
- Anonymous
If you go down the honor path this battle gets tiresome. Just rush Emma with Mortal Draw and Yashariku, then consume Rice, Red Lump and Divine Confetti. Both phases of Isshin will be over is less than 2 minutes. Mortal Draw stuns lock Isshin and delivers major damage in combination with Yashariku y Divine Confetti, even though you're on risk of getting one shot he's unable to move.
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Undoubtly people here will scoff at that, but beating this old geezer was the closest fight in the game. Had him on a sliver of health with no poise built at all, with no healing left and a single spirit emblem to my name. Tense as hell moments dodging and parrying his moves until he finally did his One Mind, blocking it with the fire umbrella, then hitting him with it for the win. No idea why, but he gave me way more trouble than Sword Saint.
- Anonymous
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Kinda wack boss if I'm being honest. Sword Saint felt eons better than this version
- Anonymous
How is this old withered geezer tougher than his younger self summoned through time and space???
- Anonymous
If you’re going for Shura Ending, my advice is to progress through the game until you acquire 2 rice and the sweet rice ball (see Dragon's Homecoming Ending).
Then make a backup save right BEFORE talking to Owl. You have just one chance to use the rice items.
For Emma: Ako candy, Red Lump and Rice (let the sweet rice ball for Isshin). Combat Art: Whirlwind Slash.
Put the items in the quick menu for fast usage and use them in that order. Start attacking with Whirlwind Slash asap. Don’t give her a break. Ako candy will give you an attack boost, red lump allow you to keep attacking when you get hit (and you will), and rice will continually heal you.
If you die, quit the game and load the backup save.
Now, for Isshin: Red Lump and Rice (I suggest let Sweet rice ball for second phase). I tried to use an Ako candy, but Isshin never gave me time. Combat Art: Empowered Mortal Draw.
Spank him, for good. Old man hits hard, but he's also slow and most of his attacks will be interrupted by Mortal Draw. His first phase is easy (imo), and for the second phase, use the rice or sweet rice ball left. Don’t let him go away, keep on tracking him and spank him.
It took me 3 attempts to finally beat him. I hope it could help someone.
- Anonymous
The attack that fills the arena with flames, I found it's best to interrupt with firecrackers. Otherwise you have to dodge the fire, and his followup attacks. That strategy got me through the fight.
I love the Isshin, the Sword Saint boss fight but god ****ing damn do I ****ing hate this one
Coming from Sword Saint Isshin this fight feels a bit underwhelming
- Anonymous
This is my favorite boss in the game. The music is awesome, the first phase eases you into the fight, then you start the hard part after the first phase. He's fast, fun, and challenging.
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Using the mortal blade as much as possible got me through this
- Anonymous
He's hard and his fire spam is truly stressful, but at least he doesn't have his trusty flintglock pistol
- Anonymous
the second phase theme is king of a mix of demon of hatred and sword saint, i like it
- Anonymous
You can dodge his One Mind attack reliably by finding a safe zone in the fire, waiting for him to approach (the attack never strikes early no matter how near or far you are from his starting point), then dodging forward and left behind him just as the fire dies down. Keep a distance behind him, as the invisible sword slashes actually cover a small area behind him, and stay away from his sides because his follow-through has wide range and decent tracking. THEN you can punish him with an axe to the skull.
- Anonymous
The shinobi axe does great damage to him on the first playthrough, I couldn't have beat him without it. After deflecting Ichimonji is a good time to hit him with the full axe combo, as well as at the start of each phase. In phase 2 you can hit him with the axe after dodging his fire blast or dodging the hit after his new flaming Ichimonji.
- Anonymous
Just finished the boss fight with Isshin Ashina in NG+.
Emma was pretty straightforward, just basically deflect most of what she throws at you and you can posture break her after like a minute or two.
Isshin phase 1 was a bit trickier, since the timing of his attacks is very different compared to other bosses in the game. But once i got the timing down i could perfect parry most of what he does.
Isshin phase 2 took the most time. It felt similarly as annoying as the Demon of Hatred, because it felt like i could only block or parry like 50% of his attacks. For all the big fire attacks I had to run around pretty much all of them, because blocking or even slightly mis-timing the dodge meant that i'd get hit with a burn status. The firecracker trick helped a lot to avoid his most damaging fire attack.
Overall, I agree with some of the other commenters here that phase 2 of this boss is harder than sword saint or owl (father).
- Anonymous
Wtf is happening with me. Currently on ng+3 and looking for Shura ending but I have died to this old bastard more than geni or sword Saint on first try. Hell I didn't even died to a single boss in ng+1 and 2 other than enemy mobs. Even Inner isshin and inner geni didn't took me more than 3 attempts. Wtf is going on is it just me or the second phase is wiping the floor with someone else. Emma sucked on first two tries
but her only bs move was that modified ashina cross which has no indication of deflection timing(like the second blink in case of normal ashina cross) but I use umbrella and it was fine overall. Isshin phase 1 is literally sword Saint phase 1 pretty easy I have no hits on that but phase 2 man is it bs or what? Ichimonji followed by a fire slash and one mind is just wiping me down. I will win it soon I know but I feel like **** dying so many times without knowing the proper way to counter these piercing attacks.
- Anonymous
His second phase has the most difficulty increase of any bosses. Phase 1 is like no brainer only thing that can punish you badly is failed ichimonji deflect. Second phase however is when real fun begins. Can't even imagine deflecting his entire one mind. And that ichimonji with flames it's somewhat hard too. But in my case fire umbrella does the trick just make sure your posture is not half full. Shadow rush is also very effective to the point it's cheesing. As per Emma floating passage takes her down in no time.
- Anonymous
I'd like something adding to the trivia:
One of Isshin's attacks is a reference/homage to a manga named "Shigurui". A character named Irako Seigen develops a technique named "Mumyou Sakanagare", which is the same stance and techique Isshin uses. https://i.imgur.com/lJaddXS.png
- Anonymous
I can't believe that nobody has noticed that Ishin is using the Chaos Blade.
- Anonymous
Old Man: is sick
Also Old Man: walks barefoot on burning ground
- Anonymous
I really like how different Isshin Ashina is from Sword Saint. He old and sick, so he has to maximize his energy and make very deliberate precise movements, like his uber sidestep dodge. Sword Saint is Isshin in his prime, young god running loose with the Blade mortal blade going buck wild and jumping all over the place with a belly full of Monkey Booze.
- Anonymous
from following there tradition of every game having a fight against a sad old man
- Anonymous
When he's charging up for the big flame-plume attack, hit him with fireworks and it will halt the whole thing and leave him vulnerable
- Anonymous
If you're in second or third play through for Shura Ending.. Use Dragon Flash with Yashariku Sugar or Ako Sugar (Dont do spiritfalls because in need of spirit emblems) with Divine Confetti.. Which will deplete his Vitality in no time.. And stunlock him most part.. Just run around and dragonflash him.. Before the battle use ceremonial tanto for extra spirit emblem buff...
- Anonymous
Good job, guys. We murdered the talented, hot doctor, and her terminally ill war hero patient. [slow clap.]
- Anonymous
During Ishhin’s second phase, as the flames are rising if you throw phantom shurikens at him he won’t do the rush attack. Other shurikens probably work as well, but I didn’t test it
- Anonymous
Just finished beating him, he was the last boss I needed to kill towards to playinum trophy on PS4. Even though the game lags as***** took me about 3 hours to do this. On Emma, it's all about staying close, dodging left side and using the Ichimonji: Double. First phase: Bait him with R1 (he will dodge it) then dodge left and use whirlwind slash followed by another R1 baiting him, repeated that the whole phase. Second phase: firecrackers + Mortal draw 3-4 times and then kept running around the area waiting for him to use the fire attacks and randomly hitting him.
- Anonymous
I just beat him with 14 attack power in NG+3 charmless/demon bell. Some things I learned. Emma? Way more a threat than Genichiro in my opinion. Be defensive but close to her, aim the perfect deflects, jump and mikiri counters then hit back twice or thrice to damage her posture, hit her vitality during her grab or after her ashina cross. Be careful, make distance before a heal, she will often break it with a distant thrust attack. Isshin? Be very patient, and almost never hit back after a deflect (or just once), conversely to his first phase saint version. Be prepared to deflect after attacking first, because he will block it or even dodge it with a wonderful step on the side! Unlike his saint version too, let him do his ashina cross to hit him in the back because he seems to have way more posture than the saint version. So you should favor decreasing his vitality over posture. In consequence, prefer to dodge his Ichimonji (true also for his fire version), even if it is tempting to deflect it. He is wide open after this move, the best Opportunity among his combos to hit his vitality. Finally when he triggers his final phase, he is without defense, at all! So this is a good time to charge (maintain L1+R1) your empowered mortal blade twice! He will take the hits, then continue with 4 uncharged mortal blade, and that's it, almost 1/3 of his vitality gone (even with only 14 attack power in NG+3, so probably OP with 50 attack!)! He seems to be very sensitive to the mortal blade, he loses his balance each time, and you can interrupt all his big moves with it. Best boss in the game for me, the music is my favorite one, and this is the most "samurai" of all boss fights. You will need your full concentration and deflects on point. Be careful with the grab attack of Isshin, very difficult to predict and dodge! Step back or run away, jumping didn't get me far enough! Good luck on your way of Shura!
- Anonymous
I've got a question you guys, If you look at the cutscene at the begining of this fight, Isshin seems to have a scar on his stomach, my friend thinks it comes from a seppuku attempt, anyone has info on this ?
- Anonymous
Damn, on NG++ after beating sword saint, demon of hatred, and owl father twice, this one is giving me the most trouble out of every boss in the game. i don’t know what it is but even my NG+ with demon bell didn’t give me nearly as much trouble. it may be because i’m doing this run without the charm but man is it kicking my ass
- Anonymous
Ichimonji: Double on Emma, dodge and hit Isshin phase one then I saved firecracker for phase 2 and also used a divine grass. I tried the Lotus Umbrella first but didn't get much luck so I just used firecracker in the end.
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On an unrelated note, IDK if Isshin grew anymore height-wise in the last 20 years, but if the in-game character scale is to be believed, then General Tamura was a huge ass man. Probably the same size as Yao.
- Anonymous
I came through in NG++ using Double Ichi on Emma and Shadow Rush on Isshin (both phases), used the tanto twice and in the final phase used the Dragon's Blood Droplet after my resurrection was blocked. I found Owl Father much more difficult. Being 56 years old, my reflexes might not be as good as they were, so I need to concentrate on patience and strategy ;-)
- Anonymous
Comment below is regarding Isshin Ashina phase 2, not the entire fight.
- Anonymous
First time attempting this boss on NG+3, what worked very easily was, shinobi firecracker following by two sword hits and repeat. I used the ceremonial tanto at the beginning of the fight, to have 25 spirit emblems and was able to finish the fight with 3 left, so this should work at 20 spirit emblems at NG no problem.
- Anonymous
Phase 2 of Isshin is really easy if you use suzakus lotus umbrella, without heal you dont take damage and you dont need really timing
EZ Mortal Draw Cheese, it cancels ALL of his big attacks, just don’t get greedy
This is the proper first ending of a save tbh, it makes the subsequent playthrough seem like Sekiro was dreaming it all while dead and now he’s trying to avoid the Shura Path at any cost
I'm under the impression that the old Isshin Ashina could easily beat the shoot out of Genichiro if only he wanted to... He just doesn't, for some unknown reason. Genichiro is not that hard to beat. And Isshin (as The Tengu) has killed so many Interior Ministry Ninjas like it's nothing.
- Anonymous
I feel like Emma's fight was deliberately designed to throw you into the short-term habit of being extremely aggressive and applying pressure, which is exactly the kind of thing that will get you killed very quickly with Isshin.
- Anonymous
It’s crazy that FromSoftware was able to make 2 completely different fights with the Sam character. Also Shura ending best ending RIP Owl though.
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The fact that Sekiro actually smiled a little after killing Emma really set up the mood doesn't it?
I feel people misunderstand the move where he puts away his sword. I might misunderstand it too, but this is the way I think it works. If you're right in front of him when he sheaths his sword, he'll always go into a slash and then a sweep, both of which can be countered easily if you know the timing. If you're farther away and he charges for a bit, then you need to run further, since then he'll go into the dash swing. The difference between these attacks just depends on your proximity to him.
- Anonymous
basically is Sword Saint phase 1 and Sword Saint phase 1 with some fire. If you can get down Sword Saint you can down this older version with little problem.
- Anonymous
Why didn't Isshin himself become shura? He was a killing machine after all.
- Anonymous
when he is about to attack with the ichimonji double you can dodge left on both attacks leaving him open for a heavy attack
- Anonymous
As usual, the last boss is the most intense and beatifull. But isshin is not the hardest boss. Hatred Demon is. Hatred is the one that dissonates the most from the hole game, making it the hardest to get the timing right. It is more dark souls boss style, but even if you're used to it, you'll still have a hard time adapting again, since you're so into the sekiro's game style.
- Anonymous
All the difficulty placed behind two tedious phases so you can't practice the actual fight, wow, great game design
- Anonymous
During phase 2 when he raises fire from the floor over the entire arena, use the Suzaku Umbrella and stand somewhere where no embers are flashing. Keep holding until his combo ends and then use Projected Force. This negates all of the damage during his attack and does quite a chunk to his vitality and posture.
- Anonymous
You dont need to run from him when he does ashina cross. Instead if you run towards him, he will hit you with the hilt then do a sweep. Parry the hilt and jump counter the sweep. More efficient than running away.
- Anonymous
At the start of the fight he said, "Shura, I never did think I would have to kill your kind AGAIN". Now how awesome it would be if they would release a DLC where we could get a chance to confront that previous Shura, with us fighting side by side with Isshin (as what he said implied he at least had a hand in the downfall of that Shura). Would be really epic imo.
- Anonymous
He has an unblockable where he swings his sword sideways at you. I can't mikiri counter it, jump over it and it's definitely not a grab. What gives?
- Anonymous
You can use Ichimonji: Double to punish almost all of his openings, and it completely wrecks him. Only took 7 or 8 to fill his posture each phase on NG+.
- Anonymous
Ok..so use the dagger to get plus 5 uses,throw oil on emma(not the sexy kind) give her a quick basic blast from your flame thrower and if you have living weapon you set her on fire only after two swings letting you get her to half health no prob..then beat phase 1 if isshin with just sword play...and then dragon slash his 2nd phase into the floor..give him a taste of his own medicine!!!
- Anonymous
Hardest boss in the game by far. I'd rather fight Sword Saint version than phase 2 of this fight.
- Anonymous
Seriously tho, this boss may not be as hard as Sword Saint but damn is he stylish.
- Anonymous
the hardest part of this fight is watching Emma deathblow animation over and over to get to it
- Anonymous
Tell me whatever you want,phase 2 isshin hardest boss in the game On any ng Sword saint,demon and owl are joke compared to him.
- Anonymous
NANOMACHINES, SON! THEY HARDEN IN RESPONSE TO SHURA PRESENCE!
- Anonymous
aww do you have to do betray Kuro questline to acquire One Mind? That skill reminded me of Vergil's swordplay
- Anonymous
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You get this Boss if you choose to betray the divine Heir and help the Owl
When Isshin sheaths his sword and readies his Ashina cross, it's better to trigger his counter attack (by moving forwards), parry his attack and follow it up with a charged thrust. If you failed to parry it, you can just dodge backwards and do the charge attack. Albeit, the timing is a bit tight but works consistently once it clicks.
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