Demon of Hatred |
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| Location | Ashina Outskirts |
| Deathblows Required | 3 |
| Weakness | Malcontent Divine Confetti Suzaku's Lotus Umbrella |
| Reward | Memory: Hatred Demon Lapis Lazuli 15,000 Exp (NG) 18,750 Exp (NG+) 28,125 Exp (NG++) |
| XP | NG: 15000 NG+: 18750 NG++: 28125 |
Demon of Hatred (怨嗟の鬼, Demon of Resentment, Ensa no Oni) is a Boss in Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice. This Complete Demon of Hatred Boss Guide gives you strategies on how to beat the Demon of Hatred easily, as well as tips, tricks, weaknesses and lore notes. Bosses are special 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, with this generally accomplished by filling their Posture Gauge or depleting their health. Decreasing their health will make it so their Posture Gauge depletes more quickly, while depleting their health bar entirely will open them up to a Deathblow, as well.
Sekiro Demon of Hatred
The Demon of Hatred is what becomes of a specific NPC once he is consumed by the immense wrath and bloodlust burning within him. Though the NPC failed to become the Shura of legend due to Isshin's intervention, he has transformed into a powerful Demon (鬼, Oni). For the sake of Ashina and its people, it must be dealt with.
Demon of Hatred Location
The Demon of Hatred is located in Ashina Outskirts after returning from the Divine Realm and having defeated the Divine Dragon. Make your back way to the portion of Ashina Outskirts where you faced General Naomori Kawarada. Once there, interact with the Sculptor's Idol surrounded by flames to be transported to the boss arena: Flames of Hatred, an enclosed battlefield where the boss Gyoubu Oniwa was originally fought. This boss is optional.
Demon of Hatred Rewards
What do you get from defeating Demon of Hatred in Sekiro?
- Memory: Hatred Demon
- 2 x Lapis Lazuli
- 15,000 / 18,000 (without Kuro's Charm) Exp (NG)
- 18,750 / 22,500 Exp (NG+)
- 28,125 / 33,750 Exp (NG+2)
- 84,375 / 101,250 Exp (NG+7 and beyond)
Demon of Hatred Boss Guide Strategies
Sekiro Demon of Hatred Video Strategies
Sekiro Demon of Hatred How to Fight, How to Beat, and Cheese
BEFORE ANYTHING: MALCONTENT is an upgrade to the Finger Whistle, and when used will stun the boss, for enough time to remove roughly 1/4 of his actual vitality with regular sword strikes, and this can be repeated up to THREE TIMES before becoming ineffective. Similarly, using Suzaku's Lotus Umbrella can help BLOCK A MAJORITY of both FIRE and PHYSICAL attacks done by this boss.
This fight will be a test of endurance; the boss's Posture meter is roughly the same as its vitality meter. As such, take any opportunities you can to attack but do not feel like you have to rush it. You will most likely deplete the full vitality bar before a Posture break.
For the duration of the fight, stay as close to the boss's leading leg as possible. Remaining close to the leg and sprinting around it counter-clockwise will avoid most of his attacks. The main exceptions to this are his leaping explosion attack, and his Perilous attack (which may still be avoided by circling around). Luckily, both of these can easily be avoided. The explosion can be avoided by sprinting directly away as he leaps and grappling back during the aftershock, and succesfully landing a hit immediately after grappling will sometimes stun the boss, leaving it vulnerable to a couple of free hits. The Perilous attack can be avoided simply by jumping, as you will only be hit if you are on the ground. Using the distance created by the Perilous attack, he may do one of three things; a vertical slash towards you, a slash at the ground, or a swath of fireballs.
Both the ground slash and fireballs can be avoided by sprinting directly at the demon with a slight focus on his leading leg. The fireballs can also be avoided by running away from the demon. If you run back at the boss after the first volley, he will throw a second. He often uses his fireball attack directly after his perilous attack. The vertical slash has a longer startup, allowing you to react and sprint to the right side to continue pushing towards his leg. If during your attack he prepares a stomp and you don't feel confident that you can dodge or sprint out of the way, block it. The demon is not fast enough to break your posture in most cases and you will take no vitality damage from blocking anything that does not have fire damage.
After the first Deathblow, he will crouch and remain stationary for a time. Your attacks will not deal damage during this, and there will be a minor explosion at the end that will deal knock-back but no vitality damage. However, with proper spacing, you can run in after the explosion and get in a hit or two before he leaps back. The rest of the second phase is much like the first, with the exception that the vertical slash now has fire that spreads on both sides. This fire can be avoided by jumping immediately after the slash connects with the ground, or preemptively as the slash now opens up an opportunity to grapple back to the demon in a similar manner to his leaping explosion. Avoiding the slash itself will work the same as the first phase. Aside from this, the second phase is much like the first with extra damage.
The second Deathblow will trigger the third phase immediately, allowing you to get more hits in this time around. The third phase introduces some new attacks; a Perilous attack that creates a ring of fire around both of you and a follow-up Perilous attack, a second Perilous attack added to his initial Perilous dash, and homing fireballs similar to the Shichimen Warrior, albeit faster for this boss. The new Perilous attack is a slash and can be avoided by jumping over both initial slashes (made easier if you flip off of the demon) and jumping over the follow-up Perilous attack.
The main trouble with this attack is not the slashes, but the limited arena space you now have to work with. (NOTE: You can avoid the ring of fire completely by running far away from him at the beginning of the phase). Touching the ring will build up the burn status and knock you back, limiting your ability to avoid the boss's attacks for a short time. He will commonly follow this up with his dashing Perilous attack, sometimes choosing to immediately do another dash Perilous back into the circle, and sometimes attacking from outside the circle. It will disappear after a short time, allowing you to once again make use of the entire arena. His other new attack, the homing fireballs, will deal heavy damage and Burn status with the possibility of knocking you down and preventing you from getting back up until death. The best strategy for this attack is to be as close to the demon as possible and circle around in either direction. Continue to do this until he slams his foot down and poses, signaling that he is finished with the attack and is now open to be hit.
Sekiro Demon of Hatred Attacks, Indicators & Counters
| Attack | Indicator | Counter |
| Phase 1 | ||
| Unblockable Attacks | ||
| Explosive Body Slam | Fire spreads to his entire body. Everything will be brighter. He will crouch down to ready the jump. | Finish any attacks to completion (you have a decent amount of time). Sprint away, making sure to not get caught on walls, barriers or trees. After he lands, wait a second before grappling back to guarantee a double aerial attack. Alternatively, use Suzaku Lotus Umbrella to block the slam on the spot. Hold it until the smoke shockwave passes, then counter with living force. The slam counts as a projectile, which causes the umbrella to smoke and empowers the next living force attack. |
| Hand Drag Charge | Danger Indicator and sound will show. His right hand go back and down to the ground. | Jump as soon as possible (backwards if you can) and begin running towards him to try to avoid follow-up ranged attacks. |
| Ranged Attacks | ||
| Fire Whip Slam | Only occurs at range. His left hand will raise up and back. | Continue sprinting forward and angle left to avoid attack. |
| Double Fire Throw | Only occurs at medium range. His left hand will pull back. | Hope you're close enough already to duck under the first one. If you're about to be hit, try to deflect to mitigate some damage. The second throw is smaller but closer to him, so don't walk forward if the first one hit. Alternatively, if you have the Suzaku's Lotus Umbrella prosthetic, you can avoid taking damage from the fireballs altogether by quickly activating it as soon as you see the windup. |
| Fireball Summon | Only occurs at range. Both hands will go up and will start waving. | Run sideways and towards him. If you've reached him, run in a circle around him. The last fireball comes out at his last hand wave. |
| Melee Attacks | ||
| Right Foot Slam | Only occurs if you're on his right. Raises right foot and holds it for a second. | Basic block is a safe defense. Alternatively, risk timing a dodge attack. |
| Two Foot Slam | Only occurs if you're on his left. Raises left foot. | Basic block is a safe defense. The second (right foot) slam should be dodge attacked. |
| Fire Melee Combo | Occurs in melee range. Winds left hand back. | Step-dodge the first swipe forwards or to the left, sprint around his side to avoid the right foot slam and attack freely while avoiding the rest. |
| Head Slam | Occurs if you're right in front. Brings head up. Beware of this if he's strangely still. |
Basic block is a safe defense. Avoidable if you're already sprinting around him. |
| Phase 2 | ||
| Fire Whip Slam Explosion | Similar to the normal Fire Whip Slam, but his body will have more fire and be brighter. The normal Fire Whip Slam may still occur. | Sprint right and jump just before impact (or, if you have Suzaku's Lotus Umbrella, use it to block the attack). Grapple to him to follow up. |
| Phase 3 | ||
| Fire Whip Swing Combo | Danger Indicator and sound will show. His full body will wind up for the attack. | Jump over the first swing. Don't jump (duck under) the second swing. Run behind him to avoid the third swing and attack. |
| Double Hand Drag Charge | This will usually occur in lieu of the single charge. Danger Indicator and sound will show. His right hand go back and down to the ground. | Jump over both charges, making sure not to jump too early for the second one. Try to position yourself against a wall for the second charge, allowing for easy and fast follow-up. |
Demon of Hatred Lore
- The Sculptor is confirmed to be the Demon of Hatred. Eavesdropping and talking to him prior to confronting Owl and drinking enough sake with him will unlock a secret dialogue with Demon of Hatred throughout the boss battle. Knowing who the Demon of Hatred is, will also lead to a change in dialogue with the old lady in the watchtower in which she actually talks about the Sculptor.
- Lore Theory: The Malcontent affects the Demon of Hatred because of the Sculptor's previous relationship with the ring's old owner, the Shinobi Kingfisher, in a similar way to how Father Gascoigne in Bloodborne could be stunned by playing the music box his daughter gives you.
- Lore Theory: The Sculptor knows he will either become the Demon of Hatred, or something like it, due to his own past and the immense bloodlust he feels. Hints towards his ultimate fate include:
- When you speak with him at the beginning of the game, the Sculptor mentions how carving statues of Buddha reflect those who carve them. He then immediately and constantly laments how the only Buddha he can carve, no matter how many times he tries, are those with wrathful faces rather than serene ones.
- Similarly, when speaking to the Sculptor after meeting with the Divine Heir, you are given the chance to ask the Sculptor what the Buddha showed him, to which he replies with: "Fire, that's all I saw,".
- One of your first clues comes when afflicted the Sculptor is affected by Dragonrot, wherein he is adamant about being unable to die from it, hinting that he is aware of his humanity slipping away from him.
- Dialogue shared by the Sculptor when you have given him Unrefined Sake explains that, once in the past, he would have almost explicitly become a Shura had it not been for Isshin "saving him," by cutting off his arm.
- When one examines the hut where the Sculptor lives, you can see that its entirety is covered with dozens of ofuda: a kind of paper talisman used in both Shinto and Onmyōdō rites for purification and exorcisms, or generally used as wards against misfortune and the supernatural. More distressingly, however, is that several portions of the walls supporting the house appear to have been broken from the inside out despite the presence of these ofuda.
- Dialogue offered by Isshin after you've given him Monkey Booze explicitly states that he once faced a Shura in battle ("...or something like it,") and killed it, with the implication being that he believes cutting off the Sculptor's arm--and thus robbing him of his ability to kill--was enough to put an end to his bloodlust and prevent him from becoming a Shura. Isshin also explains that Monkey Booze, which the Sculptor admits he drank much of during his time training in the Sunken Valley, also goes by another name: Shura's Wine.
- A less direct connection, however, lies in what the Sculptor divulges about the ring his partner wore throughout their time training in the Sunken Valley. ("Whistling through that ring … would fill the valley with a somber melody. Strangely enough, I enjoyed that sound. I listened to it so often.") Though the Slender Finger upgrade material implies this partner only used their finger to create a whistling sound: the Sculptor specifying how whistling through the ring his partner wore "would fill the valley with a somber melody," implies his partner also possessed the Malcontent's Ring.
- The former is important to note both because the ring is used as an upgrade material for the Finger Whistle prosthetic, and because the description of the Ring reads as follows: "Wearing this ring as you blow the finger whistle will create a somber tune. The weeping voice is full of solitude and beauty. Possibly somber enough to temporarily quell a voice of rage."
- It is thus possible, and debatable, that the death of the Sculptor's partner at the hands of the Guardian Ape is what finally set him down the path of becoming a Shura--although, as Isshin also explains through his Monkey Booze dialogue: "Those who go on killing will eventually become Shura. They don't even remember why... Simply enraptured... They kill solely for the joy it brings them."
- When you speak with him at the beginning of the game, the Sculptor mentions how carving statues of Buddha reflect those who carve them. He then immediately and constantly laments how the only Buddha he can carve, no matter how many times he tries, are those with wrathful faces rather than serene ones.
- Physically, the Demon of Hatred resembles the Sculptor (at least superficially) due to the style of its beard, hunched knees and back, possession of only a single physical right arm, and how its left arm is composed entirely of fire in the shape of (what appears to be) a coiled up grappling hook. The wispy red hair and pot belly also resemble an orangutan, a nickname Emma uses to refer to the sculptor during certain sake-prompted conversations, and implied in dialogue between the two to be his shinobi name.
- If you visit the Dilapidated Temple and try to enter Ashina Outskirts like you first did at the start, you'll notice that the hook spot you used is now burnt, further confirming that the sculptor was turning into a demon as he left the temple and left this mark.
Demon of Hatred Notes & Trivia
- The Demon of Hatred can be momentarily stunned up to three times when using the Malcontent upgrade for the Finger Whistle against it. As an apparition-type enemy, the boss can also be dealt extra damage using Divine Confetti.
- Most of its attacks can be blocked, and even countered, if you posses the required skill using the Suzaku's Lotus Umbrella upgrade for the Loaded Umbrella. (This is especially useful for guarding against/dealing with the jump attack and overhead swipe with fire the Demon likes to pull off in Phase 2 of the fight.)
- Before defeating the Divine Dragon, if you speak to the Old Priestess located in the building where you first encounter Tengu of Ashina(near the battlefield arena and the Battlefield Memorial Mob) she will mention that she is certain the war will give birth to a demon, foreshadowing this encounter. If spoken to before this, she will ominously ask: "Do you want to see a demon?" and nothing more.
- Fujioka the Info Broker offers the following explanation as to why the Sculptor is suddenly missing from the Dilapidated Temple: "Oh, if you're looking for the Sculptor, he's gone. He stumbled off muttering something about 'the flames...' I think he was heading towards the battlefield. But where he went and why he went there's none of my business."
- The Demon of Hatred is the Sculptor transformed into an Oni (鬼), often translated as "demon" in English. In Japanese folklore, Onis are a type of yōkai or ogre; in which they are usually depicted as hulking beings with one or more horns growing out of their heads. According to Wikipedia: "Accordingly, a wicked soul beyond rehabilitation transforms into an Oni after death. Only the very worst persons turn into Onis alive, and these are the Onis causing troubles among humans as presented in folk tales."
- When first met, the Demon of Hatred assumes a very distinct pose from Japanese Kabuki performances known as a mie (見え or 見得, pronounced 'mee-eh'). According to Wikipedia: "Mie means 'appearance' or 'visible' in Japanese," and as a pose is meant to "draw attention to a particularly important or powerful portion of the performance. It is meant to show a character's emotions at their peak, and can often be a very powerful pose. The actor's eyes are opened as wide as possible; if the character is meant to seem agitated or angry, the actor will cross his eyes,".
- The particular mie done by the Demon of Hatred is known as the Genroku mie, one of the famous and well-known of the mie used in Kabuki, wherein the actor's "right hand is held flat, perpendicular to the ground, while his left hand is pointed upwards, elbow bent. At the same time, the actor stamps the floor powerfully with his left foot,".
Demon of Hatred Image Gallery
AnonymousI've killed this bastard once and I'm seriously considering whether starting another NG+ for the lapis would be better than killing him again to max out the prosthetic.
Genuinely the worst boss in the game, absolutely unsuited to the game's combat style, and borderline unbeatable without the Suzaku umbrella. Forces you to abandon the habits that have allowed you to survive and thrive throughout the game in favor of cowering under a shield.
If this and Melania were swapped both games would be substantially better, genuinely the one major gripe I have with the game. The ogre at the start is slightly obnoxious and teaches bad habits, but it's got nothing on this nonsense.
- Anonymous
Only fight in the game I actively dislike besides like the Snake Eyes minibosses. Just garbage that feels unfair and annoying.
Sucks too because it should be epic because of the lore and who it is, but it isn't. It's just an obnoxious spongy POS.
- Anonymous
Right, okay. This boss is a skill check of distance and also equipment. Do you have the Suzaku Lotus Umbrella? You're golden. Do you have Malcontent? You're clear.
I saved all three charges of Malcontent for phase three.
Phase one is just deflecting and running at DoH every time he tries to make distance, and throwing up umbrella whenever he charges up a fire attack while you're next to him.
Phase two is more of the same, if you get the fireball attack run back and forth in the direction away from each fireball and hope for the best.
During phase three, if you stagger him, swing a few more times, then blow Malcontent and start slashing with everything you've got. Right after using Malcontent, swap back to Umbrella, so that if he hits you with a sudden swing, you can block in time.
- Anonymous
- Anonymous
there's a way to kill this boss making him jump off the cliff
1. attract him to the cliff
2. run towards the trees in the left side near the wall, he will pursuit you but the IA is dumb and will be forever stucked by the trees
3. climb one of the wood contruction (vigilance tower like) near the giant double door, it requires practice but don't worry, you will have infinite time, the boss is forever stucked
you must climb it to the roof, to do so you must make sekiro to hang on with sekiro's hand to the floor of the vigilance tower (not climb it yet) then you must use X+Square or A+X (PS or xbox controller) then he jumps and climb to the triangle shape roof of the contruction, it's pretty easy when you get it
4. now the tough part, you must run and jump in the extreme pixel edge -almost mid air- of that tiny roof trying to reach the wall that surrounds the battlefield, and make sekiro grab the wall while jumping, if you succeded you just need to go to the boss, make him see you, go towards you but OH OH, there's a cliff, the boss automaticaly DIES
ez
fun fact: if you go beyond the gate towards the pagodas to the area when you fight the 1st bull in this part of the game, you will see some pagodas with glitched textures, like.... hey bro you don't suppose to be here, how do you get in here biatch?
- Anonymous
Completed this now after 3 hours, and I regret not reading this wiki before.
Had no clue about the ring not the umbrella, just went in blind with my sword and decided that the second phase fire hand slam was not avoidable.
Need to start
- Anonymous
It's like fighting a Dark Souls boss with no weapon upgrades
- Anonymous
Both this and the Armored Warrior look like they just got lost from Dark Souls and ended up here by accident
- Anonymous
I'm confused by the comments a bit, you can parry most of his attack alright. Even if you fail to parry his fire attacks, dmg you receive is way lower than after failed dodge.
- Anonymous
-Play game where it's main mechanic is parrying
-Look inside
-Boss that punishes you for parrying
would've been an amazing dark souls boss.. a real shame. still enjoyed the fight to an extent tho.
- Anonymous
This is the first FromSoft boss I've cheesed, and I've platinum-ed Sekiro, Elden Ring and Dark Souls 3, and beat DS1 and DS2 several times (gonna platinum them as well)
- Anonymous
As painful as this boss can be on the first try, once you realize that you have to treat it like a souls boss, it becomes a lot easier. Used to be one of my least favorite bosses, but now it's up there with Isshin in terms of enjoyment for me. The music, the lore, the presentation, and the fact this fight forces you to relearn the combat makes this an incredible fight on subsequent playthroughs, but that doesn't make it any less of a ***** to get through on the first try. I understand that most people don't like this boss, and while I completely agree with most qualms, I hope that I can provide some advice that might help people enjoy this bastard a little more! After all, he is the man who helped you get this far, give him a little respect!
My tips for this fight:
-Divine confetti helps a LOT of course, and don't forget Ako's sugar for the first and second phase
-HIGHLY recommend taking the time to get the lotus umbrella and malcontent prosthetic. umbrella makes those fire arm slams and fire flinging attacks WAYYY easier
-If you get malcontent, save it for the final phase. Confetti + Yashariku + all 3 malcontent uses = EZ third phase
-For the fire slam attack, either umbrella it or run away and jump right before he hits the ground so you can grapple back in and get a couple hits off
-For his attacks that volley between his feet and his fire arm, try and dodge through the fire arm ones and deflect the other body parts. You'll get chipped with some damage and fire buildup, so either dodge or umbrella through them
-Never commit too hard to an attack. I've always died because of his headbutt or grab attacks when I am busy attacking him. His attacks are unpredictable and unlike most other foes you have faced up until now. Be fast paced, but this is no race to kill him, he's got 3 health-bars essentially.
-Don't give up, and good luck!
- Anonymous
By far the hardest boss in the game. I didn't hate it and I like that it's in the game, but I did... resent it somewhat. Unlike Genichiro and Isshin, and even Owl Father, who are excellent bosses that very clearly punish you for explicit mistakes, this guy just feels like he's wasting your time by jumping away, shitting massive fire hitboxes, and assuming you've always got red gourd or ministry powder up, which just makes him annoying to fight, really.
I just popped confetti/gourd/ako's, stuck to his left leg, and spent most of the time running to the right (his left) and dodging, punishing each of his combos with 2-3 strikes at the end. I only deflected the right foot stomp. Nighjar slash was useful as a gap closer sometimes. Suzaku's to block the big jump and his flaming attacks if you're in the wrong position. Reapply buffs at the start of phase 2, and whenever he does the huge wide slam, you must run to the side and then jump to grapple to him, a jump itself won't save you from the AOE. In all phases, DO NOT panic heal or you will be punished, unless you're really far away.
For phase 3 I found anon's Yashariku strat too risky (triggering malcontent too early in the phase spends emblems and doesn't register; the yashariku HP loss means you can get one-shot if he does some random bullshit and your gourd is down), so I used Ako's instead. Confetti/ako's/malcontent 3 times, reduces him to 25-30% HP in a safe manner. I had 6 estus left at that point, so I could take it easy for the rest of the fight.
For me, this mother****er also had the penchant of frequently going to the big bonfire beside the walls, which really sucked. I burnt through 200 emblems and ~30 ako's sugars over possibly 20 attempts, but I got him in the end. Personally, I'd remove his ability to jump back to disengage. I think that by itself would make the fight much better. Also, I did kill Isshin first. I wanted the extra memory to make this fight go faster, and Isshin is leaps and bounds more fun AND easy.
- Anonymous
don't go near walls don't go near wallss don't go near wallsss
- Anonymous
i handicapped myself to use only sword and nothing else (no items, combat arts and prosthetics also no res) because i've died too much. i beat it but boy do i regret my decision
- Anonymous
probably worst boss in the game thus far. not because it itself that difficult but number of times i've died to bullshit reasons were dozens. weird camera angles because there happened to be a damn tree or a wall behind my character, boss's charge attack glitching out because i've jumped backwards and now it can't go through me cuz apparently i've become an immovable fortress and weird hitboxes where i get damage even though there is no visual feedback about any attack connecting to my body
- Anonymous
"look at that size surely he must be slow af"
my famous last words
- Anonymous
Ironic how while in Souls games, bosses that behave like Sekiro bosses are considered the hardest, while here in Sekiro the hardest boss is a huge Souls boss
- Anonymous
one of the best bosses fromsoft ever made. Up there with the Bed of chaos, Twin gargoyles and the DS2 gank squad
- Anonymous
I must be pretty bad at this boss. I was able to kill sword Saint on the first try, had a small hangup on 2nd owl fight. This boss, nope. It's just too long of a fight for me. I spent probably 5+ hours on him before I realized that I just don't do well on extended endurance fights, i lose concentration and then my hands sweat to much i start slipping on the analog sticks. I was able to down him but I spent like 3 days grinding outskirts stairs to get my attack power up to 45. Yup, that's what it took for me. Definitely the hardest boss for me just cuz the length of the fight.
One of the worst parts of this fight is all of the revives you'll (probably) use and having to constantly farm them back up again
- Anonymous
- Anonymous
- Anonymous
"That wasn't so bad", I thought to myself, before noticing I had burned through an entire game's worth of emblems
- Anonymous
The reason I just really don't like this boss is because it doesn't feel good fighting it, like dragons in elden ring. I just sit at its feet while it whiffs or I get knocked back by a kick and then it jumps away and I run after it. It feels like a chore. Run at it, deflect stomps, fire attacks miss, it jumps, sometimes does charge and you have to run farther, run after it.
- Anonymous
- Anonymous
If you think the DoH is purely a skill issue, then why does the game consistently reward you for perfect parties with almost 90% of the required story bosses? The only other one I can think of is Way of Tomoe Genichiro and even then there's a specific mechanic to block that interaction. If you're only response is "get gud" why should I get good at an enemy that plays entirely contrary to how the entire rest of the game has been played, since the game was designed for unlimited parrying? The final boss in Elden Ring wasnt this bad, and I stand by that statement.
- Anonymous
Spacing is king in this fight. Let him close the distance(don't run at him when he is running at you, you will get barbequed) then move slightly back when he goes for a ranged attack and he will miss (phase 2 ranged attacks can't be dodged with this method, but they are more predictable). After he slams down his left hand(make sure to stand far back, it has deceptively long range), you can close the distance, possibly with nightjar slash so you can land a hit as well.
- Anonymous
- Anonymous
- Anonymous
Why, in god's f*cking name, is there a boss in a game which is pretty much entirely built and designed about parrying your enemies. That punishes you for ****ing parrying?
I'm sorry if you enjoyed the fight but that's just inexusable, for this specific f*cker you have to dodge all of his attacks because even if you parry them perfectly they will still damage you through your block. At least most other enemies in the game with attacks that damaged you through block you were rewarded for consistently perfect parrying them with the reward of taking no damage, but not demon of hatred. It doesn't help that for the most part the dodge has been used to physically get away from grabs and certain non-grab attacks, not for their I frames. Because DoH is the size of a ****ing building and his attacks are the size of a truck you do have to rely on the dodge I frames, which you would have no reason to have gotten used to up until this point making this fight run entirely counter to what the game teaches you. On top of all that he has 3 health bars.
3
TLDR DoH worst boss in the game no contest. Go fight Isshin Instead, I guarantee it'll be far more rewarding since that fight actually makes you excersise mechanics that you've learned throughout the game instead of randomly forcing you to play Sekiro like it's DS3.
- Anonymous
*dashes into corner*
*refuses to move from there*
*destroys your camera*
nothing personnel kid
- Anonymous
For all saying he’s optional stop complaining. Is he really optional if there’s an achievement for him? No I’m that case he’s really not. Headless are optional
- Anonymous
This boss would be cool if he had less HP and worked with the core mechanics of the game better. I agree that he doesn't really fit in this game. Yes, his moveset is quite fun, he always keeps you on the edge, but it takes too much time to kill him and after a few tries he becomes a complete slog. I spent like 2 hours trying to kill DOH. When I killed him I just thought "effing finally this guy is dead".
- Anonymous
This boss is amazing and a great change of pace, i feel like most people who hate him genuinely don't know how to do anything else other than deflecting.
- Anonymous
I can completely understand why people don't like this boss, I even skipped it on my first playthrough. But after getting the fire umbrella and malcontent, and watching Vaati's gauntlet video where he talks through his strategy on this guy I've come to really enjoy the fight. It's a refreshing change of pace in my eyes, but it took some getting used to.
- Anonymous
Still belive he is not fun. To me the main selling point of sekiro is deflect combat so I’m not thrilled about fighting a boss I’m supposed to treat like a bloodborne boss. Also his charge is like the only attack I feel endangerd by.
- Anonymous
I enjoyed the fight, but I had to ignore the impulse to parry his attacks first. Although it is counterintuitive for this game, I like the way the boss demands that you control your position in a very fine way.
I didn't killed him very fast (it was the 16 try), but the strategy that work was to learn very well his first phase and basically punish him after every hit, specially the telegraphed vertical slice.
On the second phase, the best approach was to keep him in mid range, what reduces greatly the times he used the cone of fire attack and maintains his behavior very similar to the first stage. Just punish him like you did for the first time.
On the third stage, I backed very fast to not be damaged by the ring of fire and used the 3 malcontent's uses + divine confetti. Kept the mid range distance and he didn't had the time to use ring of fire a second time.
- Anonymous
so developers were like "oh yeah this fight is awesome and fun and not tedious at all, let's just keep it like that"
I don't get hit by anything except the perilous charges. so annoying to be mid attack animation, hear that noise, press a, and get punished for not waiting for it with 80% of my health
- Anonymous
fun for me. fun to fight although extremely punishing. learning dodge timings is a pain but some moves will just miss of you are walking diagonally towards him. i had the most trouble with the giant beam of fire after the sweep charge he does in phase 2/3. fireballs were annoying but if your running towards him right after the charge they will miss you and you can get hits in. fire umbrella works great also. never run away from him except for the jump
- Anonymous
Sekiro has some incredibly fun boss fights. This is not one of them.
- Anonymous
- Anonymous
Yhorm but you are siegward without storm ruler, and patches stole your armor
- Anonymous
Absolutely despised this boss on my first playthrough, to the point where I just wanted the game to be over by the time I beat him and went to fight Sword Saint.
On my future playthroughs I ended up having a fun time with the fight and beat it in only a few attempts, even I was surprised considering he killed me like 30+ times in my first playthrough. Now I sort of have a begrudging respect for the fight and don't dread it when I have to do it again.
If you stay close to him, he won't use as many fire attacks except for the big jumping fire slam, which you can just use the Suzaku Umbrella to block (despite being a fire attack, projected force with said umbrella does a decent chunk of health damage to him), his stomps can be easily quickstepped if you time it right, and if he does that perilous running charge forward, you can just jump and it won't hit you at all for some reason, then you run over to him to close the gap before he starts using the fire attacks like the fireball throw or fiery buddhas, though I've found that quickstepping forward can sometimes dodge through the fireball throw.
- Anonymous
Beat him at AP 12, 1st NG.
Suzaku: on High Jump with the Huge body stomp on the ground
Suzaku: on the fire cone (only happens if you're too far away)
Run towards and stick to him quickly (free hits): the moment you see him aboout to spew fire
Dodge sideways: on the vertical flame
Just jump: on the dragging hand charge, his body will collide with you but you wont get hit
Run: on the meteor
4 - hit combo: deflect (burn buildup but low only) or dodge down-right -> dodge towards him -> deflect the stomp -> dodge down-right (the last combo is delayed, and doesn't happen sometimes)
The rest: deflect iirc
- Anonymous
- Anonymous
Man, Sekiro did a lot of right with the combat system, but is clear that the enemy design didn't cut the part, they can go from annoying to fundamentally broken...
- Anonymous
idk man, i don't think having the player watch for the red unblockable kanji while the whole screen is full of red fire was a great idea
- Anonymous
How is this a dark souls boss if you have to jump, use the grappling hook and deflect some of his attacks
- Anonymous
It's basically a bloodborne boss except you have no iframes and die in two hits. Enjoy. Guardian Ape was an example of an big animal like boss done correctly, this is just a mess
- Anonymous
- Anonymous
Just remember the FromSoft rule on big bosses! If it’s big, then it’s too big to be enjoyable!!
- Anonymous
If your struggling with this fight. Do a run without hitting him and just purely dodging. Will help you figure out when you can actually afford to hit him. My favourite opening was his slash down the front i just kept running to the right and then charged at him when i saw it coming down get like a minimum of 6 solid hits in. Gotta keep cool and just dodge his **** till you know you can afford to hit him. If you try to force it he will punish you. I also preffered to suzaku umbrella his jump slam instead jumping away and grappling back. GL guys.
- Anonymous
One decent strategy is to dodge attacks by running. Try to get behind him and hit away. It feels more consistant than sidestepping, and gives better windows to attack than if you were blocking. The only attack that truly gives me trouble is when he throws fire at you. Maybe bring the umbrella. The 4 hit "double whip swipe, stomp, and whip again" attack sucks too, but it can be managed. In general though, running away from dangerous attacks can work well. It's also good against Gaurdian Ape and Sword Saint Isshin
- Anonymous
This fight would have been good at two phases. I really hate when positioning thats entirely not your fault gets you one shot by a stupid unblockable. Everyone keeps on calling this a dark souls boss, but dark souls bosses don't have unblockable bulls*** combined with two hit kills at end game vitality. It's luck if you make it to the end without the terrain, the camera, or stunlock killing you.
- Anonymous
Just treat this guy as a dark souls boss, bait attacks and dodge/weave and you’ll be fine. His attacks have alot of punishment spots, although the only one that’s absolute bullshit is the fire throw. You can “deflect” them but you still take damage and some burn status as well PLUS there’s no tell on the second wind up if he decides to do another one.
- Anonymous
I'm not trying to look cool or anything but I don't find this boss to be that hard. Sure I died a lot on my first playthrough but now I feel lime all its normal attacks can be dodged by strafing right and punishing anyway good luck skeleton to all the people fighting him
- Anonymous
for 3rd phase do this:
//pop yasharikus sugar (dont worry about the hp loss), make sure you have enough emblems on you to use malcontent 3 times. When the 3rd phase begins use malcontent and go wild on him, when the effect starts to wear off use it again, repeat for the 3rd time, at this point you should have grinded his posture to like 75%. Best part is that after all that whacking at his knees he staggers again which lets you finish him off. Its literally free phase 3 as long as you have enough emblems.
- Anonymous
In terms of foreshadowing (in lore), pretty sure the sculptor at one point says something akin to "You'll be the one to kill me", no?
I believe I'd given him all the different sake and finished progress towards the best and second best ending, right before the transition to the night and the finale.
- Anonymous
- Anonymous
They put a Dark Souls boss in Sekiro. Then they put a Sekiro boss in Elden Ring. I'm calling Elden Ring boss in Armored Core
- Anonymous
****ing **** BOSS why the hell did FS implement something that doesn't it in the game with the mechanics they beat'n in the head of the player
- Anonymous
The absolute worst boss in the game from gameplay perspective. You learn how to deflect and counter enemy attacks, strike when opportunity presents itself, and when it's time for the endgame, one of the two strongest bosses literally kills everything you learned and regresses you back to dark souls dodges.
- Anonymous
God this fight does not belong in this game at all. And screw that perilous charge with no windup.
- Anonymous
i liked him but only after my ng charmless bell playthrough. he feels like a 1v1 vs a raid boss, very epic
- Anonymous
Once I learnt that I just needed to stay close to him, popped some withered red gourd, ministry dousing powder and all of my heals throughout the fight. Only other thing I did was use chasing slice with the Lazulite Shuriken as a further gap closer.
- Anonymous
I was really struggling on this guy, was starting to consider doing the cheese. Glad I didn't. What finally ended up working for me was 1) Use Divine Confetti. By this point in the game you probably have more money than you know what to do with, and every merchant sells it. Don't be afraid to use some, significant damage boost. 2) some say you should save your 3 uses of Malcontent for phase 3, but I was rarely even surviving to phase 3, so I just allotted myself 1 malcontent whistle for each phase. Helped me stay alive long enough to even get there. Then by the end I was obviously out of gourd heals, so reached into the rice from divine child for the first time, along with one of those rice balls Kuro gave you. So if you're super close to beating phase 3, don't forget about those healing items you normally don't use (or at least I never did, always felt like I had to save it for something). I guess this also applies to those Jinzo statues, which didn't occur to me until I was writing this out.
- Anonymous
I've whacked this demon's unnervingly gentalia-less groin so many times that it's now uncomfortably imprinted in my mind.
Honestly not too bad once you get a hang of his moveset and figure out appropriate responses. I found there's a "sweet spot" in spacing this boss where the majority of his attacks will miss if you're sprinting left like a demon, and you can get in quickly to get ta' swingin'
2 biggest hurdles: Big beefy vitality bar, and Fromsoft's continued refusal to use wider camera angles on these big bosses. From a lore and design point of view, one of the most awesome bosses in the game; I love the fierce poses he pulls
- Anonymous
My problem with this boss is I can't not fight him like a Dark Souls boss... It feels like I should be dodging all his attacks but most of the time that just screws me over. It feels wrong to try deflect a giant monster with a katana.
- Anonymous
Takes forever with the difficulty modifiers. Like, yeah, I know his moves, I do be dodging his stomps and kabuki thing, but my hand's getting tired.
- Anonymous
just memorize first phase and figure out how to counter/evade them. second and third phases are very easy.
- Anonymous
- Anonymous
I'm doing NG+ charmless right now. It took me 2 hours for owl father, then killed thus boss on my 1st try. Didn't use any consumables, prosthetic tools or weapon arts. Literally every move he does is simple to avoid and punish by sprinting, dodging or jumping. Forget about deflecting for this fight. Just stand infront of him and spam R1 and sidestep when he does the stomp. The most important thing: When he's far away, don't just run in on him because he will burn you, just let him come towards you and waste his attack.
- Anonymous
"A shinobi would know the difference between victory and honor" -People who cheesed DoH
- Anonymous
- Anonymous
big fire circle attack is a massive opening, just jump over the first swing and spam light attacks instead of running away
- Anonymous
This is just Laurence all over again. An extremely tanky mobile hard hitting boss who can end you in 2 seconds even if you did the fight flawlessly. Isshin is a harder boss and I loved him but this is just a mess that’s a chore to get through
- Anonymous
- Anonymous
I went into this fight thinking he was gonna be unbeatable and super annoying, but after beating him I think you guys just suck he was super fun.
- Anonymous
Just did this without malcontent or the umbrella. Took me over an hour of banging my head against the wall and learning his moves, but the first time I got him to phase 3 I beat him, albeit with help from a lot of rice as I ran out of gourds and pellets. Although he's big and imposing, the best thing you can do is just constantly sprint at him and get underneath him. He has a few attacks he uses there but most are dodgeable/deflectable. If he does his big jumping aoe attack, sprint away, jump just before he lands and then grappling hook his face to stay on him.
If you can keep the pressure up and never give him any breathing room, he gets quite manageable. Thankfully the camera is pretty decent on this one, and it highlights his stomps which can be deflected.
- Anonymous
Just beat this ungrateful son of a *****, my advice
don't even think about going into this battle without fire umbrella and malcontent. Only use malcontent in 3rd phase. Definitely apply ako's while doing malcontent stun.
- Anonymous
- Anonymous
- Anonymous
Agreed with Sep 05 poster. Fight wasn't that bad as long as you stay aggressive and never stop attacking or blocking. Took me an hour to beat him; Great Shinobi Owl took me a lot longer. I haven't fought Owl (Father) yet, so can't speak to that fight.
Stay aggressive, don't block, and dodge, dodge, dodge. I never blocked in the fight that I beat him, just dodged under and around his attacks and almost never stopped swinging. You get more dodge i-frames if you don't lock on to an enemy, so it's worth staying unlocked and controlling the camera. With an enemy as big as him, it wasn't too hard to keep him in view so I could react to his moves.
- Anonymous
This boss fight isn't that bad, yeah it's difficult but it's also fun at the same time and it's doable. Now Owl (Father) however, f**k that boss...
- Anonymous
- Anonymous
This Wikia is missing his Diving regular arm attack. In 4 hours of fighting this boss I have only seen it twice. First in phase one he did it away from me and i thought i was hallucinating. The second time was in phase 3, he hand dragged away out of his ring of fire and paused for 3 seconds. Then he leaped back into the ring with a thrust, no Danger symbol. Not sure if you can mikiri it, but I jumped into it and was one shot with no more Rez (:
Maybe it was added in an update, this is a new game and I have footage of it happening.
- Anonymous
- Anonymous
Did I actually get this far just to have this game give me this bs one way, and then just simply two minibosses at the same time the other way? I just invested 35 hours into this game just to get to a part where I have to sacrifice my enjoyment just to experience the rest
- Anonymous
You can make this a bit more like a Sekiro boss with Suzaku's Lotus Umbrella. You can deflect the burning hand attacks with it.
- Anonymous
Man! I really feel like im getting the hang of sekiro! It should be smooth sailing from h- *encounters demon of hatred*
- Anonymous
Don't feel guilty: it's always morally correct to cheese him.
- Anonymous
"A shinobi would know the difference between honor and victory"
- Anonymous
Bro I don't even like Dark Souls boss fights in Dark Souls.
- Anonymous
Man, what a long fight! I don't think I used any dairy products: Malcontent, Divine Confetti and the like.
Overall, I just concentrated: I call it "Max Focus Mode" (it's an expression a friend of mine uses, meaning he's constipated).
one of the best bosses in the game, you can still parry most attacks, except the fire ones and it requires good spacing and clean dodging. People say this boss would be better in dark souls or elden ring, and i completely disagree. Invincible dodging would make this fight very trivial and erase the skill ceiling of it. As soon as you master his moves it is an incredibly fun fight and also alot easier than isshin on replays imo
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