Improved Sabimaru | Sekiro Shadows Die Twice Wiki

Improved Sabimaru
An improved Sabimaru with a special mechanism for unleashing the blade. Costs Spirit Emblems to use. Due to the revised mechanism, one can fluidly swap between two separate sets of attacks as desired. Has a blue rust poison applied to the blade that eats into enemies' defense and inlicts "Poison" status abnormality.
Spirit Emblem Cost	1

Improved Sabimaru is a Prosthetic Tool in Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice, equipped via the Prosthetic Arm and which can be used alongside the primary weapon, the Kusabimaru, in the other, biological, hand.

These Tools, varying from the Loaded Shuriken to the Shinobi Firecracker, are equipped via the Prosthetic Arm and can be swapped out on the fly, allowing for creative and innovative solutions to the many exploratory challenges the player may face. 

How to use Improved Sabimaru

• R2 x6 Combo: Perform a Flurry of attacks with both the sword and Sabimaru. Sabimaru's attacks inflict the "Poison" Status abnormality.
• Use R1 at any time in the combo to transition into a forward slash from the Kusabimaru. This does not cost Sprit Emblems
• Using R2 after this transition will reset the combo and change the  moveset, using both Sabimaru and Kusabimaru at the same time, instead of alternating the strikes. You can use R1 at anytime in the combo to transition into the foward slash and go to the normal combo again.

Where to find Improved Sabimaru in Sekiro

• Price: 600 sen
• Scrap Iron x4
• Scrap Magnetite x 4

Improved Sabimaru Notes & Tips

• Using the full alternate combo costs a total of 4 sprit emblems (1 from the starter combo, 3 from the full alternate combo).
• This makes R2R2 R1R2 R2R2R2R2 the most cost-efficient combo, since it only uses 3 sprit emblems for a total of 8 hits, instead of 4 sprit emblems for a total of 9 hits (worth of 2.6 on average versus 2.25, respectively)
• Damage for each hit (health:posture, relatively to basic attack): 0.25:0.32, 0.25:0.32, 0.39:0.41, 0.36:0.46, 0.45:0.54, 0.5:0.54.
• R1 slash deals 1x health and 0.67x posture damage. Full combo is 2.2x  and 2.6x. Basic combo + slash + alternative combo is 5.25x and 5.45x.

Improved Sabimaru Story & Lore

• The Okami are called 淤加美 (okami) in Japanese, derived from one of the ancient spellings of Kuraokami, a dragon deity of rain and snow from Japanese mythology, born from the blood of the slain god Kagutsuchi. More modern spellings are a bit more obvious as to what the names supposed to mean: 龗 (okami) means "water dragon" and 闇龗 (kuraokami) means "dark water dragon." It's likely that the Divine Dragon (called the Sakura Dragon in Japanese) is inspired by Kuraokami.

•  "Okami" comes from Kuraokami, their lightning bolts come from the Vajra of the Shingon Buddhism of Senpou Temple, which means something like "thunderbolt". The Okami are pale and bluish, consistent with Asian depictions of the dead  . The Okami actually take after the Primordial Serpents of Dark Souls  , which helps clarify why The Old Dragons of the Tree have turned into nāga. The nobles live in an area overgrown by roots which I believe depicts the Japanese underworld "Ne-no-kuni", which betokens something like "land of roots". The Okami were likely all once human and turned into these beings by imbibing large volumes of Rejuvenating Water. The idea of an aroma of the Divine Realm likely stems from two preceding Dark Souls items: "Fragrant Branch of Yore" and "Aromatic Ooze", of which the latter likely reincarnated as some kind of hideous white slime .