Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice is a massive departure from the Dark Souls franchise most know From Software for. RPG stats and builds have been replaced with some of the best combat mechanics in the genre.

RELATED: 10 Difficult Games To Play After Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice

Even with the game's overall simplicity, there are many ways these simple mechanics can work together. Some of the game's options don't open up until much later, such as diving or countering certain enemies with Prosthetic Tools, leaving many players confused as to what's possible. Here are 10 things players might not know they can do in Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice. This article contains minor story spoilers.

10 How To Dive

Via: Sekiro Wiki - Fextralife

By default, players can dive underwater by using their Prosthetic Tool keybind (left control for PC and right trigger for Xbox and PlayStation).

With that said, players will not have the ability to dive underwater at the start of the game. Players will need to defeat the Corrupted Monk illusion at Mibu Village to obtain the Mibu Breathing Technique. Mibu Village is a mid to late-game location that can be entered from the Ashina Depths.

9 Remember To Sprint

It's surprising how long it takes players to learn that they can sprint in Sekiro. Unlike Dark Souls, there is no stamina bar to manage when running. Players simply need to hold the dodge button (B on Xbox, Shift on PC, and circle on PlayStation). Sprinting makes it much easier to control the distance between enemies and makes exploration much less tedious.

8 Activate Hard Mode

Sekiro Demon Bell

Veteran Sekiro players likely know of the demon bell in Senpou Temple that makes the game harder. What most players don't know is that this bell can be accessed at the very start of the game.

From the Ashina Outskirts Stairway Idol, run past the stairway where the Chained Ogre is and grapple up the hole in the wall. From there, head outside to the nearby courtyard and take a right. Players will need to sling themselves onto a tree branch and grapple onto a ledge near the bottom of a cliff, but following this path will lead to the Headless arena. Past Headless will be a cave that leads to a hidden Shinobi escape wall. Hug the wall and it will reveal a room adjacent to the demon bell and its respective idol.

When the bell is rung, enemies will have more health, deal slightly more damage, and seem to be more aggressive. In exchange for the increased risk, players can expect increased Sen and item drops from slain foes. To revert this change, interact with the Bell Demon item in Sekiro's inventory.

7 Thrust Attacks

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ode6zu5bOjE
Via: 옹발이 ONGBAL (YouTube)

Thrust attacks can be devastating in Sekiro, dealing massive amounts of posture and vitality damage. Similar to how Dark Souls 3 handles heavy attacks, players can charge their light attack to unleash a powerful thrust heavy attack. This thrust attack deals double damage to the enemy, making it great to break an enemy's almost full posture gauge. Be careful as one of Sekiro's bosses can Mikiri Counter this attack and nearly one-shot the player in retaliation.

6 Counter Flying Enemies

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yATQvRVc8Lw
Via: Lazer Goat (YouTube)

Flying enemies are incredibly annoying in Sekiro. From Software was gracious enough to grant players a dedicated jump button this time around, but it seems that enemies were given much more vertical movement in this title. Fortunately, there are a few ways to counter them.

RELATED: 10 Quotes That Will Stick With Us Forever From Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice

The best way to counter flying enemies is to hit them with either a Shuriken or Ceramic Shard. Either will interrupt the enemy's animation, deal double vitality, and posture damage, all the while knocking them to the ground. This is especially useful against Lady Butterfly. Alternatively, players can learn a skill later in the game that allows them to execute Deathblows on targets midair.

5 Counter Perilous Attacks

Perilous attacks all have some sort of counter in Sekiro. Thrust attacks can be countered with the Mikiri Counter skill, grab attacks can be sidestepped and punished with followup attacks, and wide slash attacks can be countered by jumping.

Jumping will put players out of danger from them, but they can punish the enemy by double-jumping on the target's head during or after the attack. This will deal massive amounts of posture damage and give the player a short window to attack further.

4 Trick To Always Activate Mist Raven Feather

https://www.player.one/sekiro-guide-how-use-umbrella-sabimaru-mist-raven-divine-abduction-125517
Via: Player.One

Every Prosthetic Tool in Sekiro has a purpose, even if that purpose seems niche at first glance. Look no further than the Mist Feather, a tool that allows players to teleport a short distance when activated before an enemy hits the player.

However, those that can't quite nail the timing of this tool can force it to always activate through Contact Medicine. This item will inflict Sekiro with an incredibly weak poison for 40 seconds. Since the Mist Raven Feather activates on any damage taken, it will always work when used while Sekiro is poisoned. Combine this with the Great Feather upgrade to turn this defensive Prosthetic into an offensive powerhouse.

3 Strip Enemy Armor

https://sekiroshadowsdietwice.wiki.fextralife.com/Armored+Warrior
Via: Sekiro Wiki - Fandom

Arguably the worst Prosthetic in the game, the Loaded Spear, still has plenty of uses. One of the best applications of this tool is to strip enemy armor. Simply use the Prosthetic on a lightly armored unit and it will rend the armor clean off, allowing for a swift counterattack.

RELATED: The 10 Most Unforgiving Video Games Of The 2010s

Players can also use this tool on the Headless Ape to pull the centipede out from its neck, inflicting massive amounts of posture damage.

2 Reset Posture Faster

Sekiro teaches players that deflecting attacks is crucial to survival. While players should be deflecting every attack possible, it still builds up the posture gauge.

The best way to reset posture is to simply block. Hold down the block button and Sekiro's posture will begin to reset much faster than normal. Once players learn the Ashina Arts, they can also use the Ichimonji Combat Art to help reset their posture gauge with a powerful attack.

1 Cure Dragonrot

https://www.newsweek.com/sekiro-shadows-die-twice-cure-dragonrot-rot-essence-emma-1371505
Via: Newsweek

Dragonrot is a necessary evil in Sekiro. Dying too many times will cause NPCs to get sick, halting questlines with those characters. As bad as that sounds, it can easily be cured through a short questline. Simply talk to Lady Emma and do what she asks to obtain a Dragon's Blood Droplet. These droplets can be used at Sculptor's Idols to cure every NPC in the game of Dragonrot, allowing players to continue NPC questlines.

NEXT: Sekiro Shadows Die Twice: 10 Tips For Beating The Great Shinobi Owl Boss Fight