If you can count on FromSoftware for anything, it's challenging boss fights. You could argue that they owe their popularity to the challenging bosses in the Dark Souls series, and they continued that proud tradition in their most recent release, Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice.
One of the toughest bosses in the game is Sekiro's father, the Great Shinobi Owl, a towering giant of a man who has been the cause of many rage quits and increases in blood pressure. If Great Shinobi Owl is a boss you struggle with, this list will provide you with plenty of tips that will help you defeat him with ease.
10 Bring A Lot Of Antidotes
Stocking up on the necessary equipment before a boss fight is essential to succeeding, whether it be bringing a certain weapon that's more effective or a certain item that will help give you an edge.
During the fight against Great Shinobi Owl in his 2nd phase, he'll often jump up and throw poison at you. Be sure to have plenty of antidote on hand to stop your health from draining to quickly.
9 Avoid Thrust Attacks
You may be tempted during your fight against Great Shinobi Owl to use a thrusting attack. Thrusting attacks deal great damage while also giving you range, but you should avoid using thrust attacks against Owl, unless Owl is clearly open for an attack.
Owl has the same Mikiri Counter that Sekiro has, so he'll not only counter your thrust attacks, he'll deal some devastating damage while he does it. Just one counter from Owl will take most, if not all, of your health.
8 Bait Him
Great Shinobi Owl has a wide array of attacks that are both fast and devastatingly powerful and it's honestly hard to keep track of it all while trying to fight him. To make your life easier, you should bait Owl into using a certain attack.
The attack you need to bait is the attack Owl uses to close the distance so be sure to back up to activate it. Owl will throw two shuriken at you that you could either block or evade, then he will do one of two things, a front flip attack or a dash slice. The flip attack is what you want because you can easily evade it and get in a few good hits.
7 Shinobi Firecracker
Sekiro's prosthetic tools are extremely helpful during battles and among the available prosthetics in your arsenal, the Shinobi Firecracker is one the most useful.
The firecracker is best used against beast enemies but it can also be used against human enemies to briefly stun. Using the firecracker on Owl is great if you need to take a step back to heal.
6 Focus On Dodging
While most major enemies in Sekiro requires you to focus on deflecting their attacks to fill the enemy's posture meter, the opposite is true for the fight against Owl. Instead of deflecting his attacks, it's recommended that you focus on dodging his attacks.
Owl's attacks deal huge posture damage, even if you deflect them, so it's best to side-step them instead. Even if you can't evade every attack and need to block or deflect, try to to get out of there as safely as possible and go back to evading.
5 Use Whirlwind Slash
The Whirlwind Slash Combat Art can be handy in a pinch but in the fight against Great Shinobi Owl, its recommended to use Whirlwind Slash sparingly.
This attack is best used when paired with the attack baiting strategy. When Owl does his front flip attack, you should quickly side-step the attack, go around behind him, and use Whirlwind Slash to deal some great damage.
4 Avoid The Shinobi Charm
Of all of Owl's many attacks, arguably his deadliest attack is one that doesn't even do any actual damage to you but it needs to be avoided at all cost. That attack is Owl's Shinobi Charm.
Throughout the fight, Owl will sometimes toss a charm into the air that will produce a cloud of green smoke that will prevent you from using any healing items if you're caught in it (and in phase 2, it will also prevent you from using antidotes). Luckily, Owl telegraphs this attack so it's not too hard to avoid.
3 Run From His Smoke Bombs
While this move isn't really a smoke bomb in the traditional sense, when you see Owl throw a large cloud of black gunpowder, get away as quick as you can.
This move not only serves as a means to make you lose him in the smoke, but the cloud of gunpowder will explode similarly to the Shinobi Firecracker and damage you.
2 Back Him Into A Corner
This would be considered a high-risk, high-reward strategy but if you think you can manage it, it can be an effective and quick way to deal with Great Shinobi Owl. Backing him into a corner, however, doesn't necessarily mean wailing on him blindly.
Most of Owl's attacks can be interrupted so with this strategy you can attack him repeatedly, but he will deflect your second attack. So with this strategy, attack him twice, and when he deflects your second attack, get ready to deflect an attack from him. Repeat this and he should go down surprisingly quick.
1 Be Patient
Lastly, and above all, you need to make sure to be patient during this fight. Even the best strategies can be undone by being overzealous and trying to get in another hit. If you're not careful, Owl will be able to take you out in moments.
Great Shinobi Owl's boss fight is a battle of attrition. It may take some time whittling down his health, but the strategies put forth in this list should have you triumphing over Owl in no time.