7 Things to Do First in Sekiro

If you run too quickly past the large sloping area past the first Samurai General in the Ashina Outskirts, you might just miss the old woman standing in a broken house. She’ll give you a bell charm – but what does that even mean?

If you take it back to the buddha statue at the temple, you can use it to relive a forgotten memory at the Hirata Estate, which gives you access to a new area to explore, and many more secrets to find. Be sure to go here if the next Mini boss in the Outskirts gives you trouble.

Locate Flame Barrel, Acquire Fire Tool[edit]

Speaking of which, the Chained Ogre mini boss is a pretty effective gatekeeper for making sure new players understand the ropes. He can be extremely frustrating to fight – but you may have heard that red-eyed guys don’t like fire.

As it turns out, the previously mentioned Hirata Estate has the tool you seek. Look for a side path when finding an alternate route when you reach the locked door at the start of the estate, and you’ll find a bonfire raging by some houses.

Inside the fire is the Flame Barrel, which can be converted into the Flame Vent Tool, and can stagger goes like the Chained Ogre.

Don’t Avoid Mini Bosses – Eliminate Them[edit]

As you continue to explore the first few areas of the game, you may find that some imposing mini bosses like the Samurai Generals can be outright avoided if you so choose. While there’s nothing wrong with sneaking past a tough fight – you’ll find defeating these enemies worth your while.

All Mini bosses in the game will drop a Prayer Bead when defeated, and you’ll need 4 of them to upgrade your health. This means that by avoiding these fights, you’re actually making things harder for yourself when you reach the boss of the area that you can’t avoid – so be sure to look around and challenge everyone you encounter.

Find the Crow Memorial Mob[edit]

Merchants are hard to come by in Sekiro, and some may take a bit of exploring to locate. An early merchant you can find is actually camped out above one of the main areas of the Ashina Outskirts.

When you reach the stairway with the cannon-firing guy, turn around to look for a high peak, and grapple up on the left side to find a way up to the plateau where the merchant is.

It might surprise you that he sells coin purses for a little more than they’re worth, this is because you can effectively buy them to “bank” your own money. In case you start dying to a boss several times, you won’t lose any money contained in purses.

Be sure to buy the firecrackers he sells – as they can be used to make a Prosthetic Tool that’s very useful.

Collect Treasure Carp Scales for the Pot Noble[edit]

While in the Hirata Estate, you may notice that the river here has a few giant red fish. These are Treasure Carp, and killing them nets you a Treasure Carp Scale – but what can you do with them?

If you check up to the right of the first bridge along the main river, you can find a strange pot on an island inhabited by a creepy merchant who wants scales in exchange for rare items – so be sure to trade to get some great gear!

Turn on Hard Mode (Or Don’t!)[edit]

So this one goes out to all the pros who already think the game is too easy. Did you know there’s a way to make this game harder?

After defeating the Chained Ogre in the Ashina Outskirts, head to the next courtyard where a Samurai General and his men are, and hang a right to find a small shrine on a cliff with a spooky note.

You can grapple along the rocks behind the shrine to find a cave. Look for a ledge you can grab by jumping down right from the branches, and shimmy over to the cave entrance.

At the bottom of this cave is a Headless spirit mini boss that can’t even be damaged through normal means, and he also slows your movement. You’ll need Divine Confetti to even damage him – but the terror damage he inflicts is so great that it’s not worth trying to fight him until you’re better prepared.

You’re going to want to dodge past him and look for a small tunnel leading to a secret door you can hug to enter the Bell Demon’s Temple. Up here you’ll find a mysterious bell and note that implores you not to ring it.

Ring it anyway, and you’ll gain the Bell Demon – which will make all enemies tougher, but increase the rewards you may get from them in return. If things get too tough to handle, simply “use” the Bell Demon to make it go away.