In Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice, your Skill Points can be spent across multiple Esoteric Texts (Shinobi, Prosthetic, Ashina, Temple, etc.). Unlocking the right skills early on is critical to making boss encounters manageable. Here are the absolute best skills you should prioritize unlocking first.
1. Shinobi Arts (Essential Survival)
The Shinobi Arts tree is unlocked at the start. It contains core skills that will stay with you throughout the entire game.
Mikiri Counter (1 Skill Point)
- Why you need it: This is the single most important skill in the entire game. It allows you to dash forward into an enemy's perilous thrust attack to stomp their weapon, dealing massive posture damage. Without it, thrusts are extremely difficult to manage.
Breath of Life: Light (5 Skill Points)
- Why you need it: A passive skill that restores a portion of your Vitality every time you perform a successful Deathblow. This skill is critical for conserving your Healing Gourd uses while exploring areas filled with guards.
Shinobi Medicine (Passives)
- Why you need it: These skills permanently increase the healing effectiveness of your Healing Gourd and other recovery items. It makes every hit you take less punishing.
2. Prosthetic Arts (Utility & Mobility)
Unlocks once you acquire 3 prosthetic tools. It focuses on integrating your prosthetic arm into combat flow.
Chasing Slash (1 Skill Point)
- Why you need it: After using certain tools (like Shurikens or Firecrackers), pressing the attack button triggers a fast, long-range forward dash strike. It is perfect for closing gaps and keeping pressure on bosses.
Mid-air Prosthetic Tool (1 Skill Point)
- Why you need it: Allows you to use prosthetic tools while jumping. Excellent for throwing shurikens to knock down jumping enemies or firing a flame vent from mid-air.
3. Ashina Arts (Posture Dominance)
Unlocked by completing Tengu of Ashina's rat-hunting quest (see Walkthrough Act 1: Ashina Outskirts Part 2). This tree focuses on deflecting and heavy attacks.
Ichimonji (2 Skill Points)
- Why you need it: An overhead strike that deals heavy posture damage to enemies. More importantly, it immediately recovers a large chunk of your own posture upon a successful hit, even if the enemy blocks it. It is arguably the best active combat art in the game.
Ascending Carp & Descending Carp (Passives)
- Why you need it: These passives increase the posture damage you deal when executing a perfect deflection. Since parrying is your primary mechanic, these passive buffs apply to almost every fight.
Summary Recommendation
For the optimal early build, unlock skills in this order: Mikiri Counter -> Chasing Slash -> Ichimonji -> Ascending/Descending Carp -> Breath of Life: Light.
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