A detailed, step-by-step 100% completion guide covering the opening regions, key collectibles, and boss strategies.
This guide leads you through the game in the most narrative-rich and complete sequence. To miss as little dialogue and NPC questlines as possible, we will switch back and forth between Ashina Outskirts and the Hirata Estate memory. Make sure to complete the steps exactly in order!
Focus on acquiring these essential skills and tools before facing major challenges:
1. Mikiri Counter (Shinobi Arts - 2 SP): Absolutely mandatory for counter-thrusting.
2. Grappling Hook Attack (Prosthetic Arts - 1 SP): Vital for mobile boss fights.
3. Optional but highly recommended: Suppress Presence & Suppress Sound (Stealth arts).
- Loaded Shuriken: Great for interrupting leaping foes and killing hounds.
- Shinobi Firecracker: Vital for stunning beasts and creating openings.
Collect your first 4 Prayer Beads to create the First Prayer Necklace, boosting your Vitality and Posture.
The journey begins as you attempt to escape with the young Divine Heir, Lord Kuro.
Crawl through the tall grass, drop down the ledge, and sneak under the floorboards of the lodge. Reach the hole in the Moon-Viewing Tower wall.
Talk to Kuro to get your sword ( Kusabimaru) and your first Healing Gourd. Go upstairs to grab a Pellet. Open the tower doors, fight the guards, and practice deflections.
Follow the path under the bridge. Eavesdrop on the guards. Crawl through the gap to the cliffside. Use the reed whistle at the gate to call Kuro. Enter the secret door and face the commander.
This fight is scripted to end in your defeat, which triggers a cutscene where Sekiro loses his left arm and Lord Kuro is captured. Do your best to deflect and strike, but don't waste items since the result is fixed.
Wake up at the Dilapidated Temple and start hunting the Ashina occupation forces.
Talk to the Sculptor and Emma. Grab the Dilapidated Temple Idol. Go to the right, climb the slope, and talk to Hanbei the Undying to practice combat moves.
Leave the temple grounds, grapple over the gap to the left, and grab the Ashina Outskirts Idol. Fight the wolves and guards along the main path until you reach the Outskirts Wall - Gate Path Idol.
In the gatehouse building right next to the Gate Path Idol, grapple into the second-story window to grab the Shuriken Wheel prosthetic material.
Defeat the general in the courtyard behind the gatehouse.
Rewards: Prayer Bead (1/40) & Gourd Seed (1/9)
Strategy: Sneak along the rooftops on the left. Drop down onto the gate directly behind the General. Lock onto him and drop down to execute a stealth Deathblow. This immediately takes away one of his health nodes, leaving only one phase to fight. Watch out for his perilous sweep attacks; jump over them and step on his head for posture damage.
Continue down the path. Eavesdrop on the guards. Speak to the dying soldier (Inosuke Nogami) on the road, then jump into the ruined second floor of the nearby house. Speak to the blind old lady (his mother) to receive the Young Lord's Bell Charm.
From the gate next to the ruined house, grapple high up to the rocky peak on the left side. Meet the Crow's Bed Memorial Mob merchant. Purchase Robert's Firecrackers for 500 Sen.
Drop back down, pass the giant chickens, and grab the Outskirts Wall - Stairway Idol. Turn around and look down to interact with the Red Light Remnant memory of Kuro and Emma. Speak with Anayama the Peddler at the gate. Exhaust his dialogue, buy his info for 50 Sen and then 100 Sen to get the Flame Barrel Memo. Rest at the Idol and buy the Phantom Kunai from his shop if you have the funds later.
Travel 3 years back in time to the night Hirata Estate fell under attack.
Return to the Dilapidated Temple. Give the Shuriken Wheel and Robert's Firecrackers to the Sculptor to receive the Loaded Shuriken and Shinobi Firecracker tools. If Emma notes the Sculptor has contracted Dragonrot, follow her instructions: get a blood sample from the old lady in the outskirts, return it to Emma, rest, and receive the Recovery Charm to cure Dragonrot.
Approach the golden Buddha statue inside the temple. Offer the Young Lord's Bell Charm to pray and enter the Hirata memory. Grab the Dragonspring - Hirata Estate Idol.
Talk to the dying ninja. Jump down to the bridge, avoid the bandits, and swim right. Kill the giant carp to collect Treasure Carp Scales. Reach the small island on the right to meet Pot Noble Harunaga. Trade scales to buy the Floating Passage Text combat art.
Swim to the shore on the left, climb up, and activate the Estate Path Idol. Jump over the walls on the right side. In the middle of the bandit camp, locate the bonfire and loot it to find the Flame Barrel prosthetic material.
Go up the path. Talk to the dying soldier, then open the wooden gate to unlock a shortcut back to the Idol. Head into the right-hand courtyard. Eavesdrop on two bandits, kill them, and open the small shrine to grab the Shinobi Axe of the Monkey.
Go to the left side of the path to meet a younger version of Anayama the Peddler. Do NOT kill him. Search the nearby houses to eavesdrop and get items. Return to the temple and upgrade your tools to unlock the Flame Vent and Loaded Axe.
Equip your new tools and return to the Outskirts Wall - Stairway to confront the Chained Ogre.
Dodge the grab attacks and burn the beast.
Rewards: Prayer Bead (2/40) & Shinobi Medicine - Rank 1 (passive skill)
Strategy: Clear the two guards at the bottom of the stairs first. Eavesdrop to learn that the Ogre fears fire. Hit him with your newly acquired Flame Vent to stun him and inflict burn. Use Shinobi Firecrackers for additional stuns. When he does a perilous grab, dodge backwards or jump to avoid the hit.
Grapple into the broken gatehouse above where the Ogre was. Look to the left to find a chest containing a Gourd Seed (2/9). In the same room, collect the Nightjar Monocular.
Head right from the gatehouse, grapple across the cliffside branches to a dark cave. Do NOT fight the headless apparition inside. Hug the right wall, enter the tunnel, and hug the human-shaped painting wall to rotate into a secret temple. Grab the Bell Demon's Temple Idol. (Optional: Ring the giant bell to acquire the Bell Demon, which increases item drops but makes enemies significantly tougher).
Defeat the General guarding the next courtyard.
Reward: Prayer Bead (3/40)
Strategy: Kill all of his supporting riflemen and soldiers using stealth first. Run away to reset Tenzen's awareness, then sneak behind him for a stealth Deathblow. Fight him with Mikiri Counters for his spear-like thrusts and jump sweeps.
Go down the cliffs to the left of the broken bridge to find the Underbridge Valley Idol. Jump down the snowy ledges, enter the cave, and hide in the sedan chair. When the giant Great Serpent approaches, stab it in the eye and run to grapple away.
Escape the snake, climb up the cliff sides, and grab the Ashina Castle Gate Fortress Idol. Eavesdrop on the guards, view the Kuro remnant memory, and prepare to enter the wide battlefield.
Face the mounted general on the battlefield.
Rewards: Memory: Gyoubu Oniwa (Attack Power upgrade) & Mechanical Barrel (unlocks prosthetic upgrades at the Sculptor).
Strategy: Use Shinobi Firecrackers! They will spook Gyoubu's horse, stunning him for 3-4 seconds. Grapple to Gyoubu whenever the green grapple indicator appears on his head to close the distance and strike. Deflect his large spear swings to break his posture.
Walk up the stairs across the battlefield. Go inside the tower and meet Tengu of Ashina. Accept his request to hunt "rats". Climb the rafters of the same building using your grapple to find a chest in the attic containing a Prayer Bead (4/40). (Use 4 beads at the nearby Idol to obtain the First Prayer Necklace!). Buy a Gourd Seed (3/9) from the Battlefield Mob next to the tower.
Grab the Ashina Castle Gate Idol. Head past the gates, climb the wall to the right, and kill the three short assassin dwarves (rats) under the trees. Return to Tengu to receive the Ashina Esoteric Text skill tree.
Confront the frenzied bull guarding the bridge.
Rewards: Prayer Bead (5/40) & Shinobi Medicine - Rank 2 (passive skill)
Strategy: Run! Chase the bull instead of letting it chase you. Stay behind its hind legs to land safe hits. If it charges straight at you, deflect at the very last second when it lowers its head—this will stun it and allow you to hit its head for massive posture damage. Shinobi Firecrackers work wonders here as well.
Talk to the praying old lady on the bridge, use a Soul Balloon near her, and continue forward to activate the Ashina Castle Idol.
Return to the Hirata Estate memory to complete the storyline and confront Lady Butterfly.
Clear the bridge bandits and defeat the spear hunter.
Reward: Prayer Bead (6/40)
Strategy: Use your Loaded Axe to shatter the wooden shields of the guards on the bridge. Sneak through the grass to stealth-kill Enshin's archer companions first. Reset aggro, then stealth-deathblow Enshin. Use the Mikiri Counter on his dangerous spear thrusts to break his posture instantly.
Grab the Bamboo Thicket Slope Idol. Swim upriver, grapple to the left ledge, strike the bamboo, and wall jump to the top. Defeat the purple ninja on the roof and open the shrine chest to collect Mist Raven's Feathers.
Return to the slope, cross the burning bridge, and talk to your dying father, Owl, to get the Hidden Temple Key. Grapple across the trees to reach the Hirata Estate - Main Hall Idol.
Defeat the giant bandit boss in the main courtyard.
Rewards: Prayer Bead (7/40) & Unrefined Sake
Strategy: Stealth-kill all of Juzou's bandit minions in the courtyard. Run away to drop combat aggro, then sneak up and deliver a stealth Deathblow to Juzou. Immediately run over to the water edge and talk to the samurai NPC (Nogami Gensai) to have him join the battle. Let Gensai tank Juzou while you strike his back. Use the Flame Vent for extra damage.
Enter the building behind Juzou. Activate the Hirata Audience Chamber Idol. Turn around, enter the side hallway, and hug the wall with the calligraphic painting. This rotates into a secret room. Open the chest to collect a Prayer Bead (8/40). (Form the Second Prayer Necklace!).
Confront the illusionist master in the hidden temple.
Rewards: Memory: Lady Butterfly & Sakura Droplet (increases resurrect charges).
Strategy: Stay aggressive! Deflect her fast needle strikes. When she jumps onto the thin wires, wait for her to start moving, then throw a Loaded Shuriken to knock her out of the air for massive posture damage. In Phase 2, when she summons illusion soldiers, run in circles around the outer pillars of the room until they turn into butterflies, or use Snap Seeds. Deflect her combos and counter.
Return to the Dilapidated Temple. Give the Feathers to the Sculptor to forge the Mist Raven tool, completing Act 1.