How to Beat the Great Shinobi Owl in Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice
If there is one thing Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice does well it is boss fights. And when it comes to boss fights, few are as impactful as the battle against your father, the Great Shinobi. He has a powerful array of attacks to use, but if you play it smart you beat him comfortably. Want a hand with that? Nerds and Scoundrels has you covered! Keep reading our Sekiro Shadows Die Twice Great Shinobi Owl Guide for all the answers!
Sekiro Shadows Die Twice Great Shinobi Owl Guide
To initiate the Great Shinobi – Owl boss fight, you will first need to obtain the Stone and the Flower. Once that is done, go meet with Kuro. You will need to head to Ashina Castle, but the bad news is all of the idols nearby are blocked. You will need to travel to the idol at the Abandoned Dungeon. From there, head to the dojo where you battle Genichiro.
When you arrive, you will see your father and Kuro in dialogue. You will then get a cut scene, after which your father will give you an ultimatum to choose between him or Kuro. When you choose loyalty to Kuro, it’s time to fight.
The Battle – Phase One
Needless to say, your dad isn’t happy. After calling you names, it’s time fight. This battle is similar to your fight with Genichiro. Great Shinobi has melee abilities as well as ranged attacks. The main thing to remember in this fight is to focus on parrying. As you do this, you will build up posture damage. Keep parrying and working to get behind him. Slash when you get the chance, but get ready to block his attack every time you see his weapon flash as that is the signal he is about to attack.
From time to time, Great Shinobi will jump into the air and throw shurikens. These can be problematic unless you have skilled into projectile block in your skill tree. If you haven’t done some, you may want to reconsider this fight until you do. Thankfully, these are easily blocked with the right skills and don’t occur that frequently.
He also has a AOE bomb that will prevent you from using your gourd. It’s not hard to figure out when this attack is coming, as he will kneel down briefly before throwing a bomb into the air. The area of effect is extremely small, so this isn’t hard to dodge. As soon as he kneels, just move away from him and be ready to avoid the AOE effect. You can either step dodge the attack or move out of range entirely.
If you want to focus on melee attacks, try to force him into the corner. Forcing his back to the wall means Great Shinobi will be forced to brawl with you in close quarters which benefits you. If you can force him to fight in close, he will rarely use his shuriken or bomb.
Phase Two
When the fight enters the second phase, Great Shinobi will develop some new attacks you haven’t seen yet. These include a smoke bomb as well as a poison throw.
The smokebomb is used as a screen to cover his jab attacks. When he throws the smoke bomb, move away because a sword jab is imminent. The animation for this attack is slow enough that you have ample time to avoid this attack or just walk out of range. The Great Shinobi is vulnerable after he jabs, so be ready to counter attack.
He will also mix in some ranged poison attacks. Now, when your father jumps into the air he will launch a poison attack instead of a shuriken. The attack comes in cone-shaped area of effect, so be ready to step-dodge to the side or even back out of range completely. This attack isn’t that powerful, so even getting hit won’t cause you to die from poison right away. Wear him down until you can get a deathblow, then land a second one to end the fight.
How to Get the Great Shinobi – Owl Achievement
One of the achievements in Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice is tied directly to the boss fight with The Great Shinobi. This achievement is called Great Shinobi – Owl. The great thing about this achievement is that you obtain it just by defeating the Great Shinobi. In other words, if you follow the guide above and win the epic boss fight, you’ll automatically get this achievement.
Nerds and Scoundrels
And that concludes our Sekiro Shadows Die Twice Great Shinobi Owl Guide. Do you have any tips for beating this boss that we missed? If so, let us know in the comment section below. And don’t forget to check out the rest of our Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice content here at Nerds and Scoundrels. Want to see this boss fight in action? Check out the full video below.
