Pretty standard on the surface, but there’s a catch: in Sekiro, some Skills are actually missable, as to unlock the respective Sekiro Skill Tree you’ll need to also find the corresponding Esoteric Text, and some of those are easy to miss entirely. We’ll detail that Skill Tree list and those Esoteric Text locations below, as well as explaining our choices for the best Skills in Sekiro and how to grind Skill Points effectively, too. On this page: New moves can be equipped in the menu, and you’ll be able to practice them on Hanbei the Undying at the Dilapidated Temple pretty early on. However, to access most of these Skills, you’re first going to need to unlock their respective Skill Trees using hard-to-find Esoteric Texts. Once you’ve gained these, you will have access in the menu to unlock these skills, provided you have enough Skill Points. To earn Skill Points, you are going to need to just grind against enemies in the game. Thankfully, at least, in Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice you won’t lose all of your skill points upon death. Instead, you will lose 50% of your Sen (money) and any experience that’s not yet accumulated into the next “banked” skill point. How to Grind Skill Points in Sekrio - the best early Skill Point grinding location After you defeat Gyoubu at the Ashina Castle Gate, you’ll want to push ahead, take out a rifleman and then grapple on top of the building, then head right and towards an outcrop. Here, you’ll notice two enemies by a tree, with a third hiding behind a tree just further beyond. Head to the far tree, stealth kill the “rat” as Tengu of Ashina so kindly calls them, and then push forward, stealth kill the other, and use your Loaded Axe to break the shield of the third. This little route alone will net you 210 experience towards the next Skill Point, and can be done in under a minute. Happy hunting! A final thing to bear in mind on the topic of Skill Point grinding, too: because you lose all of your Skill Point experience progress to the next point upon death, it’s often worth grinding a bit of experience somewhere before boss fights if you’re relatively close to the next one. If a few kills will tip you over the edge to a new point, and you’re about to go and get torn a new one by a big boss, maybe just take a second to grind a little and “bank” that point before you press on! Looking for more Sekiro pages like this? First up, the first main Sekiro patch notes for update 1.03 are live. Otherwise, our Sekiro boss guide, boss list and walkthrough hub has everything in one place, including pages on Lady Butterfly, Genichiro Ashina Way of Tomoe, Folding Screen Monkeys, Corrupted Monk, Guardian Ape, Great Shinobi Owl, Emma and Isshin Ashina, True Corrupted Monk, and Divine Dragon. We also have in-depth pages like Sekiro tips and tricks to get you started, Sekiro Skills, skill tree and Esoteric Text locations explained, our deep dive on the Sekiro combat system, Posture, and Perilous Attacks, or details on all Sekiro Prosthetic Tool locations, how to cure Dragonrot and Rot Essence in Sekiro, Gourd Seed locations, a Divine Confetti farm route method, all Treasure Carp Scale locations, all, Prayer Beads locations and all Snap Seed locations, too. And when you’re ready - the how to beat Isshin Sword Saint and an Isshin Sword Saint cheese, plus the many Sekiro endings. Sekiro Shinobi Arts Skill Tree: Sekiro Prosthetic Arts Arts Skill Tree: Sekiro Ashina Arts Skill Tree: Sekiro Temple Arts Skill Tree: Sekiro Mushin Arts Arts Skill Tree: Coming soon! The best Skills in Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice
Mikiri Counter: The Mikiri counter is the first essential skill that you’ll want to unlock, it allows you to counter against thrust attacks and deal some damage to the enemy, this is incredibly useful for a particular early miniboss. Emma’s Medicine: Potency: This skill will let you get more out of your healing items, and in a pinch can be the difference between life and death, this one is a must have in order to balance out the game’s difficulty. Grappling Hook Attack: Sekiro is all about mastery of your space, and this skill will let you cover a significant amount of ground in a short amount of time in an offensive manner, it’s great for dipping in and out alongside a normal grapple in hairy situations. Breath of Life - Light: This skill will recover health upon dealing a deathblow, and it’s a great way to consolidate any damage taken while out on the offensive in a group of enemies, or against a boss. Praying Strikes: These strikes are great for interrupting enemies, and for setting up a larger offensive string of attacks, it’s so versatile and essential to adding to your arsenal as early as possible.
