Sekiro Demon of Hatred boss guide: How to defeat the huge, hulking beast

The fact that the Sekiro Demon of Hatred boss is a completely optional encounter almost makes it more important to take down. This is not a game where you walk away from a fight. It's also one of the biggest, hardest bosses in the game. And, unlike any other Sekiro boss fight, posture doesn't really do much here so you almost have to unlearn everything the game's taught you. Read on for help on how to defeat the Sekiro Demon of Hatred boss.

How to kill the Sekiro Demon of Hatred boss

A lot of this fight will be spent with you next to his leading leg. You’re going to spend a lot of time circling to the left of his leg in order to avoid attacks and attacking all the while in order to reach the three deathblows required to fell this demon. While the vast majority of his attacks do huge damage, his reach is long which makes his leg the safest place to be for the most part.

There will be a few opportunities to grapple during the fight, make sure you take these when possible as they offer a rare chance for easy damage. The unblockable attacks he uses become more frequent as you progress through the fight as well as changing in form. A good shout is to run away from him whenever you see the dreaded red kanji. The other attack to watch for is where he leaps into the air, this is followed by a fiery shockwave as he lands and is another good chance to grapple back to him.

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The final phase has him stomping a lot more which makes being underneath him a bit more dangerous. Keep an eye on his legs and if one raises up back off until he has finished the attack. Also, be wary of a barrage of fireballs he can now launch, this has him shooting eight fireballs at you. If you count them as they come out you can charge back at him just before the eighth one in order to get a few hits in.

This is one of the longest fights in the game due to the absurd health pool of the Demon so it is very much about taking your time and getting in the easy hits. While you can expect to die off a fair few times his attacks do have tells and it is just a matter of learning them.