How to spare bosses in Sifu and break the cycle of revenge

Knowing how to spare bosses in Sifu means you can choose to end the cycle of violence you've been perpetuating, and renounce the revenge you were so intent on taking against the leaders who have wronged you. If you've already beaten the game then you'll have worked out that you're trapped in an endless loop, with the conclusion providing a few cryptic hints about how you can escape this, so you can ultimately reach the Sifu true ending. To be clear, you don't have to complete the game for the options I detail in this guide to appear, but from a narrative point of view it makes sense for you not to follow them up until you move on to your subsequent playthroughs. If you're ready to spare bosses in Sifu and reach the true ending, then this is what you need to do.

Visit our 12 essential Sifu tips, along with our Sifu skills recommendations and Sifu age system explanation, to improve your Martial Arts abilities.

How to spare bosses in Sifu

To spare bosses in Sifu you need to reach the second phase of the boss fight, then break your opponent's Structure twice. Structure is represented by their top bar that gradually fills and turns from yellow to red, and you can add to this by getting hits in on the boss or parrying their attacks by tapping Deflect (L1/LB) at the moment of impact. Weapon hits can also fill your opponent's Structure bar more quickly, depending on the rewards you've been investing in at Shrines. Once you max it out and a further hit or parry reveals the Takedown prompt for the first time, ignore it and do nothing.

After a few seconds they will recover, and their Structure bar will partially empty. To finish sparing the boss in Sifu, you now need to max it out once again without letting their health bar get to zero, otherwise you will automatically finish them off. Continue with parries along with light hits until the Structure bar is filled a second time, and at this point when the Takedown prompt appears there will also be a dialogue option to spare the boss, so choose this to end the encounter on a different cutscene and receive your reward.

Rewards unlocked when you spare bosses in Sifu

Every time you spare bosses in Sifu you'll unlock one of the five Talismans, along with a shiny trophy if you're on PlayStation or achievement on Xbox. These rewards are as follows:

Wood Talisman:
Spare Fajar in the Squats - Muk Yan Master trophy/achievement
Fire Talisman:
Spare Sean in the Club - Tiger on Fire trophy/achievement
Water Talisman:
Spare Kuroki in the Museum - Source of Flying Daggers trophy/achievement
Metal Talisman:
Spare Jinfeng in the Tower - Iron Money trophy/achievement
Earth Talisman:
Spare Yang in the Sanctuary - Legendary Talismans of Wuxing trophy/achievement

How to get the Sifu true ending

To reach the Sifu true ending, you have to spare all five bosses so you can fully break the cycle of revenge. By doing this, you will attain Wude and not be forced to repeat history over and over again, instead achieving enlightenment. We won't say any more than that, but make sure you stick around for the quick post-credits scene to form your own opinion of what happens next.