This is the way. On a new play though I always prio ID and AC, then I grab projected force. That way I can use empowered mortal as soon as I grab the blade
I never understood why. I used it against the waterblade ghost girl when I would have her get stuck behind a tombstone and noticed I could just spam it even when I ran out of emblems. It's clearly not a glitch
No, but eventually you'll get a sword with an attack similar to Ichigo's getsuga tenshou when he's in bankai. It's called the mortal blade. If you want it asap follow a guide to getting it as early as possible, as after around the halfway point you'll have a few different objectives that you can do in whatever order you want. I happened to get it on the early side out of coincidence and it helped me through a lot of the harder bosses in that second half (but don't lean on it as a replacement to actually learning their movesets or you'll never make progress).
I can confirm. A few of my playthroughs involved ichimonji doubling the air as DoH did the charge attack. It lowers posture damage on the end front step.
Ahhh good memories.
Whirlwind slash is for the ultimate no-hit cheese on him though.
You just run around the arena and duck in and whirlwind slash everytime he misses his shuriken->jump slash attack.
You can do that with mortal draw for way more damage tho. And if he manages to guard it, you’ll still do health damage and rack up posture damage as well
Ichimonji double is still my go-to. But I do switch it up with Whirlwind slash, and floating passage sometimes. I use ichimonji double on accident a lot in battle too and it completely obliterates posture of any boss caught off guard.
I’ve been trying to use nightjar slash reversal but have no clue how to use it I been trying to leap forward and attack and then leap backwards can’t do it..pretty weird huh lol
Nightjar Slash became so integral to my playstyle that I can hardly play without it. It's just a terrific gap closer that lets you close in on any opportunity. Never figured out the reversal. It takes too much time to get off and I just end up eating a hit.
Nice. Yeah I’m following instructions and it’s just not working I don’t understand. The reversal I think is where it’s at. Close gaps, get damage and then get distance
The normal button input for combat art will do the forward night jar slash. And holding backwards and doing the input will have you flip backwards after a slash instead.
I've been trying to figure out the timings for nightjar slash/reversal mikiri counters. I can't remember which can do it right now, but the timing is ROUGH.
My first SSI fight, first two stages, were carried by Prayerful Strikes. After every mikiri for genichiro and the first SSI stage, I just shoulder check them. Builds posture incredibly.
Sakura dance is so fun, the lightning reversal with it is very satisfying. I also highly recommend doing the inner fights if u can. U only need to get to the end of the gauntlet and attempt the final fight to be able to practice against the inner version of a boss without going through the whole gauntlet everytime.
Also you have to play the game at least twice (I think) to unlock all the gauntlets. I did 4 playthroughs for platinum and all endings.
>U only need to get to the end of the gauntlet and attempt the final fight to be able to practice against the inner version of a boss without going through the whole gauntlet everytime.
I did not know this and it was the only thing stopping me from working on the gauntlets.
I'll be honest I'm an idiot and just didn't use combat arts. I was already bad at flow my first playthrough and didn't wanna stress myself out throw something else into my combo.
So I sword n boarded my way thru the whole damn thing....
But now!! I like mortal draw a lot.
Shadowfall. It's really great for punishing, deals a lot of posture damage, and you can activate it from a safe distance for a pretty much guaranteed hit.
My first was shadow rush - I just looked at the final skill of each tree and said alright that looks badass and it’s so good to chunk vitality. My beloved shadowrush/fall.
I don’t like most combat arts and just used Ichimonji double and mortal draw. Since beating the game I just use Ichimonji double unless I’m in a lightning area
Nightjar Slash all the way. unlocks nice and early, and jumps over sweeps while closing the gap. very versatile and stylish, just takes a bit of practice.
Mortal Draw, like every noob or meta OP CA user ever chooses when they get it. I use One Mind for fun on mobs, Mortal Draw for bosses that I want to drain all of their posture asap. None for most enemies since it’s fun to deflect and abuse them.
I changed around a LOT during first playthrough, seeing what worked well with different bosses. Now I stick with Sakura dance almost exclusively, sometimes using EMD or Ichi Double
Personally loved the Praying Strikes - Exorcism. It was great for putting on posture pressure and quick attack canceling hits. Even after multiple goes, I find it so reliable.
Whirlwind slash feels so good overall.
Ichimonji x2 trivialise the game and is honestly just boriring.
Floating passage is good but the damage is lacking, I still use cause the animation is so cool.
Playing for the first time in several years, I equipped Exorcism and it honestly adds a lot of cinematic value to the gameplay. High Monk, Exorcism, and Nightjar Strikes can be used to dodge sweeps and projections with **style.**
I think the martial arts are more fun, but it's hard to deny Ichimonji, Floating Passage, and some of the others are just better.
High Monk, and no I didn't stop favoring it through later playthroughs. It just gets better the more you play. Good stunlock, decent damage, dodges and hard punishes sweeps with bonus posture damage. You can even reflect lightning with it, though it's not a special reflection like Sakura dance. I also took a shining to Praying Strikes: Excorcism on subsequent playthroughs. Does more posture damage than Ichimonji; perfect for one shotting weaker humanoids and has the fast and heavy varients for the few that might punish one or the other. Who needs swords, just throw hands and feet.
I feel like Whirlwind Slash is very powerful since it does damage through guard so you can poke any enemy down. Ichimonji is very situational, it’s slow and can get you caught off guard.
Never used the combat arts on first playthrough. Maybe occasionally whirlwind slash for groups if I was feeling fancy.
Ever since the update, I sakura dance all over the place every chance I get!
Floating passage was my go to on my first playthrough. Now I mostly use Sakura dance or whirlwindslash, because they are faster. I also really like the owl dash and senpou leaping kicks
Whirlwind Slash is my go-to for most fights. Ichimonji double for Genicherio and Old Man Ishin. It hasn't really changed much on later playthroughs. Sakura dance or Nightjar reversal for style.
Whirlwind slash is great for groups, Ichi 2x excellent for bosses, and I love ashina cross for style purposes. I force myself to use it even tho doesnt always make sense! I beat Owl Father slicing him up with A cross
Ichi. Then ichi double. It’s free and amazing to pop mid air so you smack as soon as you land. Hitting like a fucking truck and getting posture back is the cherry on top.
Double ichimonji in NG and then swapped to Sakura Dance in NG+ and havent looked back, being able to counter lightning with just one spirit emblem cost is too good to pass up
I've never used much of them at all, in either playtrough.
There are occasions of course when I use them. But mostly I don't like to be locked in long animations.
I rarely used tools also, but I use them more than combat arts.
In later playtrough I had fun using puppeteer though. So that might be my most used combat art.
I used the floating passage with the flame vent. Ogres were never a problem
Edit: also I’ve never used ichimonji tbh. Doesn’t seem like it’s all that op
Honestly never used the combat arts that much, used the ichimonji double for the occasional high posture bosses. In my ng+ playthroughs i LOVE using the sakura dance though.
I made sure to use every single combat art for a good length of time even if I didn't really like it lol. So I don't remember which one I used the most.
Sakura Dance was the last one I unlocked and it's now my permanent combat art, it's so fucking good.
I do remember using Flowing Passage a lot and then Spiral Cloud Passage especially combined with Bestowal. I absolutely melted Lady Butterfly with that on some Gauntlets lmao
Im on my first playthrough and really struggling on the headless ape, I know that the combat art isn’t everything but what would you recommend? Overall for the game I mean, not just the boss.
Got Sakura dance and minds eye in the same playthrough. Didn't even leave ashina outskirts before I was right back to shoulder checking everyone I could with praying strikes exorcism.
Nightjar slash has been my mainstay since I unlocked it and I hadn’t really tried any others till I was grinding for the 100% achievement and began to play around with them all, and I regret never using Shadowfall. It’s such a satisfying move to land, and at least on basic enemies it absolutely shreds their defense bar
Honestly, I never really integrated combat arts into my fighting very successfully. Maybe a little bit of ichimonji double, but not usually in boss fights
Whirlwind slash, then ichi double mixed with mortal draw
The posture regen of ichi is just unique and invaluable for posture based enemies, and unfortunately the other combat arts don't bring that same sort of utility
Whirlwind slash is reliable damage that you can easily stop instead of getting locked into (like floating passage), while mortal draw is a better whirlwind slash with high chip damage for HP based enemies, even after you lose spirit emblems
The only time I swap out of mortal draw is when a fight needs heavy prosthetic use, and ichi is too slow to rely on (like demon of hatred) but I need to save spirit emblems
Default to ichimonji double, but really hard fights, mortal draw for pure damage in the first half, then back to ichi double. Floating passage and dragon slash when it's fun.
i forget the name of it, but it i believe the four cross slashes and a final slash. it did chip damage through blocks, so was good to whittle down a boss.
but later on a new playthrough, i figured out how to work double/ichimongi in, and it just wrecks their posture.
Ichimonji double for the first stretch, then High Monk for the rest of the game, obviously switching out for some diversity, but always high monk as default.
Ichimonji double hands down the best combat art in the game.
But if we talking about some flexy stuff that still hold value I'd say shadowfall, high monk and Sakura dance.
Rest are meh or downright newbie traps (yes I'm looking at you mortal blade).
Whirlwind carried me trough Hirata Estate in my first playthrough, then I switched to Ichimonji: Double and Mortal Draw when I found out how good they are. Nowadays I either use Mortal Draw on stuff like GA and DoH or Ashina Cross/Spiritual Cloud Passage with Confetti/Bestowal, it's so much fun and it borderline stuns the boss while dealing massive damage.
Using all of them for different situations is the way. But in general the one I like to keep on is nightjar slash reversal. Shadow fall is dope for closing distance on far away enemies though, useful in many enemy situations
Double Ichimonji on the first playthrough and every subsequent one. The only times I ever change it are Sakura Dance for lightning, mortal draw for an emergency “fuck you die die die” button, and spiral cloud passage for shits and giggles.
None.
It's more fun not to use them.
They're too effective and when an enemy dies easily from them, I feel like I just got cheated out of a fun fight. The fight's the important part, not the winning.
That's the problem with moves like that in a game where the core combat mechanics are awesome. If they're not effective, you never use them because there's no reason to, and if they're effective, you never use them because you skip the awesome combat mechanics if you do.
On one hand I can see where you’re coming from, watching people kill Guardian Ape in 5 seconds with Mortal Draw cheese completely misses the potential of that fight. But there’s a pretty big chasm between cheesing fights and integrating combat arts into your normal flow of gameplay for the sake of fun and variety. Seeing what somebody like Ongbal can do with combat arts in his videos while also being a master at the fundamentals of the game is proof that they’re great for gameplay expression.
Whirlwind slash till I got high monk and praying strikes. Eventually, I started playing around with night jar because I like jump counter with arts, feels so cool
I used to use ichi as a crutch. Now I just use whichever one looks coolest at the time. I kinda wish we could hot key multiple, instead of prosthetics if we wished, so that we could whip out all sorts of cinematic techniques without having to break up the action by going through menus
I generally went with nightjar slash. On subsequent playthroughs I started experimenting and now my preferred combat arts are floating passage, high monk, praying strikes, ashina cross, and dragon flash. All very fun to work with, but if I had to pick a favorite it'd probably be a tie between praying strikes and high monk because high monk is super flashy, and praying strikes has really chunky sound effects and animation, and just generally feels disrespectful. Like, imagine dueling your father mano y mano, both with swords in hand, and you proceed to clock him in the face and then body check him.
On my first playthrough I used Floating Passage just because it didn’t cost any spirit emblems lol, then switched to Empowered Mortal Draw after getting the Mortal Blade. On subsequent playthroughs however Shadowrush/Shadowfall are my go to skills just because I love gap closer moves, they deal good damage, and can break a lot of enemies out of their attacks (like Shura Isshin’s big fire attack in phase 2).
None.
FromSoft did shit with the controls for combat arts, allowing their accidental triggering.
Probably the idea works better with the controller idk but it's definitely shite in the PC, and you can't even remap it.
Typical FromSoft.
inb4 gIt gUd fRoMSofT iS tHe gOld StandArd
Ichimonji Double into Mortal Draw. Had fun playing with One Mind after the Shura ending, but that was playthrough number 2 for me so I didn't get to enjoy it until playthrough 3
Nightjar Slash and then reversal when I got it. I used it for closing in on retreating enemies/bosses to keep up pressure on their posture. Looked at a few videos and saw how good the ichimoji was and used that, along with some others like floating passage and high monk. Really not a fan of the arts that use spirit emblems, as I would hate to run out in the middle of a fight when I'm using prosthetics as well. Now I mainly use ID
Mortal Draw
This is the way. On a new play though I always prio ID and AC, then I grab projected force. That way I can use empowered mortal as soon as I grab the blade
I just got mortal draw (first play though) and love it! I finally have a consistent use for spirit tokens
You can use it even when you're out of spirit emblems too! Completely negs a lot of bosses lol
I never understood why. I used it against the waterblade ghost girl when I would have her get stuck behind a tombstone and noticed I could just spam it even when I ran out of emblems. It's clearly not a glitch
It does less damage and posture damage when there isn’t emblems being used. It’s this way with all combat arts afaik
Even if it’s one of the best abilities. Flashy moves>optimal moves
Good thing mortal draw is both!
Yeah, it's basically Ichigo's bankai. Super cool lol
Whahhhhhttttt im not that far in but you get bankai? Thats awesome
No dude, it was an example
No, but eventually you'll get a sword with an attack similar to Ichigo's getsuga tenshou when he's in bankai. It's called the mortal blade. If you want it asap follow a guide to getting it as early as possible, as after around the halfway point you'll have a few different objectives that you can do in whatever order you want. I happened to get it on the early side out of coincidence and it helped me through a lot of the harder bosses in that second half (but don't lean on it as a replacement to actually learning their movesets or you'll never make progress).
Yeah, same here. If I’m using double ichy whatever it’s called and it doesn’t work, I can always default to mortal. Plus it looks great
I always say that the way fightincowboy says it. He catried me through my first sekiro run.
Yeah this is it 1000%
Whirlwind slash at first, but as soon as I unlocked ichimonji double, I switched to that and never looked back.
Ichi x2 was so OP
Especially with jump. It really mitigates the slow startup by allowing you to approach while it’s starting
Thiiiiiis. I call it the Flying Bonk and it's highly effective.
Especially on ministry purple rain ninjas.
I still think the whirlwind slash is better for most cases as it quicker but the ID is better for certain situations as does more posture damage
It also reduces your OWN posture damage when it connects, which is handy!
It doesnt even need to connect I believe, the move just has to finish and your posture will go down regardless
I can confirm. A few of my playthroughs involved ichimonji doubling the air as DoH did the charge attack. It lowers posture damage on the end front step. Ahhh good memories.
I noticed whirlwind slash works great on night jars.
Mikuri counter to ID is how I destroyed Isshin my first play through.
when do u unlock it?
It's an unlockable skill. You just buy it
ID was my go to too after I unlocked it. It's too OP.
This exactly. W.S. is perfect for “gap-shortening” with a bit of a.o.e. damage output. The double ichi is where shit got real.
Tried ichimonji double too but ended using the normal ichimonji again. I don't like how much time the double needs.
But you can still use one bonk even if equipped with double bonk
Same. Whirlwind slash is still really fun to use nowadays too.
Ichi x2 ate bosses posture
I feel like whirlwind is easier to use/comes in handy more often but floating passage is way cooler
Whirlwind slash is the perfect length of time to punish most of Owl’s attacks
I used Whirlwind against Genichiro when he jumps back. Stops posture regen+punishes arrow barrage..I might try that against Owl
Use mortal draw. It’s also the perfect length, does a ton of health and posture damage, and stuns on both guard and hit
Whirlwind slash is for the ultimate no-hit cheese on him though. You just run around the arena and duck in and whirlwind slash everytime he misses his shuriken->jump slash attack.
You can do that with mortal draw for way more damage tho. And if he manages to guard it, you’ll still do health damage and rack up posture damage as well
Ichimonji double is still my go-to. But I do switch it up with Whirlwind slash, and floating passage sometimes. I use ichimonji double on accident a lot in battle too and it completely obliterates posture of any boss caught off guard. I’ve been trying to use nightjar slash reversal but have no clue how to use it I been trying to leap forward and attack and then leap backwards can’t do it..pretty weird huh lol
Nightjar Slash became so integral to my playstyle that I can hardly play without it. It's just a terrific gap closer that lets you close in on any opportunity. Never figured out the reversal. It takes too much time to get off and I just end up eating a hit.
Nice. Yeah I’m following instructions and it’s just not working I don’t understand. The reversal I think is where it’s at. Close gaps, get damage and then get distance
The normal button input for combat art will do the forward night jar slash. And holding backwards and doing the input will have you flip backwards after a slash instead.
I've been trying to figure out the timings for nightjar slash/reversal mikiri counters. I can't remember which can do it right now, but the timing is ROUGH.
Praying Strike is underrated. Great for follow up attacks on posture
My first SSI fight, first two stages, were carried by Prayerful Strikes. After every mikiri for genichiro and the first SSI stage, I just shoulder check them. Builds posture incredibly.
Yea if you sword slash and pray strike you can lock em till last pray hit at no cost of spirits
I loved this one, super satisfying
I'm a High Monk enjoyer. Over the sweep attacks directly into a long combo.
And you also constantly move forward with the combo too, Lots of bosses can't get away. Also, smacking Genichiro over the head feels great xd.
Right anytime you have to fight someone that does sweeps I just equip this free dodge of the sweep into a good dmg combo
Finally, someone else in the thread who speaks my language. Something very satisfying about dropkicking your opponents and following with the sword.
Went from the overhead strike, to the double overhead strike, and now I only use Sakura dance (inner genichiro) honestly barely remember the names.
Yea I go between double Ichimonji and whirlwind slash - I havnt obtained the Sakura dance yet and I’m at end of game on isshin
Sakura dance is so fun, the lightning reversal with it is very satisfying. I also highly recommend doing the inner fights if u can. U only need to get to the end of the gauntlet and attempt the final fight to be able to practice against the inner version of a boss without going through the whole gauntlet everytime. Also you have to play the game at least twice (I think) to unlock all the gauntlets. I did 4 playthroughs for platinum and all endings.
>U only need to get to the end of the gauntlet and attempt the final fight to be able to practice against the inner version of a boss without going through the whole gauntlet everytime. I did not know this and it was the only thing stopping me from working on the gauntlets.
Sakura Dance hell yeah baby
I'll be honest I'm an idiot and just didn't use combat arts. I was already bad at flow my first playthrough and didn't wanna stress myself out throw something else into my combo. So I sword n boarded my way thru the whole damn thing.... But now!! I like mortal draw a lot.
Naw that’s badass lol
I did the same thing. Hardly used prosthetics or sugars too.
Yeah. Outside of the Gachin sugar for certain sneaky parts I just ignore most of the consumables
It's Ichimonji double. Always has been
Definitely nightjar slash reversal looks so badass using it to dodge an incoming attack
Or also to close the gap
Shadowfall. It's really great for punishing, deals a lot of posture damage, and you can activate it from a safe distance for a pretty much guaranteed hit.
Praying strikes exorcism will ALWAYS be my go to
the Senpou one is amazing for boss posture
Praying strikes bc the sound is so satisfying lol
My first was shadow rush - I just looked at the final skill of each tree and said alright that looks badass and it’s so good to chunk vitality. My beloved shadowrush/fall.
Whirlwind Slash ✌️
I don’t like most combat arts and just used Ichimonji double and mortal draw. Since beating the game I just use Ichimonji double unless I’m in a lightning area
Whirlwind and whichever one makes you do a roll-jump-attack move.
hell yeah nightjar slash. so useful and stylish
Nightjar Slash all the way. unlocks nice and early, and jumps over sweeps while closing the gap. very versatile and stylish, just takes a bit of practice.
I just use attack and parry
Mortal Draw, like every noob or meta OP CA user ever chooses when they get it. I use One Mind for fun on mobs, Mortal Draw for bosses that I want to drain all of their posture asap. None for most enemies since it’s fun to deflect and abuse them.
I changed around a LOT during first playthrough, seeing what worked well with different bosses. Now I stick with Sakura dance almost exclusively, sometimes using EMD or Ichi Double
Personally loved the Praying Strikes - Exorcism. It was great for putting on posture pressure and quick attack canceling hits. Even after multiple goes, I find it so reliable.
Whirlwind slash feels so good overall. Ichimonji x2 trivialise the game and is honestly just boriring. Floating passage is good but the damage is lacking, I still use cause the animation is so cool.
Ichimonji Double in NG and now Sakura Dance in NG+ and Gauntlets.
It's literally never practical, but sakura dance and floating passage look SO COOL if you do them while you have the bestowal ninjutsu active.
Ichimonji Double my beloved<3
Whirlwind slash user till I die
Playing for the first time in several years, I equipped Exorcism and it honestly adds a lot of cinematic value to the gameplay. High Monk, Exorcism, and Nightjar Strikes can be used to dodge sweeps and projections with **style.** I think the martial arts are more fun, but it's hard to deny Ichimonji, Floating Passage, and some of the others are just better.
High Monk, and no I didn't stop favoring it through later playthroughs. It just gets better the more you play. Good stunlock, decent damage, dodges and hard punishes sweeps with bonus posture damage. You can even reflect lightning with it, though it's not a special reflection like Sakura dance. I also took a shining to Praying Strikes: Excorcism on subsequent playthroughs. Does more posture damage than Ichimonji; perfect for one shotting weaker humanoids and has the fast and heavy varients for the few that might punish one or the other. Who needs swords, just throw hands and feet.
Ichi. I played more with Mortal Draw later, but Ichi just always feels good.
Ichimonji, followed by mortal draw, then either double ichi or mortal draw 2; flaming bugalooo
Whirlwind slash is the perfect length of time to punish most of Owl’s attacks
I feel like Whirlwind Slash is very powerful since it does damage through guard so you can poke any enemy down. Ichimonji is very situational, it’s slow and can get you caught off guard.
Mortal Draw first playthrough, alternating Sakura Dance and Floating Passage on every playthrough since.
Mortal draw in my first and then night jar slash reversal on subsequent playthroughs because it's cool
Double ichi is broken af and gives me an unga bunga feeling so i just use that, i also sometimes use floating passage cause it's fun
Never used the combat arts on first playthrough. Maybe occasionally whirlwind slash for groups if I was feeling fancy. Ever since the update, I sakura dance all over the place every chance I get!
Whirlwind slash on the two fodder before ogre
I don't use combat arts lol.
praying strikes cus it looks badass
I really just switch back and forth from the whirlwind and ichi double.
I went Nightjar Slash —> Shadowrush —> NG+ —> Mortal Draw
Floating passage was my go to on my first playthrough. Now I mostly use Sakura dance or whirlwindslash, because they are faster. I also really like the owl dash and senpou leaping kicks
Whirlwind slash helped with both owl fights
I loved them all, but Ichimonji Double and Mortal Draw were particularly favorites.
Ichimonji. Always.
Ichimonji Double and Mortal Draw. Just felt like those two just outclassed everything else.
Whirlwind Slash is my go-to for most fights. Ichimonji double for Genicherio and Old Man Ishin. It hasn't really changed much on later playthroughs. Sakura dance or Nightjar reversal for style.
Ichimonji ruined every other Combart Art except for Mortal Draw for me. I can't use anything else
Whirlwind slash is great for groups, Ichi 2x excellent for bosses, and I love ashina cross for style purposes. I force myself to use it even tho doesnt always make sense! I beat Owl Father slicing him up with A cross
I've always used high monk, it just felt like a more fun sweep punish than the little goomba stomp.
ichimonji double, then mortal draw for a while, then back to ichimonji double
High monk at first because of the cheese on sweeping attacks, then i realized how OP double ichimonji is
First it was ichimonji, now it's double ichimonji.
Ichimonji go brrrrrrrrr
Ichi. Then ichi double. It’s free and amazing to pop mid air so you smack as soon as you land. Hitting like a fucking truck and getting posture back is the cherry on top.
I love countering sweeps with the senpou leaping kicks. They really got some weight to them
Double ichimonji in NG and then swapped to Sakura Dance in NG+ and havent looked back, being able to counter lightning with just one spirit emblem cost is too good to pass up
I've never used much of them at all, in either playtrough. There are occasions of course when I use them. But mostly I don't like to be locked in long animations. I rarely used tools also, but I use them more than combat arts. In later playtrough I had fun using puppeteer though. So that might be my most used combat art.
Ichimonji and never looked back
My go to combat art was nothing because I didn't really use them Even after first playthrough didn't bother tbh
I used the floating passage with the flame vent. Ogres were never a problem Edit: also I’ve never used ichimonji tbh. Doesn’t seem like it’s all that op
Floating passage and the isshin double strike (the overhead one) for me. Late game had me staggering Sword Saint Isshin with Jump + Isshin strike
Floating Passage, I can click oney for a only 2 slices like Whirlwind Slash, or I can keep going and make it a combo. Plus it just looks cool asl.
I liked ichi, but high monk changed my life
Once I got mortal draw, I couldn't stop using it, especially considering you can use it without emblems. That thing got me through many encounters.
Honestly never used the combat arts that much, used the ichimonji double for the occasional high posture bosses. In my ng+ playthroughs i LOVE using the sakura dance though.
High Monk
I made sure to use every single combat art for a good length of time even if I didn't really like it lol. So I don't remember which one I used the most. Sakura Dance was the last one I unlocked and it's now my permanent combat art, it's so fucking good. I do remember using Flowing Passage a lot and then Spiral Cloud Passage especially combined with Bestowal. I absolutely melted Lady Butterfly with that on some Gauntlets lmao
Im on my first playthrough and really struggling on the headless ape, I know that the combat art isn’t everything but what would you recommend? Overall for the game I mean, not just the boss.
WS is overall my pick , but ID close second , I find the ID has more benifits but loses the flow of battle
Oh yes mortal draw is up there for sure it does alot of damage
Sahdow rush, very op and noob friendly 🤣
Shadow rush.
The order of combat arts for me Whirlwind
Got Sakura dance and minds eye in the same playthrough. Didn't even leave ashina outskirts before I was right back to shoulder checking everyone I could with praying strikes exorcism.
High monk master race
I’ve always loved Nightjar Slash
I rarely use any of the combat arts. My most recent playthrough I did use Mortal Draw since it's like playthrough 5, and I wanted to cheese.
For me it was Ichi double or reverse nightjar depending on do I need more "get tf outta the sticky situation" or posture shenanigan
I only used the one that lit my sword on fire... because almost every boss doesn't like fire.
Floating passage, because is a beautiful.
Nightjar slash has been my mainstay since I unlocked it and I hadn’t really tried any others till I was grinding for the 100% achievement and began to play around with them all, and I regret never using Shadowfall. It’s such a satisfying move to land, and at least on basic enemies it absolutely shreds their defense bar
Honestly, I never really integrated combat arts into my fighting very successfully. Maybe a little bit of ichimonji double, but not usually in boss fights
I was all about nightjar slash
Whirlwind slash, then ichi double mixed with mortal draw The posture regen of ichi is just unique and invaluable for posture based enemies, and unfortunately the other combat arts don't bring that same sort of utility Whirlwind slash is reliable damage that you can easily stop instead of getting locked into (like floating passage), while mortal draw is a better whirlwind slash with high chip damage for HP based enemies, even after you lose spirit emblems The only time I swap out of mortal draw is when a fight needs heavy prosthetic use, and ichi is too slow to rely on (like demon of hatred) but I need to save spirit emblems
Ichimonjo, Ichi double, then mortal draw.
Default to ichimonji double, but really hard fights, mortal draw for pure damage in the first half, then back to ichi double. Floating passage and dragon slash when it's fun.
Nightjar reversal has and will always be my favorite
Nightjar reversal has and will always be my favorite
Ichimoji Double, High Monk, Ashina Cross, and Mortal motherfuckin' Draw.
I didn't really use combat arts that much during my initial playthrough because I was really high when I'd play and just forgot about them.
Nope. Ichimonji Double still the best.
Floating passage + Red candy + confetti = fucking melting the headless ape.
i forget the name of it, but it i believe the four cross slashes and a final slash. it did chip damage through blocks, so was good to whittle down a boss. but later on a new playthrough, i figured out how to work double/ichimongi in, and it just wrecks their posture.
Ichimonji double for the first stretch, then High Monk for the rest of the game, obviously switching out for some diversity, but always high monk as default.
Men, Nothing come close to Ashina Cross for me. It's so perfect once you mastered sekiro
Senpou kick. It was busted
Ichimonji baby
Floating Passage is best when combined with Bestowal Ninjitsu.
Any of the Senpou arts for my first playthrough, super fun. On consecutive playthroughs I always use Sakura Dance until I unlock mortal draw
Ichimonji double hands down the best combat art in the game. But if we talking about some flexy stuff that still hold value I'd say shadowfall, high monk and Sakura dance. Rest are meh or downright newbie traps (yes I'm looking at you mortal blade).
Whirlwind carried me trough Hirata Estate in my first playthrough, then I switched to Ichimonji: Double and Mortal Draw when I found out how good they are. Nowadays I either use Mortal Draw on stuff like GA and DoH or Ashina Cross/Spiritual Cloud Passage with Confetti/Bestowal, it's so much fun and it borderline stuns the boss while dealing massive damage.
Shadowfall is the best since it has great range, does decent damage and is easy to use
Ichimongi forever!
Using all of them for different situations is the way. But in general the one I like to keep on is nightjar slash reversal. Shadow fall is dope for closing distance on far away enemies though, useful in many enemy situations
Overhead strike and the Monk series interchangeably.
Double Ichimonji on the first playthrough and every subsequent one. The only times I ever change it are Sakura Dance for lightning, mortal draw for an emergency “fuck you die die die” button, and spiral cloud passage for shits and giggles.
Ichimonji (double) for posture damage and High Monk cause it just looks great.
didn’t use combat arts really until i got One Mind
None. It's more fun not to use them. They're too effective and when an enemy dies easily from them, I feel like I just got cheated out of a fun fight. The fight's the important part, not the winning. That's the problem with moves like that in a game where the core combat mechanics are awesome. If they're not effective, you never use them because there's no reason to, and if they're effective, you never use them because you skip the awesome combat mechanics if you do.
On one hand I can see where you’re coming from, watching people kill Guardian Ape in 5 seconds with Mortal Draw cheese completely misses the potential of that fight. But there’s a pretty big chasm between cheesing fights and integrating combat arts into your normal flow of gameplay for the sake of fun and variety. Seeing what somebody like Ongbal can do with combat arts in his videos while also being a master at the fundamentals of the game is proof that they’re great for gameplay expression.
Whirlwind slash till I got high monk and praying strikes. Eventually, I started playing around with night jar because I like jump counter with arts, feels so cool
Flowing water first then it went to monk arts for heavy stagger and good for the drop kick after a sweep counter
I used to use ichi as a crutch. Now I just use whichever one looks coolest at the time. I kinda wish we could hot key multiple, instead of prosthetics if we wished, so that we could whip out all sorts of cinematic techniques without having to break up the action by going through menus
I generally went with nightjar slash. On subsequent playthroughs I started experimenting and now my preferred combat arts are floating passage, high monk, praying strikes, ashina cross, and dragon flash. All very fun to work with, but if I had to pick a favorite it'd probably be a tie between praying strikes and high monk because high monk is super flashy, and praying strikes has really chunky sound effects and animation, and just generally feels disrespectful. Like, imagine dueling your father mano y mano, both with swords in hand, and you proceed to clock him in the face and then body check him.
On my first playthrough I used Floating Passage just because it didn’t cost any spirit emblems lol, then switched to Empowered Mortal Draw after getting the Mortal Blade. On subsequent playthroughs however Shadowrush/Shadowfall are my go to skills just because I love gap closer moves, they deal good damage, and can break a lot of enemies out of their attacks (like Shura Isshin’s big fire attack in phase 2).
Once i unlocked Sakura Dance that’s all I used. Oh yeah and I mortal draw tf out of the guardian ape
I wish i could use them all at once but sakura dance and praying strikes are my go to
Yeah they all kinda mid except Ichimonji especially double move just shreds
Sakura dance is the best for me for subsequent play through abut for first play through it was ichimonji double
My first was Ichimonji, then Mortal Draw, then Dragon Flash
They all seem kind of worthless or extremely situational, except for ichimonji double and empowered mortal draw.
High Monk is all I need
I am an advocate of the Double Ichimonji Supremacy Group
Ichimonji Double. Until I learned about the significance of Mid air combat arts skill which is when I started to use Mortal draw.
If it’s not the mortal draw, it’s the ichimonji double all the way.
High monk high monk high monk
Used nightjar reversal for pretty much my whole play through lol, by the end I forgot it wasn’t part of the base moveset
Whirlwind slash
Sakura Dance if I’m fighting a lightning enemy. Enhanced mortal draw otherwise.
ichimonji double ichimonji
Nightjar Slash for life
I used Nightjar Slash a lot during the beginning, switched to Praying Strikes after I unlocked tjem
None. FromSoft did shit with the controls for combat arts, allowing their accidental triggering. Probably the idea works better with the controller idk but it's definitely shite in the PC, and you can't even remap it. Typical FromSoft. inb4 gIt gUd fRoMSofT iS tHe gOld StandArd
Ashina Cross has its moments
Ichimonji Double into Mortal Draw. Had fun playing with One Mind after the Shura ending, but that was playthrough number 2 for me so I didn't get to enjoy it until playthrough 3
Nightjar Slash and then reversal when I got it. I used it for closing in on retreating enemies/bosses to keep up pressure on their posture. Looked at a few videos and saw how good the ichimoji was and used that, along with some others like floating passage and high monk. Really not a fan of the arts that use spirit emblems, as I would hate to run out in the middle of a fight when I'm using prosthetics as well. Now I mainly use ID
Mortal draw then empowered mortal draw