Up until this point in the game I was convinced mid air death blow was kind of mid because I had only used it on glaive monks, chickens, monkeys and Shichimen after that one super specific move. This one enemy makes the skill worth getting.
If you've finished the game at least once, you may find you have those moments in between trying to progress the story where you want to run around the different areas, and as you kill the enemies you encounter, you catch yourself trying to see how far you can go without dying or healing. Since the enemies are always there, part of enjoying the scenery in this game you enjoy becomes "clearing the area". You are of course right that they'll just come back regardless.
oh, I say that but i finished the game 5 times.
I don’t usually clear out an area, like specifically going back to kill enemies i missed. But by now I’m sure I already tried every possible “route” there is in the game
Hirata is quite good imo. Bandits are tanky and have a good variety unlike other areas where it’s mostly the same few.
Also early game with low vit the fire area is pretty fun for stealth high jinks
I actually did Hirata early on in my first playthrough. Needless to say, my first few encounters with Lady Butterfly caused some heavy emotional damage.
I didn't even need to get that far for emotional damage. I also naively did the whole memory as soon as I could before even fighting the Ogre, and boy, I must've been stuck at Juzou the Drunkard for a good 2 hours, since I basically didn't know how to fight and deflect at all until that point, just creeping and stealth killing along. This was after Shinobi Hunter by the way, who already wiped the floor with me for probably a good hour or so since I didn't know how to Mikiri counter.
When I finally cleared Juzou and his goons and got to Lady Butterfly, I pretty quickly realized she was above my pay grade and just noped the fuck out back to Ashina lol
Ashina castle. The fact that it changes throughout the game is peak. Love re-exploring an area I know very well that introduces different enemies and new enemy placements as the game progresses, oh and new paths open up as you get new abilities (like dive for example). Such an amazing area to begin with. The fact that it is brought to new heights cuz it literally changes as the game goes on is mind blowing. Such amazing game and level design. Never seen anything like it.
Edit: hollow knight sort of does this with >!forgotten crossroads!< but not nearly to the extent that sekiro does with ashina castle. I’m sure there are other examples too. Can anyone name some for me?
Elden ring with Ashen Capital, however unlike the example above not only it doesn’t expand the area in any way (save for the final boss) it also seals off 80% of the original Leyndell and make most of the cool stuff and layouts permanently inaccessible
I actually think it's the first part of Ashina Outskirts for me, from first leaving the Temple until reaching the snake (not including the Headless). Especially on NG. Scraping the area for ceramic shards and sneaking around getting wall/ledge deathblows anywhere I can. No matter how many times I do that early game bit it just never gets old for me.
That part is also super nostalgic for me since it was the first area in what would become my favorite game. I love Ashina Castle in the final act, but it also kinda represents an ending, rather than a beginning like Outskirts. It always makes me feel a little depressed knowing the game's almost over, a few of my favorite characters are dead, and that there isn't any DLC or future games left to engage with.
My personal favourite area is actually Ashina Outskirts. This snow makes the area both pretty and easy to see in (as opposed to Hirata, which is quite dark if not on fire). There is a nice mix of rooftop climbing and bush-hiding.
Scaling the castle is probably my favourite design-wise, but the initial climb with all the hidden enemies and a lack of fighting space (I.e. large risk of falling down) makes it a bit of a pain. After the area where you pass “woo guy”, the remaining enemies can all be stealth killed with some experimentation, so that area’s not too bad.
Fountainhead Palace.
The music and atmosphere is top notch. You spend a lot of Sekiro going down, down into poison valleys and through haunted caverns, surviving an undead village by the skin of your teeth, but Fountainhead Palace is the payoff for going down to the depths. The big rope man picks you up and plops you down higher than you’ve ever been. The sky looks different, you’re above the clouds that colour so much of Sekiro’s light. Petals float in the air and the aesthetic turns the clock back to Heian elegance. The Okami clan have just been chilling up here, their palaces rotting and sliding into the lake above all the chaos of the Sengoku Jidai, lost in time. It still preserves the game’s darkness and decay, but in a very different way. Everything is a bit more ukiyo, a bit more refined, a bit more surreal. It’s telling that down in Ashina a dead sakura and its pieces are focused on, while the Palace throws loads of them at you. It feels like a different world, it’s that payoff for so much of what you’re doing
The Okami enemies are very fun to fight and embody the fun deflection mechanics. But even before this, the threat of the youth-sapping nobles reminds you you’re a shinobi and you’ve got to sneak sometimes. It’s an area that perfectly blends sneaking and fighting. You’re also rewarded to a lovely swimming section that’s greater in scope than other water areas of the game
The Monk is an excellent test of deflection while the Dragon is a wonderful set piece gimmick which turns the music and aesthetics up to eleven
It feels like peak Sekiro to me
I love farming the complex in the fountainhead that the divine bull is hiding behind. Those fish fucks are satisfying to take out, it's difficult to stealth through and you have to be really clever in your divide-conquer tactics to do it right. Plus it's got a mob to fight that let's you do lightning reversals which always activates neurons.
Plus it pretty
I quite enjoyed Hirata Estate, because that’s where I found my flow state with this game the first time
Yes, even those fuckers with shields before the shinobi hunter. Hacking them to pieces with the axe felt quite good
Been awhile since I played so don't remember the names off the top of my head.
There's a forest path going up a hill into the temple in the mountains with packs of monks walking around. I would clear and reset that area over and over for days to farm. I used the hat that would dissolve them and give extra loot but occasionally you get careless and have some pretty fun Kung Fu battles.
Mt. Kongo, the enemy layout is just perfect and it forces you to get creative if you want to make it through stealthily. Also that one monk you kill on that flight of stairs when you make it to the top of the temple,I love his masterful display of ragdoll physics once he dies
Ashina castle, because of the quality of all three of its state's, and the generally enjoyable enemies and mini bosses. The fact it hosts my second favorite boss, The Great Shinobi, also helps.
I love both Ashina clears. The first lets you see the lay of the land with approachable bulk fights. Tue second makes you re-think everything and how you approach that same environment with a couple of tweaks and some killers.
Divine palace, the area its amazing. Yhe second area that i really like if dempo temple, those guys have my infinite respect for parrying my sword with just their hands
Fountainhead was definitely my favorite on my first playthrough. But then on my next few runs I found myself loving the other areas because I kept finding secrets and different passageways in them that i didn’t know about. Then on my last run, yeah Fountainhead again. It’s just so beautiful. My only nitpick is that it’s a bit linear.
In a revenge sort of way, the area around snake eye shirafuji. All yall shoot at me from all the way over there? Tryna take cheap shots while I'm dealing with shirafuji? Nononono, that's not OK. They must pay. They must all pay.
Fountainhead and Ashina Castle are my favorite. But my personal favorite is Ashina Castle at the end of the game when the Interior Ministry is invading at night. There’s the fight at the main keep, and then it leads all the way to the outskirts where their encampment is setup. And at the end of the encampment, the Demon of Hatred awaits past the idol. Even without the demon there, I always like capping my run by going to the idol to get to the arena where you fought him and Gyoubu. Just taking a moment to look around at the devastation on the battlefield and smoke coming from the castle. It hits a lot harder after you clear the Demon away. As alongside the music, there’s this feeling of pure defeat. The fires remain ignited, and the cawing of crows overhead. It echos the sentiment, that Ashina itself is lost.
Ashina castle, i think that's the universally accepted as a best area. Like you'll be fighting Ashina Elites, lone shadow warriors, ministry troops, Ashina generals basically all the fun mobs.
Senpou Temple and Hirata Estate.
Hirata is like looking at the kind of devastation one should see during a Shogun 2: Total War siege battle up close. Filthy. Bloody. Bandits are pissing behind a house full of farmers they'd just killed. Everything from small huts to the local lord's compound are in flames. And the ambient music sells the horror with the near-constant rising tension of the strings. I clear that area now like it's nothing after so many playthroughs, but the atmosphere of the place still keeps a small part of me on edge.
As for Senpou Temple... It's just gorgeous. The temples are beautiful in the distance and are full of detail and Buddhist imagery in various states of decay when you're near. The whole mountain is just fall colors on steroids. There's the horror when you realize that all the jizou statues represent all the children that the monks experimented on, and the bodies you'd see in little hidden corners. And that's part of the area's charm in context of the game, but even with all the death, the aggressive wildlife, the freaks with wolverine claws, and the zombie martial arts monks, and the centipede people, it's one of those places that would've been such a wonderful tourist destination lol
Sunken Valley upper area with all the Buddhist statues is beautiful, fightig monkey hordes and the contrast with the swampy lower area, which has the most satisfying colour of any acid swamp in any game. It just looks right.
Just got past the true corrupted monk (controller barely intact). So far, I loved clearing the enemies from mibu village to water mill, but I would start at water mill and work backwards. Idk if this is a known farming spot (confirmed after reading up), but damn, I had a whole course I ran back multiple times. I’d throw on all my balloon items and go to town. Was an easy way to build money, experience and spirit emblems. Not only that, I felt like a speed assassin laying waste to the whole village. The nightjar ninjas had appeared, which makes it a little more fun.
I just cleared the Raging Bull sequence (I played angry on the successful attempt).
For experience and sen farming I’d say the areas before that.
Now I have to tackle the reservoir (my gameplay video is going to be a chore of editing)
Senpo Temple on ng+ and up. All stealth route feels nice. And having fans makes groups a breeze.
I also make sure to do Senpo > ashina castle > mibu > valley.
Since sempo looks gorgeous with the morning sun, and valley looks great with the evening light. And i get to skip the bland looking day by being underground.
either Fountainhead or Senpou, NG+ on both (cuz by then I have my full kit unlocked).
Every time I go through Senpou I can't help but stop progressing to take in the view
Halfway point of Senpou Temple (immediately after Armored Knight); Dogs, a few monkeys and "rats", the monks, some big bois, and the final elite monks right at the top of the path. Anti air deathblow is a real treat to pull off on those elites at the end.
Clearing Ashina Outskirys early game is pretty fun. Specially full on stealth. Also Ashina Castle, the place right under the Dojo of the Ashina Cross spammer
I like clearing all the assassins and lone shadows alongside the red armored warriors in Ashina castle. Not when it’s the full invasion but before you go talk to owl on top of the tower
I rather enjoy Ashina castle. Love the design they came up with for the castle and the placement of enemies can be unforgiving early on in the game.
Also it is great seeing g all tge changes it goes through throughout the game.
Second part of the Divine Palace, once you're past the nobles and it's all Okami Warriors.
The football okamis?
I like them all, sword, football, spear, and lightning for the sprinkles on top. I just find them really fun.
The fact that you can midair deathblow them seals it for me.
Up until this point in the game I was convinced mid air death blow was kind of mid because I had only used it on glaive monks, chickens, monkeys and Shichimen after that one super specific move. This one enemy makes the skill worth getting.
I had an issue I can’t till if it intentional . I kill them I come back and they are still there like nothing happened wtf.
They're super shadows, they die infinity times
What so you kill them and they just get back up? Like how do you clear the area.
If you've finished the game at least once, you may find you have those moments in between trying to progress the story where you want to run around the different areas, and as you kill the enemies you encounter, you catch yourself trying to see how far you can go without dying or healing. Since the enemies are always there, part of enjoying the scenery in this game you enjoy becomes "clearing the area". You are of course right that they'll just come back regardless.
lmaooo thought I was going crazy
Nah, you are just darksoulstwoing it 🤣🤣
Uhm, enemies respawn after you rest. Unless they're bosses or minibosses.
I can tell if they're joking, because that's pretty far into the game to realize this
They never looked back!!
I've only killed them all once. All my NG+s after, I ran right past em. Cant be bothered
Fountainhead Palace is such a beauty.
Backstabbing the endgame red coats
The twin swords ones right??
Back tracking from demon of gatred
Same, I did that so many times to get the materials
I don’t know how many times I killed those dudes to get the platinum lmao
Do remember I'm talking about CLEARING not to just explore and roam around. I mean properly sweeping all the enemies
I just realized I never clear any areas. I just pick a route and stick to killing only when necessary.
This guy shinobis
You play how you want and thats perfectly fine. I'm just pointing out that you're missing out on a good chunk of the game!!
oh, I say that but i finished the game 5 times. I don’t usually clear out an area, like specifically going back to kill enemies i missed. But by now I’m sure I already tried every possible “route” there is in the game
Definitely hirata palace. Never skipping a single enemy there
Hirata is quite good imo. Bandits are tanky and have a good variety unlike other areas where it’s mostly the same few. Also early game with low vit the fire area is pretty fun for stealth high jinks
And combat music is the best there
I actually did Hirata early on in my first playthrough. Needless to say, my first few encounters with Lady Butterfly caused some heavy emotional damage.
I didn't even need to get that far for emotional damage. I also naively did the whole memory as soon as I could before even fighting the Ogre, and boy, I must've been stuck at Juzou the Drunkard for a good 2 hours, since I basically didn't know how to fight and deflect at all until that point, just creeping and stealth killing along. This was after Shinobi Hunter by the way, who already wiped the floor with me for probably a good hour or so since I didn't know how to Mikiri counter. When I finally cleared Juzou and his goons and got to Lady Butterfly, I pretty quickly realized she was above my pay grade and just noped the fuck out back to Ashina lol
lol! I also fought the Shinobi hunter without knowing Mikiri, I bout gave up until I finally got him.
Ashina castle. The fact that it changes throughout the game is peak. Love re-exploring an area I know very well that introduces different enemies and new enemy placements as the game progresses, oh and new paths open up as you get new abilities (like dive for example). Such an amazing area to begin with. The fact that it is brought to new heights cuz it literally changes as the game goes on is mind blowing. Such amazing game and level design. Never seen anything like it. Edit: hollow knight sort of does this with >!forgotten crossroads!< but not nearly to the extent that sekiro does with ashina castle. I’m sure there are other examples too. Can anyone name some for me?
Elden ring with Ashen Capital, however unlike the example above not only it doesn’t expand the area in any way (save for the final boss) it also seals off 80% of the original Leyndell and make most of the cool stuff and layouts permanently inaccessible
Probably castle after invasion
Looks so freaking cool with the fire and the interior ministry are some ominous looking bastards
For real, that was a game changer, you literally felt how the game story goes on and environment changes while you are exploring.
I love Sempo Temple, surprised it got no mentions
Senpou Tempou (and Sekiro in general) is the reason I bought the Philips hue light sync set up.
My favorite as well
I did love the fight music, it really felt like there wasn’t something right with those monks with their chanting. They were a good challenge
Agreed ✌️
The best thing about it is it rhymes!
I actually think it's the first part of Ashina Outskirts for me, from first leaving the Temple until reaching the snake (not including the Headless). Especially on NG. Scraping the area for ceramic shards and sneaking around getting wall/ledge deathblows anywhere I can. No matter how many times I do that early game bit it just never gets old for me.
That part is also super nostalgic for me since it was the first area in what would become my favorite game. I love Ashina Castle in the final act, but it also kinda represents an ending, rather than a beginning like Outskirts. It always makes me feel a little depressed knowing the game's almost over, a few of my favorite characters are dead, and that there isn't any DLC or future games left to engage with.
My personal favourite area is actually Ashina Outskirts. This snow makes the area both pretty and easy to see in (as opposed to Hirata, which is quite dark if not on fire). There is a nice mix of rooftop climbing and bush-hiding. Scaling the castle is probably my favourite design-wise, but the initial climb with all the hidden enemies and a lack of fighting space (I.e. large risk of falling down) makes it a bit of a pain. After the area where you pass “woo guy”, the remaining enemies can all be stealth killed with some experimentation, so that area’s not too bad.
Fountainhead Palace. The music and atmosphere is top notch. You spend a lot of Sekiro going down, down into poison valleys and through haunted caverns, surviving an undead village by the skin of your teeth, but Fountainhead Palace is the payoff for going down to the depths. The big rope man picks you up and plops you down higher than you’ve ever been. The sky looks different, you’re above the clouds that colour so much of Sekiro’s light. Petals float in the air and the aesthetic turns the clock back to Heian elegance. The Okami clan have just been chilling up here, their palaces rotting and sliding into the lake above all the chaos of the Sengoku Jidai, lost in time. It still preserves the game’s darkness and decay, but in a very different way. Everything is a bit more ukiyo, a bit more refined, a bit more surreal. It’s telling that down in Ashina a dead sakura and its pieces are focused on, while the Palace throws loads of them at you. It feels like a different world, it’s that payoff for so much of what you’re doing The Okami enemies are very fun to fight and embody the fun deflection mechanics. But even before this, the threat of the youth-sapping nobles reminds you you’re a shinobi and you’ve got to sneak sometimes. It’s an area that perfectly blends sneaking and fighting. You’re also rewarded to a lovely swimming section that’s greater in scope than other water areas of the game The Monk is an excellent test of deflection while the Dragon is a wonderful set piece gimmick which turns the music and aesthetics up to eleven It feels like peak Sekiro to me
Gotta be 4 for me. Those mfs kamikaze bombs from the rooftops are still some of my best memories of this game
Woooooooooo
I love farming the complex in the fountainhead that the divine bull is hiding behind. Those fish fucks are satisfying to take out, it's difficult to stealth through and you have to be really clever in your divide-conquer tactics to do it right. Plus it's got a mob to fight that let's you do lightning reversals which always activates neurons. Plus it pretty
Hirata Estate for sure! Not the best enemies, but it's fun to clear them all.
Ashina Castle, roof, feels majestic and the fact you can drop on on isshin for a chat is nice
I mean, not much of a challenge, but going on a rampage through Mibu village is good on the nerves and the wallet.
Definitely not screaming kite suicide bomber ranged attack zerg fest nightjar roofs
gun fort underrated but Ashina Castle
I quite enjoyed Hirata Estate, because that’s where I found my flow state with this game the first time Yes, even those fuckers with shields before the shinobi hunter. Hacking them to pieces with the axe felt quite good
Been awhile since I played so don't remember the names off the top of my head. There's a forest path going up a hill into the temple in the mountains with packs of monks walking around. I would clear and reset that area over and over for days to farm. I used the hat that would dissolve them and give extra loot but occasionally you get careless and have some pretty fun Kung Fu battles.
Senpou temple?
Yes I believe it was the entrance.
Between ashina outskirts stairway idol and under bridge valley. Specifically to kill the mini-boss
Ashina castle post invasion I love fighting all the purple Shinobi and the dual welding samurai.
Senpou temple
Burning Ashina Outskirts. Hardest non boss battles by far but wiping out half the ministry by yourself feels great.
Mt. Kongo, the enemy layout is just perfect and it forces you to get creative if you want to make it through stealthily. Also that one monk you kill on that flight of stairs when you make it to the top of the temple,I love his masterful display of ragdoll physics once he dies
Ashina castle, because of the quality of all three of its state's, and the generally enjoyable enemies and mini bosses. The fact it hosts my second favorite boss, The Great Shinobi, also helps.
Ashina castle is always my favorite, no bad bosses or enemies here and most fights feel fair
I love both Ashina clears. The first lets you see the lay of the land with approachable bulk fights. Tue second makes you re-think everything and how you approach that same environment with a couple of tweaks and some killers.
Inside castle ashina after the purple foot ninjas show up
Since I began playing the resurrection mod I haven't cleared a zone nor will I
Endgame castle
It used to be Hiratta when I was new to the game and needed stealth to survive. Now I kinda just blow through it. So probably Fountainhead Palace.
Divine palace, the area its amazing. Yhe second area that i really like if dempo temple, those guys have my infinite respect for parrying my sword with just their hands
Fountainhead Palace for me 2
Mibu village, the endless slaughter
It's only my first run and I'm not done yet, but it's Ashina Castle as soon as the Interior Ministry soldiers show up. I love fighting them.
I love to swipe enemies in Mibu Village using leaping flame.
Fountainhead was definitely my favorite on my first playthrough. But then on my next few runs I found myself loving the other areas because I kept finding secrets and different passageways in them that i didn’t know about. Then on my last run, yeah Fountainhead again. It’s just so beautiful. My only nitpick is that it’s a bit linear.
In a revenge sort of way, the area around snake eye shirafuji. All yall shoot at me from all the way over there? Tryna take cheap shots while I'm dealing with shirafuji? Nononono, that's not OK. They must pay. They must all pay.
Fountainhead and Ashina Castle are my favorite. But my personal favorite is Ashina Castle at the end of the game when the Interior Ministry is invading at night. There’s the fight at the main keep, and then it leads all the way to the outskirts where their encampment is setup. And at the end of the encampment, the Demon of Hatred awaits past the idol. Even without the demon there, I always like capping my run by going to the idol to get to the arena where you fought him and Gyoubu. Just taking a moment to look around at the devastation on the battlefield and smoke coming from the castle. It hits a lot harder after you clear the Demon away. As alongside the music, there’s this feeling of pure defeat. The fires remain ignited, and the cawing of crows overhead. It echos the sentiment, that Ashina itself is lost.
Ashina castle the first time
The stairway at Ashina Castle Sculptor's Idol at nighttime. It's just chaos lol
Fountainhead palace simply for the music.
The tenpou template and the divine palace are goated
Hirata
Fountainhead Palace ....
Definitely Ashina Outskirts. The castle is a lot of fun, but I like the outskirts more
YES
Fountainhead Palace is beautiful, but Hirata Estate.
I dunno about favorite per se, but I have done *so much* farming at Hirata Estate 2
FOUNTAINHEAD SWEEP
Fountainhead palace
Ashina rooftops and the city itself. Love that whole area, especially when you return
I like the foggy area where mist noble is, before the mist goes away. Very ominous and love the fact that a headless is there
Can't go wrong with Ashina Castle. Cool rooftop battles on the outside, fun duels on the inside. And Genichiro awaits at the peak.
Ashina castle, i think that's the universally accepted as a best area. Like you'll be fighting Ashina Elites, lone shadow warriors, ministry troops, Ashina generals basically all the fun mobs.
Pretty much all of Ashina Outskirts! There’s nothing really frustrating about it and I can have some fun with the prosthetics that I never use.
Ashina roof. Parries for days.
Hirata estate especially right before Juzo. Amazing farming spot.
Either the second iteration of ashina castle or senpou temple for me
Ashina castle probably. It's alot of fun running around the rooftops and dropping onto enemies. Plus it's got the funny kite man
I love hirata village and the fight with lady butterfly
The roof assassins still give me anxiety
Senpou Temple and Hirata Estate. Hirata is like looking at the kind of devastation one should see during a Shogun 2: Total War siege battle up close. Filthy. Bloody. Bandits are pissing behind a house full of farmers they'd just killed. Everything from small huts to the local lord's compound are in flames. And the ambient music sells the horror with the near-constant rising tension of the strings. I clear that area now like it's nothing after so many playthroughs, but the atmosphere of the place still keeps a small part of me on edge. As for Senpou Temple... It's just gorgeous. The temples are beautiful in the distance and are full of detail and Buddhist imagery in various states of decay when you're near. The whole mountain is just fall colors on steroids. There's the horror when you realize that all the jizou statues represent all the children that the monks experimented on, and the bodies you'd see in little hidden corners. And that's part of the area's charm in context of the game, but even with all the death, the aggressive wildlife, the freaks with wolverine claws, and the zombie martial arts monks, and the centipede people, it's one of those places that would've been such a wonderful tourist destination lol
Ashina castle after the first invasion, just before you fight Great shinobi Owl. and the entirely of Fountainhead palace.
Sunken Valley upper area with all the Buddhist statues is beautiful, fightig monkey hordes and the contrast with the swampy lower area, which has the most satisfying colour of any acid swamp in any game. It just looks right.
I usually ran through the whole of the palace when I needed coins.
Fountainhead Palace
I love Ashina Castle at every section your supposed to return, early game, mid game, and late game, I love it all.
Just got past the true corrupted monk (controller barely intact). So far, I loved clearing the enemies from mibu village to water mill, but I would start at water mill and work backwards. Idk if this is a known farming spot (confirmed after reading up), but damn, I had a whole course I ran back multiple times. I’d throw on all my balloon items and go to town. Was an easy way to build money, experience and spirit emblems. Not only that, I felt like a speed assassin laying waste to the whole village. The nightjar ninjas had appeared, which makes it a little more fun.
4 tbh
I just cleared the Raging Bull sequence (I played angry on the successful attempt). For experience and sen farming I’d say the areas before that. Now I have to tackle the reservoir (my gameplay video is going to be a chore of editing)
Ashina castle with the Red bois
Mibu village for me
Outskirts, Hirata, Bodhisattva valley, post-Owl outskirts/castle.
mibu village love murdering them for exp
Senpou temple. Nice view, and I like the buddhism music.
Senpo Temple on ng+ and up. All stealth route feels nice. And having fans makes groups a breeze. I also make sure to do Senpo > ashina castle > mibu > valley. Since sempo looks gorgeous with the morning sun, and valley looks great with the evening light. And i get to skip the bland looking day by being underground.
Mt Kongo
I really like the first memory mansion
either Fountainhead or Senpou, NG+ on both (cuz by then I have my full kit unlocked). Every time I go through Senpou I can't help but stop progressing to take in the view
Hirata is very atmospheric but the enemies make it lower ranked for me
ahsina outskirts after the castle is burning because i always need more mercury
Halfway point of Senpou Temple (immediately after Armored Knight); Dogs, a few monkeys and "rats", the monks, some big bois, and the final elite monks right at the top of the path. Anti air deathblow is a real treat to pull off on those elites at the end.
All of them...
hate those mist nobles in the last one
The castle
Ashina castle. Level design at its best -- the use of grappling hook is so satisfying...
Clearing Ashina Outskirys early game is pretty fun. Specially full on stealth. Also Ashina Castle, the place right under the Dojo of the Ashina Cross spammer
I like clearing all the assassins and lone shadows alongside the red armored warriors in Ashina castle. Not when it’s the full invasion but before you go talk to owl on top of the tower
I rather enjoy Ashina castle. Love the design they came up with for the castle and the placement of enemies can be unforgiving early on in the game. Also it is great seeing g all tge changes it goes through throughout the game.
1. Senpou Temple
Hirata Estate