Sekiro Shadows Die Twice contains Combat Styles (Skill Sets). You can also get individual Combat Arts (combat skills) from merchants. Acquiring all Skills unlocks the Height of Technique trophy or achievement. For it you only need the purchasable skills (the skills that cost points), not the ones that are dropped from bosses.
Combat Styles: Are awarded to you from general game progression and side quest rewards. These unlock skill trees. You earn XP by killing enemies (XP gauge in top right corner). Fill up the gauge to get a skill point. Then you can spend the skill points at any idol statue. There are 3 types of skills. Red skills are “Combat Arts” (unique attack moves, only one can be equipped at a time), Orange skills are “Latent Skills” (passive boosts and buffs that are always active), Blue skills are “Martial Arts” (new moves that don’t need to be equipped). Each Combat Style introduces new skills.
Individual Skills: Are bought from some merchants in the game or dropped by certain bosses. They often add a new Combat Art that can be equipped in the inventory.
We’ll start with the Combat Styles and then go through the purchasable Skills.
Combat Styles
These are the main skill sets in the game that have lots of sub-skills.
Shinobi Arts
Location: Dilapidated Temple
Requirement: Fill up your XP gauge once (blue bar top right corner) to earn 1 skill point. Then return to the Sculptor at the Dilapidated Temple to get the Shinobi Esoteric Text, which unlocks this combat style.
Skills:
- Whirlwind Slash (1 point)
- Mid-air Deflection (1 point)
- A Shinobi’s Karma: Body (2 points)
- Mid-air Combat Arts (3 points)
- A Shinobi’s Karma: Mind (3 points)
- Breath of Life: Light (5 points)
- Mikiri Counter (2 points)
- Run and Slide (1 point)
- Suppress Presence (2 points)
- Shinobi Eyes (3 points)
- Suppress Sound (3 points)
- Vault Over (2 points)
- Shadowrush (6 points)
Prosthetic Arts
Location: Dilapidated Temple
Requirement: Find 3 Prosthetic Tools and bring them to the Sculptor at the Dilapidated Temple. Let him fit them to your arm and he’ll give you the Prosthetic Esoteric Text after the 3rd tool. See Sekiro Shadows Die Twice All Prosthetic Tool Locations.
Skills:
- Chasing Slice (1 point)
- Fang and Blade (2 points)
- Mid-air Prosthetic Tool (3 points)
- Sculptor’s Karma: Blood (2 points)
- Sculptor’s Karma: Scars (3 points)
- Projected Force (1 point)
- Grappling Hook Attack (1 point)
- Nightjar Slash (2 points)
- Emma’s Medicine: Potency (4 points)
- Nightjar Slash Reversal (3 points)
- Emma’s Medicine: Aroma (5 points)
- Living Force (4 points)
Ashina Arts
Warning: This is missable, the NPC that gives this combat art disappears later in the game.
Location: Ashina Outskirts – Ashina Castle Gate
Requirement: After defeating the first main boss “Gyoubu Oniwa” (guy on horse), you will reach the Ashina Castle Gate idol. From where the boss fight happened, run across the battleground and up some stairs (not the stairs by the idol, the ones on the other side of the battleground). There you’ll find a friendly samurai inside a building. He’s called Tengu and gives you the “Rats” side quest (Screenshot 1 below). You must kill 3 small enemies that have big bamboo hats. Backtrack to the Ashina Castle Gate idol. This time, go through the gate by the idol. Pass by the single rifleman here and jump up to the area on the right side. There you find 3 of those “rat” enemies (Screenshot 2 below, they are midgets, not actual rat animals). Stealth kill 1 or 2 of them and return to the quest giver to get the Ashina Esoteric Text.
Skills:
- Ichimonji (2 points)
- Ascending Carp (2 points)
- Descending Carp (1 point)
- Breath of Nature: Light (2 points)
- Flowing Water (3 points)
- Ichimonji: Double (3 points)
- Ashina Cross (5 points)
Temple Arts
Location: Senpou Temple, Mt. Kongo – Main Hall
Requirement: From the 4th idol in Senpou Temple region, called “Main Hall”, leave the hall the way you came and then go through the dark tunnel section. In the tunnel you must drop down and then crouch under some rocks. After the tunnel you get back outside and reach a dead-end. There’s only one temple there and two poison geckos. Open the temple door, inside you find the Senpou Esoteric Text.
Skills:
- Praying Strikes (2 points)
- Virtuous Deed (3 points)
- Praying Strikes – Exorcism (3 points)
- Most Virtuous Deed (4 points)
- Senpou Leaping Kicks (3 points)
- Devotion (3 points)
- High Monk (4 points)
Mushin Arts
Location: Ashina Castle – Kuro’s Room (After returning from having defeated Divine Dragon in Fountainhead Palace)
Requirement: This is missable if you go for the Shura Ending (betraying Kuro)! Instead, you must stay loyal to Kuro. After having defeated Corrupted Monk (Ashina Depths) & Guardian Ape (Sunken Valley) all idols in Ashina Castle will become unavailable. You then need to get back there through the Abandoned Dungeon and head back to Kuro’s Room. Here on the tower roof you are given two dialogue choices: Betray Kuro or Stay Loyal to Kuro. You must pick the 2nd option to stay loyal to him. Only then you can reach the next area “Fountainhead Palace”, where you must defeat the Divine Dragon main boss. After defeating Divine Dragon you automatically get teleported back to Kuro’s Room. There Isshin Ashina will be dead on the floor with Emma sitting next to him. Talk to Emma and she’ll pass on Isshin’s Mushin Esoteric Text, which unlocks all Ultimate Combat Arts.
Skills:
- High Monk
- Shadowrush
- Ashina Cross
- Living Force
- Shadowfall (6 points)
- Spiral Cloud Passage (9 points)
- Empowered Mortal Draw (5 points)
Skills
These are individual skills bought from merchants and dropped by certain bosses. These are NOT needed for the “Height of Technique” trophy and achievement (acquired all Skills).
Anti-Air Deathblow: Found in Region “Ashina Castle”, Idol “Old Grave”. From this idol jump down the left side to a building with a broken roof below you. Inside sits a merchant that sells this skill for 1200 coins, the item is called Anti-air Deathblow Text.
Floating Passage Combat Art: Found in Region “Hirata Estate”, Idol “Dragonspring”. From this idol, jump down the hill. You’ll see a bridge on the left and a lake on the right. Go to the lake. There’s a guy in a barrel calling for treasure carp scales. He sells this skill for 5 scales. You can kill the fish in this lake and more are found later in the Hirata Estate region and other regions. See Sekiro Shadows Die Twice – All Treasure Carp Scale Locations.
Shinobi Medicine Rank 1: Dropped by Chained Ogre miniboss in Ashina Outskirts.
Shinobi Medicine Rank 2: Dropped by Blazing Bull miniboss in Ashina Castle.
Breath of Nature Shadow: Dropped by Armored Warrior miniboss in Senpou Temple, Mt. Kongo.
Breath of Life Shadow: Dropped by O’rin of the Water miniboss in Ashina Depths.
Mibu Breathing Technique: Dropped by Corrupted Monk main boss in Ashina Depths.
One Mind: Dropped by the endboss in the Shura Ending (not needed for Height of Technique trophy and achievement).
A Beast’s Karma: Dropped by Sakura Bull of the Palace miniboss in Fountainhead Palace.
Shinobi Medicine Rank 3: Dropped by Chained Ogre miniboss in Ashina Castle. Only spawns after the idols there get locked near end of story.
Dragon Flash: Dropped by the endboss in the Purification / Return / Mortal Severance Endings (Isshin the Sword Saint).
That’s all of the Sekiro Shadows Die Twice Skills!
Senpou Arts are named Temple Arts in-game.
Indeed, I changed that. The Esoteric Text was just called Senpou but in skill tree it’s named Temple Arts.
I think I’m missing something. I bought the Anti-air Deathblow Text but don’t have the Mortal Draw.
Have you unlocked the Mortal Blade yet? (finished Senpou Temple region). That MIGHT be needed as well. Please let me know if that unlocks it then.
Is latent skill required to complete this trophy? Thanks in advance
I mean the latent skill you got on headless and shichimen are required to unlock this trophy? Or just the one in the skill tree to learn plus the skill of the final boss of shura ending?
I recently bought a prosthetic tool from the merchant in Old Grave, and left the area. When I heard about Mortal Draw, I went back to buy it, but the merchant wasn’t there anymore! Where did he go?
He goes to the Senpou Temple and then to Sunken Valley Cavern, then he says he’ll go back to the castle but i couldnt find him. Although i was a able to buy the skill from the box next to the undying tutorial guy at the Dilapidated Templ.
He says it, but he hasn’t returned yet in my game. He still stays in front of his child’s grave.
Is owl in hirata estate have any skills? I want to know since i want to back up save before the first owl fiht, get the shura ensing then reload for purification ending
I think when you kill old Ishin, you get a skill. So you probably have to play twice through the game. But because the other 3 endings all have the same bosses, you will only have to beat it on NG+
Hello there
Firstly, great guide, finished almost whole game with it, thanks alot, you made it alot easier.
I just have a problem, I forgot to pick up Ashina Arts earlier in the game, so now I am at final boss (Return ending) and I can reach Ashina Castle Gate, tried it by foot but door is on fire and all other ways are blocked. Is there any other way to get there? I even tried from temple but bridge is broken and I cant go anywhere else.
P.S. I think that skill is really important at last boss fight becouse reflecting is all you need to do if I am not wrong…
Also checked Offering Box and got no Ashina Arts there
The guy who gives you the quest is actually Isshin in disguise, so if you haven’t done it yet you should probably try and find Isshin and he will give it to you. Granted you are at the very end, I don’t know if that’s possible. I myself just got it from him and I’ve just killed Owl so he was still hanging at his room.
Probably not, but when you get it in NG+ don’t forget to master it, cuz he will move to the serpent shrine and will give you a new skill tree after mastering the 1st one he gave you.
If you acquire a special technique at the end of any of the texts (e.g. Shadow rush), you can talk to Isshin at the Great Serpent Shrine and he’ll give you a text called Mushin Arts.
This allows you to upgrade your special techniques, for example Shadow Rush can be upgraded into Shadowfall or Spiral Cloud Passage.
I talked to Emma (she is holding him in Kuro’s rum, he is probobly dead) she said that I need to master a skill so she will give me a item he wanted to give me. I did it and she gave me Mushin Arts, but still nothing from Ashina Arts that I need the most now…
I dont know what to do.
We should learn all of the skills in 5 tree we have?
If someone else has not already commented the final skill for Temple Arts is called High Monk.
Don’t you unlock a skill for the Shura ending? Does that count towards the trophy?
you do get a skill, I think it is called one mind. I have no idea if it counts though. I just made a save with the ng+ shura/immortal ending on a flash drive and plan on doing all skills from that after I get the lapis for upgrades.
would like to know that too… if you find out please let us know.
i confirm for you… that skill (one mind) dont count… i had already my platinum uhuhuhu 🙂
FYI, you can get the Mushin text by talking to Issin in his room before heading into Fountainhead.
I’d done pretty much everything I could do up to that point, except head into Ashina Estate to kill Owl Father.
When you said “Acquiring all Skills unlocks the Height of Technique trophy or achievement,” does this mean that I have to BUY every single skill? It would take me 54 individual levels. Or do you mean that the abilities have to be visible but not necessarily purchased? (some of the final chart abilities still has a lock on them).
Must BUY all of them. And yes, it takes a ton of XP.
Can we please get some clarificaiton about whether the skill that you get from the Shura ending counts as a skill needed for the trophy? The guide should then say 3 playthroughs not 2. Or at least warn players that before they reload the save file before talking to Owl that they grind out all skills…..
Because now I’d have to do a 3rd run and I didn’t really want to fight old Isshin again fml
That skill isn’t needed. Just the purchasable skills are required (the ones that cost level points).
I’ve added a note to the guide, thanks for your good question!
On a different note, I know some skills still show as “???” and I haven’t added the skill points required for each skill yet. I’ll update that after I’m done with the ending video guides and my last remaining bosses.
The Ashina Arts is missible if you are at the end of the game. There should be a warning or if it’s not, an explanation of what to do.
You’re right, that guy who gives Ashina Arts actually disappears. I’ll add a warning.
You can quickly get to him in New Game+ at least.
You can get the mushin texts earlier I think.
IIRC you can just talk to Ishhin in his crib as soon as you’ve fully unlocked all skills in one tree (I.e. mastering one)
When I bought Iron Fortress the merchant disappeared so where can I find him now to buy Anti-Air Deathblow?
Check the chest where the fighting trainer is.
It should be in there.
Hey,there are some skills that i can also buy but i got them from bosses,do i need to buy them too to get the trophy?
One note on the Ashina Arts Scroll you can get it fairly early in the game, presumedly after the first major boss fight on top of Ashina Castle. The Tengu NPC (who give you the rat quest) will move on to the Great Serpent Shrine and will ask if you have learned any ultimate skill, if you have he will give you the Art Scroll on the spot. I think he still be there before the first ending major choice.
But technically it still missable for that new game cycle if you go for Shura ending .
You missed the Dragon Flash combat art. You gained it by defeating Isshin Ashina in his young form in the ending where you stay loyal to Kuro
You’re right, thank you for pointing that out and helping to make the guide better. It has been updated now.
I found a half decent place to farm XP.
After you have defeated Lone Shadow Vilehand and then rest at the idol outside the room, the purple shinobi guy keeps resetting and you can easily sneak kill him, then rest and repeat. I got about 4 skill points in roughly half an hour and about 1500 sen.
About Floating Passage Combat, the guide says it is not needed for the trophy, but how can you unlock Spiral Cloud Passage without it?
After you get the Ashina art from Tengu, you can get the Mushin Arts a way earlier in the game before the castle siege from Tengu again he can be found in Ashina Castle -> Great Serpent Shrine, you need a master skill (The last skill on any branche) thats is, no need to get too far !!
I need floating passage the for the spiral cloud upgrade. the pot noble is gone, is there an way to get it? or do i have to start a new playthrough?
dont wanna fight ishin the gun saint again X.X
Did pot noble at Hirata turn into a red-eyed carp yet? Then you can buy it from the carp (he swims around the same water where Hirata pot noble was). This is only the case if you killed the Great Carp and finished the pot noble’s quest line.
If you didn’t do this, then you can buy it from the second pot noble in Fountainhead Palace. He’s just after the diving section where you had to evade the big carp underwater. After that, head left in the next room and then after leaving that building immediately turn right to find an opening in a wall next to a waterfall, follow the path to reach the hidden pot noble.
Hi. Thanks for the answer 🙂
I’ve killed the Great Carp, and there is no carp swimming in the Hirata Estate anmore. Both the Pot nobles (Hirata and Fountainhead) are lying on the ground.
Am I out of luck?
Big fan of your guides btw ;)
Update to my comment if anyone is wondering!!
The carp is in the water in fountainhead too! Didn’t know this.He is below the pot noble.