How to Defend Yourself

Properly defending yourself against enemy attacks is essential for your survival. The best way to defend yourself is using stealth and forcing enemies to one-on-one engagements. Perform stealth deathblows to whittle down enemy numbers and disengage from fights involving multiple enemies. No amount of godly reflexes can save you especially if you get ganged up by multiple enemies.

Not all attacks can be blocked or deflected. There are unguardable attacks called Perilous Attacks that will require you to react accordingly. There will be a red kanji character that will appear when an enemy uses this type of attack so quick reflexes is required to avoid getting damaged and give you an opening for a counterattack.

Thrust attacks

Press L1 as the thrust lands to deflect the attack. If you have learned the Mikiri Counter skill, press circle instead

Sweep Attacks

Jump before the sweep lands. If you jump on the same spot, you’ll step on the enemy’s head/face and launch yourself above him/her, allowing you to get a free hit. Jumping away or vaulting over an enemy works too.

Grab Attacks

Pressing Circle before the grab lands will allow you to move out of the way the last second and counterattack. This requires precise timing and judgement since different enemies will have different grab ranges.