A look at Sekiro?s skill tree

[hanselthecaretaker]

Spoilers of course, but only for gameplay mechanics [https://imgur.com/a/Ki0Yl51]

Not the clearest images at least when viewing on my phone, but oh well. Some of these look pretty interesting, thinking of how they could be used.

 

[CritialGaming]

I actually got a chance to try Sekiro from a connection I have at Activision. And the game is fucking insanely hard. I mean it's probably just as hard or a bit harder than a Souls game, but I feel like it's because the mechanics are so different it's gonna take a lot of unlearning how to play souls and learning how to play this.

The game also feels less reliant on you leveling up stats and such and more heavily focused on the player just learning how to navigate combat itself.

This is a game that wants you to master it's basics, and doesn't feel like a lot is layered on top of it.

 

[Here Comes Tomorrow]

I actually got a chance to try Sekiro from a connection I have at Activision. And the game is fucking insanely hard. I mean it's probably just as hard or a bit harder than a Souls game, but I feel like it's because the mechanics are so different it's gonna take a lot of unlearning how to play souls and learning how to play this.

The game also feels less reliant on you leveling up stats and such and more heavily focused on the player just learning how to navigate combat itself.

This is a game that wants you to master it's basics, and doesn't feel like a lot is layered on top of it.

Honestly the game seems more like a successor to Tenchu with a focus on stealth and getting into combat in Tenchu was basically prolonging reloading your save so it doesn't seem so much like unlearning Souls as treating it as it is; a totally different game.

Though there's a fairly large amount of people who would try and play a flight sim like Dark Souls if FROM made it.

 

[CritialGaming]

I actually got a chance to try Sekiro from a connection I have at Activision. And the game is fucking insanely hard. I mean it's probably just as hard or a bit harder than a Souls game, but I feel like it's because the mechanics are so different it's gonna take a lot of unlearning how to play souls and learning how to play this.

The game also feels less reliant on you leveling up stats and such and more heavily focused on the player just learning how to navigate combat itself.

This is a game that wants you to master it's basics, and doesn't feel like a lot is layered on top of it.

Honestly the game seems more like a successor to Tenchu with a focus on stealth and getting into combat in Tenchu was basically prolonging reloading your save so it doesn't seem so much like unlearning Souls as treating it as it is; a totally different game.

Though there's a fairly large amount of people who would try and play a flight sim like Dark Souls if FROM made it.

It does have a lot of the same ideas that Dark Souls has, it's just a differently built combat style. I've never played the Tenchu games so I honestly couldn't tell you how it compares. Stealth is a component, sort of, I feel like the enemies are too close for that to really be a thing because you stealth gib someone and it alerts everyone in the area because stealth kills are not silent. The best it can do is remove a troublesome enemy from a group (like a shield dude or archer) so you don't have to deal them.

 

[stroopwafel]

I'm glad they changed the combat so that it feels fresh again, eventhough paradoxically it feels like they have gone full circle from the methodological basic input of Demon's Souls to complex action game. No coincidence the 'Souls' formula is 10 years old now and not novel anymore espescially for veterans of the series so they had to come up with some new ideas to stay relevant. But despite Sekiro having different gameplay it does seem to belong to the same lineage of games, but maybe that's just to the apparently same engine being used. Change is good in this case though since after so many games Souls was getting a bit stale. Had the game pre-ordered for months now and can't wait to play it in just 2 weeks!!

 

[Dreiko_v1legacy]

Not clicking that cause spoilarz, just clicked here to say that march is so damn full of games I'm gonna die. DMC5 and sekiro and fate/extella link and trails of cold steel ps4. So much stuff x.x.

 

[Terminal Blue]

Honestly the game seems more like a successor to Tenchu with a focus on stealth and getting into combat in Tenchu was basically prolonging reloading your save so it doesn't seem so much like unlearning Souls as treating it as it is; a totally different game.

Nah, there are definitely enormous similarities to Dark Souls in terms of mechanics.

The main difference though appears to be that Sekiro isn't an RPG. There aren't really diverse character builds so much as diverse gameplay systems, so yes.. there is stealth, but it's not a stealth game. Stealth is just one of the tools your character has.

And the game is fucking insanely hard. I mean it's probably just as hard or a bit harder than a Souls game, but I feel like it's because the mechanics are so different it's gonna take a lot of unlearning how to play souls and learning how to play this.

I've heard a couple of youtubers say that they struggled at the game because their dark souls reflexes were telling them to dodge-roll a lot. Apparently, Sekiro's deathblow system is much more centred on parrying than dodging.

 

[Dreiko_v1legacy]

Sekiro is like bloodborne and tenchu mixed together from the limited footage I've seen. The part where you fight larger enemies and have to deplete their stance gauge to do the assassination attacks plays pretty much exactly like bloodborne.

 

[Kerg3927]

Though there's a fairly large amount of people who would try and play a flight sim like Dark Souls if FROM made it.

I would.

 

[stroopwafel]

Sekiro is like bloodborne and tenchu mixed together from the limited footage I've seen. The part where you fight larger enemies and have to deplete their stance gauge to do the assassination attacks plays pretty much exactly like bloodborne.

From what I've seen of the gameplay apparently you can't dodge roll/quickstep through i-frames which has been such a staple of the series unlearning it is what many probably consider 'difficult'. Sekiro's combat seems to have more depth and nuance in general with different attacks requiring different responses from the player, instead of using the same tactic on every enemy type over and over like in Souls. Coupled with stealth, grapling hook, arm prosthetic, focus on one 'class' for encounter and world design and skill trees instead of RPG leveling system it might still not be completely different from their previous games but it's definitely the biggest revision to date. Definitely much more so than Bloodborne.

I have complete faith in From/Miyazaki. They have a ton of experience now and they keep getting better and better in making these games. And they have set the bar already really high. This 2 week wait is gonna be torture. Thankfully there is DMC5 to make it bearable.

 

[sXeth]

Though there's a fairly large amount of people who would try and play a flight sim like Dark Souls if FROM made it.

Ironically, I still think of them as the Armored Core guys, lol.

 

[Phoenixmgs_v1legacy]

That bottom level of the skill tree looks so much better than the top. Well, I guess, it'll depend on how useful Spirit Emblems end up being. Anyway, Sekiro looks so much better than any Souls game, so much more going on with regards to gameplay.

I actually got a chance to try Sekiro from a connection I have at Activision. And the game is fucking insanely hard. I mean it's probably just as hard or a bit harder than a Souls game

It better be harder than a Souls game because those games aren't at all hard because the mechanics are painfully simple once you learn them.

Sekiro's combat seems to have more depth and nuance in general with different attacks requiring different responses from the player, instead of using the same tactic on every enemy type over and over like in Souls.

Most definitely. I'm pretty interested in trying Sekiro out because it looks so much more skill-base than a Souls game while also having what looks to be a good degree of creativity. I don't nearly have the faith in From as most do because for me, the Souls games never really did anything special with regards to combat. Thus, if the game doesn't really deliver for me, it'll be 3 strikes and From is "out" in my book.

 

[hanselthecaretaker]

Sekiro is like bloodborne and tenchu mixed together from the limited footage I've seen. The part where you fight larger enemies and have to deplete their stance gauge to do the assassination attacks plays pretty much exactly like bloodborne.

From what I've seen of the gameplay apparently you can't dodge roll/quickstep through i-frames which has been such a staple of the series unlearning it is what many probably consider 'difficult'. Sekiro's combat seems to have more depth and nuance in general with different attacks requiring different responses from the player, instead of using the same tactic on every enemy type over and over like in Souls. Coupled with stealth, grapling hook, arm prosthetic, focus on one 'class' for encounter and world design and skill trees instead of RPG leveling system it might still not be completely different from their previous games but it's definitely the biggest revision to date. Definitely much more so than Bloodborne.

I have complete faith in From/Miyazaki. They have a ton of experience now and they keep getting better and better in making these games. And they have set the bar already really high. This 2 week wait is gonna be torture. Thankfully there is DMC5 to make it bearable.

OMG...if they did away with I-frames then I?m sold more than ever. It?s one of the main criticisms I?ve had of the SoulsBorne stuff. I love that they?ve put the reflex stuff into an actually useful and vital mechanic now vs something that felt more like a shallow gimmick.

Also worth mentioning is a lot of the changes that seem for the better from a gameplay standpoint (deeper and more varied combat mechanics, even more creative level design than in SoulsBorne, a fixed protagonist with a broad set of tools and being able to fine-tune combat encounters to encourage more complete use of the player?s arsenal) are now possible because FROM chose to forego the multiplayer focus of past games and make it strictly a single player experience.

 

[hanselthecaretaker]

Has anyone used the Steam controller? They have a deal right now where if you preorder Sekiro the Steam controller is 70% off. Wondering if it might be worth the extra $15.

 

[hanselthecaretaker]

That bottom level of the skill tree looks so much better than the top. Well, I guess, it'll depend on how useful Spirit Emblems end up being. Anyway, Sekiro looks so much better than any Souls game, so much more going on with regards to gameplay.

I actually got a chance to try Sekiro from a connection I have at Activision. And the game is fucking insanely hard. I mean it's probably just as hard or a bit harder than a Souls game

It better be harder than a Souls game because those games aren't at all hard because the mechanics are painfully simple once you learn them.

Sekiro's combat seems to have more depth and nuance in general with different attacks requiring different responses from the player, instead of using the same tactic on every enemy type over and over like in Souls.

Most definitely. I'm pretty interested in trying Sekiro out because it looks so much more skill-base than a Souls game while also having what looks to be a good degree of creativity. I don't nearly have the faith in From as most do because for me, the Souls games never really did anything special with regards to combat. Thus, if the game doesn't really deliver for me, it'll be 3 strikes and From is "out" in my book.

I?m guessing the first was Dark Souls, second being Bloodborne? But I thought you liked that game at least somewhat in terms of gameplay.

 

[Dreiko_v1legacy]

Sekiro is like bloodborne and tenchu mixed together from the limited footage I've seen. The part where you fight larger enemies and have to deplete their stance gauge to do the assassination attacks plays pretty much exactly like bloodborne.

From what I've seen of the gameplay apparently you can't dodge roll/quickstep through i-frames which has been such a staple of the series unlearning it is what many probably consider 'difficult'. Sekiro's combat seems to have more depth and nuance in general with different attacks requiring different responses from the player, instead of using the same tactic on every enemy type over and over like in Souls. Coupled with stealth, grapling hook, arm prosthetic, focus on one 'class' for encounter and world design and skill trees instead of RPG leveling system it might still not be completely different from their previous games but it's definitely the biggest revision to date. Definitely much more so than Bloodborne.

I have complete faith in From/Miyazaki. They have a ton of experience now and they keep getting better and better in making these games. And they have set the bar already really high. This 2 week wait is gonna be torture. Thankfully there is DMC5 to make it bearable.

Yeah I haven't seen enough to be able to discern how much (if any) invuln dodges have in order to avoid spoilers. Sounds like a more actiony take on the style of game then, more like a mix of dmc in there.

Definitely not bad for a ninja game. Techu was not an rpg by any stretch either, after all.

 

[meiam]

OMG...if they did away with I-frames then I?m sold more than ever. It?s one of the main criticisms I?ve had of the SoulsBorne stuff. I love that they?ve put the reflex stuff into an actually useful and vital mechanic now vs something that felt more like a shallow gimmick.

Same, always been my number one complain, hate that it make every single fight just about hitting the dodge button at the right time and completely remove positioning and attack direction from the combat. I do hope they don't just replace it with such a focus on parry that it just change things from "hit dodge at right time" to "hit parry at right time".

Also hoping that stamina is tighter than in blood borne, near infinite is not fun imo.

 

[hanselthecaretaker]

OMG...if they did away with I-frames then I?m sold more than ever. It?s one of the main criticisms I?ve had of the SoulsBorne stuff. I love that they?ve put the reflex stuff into an actually useful and vital mechanic now vs something that felt more like a shallow gimmick.

Same, always been my number one complain, hate that it make every single fight just about hitting the dodge button at the right time and completely remove positioning and attack direction from the combat. I do hope they don't just replace it with such a focus on parry that it just change things from "hit dodge at right time" to "hit parry at right time".

Also hoping that stamina is tighter than in blood borne, near infinite is not fun imo.

It doesn't look like there is a stamina meter in Sekiro. The posture system with the parry bars seems to have basically replaced it which could be a good thing depending on, like you said, how well it's implemented.

 

[Dreiko_v1legacy]

The thing with making dodge not invuln is that if there's nothing to take its place (sounds like parrying will be doing that so no worries in this case) you can't have enemies do huge attacks that cover the entire screen cause they'd be basically undodgeable, which limits variety and flash level of a lot of bigger or cooler enemies.


As for the stance bar, that to me looked something more like a guard gauge from a fighting game than a standard souls/monster hunter style endurance gauge. It doesn't seem to restrict your offense as much as just is there to prevent you from over-relying on defense.

 

[stroopwafel]

That bottom level of the skill tree looks so much better than the top. Well, I guess, it'll depend on how useful Spirit Emblems end up being. Anyway, Sekiro looks so much better than any Souls game, so much more going on with regards to gameplay.

I actually got a chance to try Sekiro from a connection I have at Activision. And the game is fucking insanely hard. I mean it's probably just as hard or a bit harder than a Souls game

It better be harder than a Souls game because those games aren't at all hard because the mechanics are painfully simple once you learn them.

Sekiro's combat seems to have more depth and nuance in general with different attacks requiring different responses from the player, instead of using the same tactic on every enemy type over and over like in Souls.

Most definitely. I'm pretty interested in trying Sekiro out because it looks so much more skill-base than a Souls game while also having what looks to be a good degree of creativity. I don't nearly have the faith in From as most do because for me, the Souls games never really did anything special with regards to combat. Thus, if the game doesn't really deliver for me, it'll be 3 strikes and From is "out" in my book.

I agree combat in Souls is 'simple' but simple does not mean bad. I'm playing DMC5 at the moment and that game literally explodes off the screen and it's really good but it never really feels just as satisfying or exciting as Souls combat(and I'm generally able to pull off S rank moves). Souls feels grounded and 'realistic' in a way that gives weight not just to the combat but the entire setting as well, which is also exceptionally immersive and imaginative in terms of world, art and creature design. Much of this obviously carries over to Sekiro which is no small part of my excitement for the game.

I'm always itching for another playthrough of Bloodborne and Dark Souls 3(my most favorite games in the series) and can't see myself ever getting tired of them but it basically is still the same template as Demon's Souls in 2009 and while it's a formula I still really love I do think it's good and exciting that they are going for a different approach while still maintaining that core DNA all their games seems to have.