Follow this walkthrough for Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice to navigate Ashina Outskirts (Part 1), learn about the Shinobi Prosthetic, meet Hanbei the Undying, and find key items.
Watch the scenes here as we wake up in an unknown area, with some sort of sculptor. There are... Buddha's everywhere. We also seem to have something new attached to our arm... the Shinobi Prosthetic. Interesting.
Once you wake up, you have your freedom, but this being our first time through the game let's go talk to this mysterious man. Once you talk to him, go ahead and ask him "how you got here" to learn you were dragged here. Better than dying I suppose. You will also learn that our quest isn't quite over, as the Young Lord is now a prisoner in Ashina Castle.
Next, ask "about your new left arm" to learn more about the Shinobi Prosthetic. We'll need to be on the lookout for new shinobi tools to expand our arsenal, clearly. They will come!
Next up, "ask about the Divine Heir's Blood" for a clue on why they have kidnapped the young lord Kuru. The sculptor will also mention another stranger who has come to this area and recommends you visit him, as you may get along.
As you regain control, you will notice that there is a very unique Buddha nearby. Go interact with it to learn it will come in useful, for facing the darkness within... we will definitely use this later, but for now it has nothing for us.
Head outside now and go investigate the blue light. We'll be vary familiar with these idol's throughout the game. These are Sculptor's Idols and they let us rest, which fills our health, fills our Healing Gourd, and brings most enemies back to life. Very similar to the "Souls" series, as you can see.
This is weird, but after resting, turn around and you'll see a new person at this temple... a woman. Go talk to her to learn she is Emma, a doctor, tasked with helping us by her master. Sketchy, right? Well go ahead and talk to her and "Present the Healing Gourd" to learn that we need gourd seeds to power it up. Sounds like a goal (and very much like a souls game...).
Once you are done talking to her, head past her and around the temple. In the back you can find a Light Coin Purse. Head back to the front and near the Sculptor's Idol is another item you can pick up for Pellet x2.
Now, there are three paths we can go down, but only one leads onwards. First, to the left (facing away from the temple) is a cave. It is empty, but you can see an obvious rotating door here that is blocked from the other side. A shortcut for the future, for sure.
The other two paths facing away from the temple are to the let and right. Go right first. This leads to a small clearing where the other "stranger" is awaiting you. Go ahead and talk to him. He'll ask you for a small favor: to kill him!
With that, the man will draw his blade and try to kill you! Defend yourself with deflections and take him out (it isn't hard). With that... the man will come back from the dead and talk to us some more. He really is undying! Despite our aloof demeanor, he will offer his services as a training dummy to us. And that's how we became friends with "Hanbei the Undying"!
Hanbei can be used for Training if you wish. He currently offers three training courses:
- Attacks
- Deflect
- Step Dodge
Each of these are pretty basic tutorials that you can run through if you wish. You've covered all of these in the tutorial area, but its good to include everything. You will unlock "Free Combat" after that which is just a mode where you kill Hanbei twice however you wish.
With that done, try to leave and Hanbei will tell you about the Offering Box. It seems that things we leave behind make their way here, for a small price. A really good feature, actually, which I'm sure I'll have to use at some point!
Head back to the temple grounds and take the only other path out of here to leave. This will give you the "Grappling Hook Tutorial".
This is the advantage of the Shinobi Prosthetic. Head forward and hit "L2" to grapple up to the log, then wall-climb up the cliff ahead. Man, this place (and game) is just gorgeous so far! Head onward and grapple to the next log to get to a cliff where a Sculptor's Idol is waiting for you. Use it and you will learn about Sculptor's Idol Travel. Warping! A big bonus in a game like this! This of course means that finding ''all'' of these is now a priority of this guide...
OK, there's so many ways you can tackle open areas like this, but stick with me and we'll explore everything. From this idol, jump up to the higher area above you, by the wall. There is an item by the wall up here, some Ungo's Sugar, which is a defensive item. Huh...
Across the way a guard is patrolling. Perfect. Wait for him to walk away and move over there, jumping up to his height and stealthily (L3) approaching him for an instant-kill. We get a tutorial on how to acquire enemy loot. This is a bit weird (and reminds me of Onimusha a bit) as you can press and hold the "Square Button" to acquire multiple enemies loot at once. Try it out once the enemy is dead.
From here, look off the edge (to the left) to see two guards guarding a gate down below. Here we want to jump on the roof above the right guard, and drop down behind him. You can instant-kill him from here, and then kill his buddy up ahead, who is looking away. Keep going down the path now and you will see a guard looking our way up ahead. Above you is a log you can get up to. Do so and get above the guard, to drop down on him and take him out. Along that path is an item though, a Ceramic Shard. These things are used to throw and distract enemies, opening up some tactical choices for sure (although all this vertical movement has basically given us three free kills so far).
Head back the way you can (back to our two-kill site) and head around the gate to the far left. We can hug the wall here and cross over to the tall grass. Be careful of a guard patrolling here, but once you get in the grass you can kill him from behind. Now, there is an item by the gate, but ignore it for now. Up ahead are two guards by the stairs, and if we're careful we can
100% Human-Written. AI Fact-Checked. Community Verified. Learn how AntMag verifies content