1) Deflect more, dodge less Dodging in this game can be one of your worst options. And its surprisingly rare where it is better to simply dodge. Dodging in this game does not work like how it did in Dark Souls and Bloodbourne. In Sekiro you will get little to no i-frames (invulnerability frames), so you cant dodge "through" attacks like in the other titles mentioned.
2) Jump More Jumping in this game is surprisingly viable. You automatically have the ability to kick-jump off of walls and enemies. Doing this to enemies helps you escape and can deal damage to their posture. You'd be surprised how often you can avoid damage by jumping. This is later improved with mid-air skills such as mid-air deflection, mid-air combat arts, etc. (Warning: Be cautious jumping around enemies with projectiles or spears, getting hit in midair does tons of extra damage)
3) Memorize flurry attacks All enemies have one or several flurry attacks (combos that hit multiple times), being able to deflect all or most of the attacks in a flurry will deal TONS of posture damage. You can even try to bait that one attack to make you life easier.
4) Dealing with Dragon Rot Save your Dragon Rot cures because there is a finite amount of these in the game. Having characters with Dragon Rot is bad for lowering Unseen Aid chance but even worse because characters with dragon rot cannot proceed with their questlines. In particularly difficult areas or when facing a difficult boss, do not use the cures. If you are stuck in a bad fight you might end up having to waste multiple cures if you keep dying. Generally the rot isnt THAT big of a deal. In most cases, you should be able to just cure the rot and continue their quest.
5) Sneak a lot Sneak in this game is not only very viable, its almost required at some points. Assess the situation when you get to a new area so you dont get any surprises.Locate the toughest looking enemy and assassinate them first. Always prioritize assassinating a mini-boss, it can make them much more manageable.
6) Leave Nobody Unchallenged Kill those minibosses, if you have issues with them at first time encountering, then return later. But dont take too long! Killing them gets you one step closer to increasing you max vitality and posture and some of them even give special items or skills. (Example: The mini-boss in the Bottomless Hole area will give you the Sacraficial Tanto, a reuseable item them gives you bonus Spirit Emblems at the cost of health.)
7) Mitigating Losses Money and XP is halved upon death (not resurrection, actual death). Mitigating this can help with your progress being stunted. Buy coin purses to have non-liquidable money that is safe when you die, buying these purses from merchants costs about 10% on top of the amount you're trying to save. But it is a smal price to pay. With XP, points are halved but only between levels. Skill points will not be taken after you earn them, if you are close to the next level and feel like you might start dying a lot, farm for a little bit so you can keep that progress.
8) Maximizing Profit Mibu Ballons of Wealth (consumable that increases money earned by 50%) is applied 2.5 minutes retroactively. This means you dont have to pop it before an area, you can hold off on sucking up the loot and money until after you clear the area so you dont have to risk it running out and missing some bonus cash.
9) Farming You may eventually need to do some farming and to help with that is the Demon Bell curse. (LIGHT SPOILER WARNING) In the Senpou temple area there is a bell that, when rung, will place a curse on the player that increases damage done by all enemies but also increases drop rate. The good part is, you can remove the curse at any time by consuming the item you recieved from the bell and reapply it by ringing the bell again. There is also a Sculptor Idol right next to it so you can come and go freely. (TIP: Remove the curse when fighting bosses, they dont really drop anything so there is no point in making it more difficult, unless you're into that.)
10) Re-establishing Stealth While it is a cheesey method, in most encounters you can re-establish stealth by running away then coming back and killing another enemy, rinse and repeat until they are all dead. However, if you do it to a mini-boss, their depleted health bar will refill by the time you return. If you plan on doing this, focus on the little guys without multiple health bar, take them out one by one until you can handle the rest.
