Sekiro’s Chained Ogre is the first real test many players will have in FromSoftware’s newest exercise in misanthropy. Up to this point, the challenge in Sekiro is quite manageable; you may even feel like you’re the Soulsborne master as you dice and counter like there’s no tomorrow. Sadly for you, the Chained Ogre is here to point out your scrubbery in the harshest way possible: repeated and increasingly infuriating deaths.
To figure out how to deal with the Chained Ogre, you must first figure out how he works. He’s a big guy who will lope after you but struggle to get you unless you stand still. His attacks range from a Dolph Ziggler dropkick all the way up to a grab that can cause insta-death if you are unfortunate enough to also be lobbed off the map. He is, in other words, a total ass, a mini-boss designed to halt your progress and make you learn new ways of playing.
You can, however, cheese the encounter a little bit to help yourself. While Soulsborne purists may baulk at taking shortcuts, any method which will allow you to halve the battle is one worth adopting.
To start off with, run up to the Chained Ogre while he is, er, chained. Wait for him to unleash himself and then quickly leg it back down the stairs, using your grappling hook to get to higher ground. Move one or two buildings backwards and get out of line of sight. After a few seconds, you will notice the mini-boss music dying down and his meter in the top left disappearing. This means he is now susceptible to a Deathblow.
As soon as his meter disappears, make your way back to the stairway area. You should see him lumbering back up the stairs; use this opportunity to sneak up on him from behind (you may even be able to land an aerial Deathblow if you’re precise and quick enough) and use a stealth attack, i.e. a Deathblow. With half of his health gone, that’s half of the job done for you. You cannot repeat the same trick, unfortunately: his health and Posture will just return.
In terms of going toe-to-toe with Chained Ogre, he is actually not that bad at all as long as you keep moving in close proximity to him. Try to more or less stick to his legs and circle around him, using his sometimes slow attack speed to land some hits — the elbow drop is easy to avoid and has a big window to allow you to attack in. However, to be on the safe side, only hit twice before disengaging; you’re vulnerable during the longer animation for a third attack. His most irritating attack is the aforementioned grab, so be sure to try to dodge it whenever you see the red Japanese scripture popping up on-screen. Always dodge to the side rather than backwards: his grab has surprising reach and can completely ruin your day.
If you want to make the encounter even easier, consider finding the Flame Vent in the Hirata Estate to deal some huge fire damage; most beasties with red eyes are very susceptible to fire, so if you use fire in combination with the stealthy cheesing, you should be able to wrap up the fight very quickly indeed.
Check out the video walkthrough below* if you need more info on how to beat the Chained Ogre in Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice.
MORE SEKIRO: Best Skills & Prosthetics | Posture, Resurrection, Dragonrot & More | The Chained Ogre Is My White Whale
*our media player doesn’t play nice with all adblockers, so it may not be visible for some.
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