With the recent release of the Sekiro 1.05 patch, many players have decided to jump into the frantic action title once more in an attempt to brave the game’s new boss-rush mode named the Gauntlet of Strength.
One of the most difficult Gauntlets involves slaying the Demon of Hatred, a massive three-stage boss that has given even the most experienced Sekiro players trouble. For those new to the game or are a little rusty, here is everything you need to know about the Demon of Hatred boss in Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice. This article contains spoilers for the game’s story.
10 Located At The Ashina Outskirts
Late-game Sekiro spoilers below.
In order to fight the Demon of Hatred, you must first reach the endpoint of Sekiro when Ashina is invaded one last time. You will know if this has occurred if the Sculptor is missing from the Dilapidated Temple.
Work your way from Ashina Castle towards the Ashina Outskirts, defeating any enemies as you go. Reaching the end of the level will reveal a burning building and a shrine that will teleport you directly to the Demon of Hatred’s arena, which just so happens to be the same arena Gyoubu Masataka Oniwa was fought in.
9 Extremely Aggressive
The Demon of Hatred has a plethora of attacks that will annihilate your health bar. It will try to stomp the ground when you stick to its leg. Should you maintain a wide distance between it, the Demon of Hatred will fling homing fireballs that will instantly kill you unless you have a large health pool. His aggression is complimented by Perilous Attacks in its final phase.
8 Spacing Is Paramount
Fighting the Demon of Hatred requires you to maintain a small amount of distance but not too much to be susceptible to his fireball attacks. The Demon of Hatred strangely encourages players to dodge and run away instead of parrying the attacks head-on as every other boss in the game has encouraged up until this point. Regardless, stay close to the beast but remember to gain some space when he begins to charge or do large area attacks.
7 You Can Deflect Most Of His Attacks
Despite the boss encouraging you to maintain distance, nearly every attack he deals can be deflected. Any attack from his right hand, feet, or lava whip arm can be deflected if timed perfectly. This will result in Sekiro becoming staggered for a second, but it does deal posture damage to the Demon of Hatred. You cannot deflect his leap attack or Perilous Attacks. You can deflect his fire whip attacks, although the fire damage will pierce your guard regardless of a perfect deflection.
6 Three Phases
The Demon of Hatred is one of the few bosses in Sekiro that has three phases instead of two, and there is no way to remove one of them through a free fatal blow. Fortunately, its first two phases are mostly the same.
For the first phase, the Demon of Hatred will focus on stomping the ground if the player gets close, throw fireballs if you build too much distance, and will occasionally rush around the arena to catch you off-guard. The second phase is mostly the same except he starts the phase with a flaming spin attack and becomes slightly more aggressive.
Bringing the Demon’s health down to his final gauge will trigger the final phase. For this phase, the Demon of Hatred will summon a flaming ring that keeps the player in a small arena. The Demon’s attack roster also opens up with more spinning flame attacks and a few new Perilous Attacks.
5 Weak To Malcontent
To make this fight significantly easier, bring the Finger Whistle Prosthetic with the Malcontent upgrade. With the upgrade, the whistle will produce a certain chime that will cause the Demon to become lulled into a trance for a dozen seconds or so. This gives ample time to punish the beast and unleash a series of attacks on him. Note that this Prosthetic will only affect him three times in the fight before he becomes immune to it.
4 Good Prosthetics To Use
Prosthetics are a core part of a Shinobi’s arsenal. Don’t forget to use a variety of tools against this boss, as aggressive as he might be. There are a few openings in the fight where you can punish him with certain Prosthetics.
Besides the Finger Whistle, bringing the Sazaku’s Lotus Umbrella is highly recommended for this fight. Deploying it will not only absorb the Demon’s fireballs, but it will also redirect them towards the Demon to deal a solid chunk of damage. You can also use this for his deadly leap attack.
As for other options, the Sabimaru is a good option when the Demon recovers from a death blow. Unleash a combo into him to cause a poison status effect, slowly chipping away at its health bar until it removes about 20% of it. Firecrackers can also be a lifesaver for interrupting his non-Perilous Attack moves.
3 Use Consumables
Consumables are especially useful in the Demon of Hatred fight, both in the main campaign and during the Gauntlet of Strenght. Using Ako or Yashariku’s Sugars will grant a large damage boost that can make the first phase much faster.
Divine Confetti grants an exceptional damage bonus against this boss, allowing you to further weaken its health bar and break its posture faster. If you haven’t obtained it yet, consider grabbing the Ceremonial Tanto to have a few extra Spirit Emblems to use for Prosthetics during the fight.
2 The Demon Of Hatred’s Origins
This section contains heavy story spoilers.
The Demon of Hatred is a manifestation of the Sculptor’s hatred. His anger and resentment after losing his close friend caused the Sculptor to seal himself in isolation. Lord Isshin saved him from becoming a Shura by slicing off his left arm, which is why the Demon of Hatred’s left arm is a fire whip.
This also explains why the Malcontent Finger Whistle calms him down, as it’s the same tune his partner played when they were both Shinobi. Should the player eavesdrop on him and Emma, they will eventually be given special dialogue from the Sculptor to kill him when the need arises. This sparks unique dialogue at the end of the boss fight where he thanks the player for killing him.
1 Demon Of Hatred Cheese
If this rejected Bloodborne boss is causing too much frustration, there is a cheese for this boss that will let you instantly kill him. Upon starting the fight, head directly to the left section of the arena beside the exit gate. Let the Demon of Hatred run over here and do an attack. Immediately run away while hugging the gate wall. This should cause the Demon of Hatred to get stuck.
From there, look for the wooden tower closest to the exit wall. Sprint near it, jump to the wooden platform, then hop up once more while holding the mantle button. If done correctly, you can mantle up the tower. This will take a few tries. Once you’re atop the tower, sprint jump to the gate wall and run to the left corner of the wall. This will cause the Demon of Hatred to become aggressive and charge you, wherein it will fall off the map and kill itself. This instantly ends the fight.
NEXT: Sekiro Shadows Die Twice: 10 Tips For Beating The Great Shinobi Owl Boss Fight
