Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice - GOTY Edition

The Guardian Ape is the final boss of the Sunken Valley area. This angry Kratos-looking ape has some seriously deadly attack strings that will decimate you if you get caught. I highly recommend having at least 7 Gourd charges for this fight.

The key to the first phase is to be passive. His attack strings are so erratic that getting in close and trying to deflect his combos will cut you to shreds. To get some hits in you want to look for one of three attacks. The first is where he finishes a combo by lying on his back and rolling from side to side. When he does this, quickly get to his head and get some hits in while being wary that you don't caught.

The second attack that leaves him open is the attack where he leaps up and throws excrement at you. When he does this, dodge towards him and under the excrement and you should be able to get in three hits or so while he recovers. The final attack is his massively telegraphed grab, where he dives towards you and through the air. Dodge this, and some more free hits await at the end.

Once cutting the Ape's head off, he decides that he doesn't want to die quite yet and now you have a second phase to deal with. This phase is much easier than the first. He essentially has five attacks in this phase. Two combos, a diving swipe, the terror scream & his sweep. The best way to whittle down his health is wait for his combos. He will swerve from side to side with his sword. Deflect one or two of his strikes, and he will go for a massive overhead hit (the camera will pan upwards). Deflect this, and it will put you under him, where you can get in five or six hits for some big damage (another good tip from PolacoForever here. Use the loaded spear prosthetic after you deflect the overhead to pull the centipede out and deal massive posture damage. Two or three spear pulls should down the beast.) The diving swipe is another good move for some damage. Jump towards him and you can get one or two hits in.

The biggest problem in this phase is his terror scream. If caught in it's area of effect your terror meter will fill up fast and can insta-kill you, however it is quite easy to read. When you get under him from the overhead deflect he always tries the terror scream afterward. Just get away for a moment, it's quite a good time to heal as well.

Take him down for good to unlock this achievement.

At this point in the game, it is the most difficult fight you'll have to do. This boss has 2 phases, the first being much harder than the second

A little video to help you

First Phase: Be patient. The easier way is to run around the boss, and hit when you are behind him. It will be a little bit long, but it's easy and pretty safe (and you're not a speedrunner). You also can use the firecrackers but not too much! You will need some emblems for the second phase.

Second Phase: Also be patient, this is an easy phase but if you're not patient, you will die quickly. Just (perfect) deflect his hits, and use the Loaded Spears when he is vulnerable after a combo. If he use his scream, just run (don't jump!) and use a Pacifying Agent to be safe (you can farm these ones on the Abandoned Dungeon)

In this video guide I will show you how to defeat the guardian ape. This will be not too long after you defeat the great snake along the sunken valley path. Once you are in the water after defeating the great snake you will follow a path and eventually have a split path to go right or left. Take the left path and grapple up until you see a group of monkeys to your right. Just run past them and keep going straight with more grapple points which will lead to another area which has an old lady on it. If you turn around you will see the ape an open area for the boss fight. A few things to help out would be the shuriken and the whirlwind slash. During the first stage a few good times to attack would be when he does his poop throw, when he does his little rage fit and rolls around, and when he does a jump slam. Now you can use your shuriken here on the first stage and throw them when you have a chance or wait till the second stage. Now for the second part of the fight you can use the rest of your shuriken here. A few moments to attack would be when he goes for the four strikes while he is moving like a snake or you could risk it when he goes for the dive sweep. There maybe others but I only used these two to be safe. Once you deathblow him for a second time you will get your achievement.