Where to Find and Beat the Demon of Hatred in Sekiro
The Demon of Hatred might be an optional boss fight in Sekiro, but it's incredibly difficult. In this Sekiro Demon of Hatred boss guide, we'll be walking you through how to beat the Demon of Hatred in Shadows Die Twice.
How to Beat the Demon of Hatred
If you're simply here for a list of essential tips on how to take down the powerful Demon of Hatred in Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice, then just check out the list of tips below.
- Your goal in this fight is to always be sprinting, and always closing the gap between you and the demon.
- If you do find yourself in front of the demon, run to the left to give yourself the best possible chance of dodging all attacks.
- Remember that if you can't dodge out of the way of an attack in time, deflecting actually works on the demon.
- In the second phase, if the demon thrashes its head back and forth, run to the right to avoid the incoming attack.
- When the demon jumps into the air, jump up before it hits the ground, and use the green marker to grapple immediately.
How to Find the Demon of Hatred
As we mentioned at the top of this guide, you'll only be able to find the Demon of Hatred right near the end of Sekiro. At a certain point in the game, Ashina Castle will be overrun with red warriors, and all Sculptor's Idols in Ashina Castle and Outskirts will be erased from your menu, meaning you've got to discover them all over again.
Starting out from the top of Ashina Castle, in Kuro's Room, you need to descend down the outside of the tower. You're heading for the Old Grave Idol, where the path down to the Serpent's Shrine Idol lay on your left.
Keep going along the rooftops in the direction of the Old Grave Idol, sticking to the rooftops. Descend down the ledges when you see an Idol beneath and in front of you.
Go to the long bridge, overlooking the valley where you first met the giant snake. A group of warriors will be fighting among themselves, so run straight past them.
Keep going, and you'll get to the area where you fought the Chained Ogre for the first time. Run past all the red warriors here.
Once you've vaulted over the building where the Information Dealer first set up shop, follow the path ahead of you. You'll run past tons of red warriors, including a Chained Ogre that isn't counted as a boss at all.
Keep following the path round the corner to the right, and you'll eventually get to a narrow path through fire. At the end of this path is a new Sculptor's Idol. Interact with it, and you'll be taken to the Flames of Hatred Sculptor's Idol, which is where you'll fight the Demon of Hatred itself.
Sekiro Demon of Hatred Boss Guide
The Demon of Hatred is by far the largest boss you're going to fight in Shadows Die Twice. Thankfully though, it's in the huge battleground where you fought Gyoubu Oniwa, so there's plenty of space to work with.
Demon of Hatred Phase One
In this first phase, the Demon of Hatred will be distracted by plenty of red soldiers around the battlefield. You want to take advantage of this, rushing in for a quick few hits on its ass while it's distracted by the soldiers, before backing well off again when it turns its attention to you.
Keep alternating the fight like this, letting the soldiers distract the demon, and as soon as its attention is away from you, rush back in for a few quick hits. You'll want to be sprinting at all times in this fight, so you can both close the distance to and back off from the Demon of Hatred as quickly as possible.
The Demon of Hatred has some powerful attacks. There's a huge vertical slice attack with some incredible reach, and two slicing attacks that cover the area immediately in front of the boss. We wouldn't recommend trying to parry the attacks, because you'll take Burn status damage which can build up really quickly from blocking repeated attacks.
The key to making it through this first phase is being quick on your feet. You'll want to be repeatedly circling the boss, rushing in for a quick attack when one of its own attacks misses you, before backing off again.
Demon of Hatred Phase Two
At the start of the second phase, back off from the Demon of Hatred, because it's about to let off a huge area of effect attack. After this, close the distance and begin hacking at its ankles once again.
If the Demon of Hatred jumps up high into the air while you're near the boss, back off a little. Jump as soon as the boss hits the ground to avoid the huge flame cloud that it lets out, and then run back in for a few quick hits.
If you see the red kanji sign, you'll want to be prepared to jump. The Demon of Hatred will come rushing towards you with speed, and you want to sprint jump to either side of the boss as quickly as possible to avoid the attack.
There's a special attack in this phase where the Demon of Hatred can let out a huge wall of fire towards you. You want to try and jump to either side of this attack, and then immediately use the grappling point that's temporarily available on the boss to get right up close and personal for a few solid hits.
Demon of Hatred Phase Three
Once again, back off from the Demon of Hatred at the start of the third phase. It'll execute several massive sweeping fiery attacks with its sword-thing, and you want to get as far away as possible, as quickly as possible.
The Demon of Hatred now has ranged attacks. If it backs away from you and starts thrashing back and forth, run immediately. A series of roughly ten projectiles will now launch towards you in a row, and you want to be running to the right to avoid all of them.
This third and final stage of the fight can be especially tough, so keep on the move. Remember not to hang around the ankles of the demon for too long, because it'll execute two stamping attacks to put you down.
Once the fight with the Demon of Hatred is finally over, you'll get a brand new memory. The Memory: Demon of Hatred can be used to boost your attack power for the rest of the game.
If you're looking for more help with Sekiro be sure to check out our guide on unlocking Shinobi Prosthetic Tools. For a look at where to find all of the Gourd Seeds, head here.