In this Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice Guide we’re going to be taking an in depth look at the Sabimaru Prosthetic Tool. This is the third of 10 such guides, exploring every facet of these. From explaining just what each upgrade does, to how they can best be utilized in combat. I decided to do the Sabimaru third, because it was the most requested from all the comments.

Sekiro Prosthetic Tool Guide: Sabimaru

The Sabimaru can be found in Ashina Castle. From the Upper Tower – Antechamber Idol, near the top of the castle, head into the room with the blue samurai. Jump over the railing here and drop down to the floor below. Here you will find the Sabimaru, which you can return to the Sculptor to gain the Sabimaru.

Sabimaru Information

• R2: Attack
• R1: N/A
• Damage: Base
• Max Combo: 6 Hits
• Spirit Emblem Cost: 1 (every other swing)

The Sabimaru Prosthetic Tool attacks extremely quickly, and is meant to be used in a combo chain, with the intent to inflict the Poisoned Status Abnormality. This Status Abnormality deals Vitality Damage over time, but also fills the Posture Gauge a good ways and staggers them (if the enemy is weak to it). To activate the Sabimaru, you simply press R2 repeatedly to do a 6 hit combo. When performing this combo, every odd attack will cost 1 Spirit Emblem, for a total of 3 Spirit Emblems for the whole chain.

The most difficult part of using the Sabimaru, is that the opening attack is slower than your standard R1 attack. This means it is harder to time, and you are vulnerable in between combos, which can be hard to chain together without getting hit. In addition, be careful not to press R2 more than 6x in rapid succession, or you may begin the combo again inadvertently. This is because the game queues up attacks.

Improved Sabimaru Information

• R2: Attack
• R1: Attack (mid or after chain)
• Damage: Base
• Max Combo: 12 Hits
• Spirit Emblem Cost: 1 (every other swing)

This upgrade to the Sabimaru allows you to incorporate and R1 attack into this R2 chain, which transforms the combo into a variant. By pressing R1 you will do a spinning slash, that if followed by R2 will do a thrust, and if followed by more R2s, will do different attacks than the basic R2 chain. You can use this R1 attack anywhere in the chain, OR after the very last attack of the R2 chain (creating a 12 hit combo).

Two things make this upgrade particularly useful. First, is that you can extend your basic R2 combo chain by another 6 hits, without having to repeat the lengthy opening R2 attack. This will allow you to “stun lock” your opponent (at the cost of 3 additional Spirit Emblems). And second, the spinning slash you perform by pressing R1 during the combo, can evade incoming attacks if timed correctly. This allows you iframes between combos, that you wouldn’t otherwise have with the previous iteration, making it easier to pull off “2” combos essentially.

Piercing Sabimaru Information

• R2: Attack
• R1: Attack (mid or after chain)
• Damage: Base
• Max Combo: 12 Hits
• Spirit Emblem Cost: 1 (every other swing)

The Piercing Sabimaru works much like the previous version, but adds the piercing effect. This allows you to inflict both Posture and Vitality Damage on Deflecting/Blocking enemies, which is something you cannot do with any other version. Since you’re likely to be using this Tool on opponents who Deflect/Block a fair amount anyway, this makes the Piercing Sabimaru a very valuable upgrade.

Lazulite Sabimaru

• R2: Attack
• R1: Attack (mid or after chain)
• Damage: Base
• Max Combo: 12 Hits
• Spirit Emblem Cost: 1 (every other swing)

In this final upgrade of the Sabimaru, the Lazulite Sabimaru disperses a poison mist with every swing, but otherwise operates much the same way as the Improved Sabimaru. The poison mist can set the Poisoned Status Abnormality on other nearby enemies, but the uses for this are rather limited. This is because you don’t tend to fight many enemies at once in Sekiro, and hoping that the mist will make them Poisoned isn’t very reliable, as it occupies a very small area.

Final Tips

This Prosthetic Tool is best used against enemies that Deflect/Block often, and ones that are very aggressive. These would be the Lone Shadow enemies, the purple ninjas around the map, as well the Nightjar Shinobi, and even the and Ashina Elite. If you are having difficulty with these enemies, I suggest giving the Sabimaru a whirl.

The Sabimaru is also particularly deadly against Okami in Fountainhead Palace, the enemies in the Gun Fort and surrounding areas, as well as Snake Eyes Shirahagi, and O’rin of the Water. This is because these enemies are weak to Poison, increasing the effectiveness of the Poisoned Status Abnormality.

Ungo’s Sugar or Ako’s Sugar work well with this Prosthetic Tool, as you will be swinging aggressively when using it, and both these enhance that style of play. Ungo’s Sugar will lower the damage you might take from enemy attacks made during long combos, and Ako’s will increase the damage you deal.

Lastly, the best version of this Tool is the Piercing Sabimaru. The piercing effect is extremely powerful, and you will not need the clouds of poison kicked up by the Lazulite model in the majority of cases where you would use the Sabimaru. In, addition, all versions of the Sabimaru do roughly the same amount of damage per swing, providing no additional reason to use the final upgrade.

---

Stay tuned for more Prosthetic Tool Guides, and be sure to check out our Boss and Beginner Guides if you need more help with the game!