Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice version 1.03 will roll out later today across all platforms.
FromSoftware has confirmed the update will go live at 6pm PT / 9pm ET today (which is 2am on Tuesday April 23, 2019, UK time).
According to Gematsu's translation, the patch will bring improvements to strategic approaches, specifically an adjustment to the "efficiency and Spirit Emblem cost [...] to encourage usage and diversity of approach", and a reduction to the posture damage dealt by the first hit of the Combat Arts Senpou Leaping Kicks and High Monk "as it was causing more damage than intended".
From has also increased the poison build-up dealt by the Prosthetic Tool Sabimaru against enemies that were supposed to be weak against it, as well as the drop rate of Divine Confetti for Fencers in Ashina Castle. It has also "adjusted loading screen tips and tutorial text", and fixed a bug where system crashes could corrupt PC save data.
The full patch notes, as translated by Gematsu, are below:
Improvements to Strategic Approaches
- Adjusted the efficiency and Spirit Emblem cost of the following to encourage usage and diversity of approach:
- Prosthetic Tools: “Lazulite Sacred Flame,” “Loaded Axe” series, “Sparking Axe,” “Lazulite Axe”
- Combat Arts: “Ashina Cross,” “Dragon Flash,” “One Mind,” “Floating Passage,” “Spiral Cloud Passage,” “Mortal Draw,” “Empowered Mortal Draw”
- Items: “Spiritfall” series
- Prosthetic Tools: “Lazulite Sacred Flame,” “Loaded Axe” series, “Sparking Axe,” “Lazulite Axe”
- Combat Arts: “Ashina Cross,” “Dragon Flash,” “One Mind,” “Floating Passage,” “Spiral Cloud Passage,” “Mortal Draw,” “Empowered Mortal Draw”
- Items: “Spiritfall” series
- Reduced the Posture damage dealt by the first hit of the Combat Arts “Senpou Leaping Kicks” and “High Monk” as it was causing more damage than intended in certain cases. Posture damage dealt in the latter-half of the combo has been increased.
- Increased the Poison build-up dealt by the Prosthetic Tool “Sabimaru” against enemies that were intended to be weak against it.
- Increased the drop rate of “Divine Confetti” for Fencers in Ashina Castle.
- Adjusted loading screen tips and tutorial text, as well as adding new text.
Other fixes
- Slightly reduced Posture and Vitality of Blazing Bull in order to improve game pacing and balance time in combat.
- Lowered the price of information sold by Anayama the Peddler.
- The Chained Ogre inside Ashina Castle is now Red Eyed.
- Fixed a bug where “Gokan’s Sugar” and “Gokan’s Spiritfall” were not mitigating player Posture damage taken while guarding or deflecting enemy attacks.
- Fixed a bug where system crashes could cause save data to become corrupted on PC.
- Fixed a bug where certain enemies would sometimes stop attacking the player.
- Fixed a bug where certain actions could not be performed after reconfiguring the controls.
- Fixed certain bugs that were allowing the player to access unexpected areas, which could result in becoming unable to obtain items or make further progress.
- Fixed cases of certain text being displayed incorrectly.
- Improved stability.
- Improved performance.
- Other various bug fixes.
If you're playing Sekiro and wish you could infuse your katana with elemental damage on demand like some bosses can, then the modding community has you covered. Thanks to a mod released by ChoongJing this week, you can now buff your katana with five elemental damage effects by drinking from a selection of gourds, letting you set your enemies on fire or smite them with lightning.