Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice – How to Beat Juzou the Drunkard

Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice is all about those boss fights. Sure, you run around the Japanese countryside like a ninja, leaping from rooftop to rooftop as you stealthily eliminate your foes. But at the end of all of that sits a massive and dangerous boss that you mus overcome to proceed with the game. One of the earliest and toughest of these is Juzou the Drunkard, found partway through the Hirata Estate level. To take this guy out, you’ll need a strategy because not only is he difficult, but he has a number of friends to help protect him. Thankfully so do you. Here’s how to beat Juzou the Drunkard in Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice.

How to Beat Juzou the Drunkard

The key to this battle is the nearby shinobi who stands in the water just in front of Juzou the Drunkard. Find him right away, but do not speak to him yet, that comes later. Instead your first task is to take out the underlings surrounding Juzou. To do this, you’ll want to sneak off to the left and into the nearby building/hallway. There’s two enemies here, so take them out quickly and quietly. You can stealthily deathblow the first, then just hammer away at the second to silence them. Now it’s onto the larger group in the middle of the stage.

Creep through the hallway and sneak up behind the first shield enemy, who should be standing right in front of you as you exit the hallway. Deathblow him, but be ready to act fast. This is when you’ll take out the rest of them. As soon as you’re free rush toward the archer near the front right corner of the group and take him out as quickly as you can. At this point it becomes much more chaotic, so use your judgement. You can usually kill most of the sword-wielding foes quickly by just attacking them.

Run toward the water, using the nearby rock as cover if Juzou gets too close. Try to split the group up if you can, and in a pinch just run far enough away and let them forget about you so you can sneak back through the hallway for another deathblow. This is probably the best way to take out the second shielded enemy, unless you have the Throwing Axe and are good enough with it. Do not worry about attacking Juzou the Drunkard just yet, make sure you take out all the smaller foes first. Once they’re out, you are ready.

As soon as you are left with only Juzou the Drunkard, run away until he loses focus on you. Watch him as he walks back to his resting spot, and find the best way to deliver an initial deathblow. This may require waiting for him to get all the way back and sneaking through the hallway again. Either way, get that deathblow in and then it’s time to call in some help.

Run back to the water where the shinobi stands, speak with him quickly and he will join the fight. He’s useful mostly as a distraction, so focus on that. Whenever Juzou the Drunkard is busy fighting him, you should be dealing as much damage as you can. Keep in mind that Juzou will attack in large arcs that can hit you as well, and that he’ll alternate his focus between you two. Watch for him to start turning and switch to defense to prevent an early death and having to repeat all of the above. Keep this up and you’ll take him out.

And that’s how to beat Juzou the Drunkard in Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice. Be sure to check out all of our other Sekiro guides, including ways to beat most of the bosses in the game.