One of the biggest and most welcome changes in all of Sekiro is the addition of Shinobi Prosthetic Tools. At the very start of the game, Sekiro loses his left arm in a fight against Genichiro, after which he adopts a prosthetic arm which is able to fit a multitude of different weapons and accessories on it to help him on his quest.
These tools greatly add to the overall gameplay experience of the game as they bring yet another dynamic of how you can approach a situation. With each of these 10 tools being different in both form and function, there’s truly so many ways you can play the game.
From tools you use to lure enemies to tools that you can use to set them on fire, here is a ranking of all the Shinobi Prosthetic tools from most to least useful:
10) Finger Whistle
Link: https://sekiro-shadows-die-twice.fandom.com/wiki/Finger_Whistle
Not even gonna lie, it’s kind of a crime that this costs spirit emblems. While the later upgraded variants of this tool, namely the malcontent whistle, are fairly cool and a little more useful, the tool in and of itself is one that you won’t really need to use all that much.
The finger whistle has 2 uses; to make animal enemies such as dogs and those giant roosters go crazy, and to get the attention of guards. The problem is that the animal enemies in the game are insanely easy to kill as it is, and a ceramic shard can do an even better job at getting the attention of an enemy because it won’t cost any valuable spirit emblems which can be used for far more important things. Honestly, after getting my head caved in numerous times by the Guardian Ape, I expected to get a little more upon defeating him.
Use the Finger Whistle if:
- You need a tool to distract some enemies
- Make the animal enemies of the game even easier than they were before
9) Sabimaru
Link: https://sekiroshadowsdietwice.wiki.fextralife.com/Sabimaru
Sabimaru is essentially a smaller sword that is fitted on the prosthetic arm and is used to deliver quick strikes, as well as inflicting poison damage with each subsequent hit. But, I’ll be perfectly honest. I have never really used the Sabimaru much past the first 5 minutes of getting it. Why? Because our spirit emblems can be spent on things that are far more useful!
Though the poison damage is a neat add on, the blade itself does very miniscule damage, not to mention the unupgraded Sabimaru needs many hits to inflict the poison damage at all. It’s a very situational tool that only really works against some weak enemies such as gunners, but even then it’s just best to conserve your emblems for better tools.
Use the Sabimaru if:
- You want to deal quick successive strikes with your prosthetic weapon
- You want to deal an easy kind of DOT damage
- You want an extra way of damaging your opponent through poison
8) Mist Raven
Link: https://sekiroshadowsdietwice.wiki.fextralife.com/Mist+Raven
The Mist Raven is cool as hell. First of all, it is the most easily missed of all prosthetic tools, so I wouldn’t be surprised if many players just missed it in their playthroughs at all. Save for that, it is the only prosthetic tool that is used for evasion more than anything else.
The way it functions is very similar to the Old Hunter’s Bone from Bloodborne, wherein you use the tool and dodge in a certain direction and the character turns into mist and essentially teleports to that direction. As I said before, it’s useful if you’re an evasive player, but you can really get the same thing from just timing your dodges well, which won’t cost you any spirit emblems. Still though, it’s a neat tool regardless.
Use Mist Raven if:
- You are more of a defensive or evasive player
- You don’t mind longer fights where you use hit and run tactics
7) Divine Abduction
Link: https://sekiroshadowsdietwice.wiki.fextralife.com/Divine+Abduction
Now this might be a controversial pick for many people. I’ll be honest, the only reason I put Divine Abduction this far down on the list is the fact that I didn't use it too much as I don’t really recall having that much of a need for it. The tool itself seems like 2 big leaves that make a vortex around Sekiro and can turn enemies around for you to deliver a deathblow.
This, obviously, only works on small or weak enemies but that doesn’t mean that it is a bad tool at all and can actually be very useful in getting fights over quickly. For me, the problem again rises in the fact that it is very situational and has a relatively long wind up that the player can get knocked out of and if that happens, the ability of the tool won’t activate. However, it is sweet how some enemies can just straight up die as soon as they contact you. Great tool.
Use Divine Abduction if:
- You want to have quick deathblows on some weaker enemies
- You want a decent alternative to blocking and parrying
- You feel like just deleting some enemies
6) Loaded Shuriken
Link: https://sekiroshadowsdietwice.wiki.fextralife.com/Loaded+Shuriken
Ok, now this may not be the most useful of tools in the later game but I will always love it. Just as its name suggests, it’s a tool that lets you throw shurikens at your enemies at the very low cost of 1 shuriken per emblem.
A very fun tool to use, especially in the early game where you can effectively take out weaker enemies safely from a distance and whittle down their posture bar slowly. In the first half of my initial playthrough where I was still fairly new to the game and was playing it like any other Souls games (which you really shouldn’t), this was far and away the tool that I used the most as it is very friendly for newer players.
Use Loaded Shuriken if:
- You want to keep a distance between yourself and the enemy
- You prefer to stealth and distance based fighting
5) Loaded Spear
Link: https://sekiroshadowsdietwice.wiki.fextralife.com/Loaded+Spear
The Loaded Spear is a great tool to use in Sekiro and one that deals moderate vitality damage but massive posture damage if it is used properly. It’s just a folded spear on Sekiro’s prosthetic arm that transforms into a very long spear that can be used to deliver thrust damage.
This tool is especially useful if you want to deal posture damage from a distance and is faster and farther reaching than the thrust attack you can do with Kusabimaru. This thrust attack also has follow-ups that do different things to enemies depending on who you are fighting.
If it is a lightly armored, weaker enemy, then you can pull the enemy towards yourself and do a quick follow up attack with your sword and both follow-ups have no additional spirit emblem cost. If it’s a heavily armored enemy, the follow up attack will rip off a piece of their armor, dealing massive posture damage. It’s also very effective against the third phase of the Guardian Ape boss.
Use Loaded Spear if:
- You want to deal very good vitality and posture damage to smaller enemies
- You want a tool to help you do damage at a distance
- You’re fighting the 3rd phase of the Guardian Ape and you want to deal a ton of damage to him
4) Flame Vent
Link: https://sekiroshadowsdietwice.wiki.fextralife.com/Flame+Vent
Ever wanted to punch people and set them on fire simultaneously? If so, please seek help. But if you want to do it with impunity in a video game, use the Flame Vent! This prosthetic tool is very cool and is the best tool to do DOT damage to the enemy as it covers the enemy in a cloak of flames, inflicting burn damage.
Burn damage is far stronger than poison damage as it saps much more health away and is useful against pretty much every kind of enemy type in the game, especially those enemies with long cloaks or straw accessories and even more so against red-eyed enemies. Plus, if the living force skill is active, then Sekiro can follow up with a slash from his sword that coats the sword in fire for a short duration, which inflicts even more burn build up and damage.
Use Flame Vent if:
- You want to do some extra damage to the enemy
- You want to inflict some burn damage
- You want a tool that does its job quickly and well
- You want to make fights against beast enemies even easier
3) Loaded Axe
Link: https://sekiroshadowsdietwice.wiki.fextralife.com/Loaded+Axe
Ol’ reliable. The Loaded Axe is one of the first prosthetic tools you can find and is one that can definitely take you to the end of the game. This is my favorite tool in the whole game! The weightiness of the axe is felt in every single swing and does incredible damage when it connects.
The true utility of the Loaded Axe is seen against enemies with shields, as just one or 2 swings from this beast can break wooden shields or stun the opponent. However, it can also be used on enemies without shields and can deal amazing vitality and posture damage, even using follow-ups to enhance this in order to deal more damage. Though the initial attack is slow, the damage that you can get out of it makes up for it!
Use Loaded Axe if:
- You are dealing with shielded enemies
- You want to dish out massive vitality and posture damage
- You just want a weapon that feels heavy and deals damage accordingly
2) Loaded Umbrella
Link: https://sekiroshadowsdietwice.wiki.fextralife.com/Loaded+Umbrella
Most of the guides and playthroughs of the game that you can find on the internet will talk about using this tool almost exclusively. This is an incredible tool that works in pretty much every single situation that the game throws at you. How this works is that with the press of the R2/RT button, Sekiro unfurls an umbrella that is connected to his prosthetic arm and uses it as a shield.
Why this works really well is that it completely covers Sekiro and shields him from any gun fire and most light attacks from enemies just bounce off. Another super cool thing about the loaded umbrella is that even if you’re covered by the shield, you can press the designated deflect button and do a deflect with the umbrella itself.
This is the tactic most veterans of the game use as it makes deflecting enemy attacks way easier because it considerably extends the parry/deflect window for you so you can do it more comfortably. Also, after doing these umbrella deflects, press the attack button to immediately counter and do a move of your own, which does very good posture damage.
Use Loaded Umbrella if:
- You just want the game to be much easier
- You aren't very adept at deflecting
- You just want larger deflecting windows
- You are being attacked from multiple enemies at the same time
- You want good defense against shooter enemies
1. Shinobi Firecracker
Link: https://sekiroshadowsdietwice.wiki.fextralife.com/Shinobi+Firecracker
Couldn’t have really been anything else. The Shinobi Firecracker is one of the first tools you can find in the entire game and though it may initially seem very simple, this tool will absolutely get you through to the end of the game. It works well against every enemy and even every boss in the entire game.
This works to distract enemies mostly, and stun them long enough for you to get a bunch of hits on them, and can even be paired with strikes as follow ups.
It may seem like there isn’t much to say about this tool and that’s because there really isn’t. Just use and upgrade the Firecracker and see for yourself!
Use Shinobi Firecrackers if:
- You want a tool that will get you many free hits on your enemies
- You want a tool that distracts enemies very well
- You want a tool that is extremely effective on both enemies and bosses
- You want a tool that works just as well on the first boss as it does on the last boss
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