Sekiro: Best Tips to Fighting Juzou the Drunkard

Juzou the Drunkard is a huge challenge in Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice, and here’s an excellent guide to help you defeat him

One of the tougher bosses in Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice is Juzou the Drunkard. This behemoth of a foe carries with them a massive sword, and a useful drum of drink they use in combat. Not only does this enemy hit like a truck, but they also have plenty of little minions around them to make the fight even more difficult. Tackling this boss the traditional way is a method. However, you should consider using alternative tactics to address this boss and advance.

Juzou the Drunkard

Starting the Fight

The best way to start the fight is to advance towards the pond after you’ve avoided the small patrol of enemies before this area. To bypass the patrol, you need to take out the archer that’s right after the Sculptor’s Idol, and then leap onto the roof of the burning buildings. Keep to the ceiling as much as possible, and then make your way towards the pond. When you’re in the water, keep to the left as much as possible. You’re going to find a swordsman and a torchbearer in the small hut, located to the left. Take them out quickly, and you won’t alert the rest of the group.

You want to keep to the left to avoid their gaze. Remain crouched for as long as possible, and you’ll find your way behind the back row of a handful of minions, and Juzou. The nearest enemy to you is likely a foe with a shield. Eliminate them with a killing blow, and Juzou will immediately start making your way towards you. The best way to progress in this fight is to lure Juzou towards the small hut you came from, which is to the left of the small pond. Lure him here, and then rush over to the minions and take them out. Once you’ve taken them all out, you’re on to the hardest part of taking our Juzou.

Stealthing Juzou

The most challenging part of this fight is to kill all of the minions, and then get Juzou to no longer know where you are so you leap into stealth. It’s difficult because he’s continuously after you and the area the two of you are in is small. You may want to make you towards the first location, where the beginning patrol is, but make sure you don’t draw their attention.

After a little bit, you should lose Juzou’s interest, and you can follow him back to where the burning gates. Make your move hit him with a fatal stealth blow at any time.

Enlisting Assistance

Following your stealth blow, Juzou should have one of his two health bars gone. This attack should have made fighting him significantly easier. However, he’s still a ruthless force you need to remain wary. Pull back towards a corner, and if you noticed, there was an NPC in blue clothing near the mouth of the water, facing the burning gates. He’s there to help you. While Juzou is making his way over to you, rush over to this individual, spam through the dialogue, and he’ll rush in attacking the oversized Drunkard. The two of you should make fighting him far easier.

A good thing to watch out for a while fighting Juzou is when he takes a swig from his drink, back up. He’s about to spew a vicious attack on you that deals poison damage. Most of his sword attacks are forward, and downward swings, so get close to him and attempt to get behind him as often as you can. He does have an unbreakable grab, too, so if you see the red unbreakable symbol pop up, start dashing away and avoid it.