Sifu leans into its martial arts aesthetic with flying fists and feet, but both players and enemies can pick up weapons. As expected, getting hit with a weapon takes away a large amount of damage. Players want to parry, counter, or use whatever tactics they can to avoid getting hit. In fact, there is a combo involving weapons that can even instantly kill most enemies. Players should use weapons whenever possible, and make sure to keep enemies from doing the same.
Some combos involve weapons, but other ones are enhanced when players are wielding weapons, so players generally want to have a weapon over being unarmed. Even if all they have nearby is a bottle, it can still be put to great use. If players throw a bottle at a foe in Sifu, it can stun them unless they manage to dodge.
Stunning an enemy with a thrown bottle allows players to get some good hits in, or at least deal with other nearby enemies. Players might need to do this just to deal with Sifu‘s difficulty. Be careful that enemies can also throw bottles at the player, though there is a move called Weapon Catch which catches thrown weapons if timed right, but it will take some practice to get right though.
Knocking Down Enemies in Sifu
The most reliable way to make enemies drop their weapons in Sifu is through any attacks that knock them down. There are a few different moves that do this, one is Strong Sweep Focus. This is a focus attack, so it can only be used when players have enough focus. It only costs one focus bar though, so it’s not too resource-intensive. It’s easy to pull off, as it only requires players to enter focus mode, rather than try to pull off an elaborate combo. Another attack for situational use is the 360 Swing Focus. It requires two focus bars, and the player must be wielding a staff, but it will knock down enemies and deal damage in a wide area. This move is perfect for group fights.
There are other attacks players can use to knock down enemies in Sifu when they don’t have focus. These include Spin Hook Kick, Slide Kick, and Chasing Trip Kick. Players should try to get some of these permanently unlocked as soon as possible. Be aware that some of these attacks have caveats though, Chasing Trip Kick only knocks down an enemy after they’ve been pushed, and Slide Kick only works up to age 30 as part of Sifu‘s aging mechanics.
Whichever attack players choose, knocking down an enemy causes them to drop the weapon they are holding. Knocking down enemies is also advantageous because players can follow up with the regular attack on downed enemies. It won’t necessarily knock out an enemy, but it does do a fair amount of damage, or players can leave them on the ground, to fight other enemies. Just be sure to pick up the weapon that was dropped.
Sifu is available on PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, and PC.
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