You have finally taken out the Guardian Ape in Sekiro and breathed a sigh of relief but hold that thought for now. There is another pair of primates waiting to pummel you to paradise! Yes, a pair! Although the Headless Ape boss fight is optional, we soulsborne fanatics can’t let that slide and must face the odds, and oh boy, the odds are stacked against you for sure in this fight.
With the help of this guide, you’ll know how to manage this dastardly duo and come out victorious. The journey is perilous and requires your A-game; however, the satisfaction of beating this boss is incomparable.
Fighting Headless Ape
The Headless Ape is the same boss as you have previously witnessed when going up against the second phase of the Guardian Ape. To face this boss, you have to return to the Ashina Depths in the giant cave right after the poison pool area guarded by Snake Eyes Shirahagi.
The fight begins facing the individual Headless Ape, but this time, it has two health bars. The fight is similar to the one you faced before so there are no surprises there.
However, the true surprise lies after you have taken out the first health bar of the boss. The monkey retreats to the wall and screams, summoning a Brown Ape (his wife perhaps) to aid him in the fight.
The brown Version acts similarly to the Guardian Ape’s first phase although with lesser health and posture meter. You don’t have to kill this brown ape to end the fight but managing the two at the same time can be quite cumbersome, luckily, the arena is big enough to create some distance and separate the two. She will just vanish if you kill the Headless Ape before downing the Brown Ape.
This fight is all about managing these two monstrosities and your prior knowledge of facing the Guardian Ape will come in extremely handy during the engagement.
Here are some tips and tricks that can aid you in this battle against the Headless Ape in Sekiro Shadows Die Twice:
- For the Headless Ape bring the Loaded Spear to pull out the worm to deal massive posture damage. Press the ability button twice when he falls down to drag the worm out.
- For the Brown Ape, slot in the Firecracker or the Long Spark Upgrade to stun it when going gets rough.
- Flame Vent works well against the Brown Ape.
- Carrying Terror curing items like Pacifying Agents.
- Compared to the Guardian Ape encounter, both of the apes have relatively low posture.
- Ako’s Sugar is an amazing buff for dealing extra posture damage.
- The Brown Ape doesn’t count as a “boss” so you can try to ignore it for the most part. However, we recommend taking it out ASAP for a smoother experience.
Headless Ape Boss Strategy
Before we begin the actual strategy, please refer to the Guardian Ape guide for all the movesets of these bosses. The Brown Ape uses the moveset of the first phase and the Headless Ape uses the moveset of the second phase.
This fight is quite easy for those who bested the Guardian Ape before. All of his attacks are the same and the parrying posture damage is even more boosted so expect it to go down quickly with effective deflection.
For the first phase, equip the Loaded Spear, Ako’s Sugar (or a better version), Ceremonial Tanto to add more Spirit Emblems to your pool, Divine Confetti, and Mortal Draw to annihilate the boss in mere seconds.
Before approaching the boss, buff yourself with Ako’s Sugar and Divine Confetti then use the Ceremonial Tanto. Now run to the boss and start spamming Mortal Draw. A few hits of the Mortal Draw will destroy the posture and you can move to the next phase.
Do not let Headless Ape run to the wall and summon his brown wifey, instead constantly keep hitting the retreating boss with Mortal Blade. If you do this right, Headless won’t get the chance to bring forth his wife and will die on the way. You can effectively kill the boss without worrying about the duo.
Rewards For Defeating Headless Ape
Here are all the things you get for taking out the Headless Ape in Sekiro Shadows Die Twice:
- Memory: Headless Ape
- Prayer Beads x2
- 5000 XP
- Unlocks the Bestowal Ninjutsu Ninjutsu Technique. Make sure to perform the final death blow after the boss has been killed. You must do this to ensure it is finished and to receive this prize.