Inner Father is the Owl’s true form in Sekiro Shadows Die Twice. He is unlocked and fought in the Gauntlet of Strength: Shura and Gauntlet of Strength: Mortal Journey only. He is just a more furious version of the Owl you have faced before, with a few new attacks.
All in all, this boss fight is the same as Owl (Father) back in Hirata Estate but the difficulty dial is turned up drastically. You probably won’t have a hard time if you remember his previous moves; you just have to adjust to the variations new to this boss.
Fighting Inner Father in Sekiro
Inner Father was added in the boss rush update for Sekiro Shadows Die Twice. FromSoftware didn’t want this fight to feel the same as before so they tweaked Inner Father a bit and made him much more aggressive.
Not only is his fierceness apparent but he also receives a couple of new attacks that might surprise you. These include a bunch of Mist Raven (Sekiro’s Prosthetic Tool) attacks where he disappears in a cloud of feathers only to emerge in a split second. Usually single Mist Raven attacks in the first phase and chains of attacks in the second phase.
His fiery owl attack in the second phase gets a new attack too. Previously, he only threw it in a horizontal arc with a perilous attack kanji appearing over your head but now he can also fire it vertically too which doesn’t trigger the kanji.
With a few new regular attacks here and there, this fight is pretty much familiar. If you want an in-depth moveset list and its reaction, please check out the Owl (Father) guide.
Here are some tips to consider during this fight:
- Do not use any thrust attack against him. He will use the Mikiri counter on you if you do so. The resulting counterattack can spell life-ending.
- Ako’s Sugar or better versions are your best friend during this fight. Inner Father recovers posture fast so you need this to level the playing field. Divine Confetti boosts damage output but is not necessary.
- Most of the prosthetic tools and combat arts are useless against this boss. It is better to fight him sword to sword. However, we do recommend Suzaku’s Lotus Umbrella and Sakura Dance only if you can use it right.
Phase 1 Strategy
Buff yourself with Ako’s Sugar at the beginning of the fight. For all the charge attacks, use the Umbrella and the follow-up Projected Force slash as it does a lot of damage.
Let him run up to you, pull out the umbrella as he is about to attack, tank the hit then, before he goes for the next attack, use the living force slash. Apply this tactic every time you see him charge at you. You can use it for the charge overhead slams too.
You can also punish the charge attacks by jumping to the side when he runs up to you then go behind him and perform a full Sakura Dance. This will deal direct HP damage to the boss.
In the first phase, Inner Father has two new Mist Raven attacks. He can still use them in the later phases so keep that in mind:
- Side Mist Raven: Sometimes when you hit him, he’ll turn into a feather cloud travel to one of your sides, and come out with two sword slashes.
- Reaction: As soon as you see him poof, tap the block button twice. If you time it right, you’ll end up deflecting the two follow-up slashes.
- Mist Raven Overhead Slam: When you are far away from him, he’ll disappear into the feather cloud only to emerge over your head ending with a devastating sword slam.
- Reaction: Get ready to tap block right as the cloud appears over you to deflect the incoming attack. Or you can back off and completely miss the slam.
The rest of the fight is the same as before. He has the same attack patterns that you are aware of (check the Owl (Father) guide if you don’t remember. Keep deflecting to move to the next phase.
Phase 2 Strategy
Inner Father’s second phase sees him summoning the spirit owl. The boss will disappear into the owl only to appear again in the air with a massive attack. For this attack, take out the umbrella to withstand the attack, and follow it up with a Projected Force counterattack. If done right, you’ll end up canceling his follow-up perilous sweep attack.
As for the new attack, on top of the previous ones, he gets a couple of new Mist Raven combos and a new spirit owl attack:
- Vertical Fiery Owl: Calls the owl to his hand and throws it in a vertical line towards you. This attack doesn’t signal a perilous attack kanji as the horizontal throw does. He goes for a perilous thrust attack afterward.
- Reaction: Dodge to the side as the owl reaches you. You can dodge through it as well if you time it right. Dodge into the follow-up thrust to Mikiri Counter it.
- Triple Mist Raven Combo: Uses Mist Raven and comes out with two sword swings, disappears again followed by a light Sakura Dance double slash then Mist Raven again to reappear with a wide strike ending with a perilous sweep.
- Reaction: Tap the block button as he appears the first time, wait, tap it twice when he reappears, wait, then tap it one more time for the last regular attack. Get ready to jump over the final sweep and bounce off him to deal posture damage.
- Triple Mist Raven Combo (Alternative): Uses Mist Raven and comes out with a running slash, disappears again followed by a mid-air shuriken throw then quick poofs near you to deliver an overhead slam ending with a perilous sweeping attack.
- Reaction: Wait after the first Mist Raven and let him run up to you then start tapping the block to deflect the running slash. Keep hitting the block button as he throws the shuriken to deflect that and get ready to deflect the overhead slam. Jump over the last sweeping attack and bounce off him to deal major posture damage.
Sekiro is a rhythm game, so try to remember the sound patterns instead of watching the swords. That’s pretty much what you have to do. Everything else is the same as before. Deflect right and put an end to your Father.
Rewards for Defeating Inner Father in Sekiro
Here are all the things you get for beating Inner Father in Sekiro Shadows Die Twice:
- Memory: Inner Father
- Another’s Memory: Shura. This is a new skin for Sekiro. You can equip it by interacting with the Sculptor’s Idol and selecting the “Change Form” option.