Sifu: Tips To Know Before You Start Playing

"Sifu," the kung-fu brawler from indie studio Sloclap, has finally been released on audiences, who are learning that its difficulty is no joke. Anyone looking to see the ending of "Sifu" is going to need all the help they can get beating down its difficult opponents. There are many important mechanics to the combat of "Sifu," like the Structure System that allows for finishing moves and the Focus Attacks that allow you to chain a ton of high-damage attacks together. These important combat techniques aren't the only things you will need to conquer "Sifu," however.

One of the most important things "Sifu" doesn't directly tell you about is the existence of a practice room. Back in the Wuguan hub, there is a wooden dummy. Interacting with the dummy will take you to the practice room, where you can swap out weapons and adjust enemy behavior. This room allows you to practice any new moves you get, or hone your skills before jumping into the real deal. Here are some other crucial "Sifu" tips to know before playing.

As noted by Fanbyte, once a level in "Sifu" has been completed once, you will typically find a key of some kind that will allow you to skip a huge chunk of that level on your next playthrough. These shortcuts can help out players who are looking to get to a boss quickly, either to advance to the next area at a younger age — before the game's unique death mechanic makes you older and weaker — or to quickly get practice in against that boss. The downside to these shortcuts is that you will miss out on XP earned during the full fun, which can be important for earning abilities and skills you haven't permanently unlocked.

The upside is that these shortcuts allow you to quickly advance through the earlier levels, which can come in handy if you're currently more interested in trying to learn the boss patterns for the fourth or fifth boss. Finding shortcuts and determining the best time to use one will help players out significantly during their time with "Sifu."

Dragon Shrines are an essential part of unlocking upgrades and skills in "Sifu," either just for the level or permanently (via Cultured Vultures). These statues have a green hue to them and while there are a few that will be placed directly in your path as you progress through the game, some are more off the beaten path. A number of Dragon Shrines are also located in optional side rooms, so players will need to decide if it's worth the risk of aging up to explore levels for additional XP. These statues and the XP they grant are essential to getting better at "Sifu" and advancing in the story.

The Dragon Shrines are available on every run, so a good strategy is to figure out where a few of the more optional Dragon Shrines are and grab ones you're confident in. This means sticking to rooms you can clear out without taking too much damage or getting killed, so the upgrades can be gotten without sacrificing anything. This process will more than likely take a few runs to master, but should make later levels a bit easier to conquer.

As noted by Reddit user bohemianbromar, takedowns are not always the best option. While it seems like a no-brainer to use a takedown after depleting an enemy's Structure, this can occasionally backfire for players. There are some enemies in the game that will block a takedown when attempted, then regain all of their health and Structure. This is obviously very frustrating, since the enemy in question goes from being practically defeated to becoming a threat once again. Luckily, there are a few different ways to tell when this might happen.

If a regular enemy has a glowing aura around them, they will likely get a second wind from the attempted takedown. The same goes for any regular enemy who seems to have a beefier Structure bar than the others. The way to avoid the second wind is to continue attacking them normally once the Structure bar is depleted, rather than go for the takedown. The enemies should run out of health and go down before they can recover their Structure. If you are ever unsure if an enemy is going to get a second wind, just avoid using the takedown.