Introduction
Unfortunately, if you want to get All the Achievements or the Platinum Trophy in Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice, there’s no way around it, you’ll have to grind. You’ll need an absurd amount of Experience, and Sen to max out your skill tree, Shinobi Prosthetic and to purchase all the necessary items from shops. When I say absurd, I mean about 3-4 hours of straight, high efficiency, focused grinding. Have fun.

A few of this grinding locations do require an upgrade to your Stealth. You should prioritize at least 1 of these upgrades early, as it will make more grinding places available during the mid-game. Unlocking Mikiri Counter, then Suppress Presence, followed by Suppress Sound in the Shinobi Arts Tree, will be required for a few locations.

There are a few points of no-return in Sekiro, and I’ll be going through each of these grinding locations linearly as they become available in the story, and giving spoiler alerts as necessary.

A timestamped list of the grinding locations will be provided in the description, and in a pinned comment below.

Special thanks to valued Community Members: Dave from FourFaceButtons, Aden McElveen, Micah and Jonathan from Seared Games for their contributions to grinding areas.

Bell Demon and Senpou Temple  Scroll
You can increase your Sen drops and Item Drop Rate from 2 skills from the Temple Arts Esoteric Texts. It’s strongly recommended to pick this up as early as possible and get Virtuous Deed, and Most Virtuous Deed before doing any really heavy grinding.

You can use the Bell Demon while farming upgrade materials but I would not recommend it otherwise. It does not increase your experience, or sen pickups, it only provides an increased chance of item drops. Most of the grinding locations utilize stealth kills, so the increased stats of enemies is a non-factor. Feel free to utilize it if you want, especially on the stealth kill grinding locations.

Enemies appear to have an Item Pool that gets expanded by the Bell Demon, and Skills Virtuous Deed and Most Virtuous Deed. With at least 2 of the skills active, you’ll seem to have an improved loot pool, allowing for end game upgrade materials to drop from most enemies in the end game grinding locations much more frequently. It’s strongly recommended to pick up Virtuous Deed and Most Virtuous Deed as soon as possible during, or ideally before these large grinds.

Location 1 - Ashina Outskirts Stairwell
Earliest Availability: First Area of the Game

I’m going to recommend with holding off farming as much as possible outside of a few key skill upgrades until very late game, or New Game+. You should use these early areas if you’re close to a Skill point, or if you need some extra sen to purchase something.

This is a very early and straight forward grinding location. It’s on the mandatory progression path, just before the first mandatory mini-boss, Chained Ogre.

You simply want to take this Sculptor’s Idol at Ashina Outskirts - Stairwell. Jump onto the roof, get behind the soldier on your left and quick kill him with a stealth deathblow, as he’s the stronger of the two. Then simply take out the soldier on your right by hammering him with attacks and countering when necessary.

Once both are dead, hold X or Square to collect your loot, and then grapple back up to the roof, and wall jump back up to the idol, and rest to reset the enemies.

This isn’t the best grinding location, but if you want some fairly quick and easy Sen in the early game for things like Robert’s Firecrackers, this is the place to get it.

Approximate Time per run: 35 seconds
EXP per run:42
Money per run: 22
Loot: Ceramic Shard (rare)

Location 2 - Hirata Estates Path
Earliest Availability: After speaking with Old Woman and getting the Bell

The next grinding location is a bit more involved but has about double the yield of the previous one. You’ll have to get the Bell from the Old Woman by saying nothing and pretending to be her son. This is on the way to the Ashina Outskirts - Stairwell Sculptor’s Idol.

Take this back to the Dilapidated Temple, and use it on the Buddha to be transported to Hirata Estates.

Simply jump down the cliff, and cross the bridge. Then grapple onto the gate and jump down to the Sculptor’s Idol.

From the Idol, grapple onto the watch tower, and drop to the left of the wall. Follow this to the end, and climb up. Stealth deathblow the first soldier. No head back towards the Sculptor’s Idol, and stealth kill the soldier on the right. Then use attacks and parries to break the next soldiers posture. Finally head back towards the idol and take out the final soldier in the same way. Then return to the idol, rest and repeat this process.

Again, don’t spend a ton of time here, but if you’re close to a skill up or want some sen, its a good spot.

Approximate Time per run: 55 seconds
EXP per run: 136
Money per run: 92
Loot: Dousing Powder (rare)

Location 3 - Gunfort
Earliest Availability: After Gyoubu (1st boss)

Getting to the Gunfort.
The Gunfort is mandatory for standard progression, but it can be accessed early to unlock a reasonably good grinding spot.

To get here, you need to progress past the second boss, and unlock Ashina Castle. Then you can climb the buildings to reach the center building. You can follow this path and grapple inside to unlock the Ante Chamber Sculptor’s Idol.

From here, just jump out and continue looping around until you can jump into the moat. Climb up the moat, and cross the bridge and follow the path down the snowy hill until you reach the Sculptor’s Idol in the Serpent Shrine.

Then jump down, and follow the grappling points left until you can reach the Sculptor’s Idol. This is a high intensity run, but there’s not a lot of issues if you die. Just follow the path here climbing until you reach the Gunfort itself. Once you do, run up the path, passing all the enemies, and to the sculptor’s idol in the back cave.

The Grind
Once you’re at the Gunfort Sculptor’s Idol, it’s a very easy grind. Just follow the trail back towards the fort, backstab the first enemy, and then sprint back to the idol and rest. It’s a super easy and fast grind, as the Soldiers here give disproportionately high EXP and Sen compared to soldiers in Ashina Castle or even Mt. Kongo.

I would strongly recommend grinding here early to gain the money to purchase the Gourd Seeds from the info-broker and memorial mob, and the Prayer Bead from the Memorial Mob in the Ashina Castle - Abandonned Dungeon Entrance. Doing this Sen grinding should also give you enough skill points to purchase the Mikiri Counter, and Ascending Carp, and Descending Carp skills, which are easily some of the best skills in the game.

As a bonus you’ll occasionally get some Antidote Powders and Pellets from this route. You can safely sell the Antidote Powders, but you’ll want to hang onto the Pellets for extra healing.

Approximate Time per run: 30 seconds
EXP per run: 297
Money per run: 52
Other Loot: Pellet, Antidote Powder (can sell for more Sen)

Location 4 - Mibu Village
Earliest Availability: After Gyoubu (1st boss) and some additional run around
You’ll unlock this Sculptor’s Idol as part of standard story progression once you pass the Mist Forest. It’s the first idol in Sunken Valley - Mibu Village.

This grinding location requires you to have at least 1 of the Stealth Upgrades from the Shinobi Arts Tree. Suppress Presence, AND Suppress Sound are Recommended.

Simply drop down to the stream bed, and head into the cleft. Hug the left wall and sneak to the back of the enemy. Stealth Deathblow him and then head back to the Sculptor’s Idol to reset him.

Credit goes to Jonathan from Seared Games for this route. You can checkout his original video in the description.

This is a moderate yield and fast stealth kill. It also has the chance to drop Lump of Fat Wax upgrade materials. You won’t need a ton of Fat Wax and there are other, better places to get it. Use this as an alternative to the Gunfort Grinding Location if you want a quick tune-up while progressing. Through the rest of the areas. This is a pretty finicky spot in my opinion, as it’s easy for you to miss the deathblow or for him to spot you. If he does, just abandon the run and head back to the idol and reset the area.

Approximate Time per run: 25-35 seconds
EXP per run: 784
Money per run: 84
Other Loot: Lump of Fat Wax, Pacifying Agent, Gokan’s Sugar, Contact Medicine

Location 5 - Ashina Castle Dojo
Earliest Availability: After gathering incense materials
This grinding location actually requires you to defeat a Mini-Boss, and is after the first point of no return, after you’ve collected the components for the Incense. It does also requires at least 1 of the Stealth upgrades from the Shinobi Arts tree. It is the last grinding spot if you’re choosing to go the Shura path.

To beat Vilehand, you can use the Puppeteer Ninjutsu to get some assistance. Just be careful as attacks from Puppeteered enemies can still hit you. Abuse Firecrackers, and parries to work his health down with help from the Puppet. You can actually extend the life of the Puppet by using a second deathblow on it, and using Ninjutsu again. Once your puppet is dead its another 1v1 duel. These guys have a very consistent attack pattern that is easy to abuse. If they jump, they will always follow up with a sweep which can be jumped over and then jump off them for good posture damage. They will also always finish up their long combos with a kick which can be Mikiri Countered. It may take a few attempts but once you kill it, you’ll unlock the Grinding Location, and a shortcut to the next boss, which is one of the hardest in the game.

This is a very straightforward grinding location after clearing out the miniboss. From the idol, just head inside the dojo, crouch, and turn left to hug the wall and assassinate the enemy. It’s a very easy way to get Sen and experience, although the yield is lower than the previous Mibu Village grinding location. You may prefer it. I find that it’s easier to do consistently, and has a much lower chance of detection from the enemy from my experience, but it is later in the game.

Approximate Time per run: 20 seconds
EXP per run: 392
Money per run: 41
Extrapolated Numbers:
Other Loot: -

Location 6 - Mibu Manor (Fountainhead Palace)
Earliest Availability: After making the First Ending Choice
These final grinding locations are realistically the ones you should be using. Especially if you need upgrade materials for your shinobi prosthetic. These are unavailable if you choose the Shura path, you’ll have to choose the path towards the Purification, Immortal Severance, or Return Endings.

This location is a high-risk high reward area. If you mess up, and get enfeebled by the Mist Nobles, you will likely be losing half your banked money, and experience. It’s quite easy to get enfeebled if you aren’t careful, so you’ll need to be paying attention here. It’s partly why I don’t favor this grinding location.

The upside is that it’s extremely easy to get high quantities of experience and sen here, and you can also get various materials including: Lump of Fat Wax, Lump of Grave Wax, Scrap Magnetite and Adamantite Scrap. Make sure you have The Bell Demon active, or both upgrades to drop rate from the Temple Arts Tree. You’ll need a lot of Adamantite Scrap, and the Okami Warrior Women are the best ways to get it. If you need upgrade materials, this is the place to get them.

Credit goes to Dave from FourFaceButtons for this route. You can checkout his original video from the description.

I use a slightly modified route from what Dave uses. I also strongly favor the Sabimaru Shinobi Prosthetic Tool here. Against the Okami Warriors it provides an extremely reliable stunlock deathblow. A combo from a base level Sabimaru, followed by one or two basic attacks will usually result in a deathblow opportunity, making grinding here extremely reliable. An improved, or piercing Sabimaru, or if you’ve upgraded to the Lazulite Sabimaru will be the best option here.

From the Mibu Manor Sculptor’s Idol, head right, and take out the Mist Noble before he sucks your youth away. Then turn left as soon as you see the woman and start sprinting towards the bridge. Double jump over it, and take out the next Mist Noble. Then continue left, and kill another Mist Noble before backtracking to the bridge. Enter this room, and head left to kill another Mist Noble. Then take out the Okami Warrior using Sabimaru, and basic attacks with Parries as necessary. Continue down the Hallway here, and grapple up. Wait a second for the Mist Noble and his entourage to turn the corner and then kill him quickly, before dealing with the two Okami Warriors using Sabimaru, and basic attacks with parries. Finally, turn the corner, and kill the Mist Noble on your right.

You can continue and finish off the loop, but I have more deaths doing those final mist nobles than I care to admit. I usually just use the buddha statue here and return to the Mibu Manor Idol to repeat the grind.

In New Game+ the Sabimaru’s power drops significantly. I would strongly recommend Grinding here in Standard New Game until you reach the required amount of Lump of Fat Wax, Lump of Grave Wax, Scrap Magnetite, and Adamantite Scrap to finish your prosthetic Upgrades. You’ll need 63 Scrap Magnetite, 40 Lumps of Fat Wax, 17 Lumps of Grave Wax, and 32 Adamantite Scrap total for all the upgrades.

This has a massive time discrepancy depending entirely on how fast you can deal with the Okami Warrior Women. If you get fast kills, its efficient, if you’re slow, it can be rough.

Approximate Time per run: 90 seconds to 150 seconds
EXP per run: 4719
Money per run: 753
Other Loot: Lump of Fat Wax, Lump of Grave Wax, Scrap Magnetite, Adamantite Scrap, Mibu Balloon of Soul

Location 7 - Fountainhead Palace - Great Sakura
Earliest Availability: After progressing past Mibu Manor
This grinding location should only be used if you’re short on Adamantite Scrap and Scrap Magnetite for your Prosthetic Upgrades while in New Game+. Being unable to easily stunlock the Okami Warriors in NG+ with the Sabimaru makes it much more difficult to farm the higher tier upgrade Materials in the previous route. This route has 3 stealth kills easily available reducing a lot of headache associated with grinding them.

From the Great Sakura idol, turn to your left and grapple onto the roof.

Now head to the left side, and sneak around to kill the Okami Warrior on the top of the roof on your right.

Head back down and to your left. Continue to the next building. Now stealth kill the Okami Warrior on the right side. Now continue forward and stealth kill the third Okami warrior directly in front of you. Now sprint back to the Sculptor’s Idol to rest and reset the area to repeat the loop.

I did this exclusively in New Game+ and as such don’t have numbers associated with New Game. It’s a fast spot to get the required Scrap Magnetite, and Adamantite Scrap however.

Loot: Scrap Magnetite, Adamantite Scrap

Location 8 - Burning Ashina Outskirts Stairwell
Earliest Availability: After completing Fountainhead Palace
The final grinding location is ironically in the exact same place as the first. You will have to backtrack here, and the way to do so is to get back to the Grave Idol from Kuro’s Room. Then head down, and through the newly formed bridge to cross back to Ashina Outskirts.

You can also take the door from Mt. Kongo near the Bell Demon idol and pass the Headless to get there relatively quickly if you prefer. It’s your call. Just make your way back to the Ashina Outskirts - Stairs Idol, and reactivate it.

This location provides a safe and reliable high yield for Sen, experience, and provides drops for Yellow Gunpowder, Fulminated Mercury, and the occasional Scrap Magnetite and Adamantite Scrap if you have level 2 drops from Temple Arts. If you need any kind of gunpowder this is the place to get it, and you will have an absolute ton of it by the time you finish grinding all the EXP needed for unlocking all the skills, trust me.

I prefer this location over the previous one in Mibu Manor for pure Experience and Money gains, as it’s entirely stealth kills and requires very little to no direct combat at all.

From the Idol, just run back, jump and grapple to the watch tower and stealth deathblow the guard.

Then drop down, and stealth deathblow the guard under the watch tower.

Move forward, and stealth deathblow the guard on the right.

Then move forward and stealth deathblow the flamethrower soldier, followed by the dual sword soldier.

Then just run back, grapple onto the gate, and jump and wall jump back up to the Sculptor’s Idol, rest and repeat.

That’s in an ideal scenario. You’ll be here for a long time, and often these two will have wonkiness to the AI. I found in New Game+2 they often would not behave in the intended way, so here’s some tips.

Always attempt a backstab on the flame thrower soldier as he has double the EXP yield. Then you can use firecrackers and R1 spam, or a Firecracker and Empowered Mortal Draw combo, or a R1 and mortal draw combo to kill the remaining soldier. Finally, Mikri if he manages to get a stab off should result in an instant, or near instant posture break.

If things ever go south and you miss a stealth deathblow on the flamethrower soldier, just cut your losses and retreat back to the Sculptor’s Idol and rest to reset. It’s generally faster to just abandon the run and start over than to attempt actually fighting the enemies.

Approximate Time per run: 45 - 60 seconds
EXP per run: 3972
Money per run: 554
Other Loot: Yellow Gunpowder, Fulminated Mercury, Scrap Magnetite, Adamantite Scrap. Ministry Dousing Powder, Oil

Final Notes:
New Game+ represents a massive spike in Experience and Sen gains. It’s basically double New Game, with slight increases for each additional cycle. It’s strongly recommended to avoid too much grinding in standard New Game as it’s just less efficient. Pick up the core abilities, and as many upgrade materials as you want before moving onto New Game+ for the real grinding.

For upgrade materials you will need: 35700 Sen + 3000 for the Phantom Kunai from Anayama the Peddler, or 4500 from the Offering Box after the second point of no-return. Totalling 38700 or 40200 Sen. You will also need: 91 Scrap Iron, 30 Black Gunpowder, 63 Scrap Magnetite, 29 Yellow Gunpowder, 40 Lumps of Fat Wax, 17 Lumps of Grave Wax, 32 Adamantite Scrap, 19 Fulminated Mercury and 10 Lapis Lazuli.

Unfortunately Lapis Lazuli is only obtained by completing the Pot Noble’s Questline, and from 2 optional encounters. You can only get a maximum of 6 per playthrough, which requires you to go into New Game+ to complete the Prosthetic Tool Upgrades achievement.

The 91 Scrap Iron and 30 Black Gunpowder can be purchased from the Info-Merchant in the Dilapidated Temple after beating the First Boss in Fountainhead Palace for 150 Sen Each. Believe me, when you’re done grinding the skills, you will have more than enough money to purchase all the scrap iron you’ll ever need in Sekiro. Far more than enough...

It’s best to reserve the final EXP grinds for New Game+, or New Game+2 onwards as you will need a lot of experience to unlock the final upgrades. For the All Skills achievement, you will need to go into at least one New Game+ cycle for the final boss unlock skills from the Shura and Immortal Severance Paths, so do your grinding then.

Sit down, relax, and grind for literal hours in Ashina Outskirts to get those Final Skill Points.

Thanks FromSoft.