Sekiro is one of those games that somehow makes being repeatedly kicked off a cliff feel educational. One minute you are calmly exploring a temple, the next a monk with a spear launches you into low orbit. Naturally, farming becomes part of the process. Sometimes you need extra Sen for prosthetic upgrades. Sometimes you just want skill points without fighting a miniboss who looks like he eats smaller minibosses for breakfast.
Thankfully, Sekiro has some genuinely brilliant farming spots scattered across Ashina. A few are quick and efficient. Others feel almost unfair once you know the route. Here are the best places to grind XP, Sen, Spirit Emblems and materials without losing your sanity.
Why Farming Matters in Sekiro
Unlike a lot of Soulslike games, Sekiro does not let you brute force your way through everything with levels. Skill matters more than stats. Still, farming has a huge role.
Good farming routes help with:
- Unlocking powerful combat arts
- Stocking up on Spirit Emblems
- Buying upgrade materials
- Building prosthetic tools faster
- Reducing the emotional damage caused by losing half your Sen after a bad death
There is also something weirdly relaxing about turning Ashina Castle into your personal XP delivery service.
Best Early Game Farming Spot, Hirata Estate
Best Idol
Hirata Estate, Bamboo Thicket Slope
What You Farm
- Sen
- Early XP
- Spirit Emblems
Why It Works
Early Sekiro can feel brutally stingy with resources. The Hirata Estate route fixes that pretty quickly. Starting from Bamboo Thicket Slope, you can stealth kill several enemies in rapid succession before resetting at the Sculptor’s Idol.
The bandits here are not especially dangerous once you understand stealth mechanics. Most of them are standing around chatting, completely unaware that Wolf has become a one-man unemployment crisis.
Farming Route
- Start at Bamboo Thicket Slope
- Stealth kill the nearby enemies
- Move uphill through the camp
- Reset at the Idol
- Repeat
This route is ideal before taking on Lady Butterfly or Gyoubu Oniwa.
Best Mid Game XP Farm, Ashina Castle Antechamber
Best Idol
Upper Tower, Antechamber
What You Farm
- Massive XP
- Moderate Sen
- Upgrade materials
Why It Works
This is where Sekiro farming starts getting serious. The blue-robed Ashina samurai near the Antechamber Idol give excellent XP, especially after Ashina Castle changes later in the game.
Better still, the route is incredibly short.
You can literally backstab one enemy, sprint forward, kill another, then reset in under a minute. It feels almost criminal. FromSoftware definitely knew what players were doing here and quietly allowed it because they understood suffering has limits.
Farming Route
- Spawn at Upper Tower Antechamber
- Backstab the first blue samurai
- Move into the next room
- Kill the second enemy
- Grapple back or reset at Idol
Late game versions of this route become even more profitable.
Best Late Game Farming Spot, Ashina Outskirts Stairway
Best Idol
Ashina Outskirts Stairway
What You Farm
- Huge XP
- High Sen
- Fulminated Mercury
- Ministry materials
Why It Works
This is probably the most famous farming spot in Sekiro, and honestly, it deserves the reputation. Once the Interior Ministry invades Ashina, the red-armoured enemies around the Stairway Idol become walking treasure chests.
Most of them can be stealth killed quickly. The XP gain is absurdly good compared to the time invested.
It also helps that the route is oddly satisfying. You move through the burning outskirts like a shinobi tax collector demanding overdue payments in blood.
Farming Route
- Start at Ashina Outskirts Stairway
- Stealth kill enemies along the staircase
- Use rooftops for quick positioning
- Clear the riflemen
- Return to Idol
This is one of the best places in the game for grinding endgame skill points.
Best Sen Farming Spot, Mibu Village
Best Idol
Mibu Village
What You Farm
- Large amounts of Sen
- Light XP
- Consumables
Why It Works
Mibu Village is deeply unsettling. Everyone moves like they forgot how knees work. But the area is fantastic for quick Sen farming because the enemies respawn in huge numbers and die fast.
The villagers are weak individually, so you can chain kills rapidly using sweeping attacks and prosthetics.
It almost feels rude after a while.
Farming Route
- Start at Mibu Village Idol
- Move through the main street
- Use crowd attacks
- Collect Sen
- Reset quickly
If you are low on money before buying expensive prosthetic upgrades, this is one of the easiest solutions.
Best Spot for Spirit Emblems
Best Idol
Senpou Temple, Temple Grounds
Why It Works
Spirit Emblems vanish frighteningly fast once you start enjoying prosthetic tools. Suddenly every fight becomes “what if I used fireworks again?”
The monks around Temple Grounds are easy to dispatch and provide steady returns. The route is also relatively safe compared to late-game Ashina.
Farming Tips
- Use stealth where possible
- Prioritise fast kills
- Rest often to refresh enemies
- Equip Mibu Balloon of Wealth if available
You can build up a healthy reserve surprisingly quickly here.
Best Material Farming Spots
Fulminated Mercury
Best found during the late-game Ashina invasion from red Ministry enemies.
Adamantite Scrap
Common around Fountainhead Palace enemies and certain late-game drops.
Divine Confetti
Blue samurai in Ashina Castle often drop it. Very useful because buying Confetti constantly gets expensive fast.
And yes, every Sekiro player eventually reaches the point where they are farming ghost paper just to punch headless monsters for thirty seconds before dying anyway.
Farming Tips That Actually Help
Use Balloons Properly
The Mibu Balloons are genuinely useful.
- Wealth Balloon for Sen
- Soul Balloon for XP
- Possession Balloon for item drops
Save them for efficient routes rather than random wandering.
Bank Your Sen
Buy Coin Purses whenever possible. Losing half your money after getting kicked by a giant chicken is not a financial strategy.
Prioritise Stealth
Sekiro farming works best when enemies never get the chance to fight back. Fast stealth routes massively increase efficiency.
Farm Before Major Bosses
Grinding before difficult encounters helps reduce frustration. There is nothing worse than entering a boss fight with almost enough XP for a skill point and knowing disaster is one sword swing away.
Which Farming Spot Is the Best Overall?
For pure efficiency, Ashina Outskirts Stairway is probably the king of Sekiro farming. The XP is excellent, the enemies are manageable, and the material drops are valuable.
For newer players, Hirata Estate and Mibu Village are far safer and easier to learn.
Honestly though, part of the fun is discovering little personal farming loops that fit your own playstyle. Some players want maximum optimisation. Others just want enough Spirit Emblems to turn every encounter into a fireworks display.
Both are valid life choices.
Takeaway
Sekiro farming feels different from most action RPGs because the combat remains engaging even after repetition kicks in. The movement is fast, the stealth is satisfying, and the game constantly rewards cleaner execution.
Even when grinding, Sekiro rarely becomes completely mindless. One sloppy parry and some ash-covered samurai immediately reminds you that confidence is temporary.
Which, in a strange way, is very on-brand for Sekiro itself.
