Sekiro: Headless Ape Rematch Guide
This page includes story or boss spoilers.
On this page
Find the rematch in Ashina Depths
Headless Ape appears in the Ashina Depths cave route between Poison Pool and Hidden Forest after the Guardian Ape has been defeated. The encounter begins with the headless form from Guardian Ape’s second phase, then becomes a duo fight. Reach the cave with enough healing and any Firecrackers you plan to use before entering. If you reached Hidden Forest before defeating Guardian Ape, you can travel past this rematch using the Idols you already activated.
The first health bar is a familiar sword fight. Stay close enough to deflect the sword sequence, recognise the overhead slam, and retreat from the Terror scream. The headless Ape is slower than the living phase, so this is a chance to build posture instead of trying to chip health while running away. A clean deflection on the big downward strike makes the safest attack window.
When the first bar is removed, it calls in a brown mate. Do not split your attention between both apes in the middle of their attacks. Create space and wait for the Headless Ape to start its long scream or another long animation. That is the best time to turn toward the mate, use Firecrackers if you brought them, and build a quick posture break. The mate has much less staying power; removing it returns the fight to the phase you already understand.
| Duo problem | Better response |
|---|---|
| Both apes are close | Run to open floor until one has committed to an animation. |
| Headless Ape begins the scream | Escape the terror zone, or use the long animation to isolate the mate safely. |
| Brown mate is exposed | Firecrackers can create a short posture-focused burst. |
| Mate is defeated | Reset to deflections against the Headless Ape; do not keep chasing its body. |
Take the final execution
Defeating the duo awards the Memory: Headless Ape and two Prayer Beads. Gourd Seeds and Prayer Beads explains how to turn the beads into a stronger necklace at an Idol. The Headless Ape still needs one more execution with the Mortal Blade to sever its immortality and gain Bestowal Ninjutsu. If you reached the rematch before obtaining the Mortal Blade, the boss rewards are still yours; return after acquiring it for that final corpse interaction. Do not sprint out of the arena if you already have the blade.
Bestowal is useful after a backstab because it extends the blade with blood. The fight is optional for some routes, but the reward makes it worth doing before the final stretch. If the duo feels random, do a few attempts with the narrow goal of killing the mate first. Once that is dependable, the encounter becomes a repeat of the sword-and-scream rhythm rather than a crowd-control scramble.