Before reading; there may be errors and missing data, I will try to update this post over time. Feel free to direct any corrections or criticism in a message to me on site or at holm_gg on Discord. I encourage you to post questions on the Sekiro Speedrun Discord server, you'll receive better help there than anywhere else.

PC vs Console

Sekiro is officially available on the following 3 platforms: PC, Xbox and Playstation. On PC the game can only be played through Steam. On Xbox or Playstation you can either buy a virtual copy in the console's built-in store or you can buy a physical disc. If the game is installed or installing and has connection to the internet, it will either force you or ask you if you want to update to the latest version, which is 1.06 for all versions and platforms. The game version can be seen on the main menu. On PC, you can also see the version by right clicking on the sekiro.exe in its folder and checking under properties.

The earliest version for PC and for virtual copies of the game on xbox and playstation is 1.02. The earliest version for disc copies is 1.00, however this patch would automatically be overwritten by 1.02 if an internet connection is present on the console you are installing the game to. There'll be a dedicated section for the 1.00 version at the bottom of the post. In all other instances the console and PC versions are identical. Some behaviour may be different between console and PC due to FPS or other hardware related circumstances. Note: there is no 1.01 patch.

Patch Notes

Preload Patch

• On some platforms, a preload version of the game could be downloaded a couple days before release so that the game could be played immediately on the day of release. The game files are identical to 1.02, except the Sekiro.exe is replaced by an empty placeholder file, preventing you from playing the game early.

1.02 - Day One Patch

• Game is released (Sekiro.exe updated).

1.03 - April 23 2019 (UTC)

• Right-sided Bull Skip patched (Left side version still works and is faster than right side anyways).
• Deathplane added above Folding Screen Monkes arena, patching Early Monkeys Glitch.
• Added more spawn conditions for the Great Serpent to appear at the Sunken Valley Cavern, patching an old version of Snake Skip that let you go from Senpou to the Serpent's Cave earlier than intended.
• True Monk phase 1 stealth deathblow semi-patched (now requires a precise setup).
• O'rin stealth deathblow semi-patched (now requires a precise setup that involves fully de-aggroing her first).
• Mortal Draw combat art vitality and posture damage increased.
• Dragon Flash combat art vitality and posture damage decreased.
• Spiral Cloud Passage combat art vitality and posture damage increased.
• Ashina Cross combat art vitality and posture damage increased.
• Floating Passage combat art vitality and posture damage increased.
• Senpou High Monk combat art posture damage decreased.
• Added a 20 frame lock-out period between certain inputs when menuing (does not affect up, down, left and right inputs).

1.04 - April 26 2019 (UTC)

• Nerfed Blazing Bull's Vitality and Posture.

1.05 - Game of the Year Update - October 28 2020 (UTC)

• Added Reflections of Strength, Gauntlets of Strength and Inner bosses.
• Added new pop-ups during gameplay that lets the player know when they unlock features from the update.
• An enemy approaching you while you are sitting at an idol, will no longer stand you up from the idol.

1.06 - November 20 2020 (UTC)

• Tweaked the AI of Inner Genichiro's 3rd phase to fix an AI loop exploit.

For Speedrunning

Downpatch guide link: https://www.speedrun.com/sekiro/guides/vjhms

An important thing to note is that savefiles will only work on the same patch as they were created on or newer ones. A savefile created on 1.06 will not be usable on 1.05. If you try to load a savefile that is incompatible with the game version, you will receive an onscreen message similar to this:

In this scenario, you will be locked out of playing the game until you either update the game or delete your save data (check downpatching guide). Reminder that you can just simply move your save data file to a different folder to save it.

Glitchless and Unrestricted

All glitchless and unrestricted speedruns are currently ran on 1.04 or 1.06. You would not want to run any of these categories on 1.02 because 1.02 has extremely weak Mortal Draw. You would also not want to run any category that has to fight Bull on 1.03 because Blazing Bull has more health/posture.

Generally speaking, 1.04, 1.05 and 1.06 are very similar, there are only 3 small differences between them.

1. On 1.04, enemies approaching you while sitting at an Idol will stand you up from the idol. This saves time in some categories where you want to quickly pick up an idol for later use. However, it can also mess you up when you want to pick up an Idol and immediately use it.
2. On 1.05 and 1.06, there are additional options in the Idol menu. On 1.04, you can buffer an up input when entering an Idol to immediately be on the upgrade attack power option. This is saves a bit of time over the course of the run.
3. On 1.05 and 1.06, there are more pop-ups that need to be skipped before proceeding in certain areas, which may lose time.
4. Some people believe that 1.06 has better responsiveness, especially when using keyboard and mouse, I haven't been able to get any numbers on that. But I can confirm that item menuing is the exact same between 1.04 and 1.06 when using keyboard, specifically. Take this point with a grain of salt.

Most routes play out the same on 1.04, 1.05 and 1.06, so it is generally considered to be personal preference which to use. However, some categories benefit from downpatching to 1.04 for the reasons stated above. The general advice that is given here, is that you shouldn't worry too much about downpatching if you're a beginner, as It can be a tedious process for some people. But if you want to, you can.

No Airswim

No Airswim is exclusively ran on 1.02, due to the Early Monkeys Glitch being patched on 1.03. In theory, you could run No Airswim on newer patches, but you won't be able to do the optimal route. This is a bigger issue for Shura No Airswim than Immortal Severance No Airswim, due to the fact that IS has to follow a more intended route, which involves killing Genichiro first, to not get locked out of the IS ending. The timesave from Early Monkeys is only around 40s-1min in IS, where as it saves over 4 minutes in Shura No Airswim (fastest 1.06 is 27:11 by Ocarina, done on PS5).

IS No Airswim is fine on current patch, but Shura No Airswim basically has to be ran on 1.02. But in the end, you should do the speedrun however it most pleases you. Having fun is the most important.

Patch 1.00

Patch 1.00 is infamous in many FromSoft games for being insanely broken. Many fogwalls, trigger points and boss AIs do not function as they should. Patch 1.00 is not super well documented due to the fact that no one really has access to it (If you have tips on how to obtain an original disc copy for the ps4 within the EU, please message me here on site or at holm_gg on discord).

If you're interested in learning more you can check out a speedrun using patch 1.00 by LilAggy here.

Here are some of the things that are different in version 1.00.

• When running through Shichimen Warrior's arena in the abandoned dungeon, it is possible to navigate past Shichimen without being spotted, which lets you skip him. every other game version, he will always spot you. There is an a way to do this skip on newer patches though, but it requires precise jumps.
• It is possible to sneak up behind and backstab Long-Arm Centipede Giraffe. works similarly to the Shichimen Warrior skip. In 1.00, some bosses are not programmed to automatically detect you when you enter their arena, rather it seems like they use normal line of sight to spot the player. This is very abusable so the developers added triggerboxes to the arenas to avoid this, but it seems that they didn't fully apply this fix to Corrupted Monk, which is why we can stealth deathblow her.
• The item menu looks different.

(Screenshot from LilAggy's run).