The main questline of Sekiro is well-rounded and expansive game that is rich in story and lore. The side quests found in the game expand on that lore further and provide fantastic content for the player to explore.
From minor quests to help vendors and shopkeepers to favors for friends and enemies alike, the side quests of Sekiro are varied and interesting. They add to the lore and flesh out the various NPCs in the game. Plus, they add more content for the player to explore, such as cool optional bosses. Furthermore, they force the player to focus on things that they wouldn’t pay attention to otherwise, leading to an overall better gaming experience.
10 Blackhat Badger Quest
The Blackhat Badger is a jaded character with a rat-like appearance found within the world of Sekiro. First appearing inside a broken house in Ashina Castle, he is easy to miss unless you try to explore every nook and cranny of the area.
Once you’ve purchased enough materials from him, he will relocate to the Senpou Temple. Once you raise the kite using the puppeteer ninjutsu to gain access to the other side of the valley, the Badger will relocate once more, this time to the Sunken Valley, where he is found in front of a grave, his son’s. After the invasion, he can be found gravely wounded in between three soldiers.
9 Basket Weaver Quest
Found in Mibu Village, the Basket Weaver is a non-hostile NPC that has been reduced to pretending he’s a basket in order to stop himself from consuming the cursed wine that seemed to have made the other residents of the village go mad.
After interacting with him once and coming back after finishing the rest of the quests in Mibu Village, he will have turned hostile and proclaims that he couldn’t resist the lure of the wine. It’s small details like this that bring life to the world of Sekiro.
8 Anayama The Peddler Quest
First encounter in Hirata Estate in Sekiro’s memory, Anayama is the first vendor that the player interacts with. He is seen trying to expand his business and asks the player to help him by keeping their ears open.
He can give the Wolf access to information that leads him to certain treasures worth the player’s time. He also has wares that the player can browse throughout the game — up until the invasion. Additionally, he’s also involved in the Kotaro questline.
7 Fujioka The Informant Quest
A minor character in the grand scheme of things, Fujioka doesn’t play a major role in the story. He is a former memorial mob turned information broker who has to be saved in order to interact with him as a merchant.
The only reward gained from saving him is that he becomes a merchant, but he has unlimited inventory of Pacifying Agents and Ungo Candy. Furthermore, he also has one of the Gourd Seeds that the player can buy to increase the capacity of their Healing Gourd.
6 Head Priest Of Mibu Quest
The big baddie of Mibu Village turns out to be a misguided drunkard trying his best to reach divinity. He doesn’t interact much with the player and mostly mutters to himself while drinking as much of the wine as he can. Presumably, he has hoarded all the wine in order to drink as much of it as he can, leaving the rest of the village to their own devices.
Sekiro can find the Water of the Palace from a secret area accessed by diving into a pool near the Flower Viewing Stage’s sculptor idol. Once given to the head priest, he will transform into a palace noble and can be killed to get five Treasure Carp Scales.
5 Tengu Of Ashina Quest
The mysterious hunter of the rats, Tengu of Ashina, is found in a building near the battlefield of the first boss. He stalks the “rats” of Ashina, the goons of the interior ministry, seemingly having a level of resentment and hatred toward them. He asks the player to kill as many of them as possible for a reward.
The Tengu is the person who first calls the player Sekiro, referencing the Shinboi Prosthetic Tool that the player uses. He rewards the player with the Ashina Esoteric text and, later, the Mushin Esoteric Text, both of which grant Sekiro access to powerful combat techniques.
4 Doujun Quest
Doujun is one of the more interesting NPCs found in the game. The disciple of the rival of Dogun, Doujun is a man of few principles. He mainly resides in the Abandoned Dungeons, where he conducts his experiments on its residents with little fear of any recourse.
He asks the player first to bring him either a samurai or a taro troop soldier, Jinzaemon and Kotaro, respectively, and then the eyes of a red-eyed carp from the Mibu village. Be wary, however; his goals are nefarious.
3 Pot Noble Quest
A mortal with aspirations to be something further — a tale as old as time. The two Pot Nobles found in the game in different locations both vie for the same ultimate goal. However, only one can get there.
This quest is unassuming at first but increases in scope and grandeur as it progresses. As with most of the other side quests, it doesn’t have a big effect on the main story, but it’s good enough on its own.
2 Jinzaemon Questline
Jinzaemon is a rustic samurai who gets enamored by the sound of an ethereal shamisen player. Found loitering around the same area where Sekiro starts the game, the samurai goes to great lengths to find the subject of his adoration and attention.
He can be misled and sacrificed to Doujun, but if you don’t want to feel like a horrible human being, he can be guided to where he wants to go: Mibu village. Although ultimately, he is unable to meet the shamisen player of his dreams.
1 Hanbei The Undying Quest
An NPC worthy of an entire side story, Hanbei the Undying is a terribly compelling character. Cursed to live seemingly forever, the immortal samurai is looking for a way to die. In his quest of finding closure, he comes across the player, whom he decides to help using his unique abilities.
Ultimately, the player can help him achieve peace once and for all after obtaining the Mortal Blade through the main storyline. The stories that Hanbei has collected over the years are good enough to warrant Shin Yamamoto’s attention and a full graphic novel.