Shrines play an incredibly important role during a run of Sifu since they will provide a permanent upgrade that can allow players to breathe a little easier when reaching the latter stages of the game. However, these Shrine upgrades can sometimes be a little tricky to acquire since the Shrines themselves are often hidden away in very obscure places, but while they may take a little exploring to seek out, it's more than worth the effort considering the immensely powerful upgrades that they offer.
Sifu: All Shrine Locations (& How to Use Them)
Sifu players who are on the hunt for Shrines or those who wish to know how to use them can look to this guide for help.
Each Shrine contains three sets of three upgrades, but some of them will become locked if players step over a certain age during a run, so it can be extremely helpful to know which ones are worth getting early on, especially since these buffs often cost a pretty substantial amount of XP or score to unlock. Therefore, to make things a little easier for anyone who might be having trouble getting to grips with the Shrine system in Sifu, here are the most useful upgrades that can help make this brutally difficult game a whole lot easier.
5 Structure Reserve
Upgrade: Increase Maximum Structure
- Requirement: Can Be Acquired Up To Age 60
While paying attention to the health meter is obviously very important during a fight, the Structure meter is arguably just as vital because if it happens to break in the middle of an intense bout, it can leave the player wide open to receive a beatdown from the enemy. Though players are heavily encouraged to get into the habit of blocking and parrying enemies as much as possible, messing up when trying to execute these movements can drastically reduce the Structure gauge, and therefore, having more of it in reserve can help make encounters just a little less intimidating.
Just like how players are constantly trying to melt their enemy's structure gauge to pull off a flashy finishing move, the enemies are looking to do the exact same thing, so being able to have some extra structure durability goes a very long way. It also helps that Structure Reserve can be purchased very early on, and since it can be acquired all the way up to age 60, there's no need to worry about losing access to it after dying one or two times in the first few hours.
4 Focus Regain
Upgrade: Increase Focus Regain On Successful Avoid Or Parry
- Requirement: Can Be Purchased With a 4,000 Score
As fun as it can be launching an endless barrage of kicks and punches at a group of enemies, Sifu is also a game that requires a lot of patience, with players needing to know how and when to avoid or parry attacks if they want to stand a chance of making it out of an area alive. As a result, since these evasive techniques are going to be used constantly throughout a run, it certainly doesn't hurt to pick up the Focus Regain upgrade which will automatically restore some of the Focus bar each time the player avoids an attack.
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Focus attacks are special moves that can be absolutely game-changing when used correctly, but because they are often very costly, it means that they are usually only used every so often. With Focus Regain active though, it means that players can get into a rhythm of bobbing and weaving their way past enemies before taking them down with a ferocious Focus attack, something that becomes very useful for regular enemies, and crucial for sub-bosses.
3 Health Gained On Takedowns
Upgrade: Increased Health Gained On Takedowns
- Requirement: Can Be Acquired Up To Age 40
Because there aren't too many ways to restore health in Sifu outside of beatdowns and Shrines, it means that even the smallest amount of damage received can become a huge problem, since it puts the player one step closer to failing an entire run. Therefore, while an upgrade that simply enhances the amount of health gained from an attack may seem a little boring on the surface, in a game like Sifu where just the act of staying alive can be excruciatingly difficult, it makes a world of difference.
The health boost granted from this Shrine upgrade is very substantial, and it means that rather than desperately seeking out a new Shrine to get back up to speed, players will simply need to perform takedowns on one or two enemies to be fully restored. This particular upgrade does become locked after age 40 though, so picking it up early on is heavily advised, just in case anything goes wrong until the next Shrine appears later on.
2 Weapon Proficiency
Upgrade: Improve Weapon Damage And Impact On Opponent Structure
- Requirement: Can Be Purchased With 500 XP
Weapons are incredibly handy tools in Sifu because of the staggering amount of damage they can dish out when compared to regular kicks and punches. The only downside to these deadly utensils though is that they can break down rather easily, and when surrounded by a group of merciless thugs or going up against a tricky boss, this can prove to be disastrous if a pipe or machete randomly splits in two during an intense scenario.
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This Shrine upgrade not only fixes that problem by making every weapon in the game much more durable, but it also makes them even more powerful and capable of completely destroying enemy Structure gauges with a few well-placed strikes. Though it's not exactly required for taking on the game's bosses, the Weapon Proficiency can still make these encounters far easier, and it also helps out with subsequent playthroughs when players want to run through the first few bosses in as little time as possible.
1 Rejuvenate
Upgrade: Recover 5 Years
- Requirement: Can Be Purchased With 1,000 XP
Every time the player falls in battle during a run of Sifu, they'll add an extra year to their age count. Initially, this doesn't seem like too much of an issue during the first few hours, but once this number starts adding up and multiplying, it can quickly lead to a plethora of skills and upgrades being locked off, which can become a real nuisance during the later stages where enemies start becoming much more aggressive and dangerous. Additionally, the health meter will gradually start to decrease the higher the number goes, meaning that if a player were to find themselves reaching the 70s by the end-game, they'll be pretty ill-prepared to face the enemies that await them.
Rejuvenate essentially acts as a last resort which can take a whole 5 years off for a pretty costly sum of experience. It may seem expensive, but the Rejuvenate upgrade can save an entire run when used at the right time, and in many cases, it can be the only way to acquire a new skill that would have otherwise been locked off for the rest of a run. Even players who have managed to get through most of the game with a minimal number of deaths should still consider buying Rejuvenate since it will automatically make them a little more durable, which is always a welcome bonus.
Sifu
- Platform(s)
- PC , PS4 , PS5 , Switch , Xbox One , Xbox Series X , Xbox Series S
- Released
- February 8, 2022
- Developer(s)
- Sloclap
- Genre(s)
- Roguelike , Beat 'Em Up
