The Best Shrine Upgrades and Skills for Beginners – Sifu

There are two main progression systems in Sifu — the Skill Tree, and Shrine Upgrades. In this guide, we’ll go over some of the best choices for players still learning the Kung Fu ropes. For an explanation of how both systems work, check out our guide on Death, Age, and Progression.

Shrine Upgrades

At the start of the game, your goal will be simply to survive long enough to actually learn how to fight effectively. With that in mind, the first two age-gated upgrades are the best choices for beginners:

• Structure Reserve – By increasing maximum structure, you give yourself a lot more time to guard before having your structure broken. You must be age 60 or lower to choose this upgrade.
• Health Gained on Takedowns – This dramatically increases how much health you get back when using the finishing moves on enemies. You must be age 40 or lower to choose this upgrade.

Skills

The following skills are easy to use and applicable in many situations:

• Environmental Mastery – Throw an item, weapon, or object direclty from the ground.
  • This allows you to kick many objects that otherwise cannot be used. It’s incredibly useful against strong enemies, as it often knocks them to the ground, allowing you to get some free damage in while also recovering your structure.
• Strong Sweep Focus – Powerful strike to the enemy’s knee, knocking them down for awhile.
  • This Focus attack automatically knocks an enemy to the ground. In addition to allowing you some free damage, you can wait a moment before attacking them on the ground — this gives you time to let your structure come back if necessary.
• Slide Kick – Perform a slide kick while running that knocks down enemies.
  • Since you’ll probably find yourself low on health and running away while learning the game, take advantage of it with this slide kick. Particularly useful for disarming foes with a weapon (which you can then take for yourself).

We hope you find the recommended Shrine Upgrades and Skills helpful while learning Sifu! Questions and suggestions are both welcome in the comments below.