Sekiro: 11 MAJOR Changes That Will Shock Dark Souls Fans
5. No More Stats, Streamlined Levelling & A Skill Tree
Perhaps another divisive change, but did anyone really crunch those "+1" increments to Dexterity, Strength, Faith etc. in a way that meant they knew exactly what was happening?
Yes, dump enough points into any pool and you'll see a number of stats rise, but there was always a "cross-pollination" of upgrades; a nature of overlap where one category affected a number of statistics on the other side.
Point being: All of this is streamlined WAY more in Sekiro. Now you fill out an XP bar to be granted a number, and cash that number in for a specific skill on a branching tree.
Knee-slides, more advanced counters, whirlwind sword specials, less detection when in tall grass - you're now unlocking unique abilities that will aid in combat or against specific enemies, rather than arbitrarily grinding out "Strength" in the hope that you can hit hard enough next time.
Atop this, health is upgraded by collecting 4 Prayer Beads; items dropped by only the most powerful sub-bosses.
Combine an expanding set of moves with certain enemies to get further notable upgrades, and you have a much more focused path of progression for the player.