Upper Tower Antechamber Walkthrough
Once inside, grab the Fistful of Ash and open the nearby chest to get a Gourd Seed, then commune with the nearby Upper Tower – Antechamber Sculptor’s Idol, and be sure to turn that seed in.
While you do, you can also talk to the guy you saved outside the castle – Fujioka the Info Broker. He sells even more information than the guy in Ashina Outskirts, as well as an unlimited supply of many powders, agents, and sugars – and yet another Gourd Seed. The Three-story Pagoda Memo mentions the treasure at Hirata Estate, which is worth grabbing if you missed it, while the Sabimaru Memo mentions another prosthetic tool in the castle.
Back in the castle, ascend up the stairs and quickly hug the nearest screen door. Looking through the other side, you can spot an Ashina Elite. These robe-wearing samurai don’t have the armor of the generals, but they can deal a lot of damage fast with Ichimonji overhead strikes, and even deadlier perilous stabs.
Wait for him to walk up by the screen door and perform a Deathblow from around the corner, then open the far door. This leads into a large room full of walkways that two more Ashina Elite patrol, as well as an Old Woman Lookout, who will screech for help if she sees you. One elite will leave the room through the far corner door, while the other patrols in a square. If you’re unsure of how to approach, you can either sneak past, or stay behind the door and toss a ceramic shard to get the lone elite to come investigate and kill him.
After that, you can sneak past the old woman and into the door on the right, where the other elite now looks out a window – and easy kill, and there’s a Pellet here too. In the room beyond, a small screen hides not one but two Ashina Elite pouring over a map on the floor – you’ll likely want to try and backstab one before the fighting gets good – as dealing with two of these expert opponents is a hassle for sure.
Expect these opponents to do several overhead strike at a time – which means you’ll need to deflect several times in a row before countering with your own attack. They also have a few other quick strikes and combo attacks, so watch their weapons carefully to see when they fully commit to striking.
When the area is clear, check their war room for a Scrap Iron, as well as Ako’s Sugar. The door at the far end of the main antechamber room is locked – though you can peer through a window to see at least three enemies inside. There’s also of course the giant pit in the room leading down to the lowest level, but as there’s no easy way back up, let’s find the next Sculptor’s Idol first.
If you’re in the mood for a secret, head back into the War Room and look for a small portrait between two suits of armor. Hug the wall where the picture hangs, and you’ll reveal a secret Shinobi revolving door – leading to a small armory. In here you can open a chest to uncover a Prayer Bead, and find a Light Coin Purse next to it – and by busting the nearby screen, you can locate a Heavy Coin Purse in the corner of the room.
Return through the revolving door into the war room, and look at the ceiling for a hole you can grapple up. There’s Gachiin’s Sugar in the corner, and you can move along the crawl space until you find a new room beyond the locked door – occupied by a Lookout Woman, Soldier, and Ashina Elite. The elite is usually too far out of range to do a Plunging Deathblow, so you may have to improvise – but engage the pair quick.
Two more Ashina Elite are around the corner and will no doubt be intrigued by the noises. If things get too dicey, you can always grapple back into the crawlspace and wait for them to go back. Otherwise, try to keep the elite enemies in a row so you can try to fight them one at a time, or use ash to disrupt some and focus on others.
When all the Ashina Elite are dispatched, head into the room where the pair came from to find stairs with a Mibu Balloon of Wealth, and a hall leading to a Ceramic Shard and screen door. This leads to a secret room with a small passage leading down to a room with three Nightjar Ninja – and no way to sneak up on them. In truth, the only thing they guard is something you’ll be encountering soon enough anyways without having to deal with them, so ignore this passage for now.
Take the stairs up to the next level, and here you’ll find another Memory Remnant between Emma and Lord Kuro about Ashina’s secret weapon. Turn and find a small stair to a Gokan’s Sugar, and the next Sculptor’s Idol. Before going further – let’s get back downstairs.
Next up is: Great Serpent Shrine