How to beat Kuroki the Artist boss in Sifu

Sifu changes things up when you get to the third level — The Museum replaces the seedy streets with a chic, elegant series of artsy displays. But you still have to a face a tough boss when you reach the top floor. Kuroki the Artist moves as gracefully as you’d expect, but she can still cut you to pieces. Here’s how to beat her.

The fight begins in the snow, as Kuroki lashes at you with a bladed whip. Her primary attack is a series of five strikes: high, low, high, low, and a vertical slice. Dodge down, up, down, up, and to the side to avoid the entire series, giving you a big window to deal damage of your own. Kuroki uses this move to approach you, but she also has an attack to create distance. She’ll swing low, high, and low again as she leaps away. Dodge in the opposite direction as before to avoid getting slashed, or simply let her back off.

In fact, you can generally keep a distance and move in only after her attacks to get in a punch or two. This isn’t a particularly fast strategy, but it does work for slowly chipping away at her health — it won’t build up her structure meter much at all, though. For that, you’ll need to keep the pressure on. Be aware of her other attack, which is a series of six alternating vertical strikes as she moves forward. Continuously sidestep avoid these.

Once you’ve delivered a takedown blow, it’s time time for phase two. Unlike other bosses in the game, Kuroki’s second phase is a completely different battle. She’ll switch to kunai as the battlefield shifts from a snowy field to a watery chamber. Staying close to her is a lot trickier here, so be prepared to dodge projectiles until she comes into your melee range.

Up close, she’ll attack with a series of stabs, which you can fairly easily parry or dodge with sidesteps. This is followed up by a leaping kick which cannot be parried, so be prepared to duck under it. Once she lands, you’ll get a moment to strike back. She may run toward you to initiate those attacks, or she may zip across the arena at high speed. If you see a twinkle on her weapon, be ready to quickly dodge to the side. If she starts zigzagging, then do the same after the third movement, as that’s when she closes in.

Kuroki also has two long distance attacks during this phase. The first is used to get away from you — she’ll backflip and unleash a wave of knives. This is almost always followed up by a second wave, so be prepared to duck under both. If you have the Weapon Catch ability, you can snag one out of the air and send it right back at her. She may also throw kunai directly at you at a higher speed, so quickly lean to either side to avoid those. These can also be caught, but don’t throw it back until she’s done throwing more, otherwise you’ll take a hit.

Kuroki uses dangerous weapons in both phases, but reading her attacks, dodging appropriately, and striking when you can will take her down. Once you do, you’ll be over the hump in terms of Sifu’s five levels.