How to beat Sean the Fighter boss in Sifu

Sifu’s second level is full of disciples training under Sean, the fiery pole fighter whose methods seem a bit extreme. Once you’ve fought through The Club and reached the back room, you’ll have to face Sean yourself. If you’re not prepared, you’ll get stomped pretty quickly. Here’s what you need to know.

First, don’t be intimidated by Sean’s big weapon. In fact, you can grab a pole arm for yourself off the walls on either side of the arena if you get the chance. That will deal damage and build up Sean’s structure meter pretty quickly, as long as you’re dodging his own pole attacks.

Those moves come in two patterns. The first is a series of three spinning strikes, where he whirls the pole around like a helicopter blade. Duck under all three, then take your chance to attack right back. Sean’s other attack is a combination of three strikes: vertical, horizontal, and vertical again. Sidestep, duck, and sidestep again to avoid the hits before following up with your own strikes. Sean may also knock you back with his shoulder before executing either of these combos, so be prepared to dodge quickly if it connects. The Pushback Cancel ability will stabilize you if you do get hit by his shoulder.

Once you deliver the first takedown, you’ll start phase two, which is set in a burning version of the same room. Sean uses the same combos as before, but he gains a new one here. He’ll use a tripping attack then follow up with a highly damaging slam into the ground. Be ready to hop over this, and if you mess up, quickly roll out of the way before the follow-up attack connects. About halfway through the fight, Sean himself will start burning — he’ll use this new move much more frequently at that point. If you dodge both attacks, he may continue the combo with the alternating horizontal and vertical chops from earlier, so make sure he’s settled before you go in for a counterattack.

The fire around Sean can be intimidating, but he’s definitely not invincible. Be ready to duck, hop, and sidestep his attacks, and you’ll grab that pole and give the fighter a taste of his own medicine.