Sekiro Dragonrot Explained: What It Does, How to Cure It

Dragonrot Disease Explained in Sekiro

Developed by FromSoftware, Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice is full of cryptic systems and mysteries that players will have to decipher for themselves. If you’re feeling confused, here’s a breakdown of the Dragonrot disease in Sekiro, what it does, and how you can cure it.

Dragonrot and Resurrection

Resurrection is one of the key mechanics introduced in Sekiro. If you have a Resurrection charge, you can revive after dying to continue the battle.

However, there’s a catch. The more you die, the further the Dragonrot disease will spread in the world of Sekiro. The NPCs that you meet in the world will be afflicted with the disease and start developing a severe cough.

Whenever an NPC gets infected, you’ll receive a new key item called the Rot Essence, which comes with a description of the NPC who’s now in trouble.

While we haven’t actually encountered any NPCs dying from the disease just yet, it’s entirely possible that the number of people affected by Dragonrot could affect the ending of the game.

How to Cure It

Thankfully, there is a way to cure the Dragonrot disease. After you’ve died a few times, the Sculptor will become infected, and Emma will ask you to bring her a Dragonrot blood sample. This can be obtained by talking to any NPC that’s been infected.

Bring it back to her, and she’ll hand over a Recovery Charm, along with a Dragon’s Blood Droplet.

The Dragon’s Blood Droplet can be used as a regular item to boost your Resurrective Power. However, it can also be used at a Sculptor’s Idol to cure all infected NPCs, and remove the Rot Essence key items from your inventory.

What Dragonrot Does in Sekiro

While we can’t confirm if Dragonrot has any impact on the story and ending just yet, it does have a very noticeable effect on your gameplay.

The more Rot Essence key items you have, the lower your chances of getting the Unseen Aid mechanic to kick in when you die. When you rest at a Sculptor’s Idol in Sekiro, you can check your Unseen Aid percentage chance. The worse the Dragonrot disease gets, the lower your chances.

If you don’t like constantly losing half your money and experience whenever you die, it’s definitely recommended that you use the Dragon’s Blood Droplet to heal up the NPCs.

That’s all you need to know about the Dragonrot disease and what it does in Sekiro. Be sure to check our Sekiro guide wiki for more tips and information on the game.