Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice Gourd Seeds and Prayer Beads locations

Being a FromSoftware game, vitality and healing are precious resources in Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice.You’ve only got a set number of charges in your flask before it needs recharging, and you’ll come to rely on it more than Pellets. It’s not all an uphill struggle though, because throughout Sekiro there are key items you can find to make encounters – whisper it quietly – easier. Here are the locations of all the Gourd Seeds and every Prayer Beads we’ve found so far in Sekiro.

Sekiro’s Gourd Seeds are an incredibly important item. These tiny sources of healing increase the amount of times you can drink from your Healing Gourd before it needs replenishing. When enemies deal so much damage per hit, an extra drink from your Gourd can mean the difference between beating a boss and failure.

Prayer Beads on the other hand have a more direct impact on the strength of the One-armed Wolf in Sekiro. Collecting four Prayer Beads allows you to craft a Prayer Bracelet that grants you a permanent boost to your health bar and posture. This not only makes you more resilient to damage, but harder for enemies to break through your guard.

Despite its small file size, Sekiro is a surprisingly big game and we’ll be continually updating this guide with more Gourd Seeds and Prayer Beads as we find them.

Sekiro Gourd Seed Locations

There are 9 Gourd Seeds to track down throughout your adventure, and you’ll start to rack them up quickly – but a few are easy to miss.

You get the first Gourd Seed from killing General Naomori Kawarada near the Outskirts Wall – Gate Path Shrine.
Then second Gourd Seed is obtained just after you’ve defeated the Chained Ogre. Grapple up to the broken wall behind where he was chained and turn left. You pick up the Gourd Seed as a floor item here.
Once you reach the Abandoned Dungeon and make your way through, you’ll emerge in the Mt Kongo area. Quite early on this path, you’ll get to a room filled with praying monks in front of a cross-legged mummy. In front of the mummy is an item – another Gourd Seed. Take care, the mummy barfs up killer crickets, and there’s a huge enemy hiding behind the statue next to him.
Once you get to the Ashina Castle, you can go up the large staircase through the front gate. Grapple up onto the high walls on the side of the stairs, and you’ll be able to scale the rooftops of the castle. Around the top left corner at the back of the main tower, you’ll be able to grapple in through an open window. Just inside there’s a chest that you can open which contains a Gourd Seed.
On the Battlefield where you fight the Horse-rider General, there’s a large staircase on one side of the area. Up the staircase is a tower, on the right side of the tower, you’ll find a merchant who sells a Gourd Seed for 1000 Sen.
In the Ashina Castle area, where there are the crow ninjas on the rooftops, you’ll find a thief hiding around a corner from some guards. Kill the crow ninjas and guards, and he’ll appear at the Dilapidated Temple selling items – one of which is a Gourd Seed.
Once you’ve met Lord Isshin, you’ll be sent down out of the Ashina Castle and into the Sunken Valley. As you first reach the area through the Snake Shrine, you’ll find the Under-Shrine Valley Idol. From this shrine, jump down the ledge and bear right when you see a Snake-Eyes rifle enemy. Grapple over, kill the enemy, then run through the tunnel behind them. On the other side, grapple up and across onto the two branches to the left, then jump and grab onto the ledge on the left. Up the ledge, walk through the tunnel and grapple up to the ledge above. Finally, jump and grab the ledge to the left and climb up – you’ll find the Gourd Seed as a floor item in front of you.
In the Ashina Depths, once you’ve cleared the Hidden Forest of mist, you’ll be able to reach Mibu Village. From the Mibu Village Shrine follow the river upstream until you reach the path patrolled by a large group of villagers. Deal with them, then keep following the path until you reach a fenced area with a few enemies and some items at the base of a large tree. You’ll find another Gourd Seed next to the tree.
When you get to the late-game area the Fountainhead Palace, you’ll find the Castle Grounds Sculptor’s Idol. From this Shrine, enter the building in front of you, then turn right. Continue forward, and you’ll see a treasure chest to your right. Inside is the final Gourd Seed – enjoy your heals!

Sekiro Prayer Beads locations

Prayer Beads are more liberally doled out, probably because you need four of them for an upgrade. They mostly come from mini-bosses, and especially tough enemies.

The first Prayer Bead is obtained from General Naomori Kawarada near the start of the game. He’s just past the Outskirts Wall – Gate Path Shrine.
The second Prayer Bead is dropped by the Chained Ogre boss. You should have no problems finding him
Just after the Chained Ogre, you’ll fight another tough Samaurai, General Tenzen Yamauchi, who drops another Prayer Bead.
Another Prayer Bead is dropped by Shinobi Hunter Enshin of Misen in the Ashina Estate Vision that you access from the Sculptor’s special Buddha Statue.
Also in the Estate, the mini-boss JuzouThe Drunkard gives you a Prayer Bead.
After you’ve defeated the first proper boss in the game, the horse-riding General, make your way towards the castle and fight the Blazing Bull. Killing the Bull nets you a Prayer Bead.
When you reach the Ashina Castle, you can go through a large gate to a huge set of stairs, at the top is the samurai General Kuranosuke Matsumoto. He drops another Prayer Bead.
In the far right of the Ashina Reservoir Shrine area, the Seven Ashina Spears – Shikibu Toshikatsu Yamauchi enemy will drop a Prayer Bead when defeated.
Down the secret path on the left hand side of the Ashina Reservoir area, you’ll find the well where you woke up at the start of the game. Killing the Lone Shadow Longswordsman waiting to battle you will get you another Prayer Bead.
You can buy a Prayer Bead from the Dungeon Memorial Mob merchant, just after the giant that fights with a bell, at the entrance of the Abandoned Dungeon.
In the Mt. Kongo area, you’ll eventually fight the Armoured Warrior boss on a destructible bridge. Break his posture and knock him off the side and you’ll get a Prayer Bead.
Again in the Mt. Kongo area, after you first fight the veiled monks that throw homing fire bombs at you, you’ll come across a large pagoda temple. Inside are some of the weirdest enemies in Sekiro – the Long-arm Centipedes. In the centre of all temple is the biggest of them, the Long-arm Centipede Giraffe. Kill him for another Prayer Bead.
Up in the Upper Tower area of the Ashina Castle, you’ll find the Ashina Elite – Jinsuke Saze in his Dojo on the second floor – defeating him yields yet another Prayer Bead.
After you’ve killed the Lone Shadow Longswordsman, you can get through another entrance into the Dungeon. Follow the path and you’ll find a big hole. Jump down, follow the path and you’ll reach the Ashina Depths, and eventually, the Poison Pool. There’s a Snake Eyes mini-boss here. Killing them gets you a Prayer Bead.
Once you’re done in the Poison Pool, you get out into the Sunken Valley and find the Gun Fort. Inside the Gun Fort there’s another Long-Armed Centipede Giraffe that you can kill for a Prayer Bead.
There’s another bead hidden in the Gun Fort. To find it, go under the floorboards in the room where you fought the Centipede Giraffe and explore the tunnels. One direction leads to a load of poison lizards, the other to a group of smaller long-arms. The smaller long-arms are guarding a Prayer Bead!
As you explore the Hidden Forest, you’ll come across Tokujiro the Glutton before you reach the Mist Noble, hanging around with his drunken monkey buddies. Take out the simian chums, then focus on Tokujiro, leaving the area first to break his aggro, then sneaking back for a cheeky deathblow. When defeated he’ll drop a Prayer Bead.
In Mibu Village, past the Water Mill Shrine you’ll find a house with some enemies stood outside that you can eavesdrop on. Crouch under the house and enter through the revolving door in the floorboards. Inside, there’ll be holes in the wall. On the right hand side, go outside then turn around and look up, you’ll be able to grapple to the 2nd floor, where you’ll find a bead.
You can find another hidden bead by going to the battlefield where you found the Horse-riding General at the start of the game. Go up the large staircase on one side of the building, and you’ll find a tower. Go inside and climb the stairs, then grapple up into the rafters. Jump onto the middle beam then up into the hole in the ceiling. Inside a chest here you’ll find a free Prayer Bead.