Found this on Reddit. It needs to be posted here...
So this one is a quickie, but I have come across multiple people, some of whom have completed multiple playthroughs, that still didnt know about this mechanic so I just wanted to put it out there as its truly a game changer. If you already knew this, awesome. I am not trying to be one of those people that thinks they are hot shit finding out secret pro strats or anything, just trying to help out this community I have grown to love.
When you are fighting in Sekiro, there are two key things you need to look for when deflecting/being deflected:
When deflecting - Typically, when you deflect, the enemy will usually keep attacking you so you have to deflect multiple attacks in a row (unless you break posture of course but I am not talking about that). HOWEVER, when you deflect an attack and you see a GOLDEN flash, it means you have an opening for a perfect counter slash which is a fluid slash that will almost always interrupt or be faster than your opponents next attack (you have to be quick though, if you hesitate, youll end up getting hit before it lands. Also, keep in mind that against enemies with high poise, they wont be interrupted by this slash so youll need to perhaps land it then immediately deflect the next attack coming at you, but I find that most often it will create an opening).
When being deflected - Same situation, if you are launching an assault the enemy will have to deflect multiple attacks from you. HOWEVER, if you are being deflected and see a RED flash, it means the enemy is about to counter slash you (it basically means the enemy just got a gold flash on you, essentially) so you need to switch to the defensive.
This mechanic is prevalent throughout the entirety of the game. If you havent mastered this or didnt know about it, try it out, and hopefully itll really change your game up.
