I’ve been playing this game off and on, starting over since it came out. I was a hardcore Bloodborne player, but also played a lot of elden ring and ds3. Sekiro never clicked, I thought it was slick and the action felt incredible but I just couldn’t get past the beginning. Finally I’ve broken through and am having a blast, and its all thanks to Armored Core 6. Thanks Armored Core 6 (I will not elaborate).
The AC 6 part was a joke, but it was the last From game I spent serious time with. As a Bloodborne player I wanted to evade everything, like I knew I was supposed to deflect but I just couldn’t get it under my fingers. Mikiri counters and those low jump attacks were just lost on me, but this time it works.
Maybe ac6 did play a part because its so fast paced and intense. I don’t think I played it that way initially, but by the time I had the platinum and was doing PvP the action was extremely intense and technical. So maybe
I’m in the same boat as you were with Sekiro, might actually try AC and see if it helps. I did learn parrying recently playing Thymesia and Lies of P though, might help hopefully
Lies of P is next on my list I think. AC6 is amazing, it was exactly what I wanted.