The aging system in Sifu is a fundamental part of the game that will have a significant impact on how your game progresses. Every time you are resurrected after dying, you age because of the power of resurrection. Therefore, you should consider your strategy in terms of risk versus reward, as the more fights you complete, the more XP you will earn, but if you are eliminated, your persistent kill counter will increase and put you one step closer to failure.
Benefits and disadvantages of aging in Sifu
Aging in Sifu gives you both benefits and disadvantages, although they may not be obvious when you first experience them:
- Every decade you get older, a talisman will break, increasing the damage you deal but reducing your overall health to balance this.
- The final talisman will break when you reach age 70, meaning no further age increases are possible and your next death will be your last.
How level and age reset works
The youngest age you reach a level will be the age you start from when you play that level again from desktop in Wuguan. If you complete a level at a younger age, that will be your new starting age for that level and subsequent ones. Remember that Shrine rewards from your lowest age are the ones that carry over, so be careful when rushing through levels using shortcuts, as this can leave you less equipped for later stages.
When skills are on your side but your stamina is not, death seems to be an inevitable fate. But in Sifu, falling in battle is nothing more than a setback thanks to a magical pendant. This amulet allows your warrior to rise where he fell, ready to continue fighting. The interesting twist comes with aging: each defeat makes you add years to your existence.
How to reduce your kill counter in Sifu
Naturally, the higher your kill counter goes in Sifu's aging system, the impact of each subsequent death increases exponentially. This can end up adding up if you get stuck in a particularly difficult section, but luckily there are ways to reduce your kill counter again:
- Every time you defeat a tougher opponent (i.e. not a common thug), your kill counter will be reduced by one, and if you have a good streak, it can go back to zero again.
- If it all becomes a little too much, you can also spend 1,000 XP on a Shrine to reset your kill counter, though you should only consider that as a last resort, as it's much better to spend your XP on unlocking Sifu abilities.
What maximum age can you reach in Sifu?
If you start at age 24 with zero deaths and continue to die repeatedly without reducing your death counter, you will become:
- 25 years
- 27 years
- 30 years
- 34 years
- 39 years
- 45 years
- 52 years
- 60 years
- 69 years
- And eventually you will reach mature age of 79 years before dying definitively in your next death.
The Aging Dilemma: What Death Means in Sifu
From the age of 20, each fall not only adds experience but also age. The first kill makes you a year older, and so on, quickly becoming a combat veteran. The key to keeping this accelerated aging process at bay is in our strategies to manage and reduce the death counter.
Aging not only changes your appearance, it redefines the way you play. Each lost decade removes an amulet from your pendant, closing the doors to certain abilities in the game. Old age turns you into a formidable but fragile warrior, with devastating attacks that come at a high stamina cost.
Reaching 79 means the end of the game, but all is not lost. The skills you unlock and the items you collect are carried over for your next attempt. And if you have in mind to start from a specific level on your next adventure, don't forget to check out our recommendations for play levels without losing sight of warnings.
In Sifu, dying is learning, growing old is adapting. Each game is a new opportunity to grow, both literally and figuratively.
I am Sebastián Vidal, a computer engineer passionate about technology and DIY. Furthermore, I am the creator of tecnobits.com, where I share tutorials to make technology more accessible and understandable for everyone.