There is an early power up in Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree that basically turns the game into Sekiro, but the description is so vague I didn't realize how good it was until 40 hours later

I found the Deflecting Hard Tear super early in my Shadow of the Erdtree playthrough, went "well, that's neat," and promptly forgot about it for a good 40 hours or so. It turns out, though, that this confusingly-described Physick mix-in is an utter game-changer worth basing an entire build around. "Enhances spontaneous guard" basically means "Turn Elden Ring into Sekiro.".. Read more.