Am I too late to get the Mortal Blade?

[Daddy Kaneki]

I'm wondering if it will still be useful to me if I get it now, because I've done a lot after getting to the earliest possible point I can unlock it, which is after beating Genichiro.

Things I've done since beating Genichiro:

Killed Guardian Ape
Killed Shichimen warrior
Killed both Snake Eyes bosses
Killed the Lone Longswordsman
Killed Centipede Giraffe
Picked up the Dried Serpent Viscera (have no idea what to do with it)

If I had known that I could unlock the Mortal Blade immediately after beating Genichiro, I would have tried to do it sooner.

I ask because I'm watching walkthroughs, just a few minutes here and there for fun, and never farther than I've gone to avoid spoilers. And I'm seeing people fighting the Guardian Ape with Mortal Blade.

If I unlock it now, will it still be useful to me?

[An Irate Walrus]

The Mortal Blade is useful in a couple of ways. "Mortal Draw" makes a few of the later fights in the game (depending on which ending route you're pursuing) much, much easier, as it always inflicts health damage, even through an enemy's guard, which can be invaluable for helping to break down a boss's posture faster. The technique uses spirit emblems, but it can be used without them as well, though it does less damage that way (still effective/still goes through guard).

You'll also need it for at least two of the endings, if not three. If you killed the Guardian Ape without the Mortal Blade, I'm curious how that actually affects your playthrough; I don't want to spoil anything, but there's a reason big boy was able to run around with his head in his hand, and the Mortal Blade would've had some utility in putting that to rest.

Oh--and there's a certain NPC you've known since the beginning of the game who would be very, very grateful if you had the Mortal Blade in your possession, and a willingness to use it.

And before I forget, on the subject of the viscera (major spoilers ahead): It's one of two "viscera" items. The other you'll get from the Snake God itself, but there's a special route to it. You'll find it in the monastery area, but I don't want to say more than that. You need both viscera for the "Return" ending, so if you're on that pathway, definitely plan on collecting the "fresh serpent viscera" as well. They're given to the Immortal Child, who can be reached after dealing with the Folding Screen Monkeys.

[CAESAR™ The Great]

Dude , you can't progress the game if you don't have the mortal blade , its your main objective , pick it up and go back to Kuro.

you also need to reach Mibu Village and beat the boss there in order to collect a certain story item.

after getting these another area will unlock , that if you make the right choice towards the good ending. which is staying loyal to Kuro

[Artek [General]]

Mortal Blade is always useful. You need to get it anyway to progress the story. You can't progress without it.

Mortal Blade deals a fairly long range attack that consumes astounding 3 spirit emblems, but also delivers very high vitality damage, which makes it extremely useful against enemies who require their vitality to be damaged first before you can do anything to their posture.

You can unlock an advanced "Empowered Mortal Blade" technique, which allows to charge the attack dealing even more damage, but you open yourself up for a counter attack, so its only useful in very few situations, but once you learn how to time it well - it can help you shorten fights by a lot since it deals a LOT of vitality damage.

For example, i learned to basically destroy guradian ape's first phase with it. Fully charged mortal strike stuns the poor guy, which allows me to do an also fully charged 2nd follow up hit which then causes ape to rethreat and attempt a grab attack, which i then ALSO punish with another fully charged mortal strike, rinse and repeat until the guy is dead.
Of course it eats spirit emblems like ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥, but its worth it.

[Daddy Kaneki]

Okay, thank you guys!