When not forced to counter enemy attacks, constantly slash at enemies. You will earn more points the faster you take them down. Even though they may not be vulnerable, you will still reduce their health and armor. This allows you a chance at large damage when you can get a counter in. Successive counters will leave the enemy in the vulnerable state. Watch your enemy's arm movements to judge which direction they will be swinging. Begin swiping in the direction they are going to swing rapidly, because you do not need accurate timing to deflect the attack. Just attack in the same direction as the enemy's attack to counter it. You are can perform a power strike when three blue downward pointing arrows appear. Use a downward strike to execute it. Striking in any other direction will cause you to miss that chance. Power strike opportunities may appear at random times. To prevent this, whenever the enemy becomes vulnerable, always perform downward swings. Sometimes the power strike chance appears when enemies perform charged attacks.
Scoring
Your score calculated after each fight. It is affected by the following factors.
Flawless: Kill your opponent without taking a single hit to earn an automatic 100 points.
Health bonus: You will receive extra points depending on how much health you have remaining after a Boss has been defeated.
Time: Each kill will rated "Good", "Amazing", or "Perfect" kill. The faster you kill your opponent, the more points you will score.
Replay earlier levels when you have better weapons. You can earn up to three relics per level. The higher your score, the more relics will be rewarded.
Upgrades
Do not upgrade your starting weapons. As you progress, will be rewarded free weapons after completing certain levels. Those weapons are usually good enough to last through the next one or two levels. Save your essence to purchase stronger weapons from the shop. Those weapons are very strong, and usually have the Brutality and Critical abilities. They also have better upgrade paths.