If you're anything like me and came into Sekiro from Souls, saw that R2 was taken up by the Prosthetic, and assumed that you just didn't have a strong attack, that all the stealth and tools and stuff were supposed to supplement basic attacking as your only direct offensive option... well, you do have a strong attack; it's just a charged R1 instead of a different button. It's a lunging thrust that does good damage, closes distance, has comfortable range, and doesn't even take that long to charge.

I don't know if I missed where in the game it tried to tell me that I can do this, but just like when I recently played Another Crab's Treasure, suddenly my altercations with basic mooks have gone from frantic, clumsy R1-spam to quick little kills with good spacing. You can stun the poise-y axe-wielders with a single hit and then dash out of range, you can oneshot the archers doing it out of a dash, it even helps in fights against multiple enemies at once- It has enough range and closes enough distance that you can run around, position yourself, start charging it at a safe distance, and then lunge forward and still hit.

It's a game changer, and it helped me to feel a flow enough to finally, FINALLY fell Juzou after owning the game for over two years. If you're struggling trying to get into it and didn't know you could do that, give it a shot.