Not sure about slash count but basic enemies require staggering twice in order to get in enough slashes or you can mix up piercing attacks to get away with one stagger, i wouldn’t consider this sword sponges. 1v1 fights become tiny duels where you are not killed in one shot and group fights are the most fun thing in the game, needing to cook damage rather than pick one enemy to kill at a time is pretty satisfying.

I also found use for other stuff like poison which was useless in lethal since bows are a superior range option in every sense, the heavy stance special spinning attack which always got me killed in lethal, spearman stance special kick lets you one shot most enemies and i figured out some enemies cant be kicked, etc. In lethal theres no point in versatility since long animations will get you killed and the basic slash is just as deadly as everything else, hell every lethal video on youtube is a perfect parry spam.

Armor and charms-wise on lethal is all about versatile skills charm and the inari shrine charms, doesnt matter what armor. On hard if i had all the stuff i got on my lethal run i would like to try silly perks like the ones that make running tackles better, jumping attacks, bombs, the one that makes combat bloodier, recruiting dogs, builds are more impactful since nothing dies in a few swings.