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[mattp]

Good god I hate the game atm.

Spent an hour trying to beat the last? boss on hard. I just can't get the blade mode stuff right and die there over and over again.

when he throws the boulders?
i had read so many people complaining about it on her for some reason i assumed you had to be REALLY fast with it, so everytime he would throw the rocks i would try and line up and swing in like half a second, and then die because that's ridiculous.
once you try to hit it and then miss, you're fucked

...then i took my time and realized you have a LOT of time to line up the shots haha.
just take your time and use BOTH sticks. also, the positions of the cut points don't change. it's always the same each time so you can even memorize where to aim

 

[dan2026]

Good god I hate the game atm.

Spent an hour trying to beat the last? boss on hard. I just can't get the blade mode stuff right and die there over and over again.

Don't do it, just run forward and you will dodge the rocks every time.

I give up trying to cut the rocks myself, its too much of a random roulette wheel.

 

[demidar]

Don't do it, just run forward and you will dodge the rocks every time.

I give up trying to cut the rocks myself, its too much of a random roulette wheel.

I've never missed a rock. Ever. Just sayin'.

 

[Host Samurai]

Once you learn the final bosses pattern hes not that bad and I recommend saving as many potions as possible. Its easy for him to through you off. Stick and move, float like a butterfly and sting like a bee.

 

[djplaeskool]

Once you learn the final bosses pattern hes not that bad and I recommend saving as many potions as possible. Its easy for him to through you off. Stick and move, float like a butterfly and sting like a bee.

Perseverance got me through the last boss.
You have to pay close attention and be mindful of when you can attack without immediate repercussion, and when he reacts to your position and movement. Once it all clicked, it wasn't too bad at all. It just took a number of layers of remembering optimal angles of attack and counterattack.

 

[FlashbladeGAF]

I feel like there's something I still don't get about the parry, but the game isn't giving me any feedback about what I'm doing wrong. Like on Monsoon I could always parry the first part of any of his combos, but anything further than that was really hit or miss. Maybe I'm just hitting the button too often or something? And then once he gets a hit in you it seems impossible to recover since he randomly stupid wiggle the stick stuns you.

Like is it possible to fully parry the part where he turns into a cloud and shoots a bunch of parts at you? Because I could parry the first couple as well as a few random ones in the middle of the sequence but most of them would always end up hitting. Of course, the full proof solution is just to Ninja Run that attack to dodge it.

My big complaint about this game in general so far is that it just doesn't give you enough feedback on why you are doing well or not. You don't know precisely why you got hit a lot of the time when other times you parry stuff fine and then you sometimes randomly get stunned. And then the stunning takes a seemingly random amount of stick wiggling to get out of. Enemies don't really react to your hits a lot of the time too until they actually get staggered.

I'm playing on Hard, so I should be dying since I'm still not great at the game, but giving me some more feedback would be lovely.

just make sure your parrying toward the attacker and not just pressing up. And you want to parry a millisecond after the red eye when he just begins his combo. I think they need to be in motion in order for the parry to go through the movement

Also you have to press toward + light attack button every time you are attacked to perform consecutive parries. (every time the parry connects you have to perform the same button press to perform the parry again. You cant just keep holding toward the opponent or holding the light attack button like you would for a dedicated block button)

The dodge move you purchase in the move list (press light attack + jump) can get you out of intense close quarter situations because of the invincibility frames


I knew what I was doing and I played on hard my first playthrough... and I still died

You really have to stay calm in all the intense battles

 

[GuardianE]

I feel like there's something I still don't get about the parry, but the game isn't giving me any feedback about what I'm doing wrong. Like on Monsoon I could always parry the first part of any of his combos, but anything further than that was really hit or miss. Maybe I'm just hitting the button too often or something? And then once he gets a hit in you it seems impossible to recover since he randomly stupid wiggle the stick stuns you.

Like is it possible to fully parry the part where he turns into a cloud and shoots a bunch of parts at you? Because I could parry the first couple as well as a few random ones in the middle of the sequence but most of them would always end up hitting. Of course, the full proof solution is just to Ninja Run that attack to dodge it.

My big complaint about this game in general so far is that it just doesn't give you enough feedback on why you are doing well or not. You don't know precisely why you got hit a lot of the time when other times you parry stuff fine and then you sometimes randomly get stunned. And then the stunning takes a seemingly random amount of stick wiggling to get out of. Enemies don't really react to your hits a lot of the time too until they actually get staggered.

I think a lot of this is to do with the primary means of defense being a parry which is kind of hard to grock just how useful or not useful it is. You can't parry yellow attacks, but it isn't really clear if enemy combos can be parried. I think most of them can be and my timing is just bad, but I'm still not positive about it. In DmC or Bayonetta I also know why I got hit: because I didn't dodge at the right time. So when I die in those I feel like it is my fault. In this a lot of the times I get hit it feels like there was nothing I could've done. This game obviously wants to make defense harder than a universal invincible dodge, which is fine, but it is taking way longer to get used to and the general lack of explanation on the system isn't helping. So it has gotten kind of frustrating which results in me swearing at the TV a lot. Really just a quick "Advanced Defense" VR mission that is like "hey, you can parry ANYTHING that is a red attack, including combos, but you need to be really precise on your timing, so here's a practice dude" would be super useful.

I'm playing on Hard, so I should be dying since I'm still not great at the game, but giving me some more feedback would be lovely.

Enemy combos can be parried, but you have to parry each successive hit... so if a boss does a quick four hit combo on you, you'll have to press towards+attack four times. In fact, you can even parry out of some hitstuns, allowing you to block hits even after getting struck by an initial blow. If you don't parry the successive hits fast enough, it'll just hit you. This can be tricky for quick striking combos like Monsoon's.

Practically everything can be parried. Even bullets can be perfect parried. I think the only exception are missiles, fire, and yellow attacks (usually armor breakers or grabs).

 

[FlashbladeGAF]

Practically everything can be parried. Even bullets can be perfect parried. I think the only exception are missiles, file, and yellow attacks (usually armor breakers or grabs).

and even some of those can be avoided with the custom skills purchase of the offensive dodge move (light attack + jump)

 

[ultron87]

Oh, so you actually have to reset the stick to neutral and the press it back in the correct direction for repeated parries. That explains my problem.

See, my more overall critique was that the game should tell you that and other critical information at some point so you aren't just like "what the fuck why isn't this working". Because dying like that is an incredibly negative gameplay experience.

 

[MattyH]

R00 on revengence is kicking my arse just cant seem to parry on metal gear ray

 

[FlashbladeGAF]

Oh, so you actually have to reset the stick to neutral and the press it back in the correct direction for repeated parries. That explains my problem.

See, my more overall critique was that the game should tell you that and other critical information at some point so you aren't just like "what the fuck why isn't this working". Because dying like that is an incredibly negative gameplay experience.

I wanna say yes

flick the direction instead of holding it

 

[GuardianE]

and even some of those can be avoided with the custom skills purchase of the offensive dodge move (light attack + jump)

Yeah, but we're specifically referring to parries. Defensive offensive can avoid literally anything when timed properly because it has invincibility frames.

R00 on revengence is kicking my arse just cant seem to parry on metal gear ray

His head glows and I think he even roars right before he does a headbutt. You have a lot of time to parry it. In fact, you can be super late and it'll initiate the Zandatsu still.

Oh, so you actually have to reset the stick to neutral and the press it back in the correct direction for repeated parries. That explains my problem.

See, my more overall critique was that the game should tell you that and other critical information at some point so you aren't just like "what the fuck why isn't this working". Because dying like that is an incredibly negative gameplay experience.

I guess it just seemed self explanatory to me. When you perform the motion against an oncoming attack, Raiden actually does a blocking animation. The animation itself doesn't last, and he doesn't continue blocking if you hold down the button. I also noticed that after blocking attacks, Raiden would sometimes stagger if done late. That was my cue that I needed to parry again. It's called a parry rather than a block for a reason.

 

[CosmicGroinPull]

I have a question: At the end of Raiden's work day, does he unscrew his head from his cyborg body and reattach it to his civilian one, then head home?

 

[FlashbladeGAF]

Yeah, but we're specifically referring to parries. Defensive offensive can avoid literally anything when timed properly because it has invincibility frames.

yeah I know. Just making those who haven't grasped parrying aware of the other defensive moves

 

[toastyToast]

Offensive Defense. Don't commit hard to attacks, and be ready to use dodge when necessary.

Oh, I was talking about the first section

Spoiler

where attacks do like 0.1% damage per combo

With the real fight, I'm not finding it as mechanically difficult as I'm finding it disorienting. The fiddliness of what constitutes a side dodge and what's a back dodge is destroying me. Why even have a lock on system if the directional inputs don't stay constant?

I played Monsoon -> last boss so maybe I just need a break

 

[GuardianE]

Oh, I was talking about the first section

Spoiler

where attacks do like 0.1% damage per combo

With the real fight, I'm not finding it as mechanically difficult as I'm finding it disorienting. The fiddliness of what constitutes a side dodge and what's a back dodge is destroying me. Why even have a lock on system if the directional inputs don't stay constant?

I played Monsoon -> last boss so maybe I just need a break

Neutral stick dodge is always a back dodge. Maybe that will help?

 

[FlashbladeGAF]

Oh, so you actually have to reset the stick to neutral and the press it back in the correct direction for repeated parries. That explains my problem.

See, my more overall critique was that the game should tell you that and other critical information at some point so you aren't just like "what the fuck why isn't this working". Because dying like that is an incredibly negative gameplay experience.

It's like old school games with an instruction manual, only the manual is outside of the main story, instead of apart of it.

also in some of the explanations, it's easy to overlook Boris specifically telling you addition details about a particular move while you are in the middle of learning them.
Plus the game leans more toward teaching you through combat than with the usual hand holding you get with more mainstream games. (Monsoon teaches you how to parry in all directions/multiple times, Sundowner can teach you how to use blade mode accurately)

 

[Raxus]

It's like old school games with an instruction manual, only the manual is outside of the main story, instead of apart of it.

also in some of the explanations, it's easy to overlook Boris specifically telling you addition details about a particular move while you are in the middle of learning them.

I wish they explained parry/defense better. Most people, myself included, kept thinking it was the direction of the attack that mattered not the direction the attack was coming from.

Besides that I picked up pretty fast on how to do most of the moves thanks to the menu. I really wish they had a training stage just to try out what all your weapons can do.

 

[toastyToast]

Neutral stick dodge is always a back dodge. Maybe that will help?

Oh yeah! Forgot about that

I'll give it a shot next time

 

[Daigoro]

just got the the part where you wait for the elevator in the lobby on Very Hard someone was talking about yesterday.

ugh. those rocket launcher guys who are out of melee range fucking suuuuuuck. not looking forward to that part on Revengance.

i love this game but i dont know if my blood pressure can stand S ranking Revengance and some of the VR missions.

 

[ultron87]

It's like old school games with an instruction manual, only the manual is outside of the main story, instead of apart of it.

also in some of the explanations, it's easy to overlook Boris specifically telling you addition details about a particular move while you are in the middle of learning them.
Plus the game leans more toward teaching you through combat than with the usual hand holding you get with more mainstream games. (Monsoon teaches you how to parry in all directions/multiple times, Sundowner can teach you how to use blade mode accurately)

That approach isn't compatible with the complexity of modern games in a lot of cases. I don't want Monsoon to stop and be like "Hey, buddy, let's practice parrying my combos a few times so you can do it before we really fight" but if the game sees you constantly parrying wrong (either pressing the wrong direction or not resetting the stick for combos) or not using the dodge move or some other demonstration of you understanding the basic mechanics wrong an optional codec popup that says "hey, you look like you're doing this wrong try X" or something should totally exist. Metal Gears in the past have done this where if you're clearly doing something wrong on a boss you'll get an optional advice call.

It wouldn't get in the way of playing the game and lets people who want to suffer through figure it out on their own, but it also wouldn't result in me wanting to angrily turn the game off because my combo parry isn't working because I fundamentally am doing it wrong and the game didn't teach me how. It should be expected that the developers will teach you how to play the game and you shouldn't have to go find a Youtube video or forum explanation for fundamental gameplay concepts. A player dying when they think they are doing something right is the worst thing.

 

[FlashbladeGAF]

That approach isn't compatible with the complexity of modern games in a lot of cases. I don't want Monsoon to stop and be like "Hey, buddy, let's practice parrying my combos a few times so you can do it before we really fight" but if the game sees you constantly parrying wrong (either pressing the wrong direction or not resetting the stick for combos) or not using the dodge move or some other demonstration of you understanding the basic mechanics wrong an optional codec popup that says "hey, you look like you're doing this wrong try X" or something should totally exist. Metal Gears in the past have done this where if you're clearly doing something wrong on a boss you'll get an optional advice call.

It wouldn't get in the way of playing the game and lets people who want to suffer through figure it out on their own, but it also wouldn't result in me wanting to angrily turn the game off because my combo parry isn't working because I fundamentally am doing it wrong and the game didn't teach me how. It should be expected that the developers will teach you how to play the game and you shouldn't have to go find a Youtube video or forum explanation for fundamental gameplay concepts. A player dying when they think they are doing something right is the worst thing.

I totally agree that some games should have a help feature for those who are struggling, but at the same time we are our own worst enemies. Sometimes we rush through explanations to get to the gameplay or avoid learning the more difficult moves in favor of the easier alternative. (I'm not saying you are doing this)

Current games have gotten us into the mindset that the only thing to explore in the game is the world, and not the actual gameplay. One of things I like about Platinum's games is the hidden depth to their gameplay and that they encourage experimentation. To me, that is hardcore gaming and some people have forgotten what it's like to actual play with the game.

 

[Not Spaceghost]

That approach isn't compatible with the complexity of modern games in a lot of cases. I don't want Monsoon to stop and be like "Hey, buddy, let's practice parrying my combos a few times so you can do it before we really fight" but if the game sees you constantly parrying wrong (either pressing the wrong direction or not resetting the stick for combos) or not using the dodge move or some other demonstration of you understanding the basic mechanics wrong an optional codec popup that says "hey, you look like you're doing this wrong try X" or something should totally exist. Metal Gears in the past have done this where if you're clearly doing something wrong on a boss you'll get an optional advice call.

It wouldn't get in the way of playing the game and lets people who want to suffer through figure it out on their own, but it also wouldn't result in me wanting to angrily turn the game off because my combo parry isn't working because I fundamentally am doing it wrong and the game didn't teach me how. It should be expected that the developers will teach you how to play the game and you shouldn't have to go find a Youtube video or forum explanation for fundamental gameplay concepts. A player dying when they think they are doing something right is the worst thing.

Well i think easy mode has an auto parry option that makes parrying really generous if you are really having trouble.

This is just a side tangent nothing related to what you just posted, but people who play video games are a weird bunch. They all claim they want a challenge but any time something challenging comes out most of the time they are willing to jump on it as an unfair or broken design in gameplay without actually trying to learn the fundamentals. Kind of how we get a majority of people saying armstrong is too hard. Is it wrong for a game to make you work for a victory? Even if it means failing a billion times?

That sounded a lot more inflammatory than intended but it just an observation.

 

[ultron87]

Well i think easy mode has an auto parry option that makes parrying really generous if you are really having trouble.

Edit: I wrote this all before your edit.

Ugh. Please don't try and reduce my argument to "Wah, I want the game to be easy." Because that isn't what it is. I really do think the majority of this game is good and that the combat is really fun, once you learn everything in it, which the game does nothing to try and help you with when it could without eliminating any of the depth.

My basic thesis here is that no matter how hard a game is you should always be able to tell why you are failing. As an example, if I look at Dark Souls, I always know why I died. I got hit by a trap I didn't notice or a skeleton knocked me off a cliff or I didn't dodge this big enemies giant axe or insert the hundreds of other ways to die in Dark Souls. The game teaches you the basic mechanics like dodging and attacking and backstabbing and then sets you loose with a well defined set of rules that the player understands. A lot of the times I've died in MGR were apparently because I was doing something the game never taught me wrong but I thought I was doing it right but just not well enough (since hey, it is a hard game and I'm playing on hard). This is a frustrating and entirely avoidable negative gameplay experience.

 

[Not Spaceghost]

Edit: I wrote this all before your edit.

Ugh. Please don't try and reduce my argument to "Wah, I want the game to be easy." Because that isn't what it is. I really do think the majority of this game is good and that the combat is really fun, once you learn everything in it, which the game does nothing to try and help you with when it could without eliminating any of the depth.

My basic thesis here is that no matter how hard a game is you should always be able to tell why you are failing. As an example, if I look at Dark Souls, I always know why I died. I got hit by a trap I didn't notice or a skeleton knocked me off a cliff or I didn't dodge this big enemies giant axe or insert the hundreds of other ways to die in Dark Souls. The game teaches you the basic mechanics like dodging and attacking and backstabbing and then sets you loose with a well defined set of rules that the player understands. A lot of the times I've died in MGR were apparently because I was doing something the game never taught me wrong but I thought I was doing it right but just not well enough (since hey, it is a hard game and I'm playing on hard). This is a frustrating and entirely avoidable negative gameplay experience.

Okay sorry I misread a lot of what you said then. While I would agree that MGR has some feedback issues I would never say they cause you to fail repeatedly. The biggest example is during the sundowner boss when you never know exactly what you're supposed to do, but it doesn't prevent you from winning at least not in my experience. As for Dark Souls, it isn't the perfect game you make it out to be, for example the wheel skeletons have horrible feedback issues to the player and will feel really bullshit the first few times. Since you don't know that poise can help you against them or how block their attacks leads to a stunlock that will last till your stam guage depletes. MGR is also a faster game so a lot can be missed just by blinking too much.

 

[Dahbomb]

Great sales for the game in Japan. Sold more than even DMC4.

 

[Daigoro]

parrying really isnt that hard. if its too frustrating figuring it out on Hard, play on normal until you figure out the timing. the timing is very generous.

it will click with practice.

and honestly, i dont remember Dark Souls teaching me shit about combat at all. i may be mistaken, its been a while. this game actually does explain the basics to you at least. the last thing i want in my action games is more hand holding.

 

[Deitus]

Great sales for the game in Japan. Sold more than even DMC4.

Wow, that's awesome. I imagine the Metal Gear name was the main factor in that, since Platinum games, as awesome as they are, don't really seem to fly off the shelves. I hope it sells well in the West as well.

 

[Revven]

The soundtrack is so amazing, listening to it on my iPod is simply to die for!

 

[Trancetronic]

I really enjoy this game. I'm glad PG pulled it out of the fire when Konami was about to cancel it(or was cancelled). The parrying took some getting used to, but when you pull it off-man it feels oh so good. And the slick framerate, my god. Nothing can compare to the technical details this game puts to the table. The animations are slick and fluid like silk. I showed the game to my friend and I used that Polearm weapon equipped(the one that can changed shapes) and he was impressed by the animation and all of the choreography that Raiden pulled off. I really also love how the game still know it's Metal Gear-sometimes emphasizing on stealth sections and the occasional cardboard box. Love it.

 

[DeejayKnight]

I thought it was a great, solid game.

Gotta play a bit more, though.

 

[katkombat]

Replaying it on Easy with Auto Parry direction assist on. Super fucking easy, but I'm just doing it for some BP, IDs, and Data Storages that I missed.

 

[Deitus]

parrying really isnt that hard. if its too frustrating figuring it out on Hard, play on normal until you figure out the timing. the timing is very generous.

it will click with practice.

and honestly, i dont remember Dark Souls teaching me shit about combat at all. i may be mistaken, its been a while. this game actually does explain the basics to you at least. the last thing i want in my action games is more hand holding.

While the appeal of Dark Souls is that if you die, it's pretty much your fault, and you can learn from your mistakes, a lot of people overstate how "fair" it is. A huge part of the difficulty of the game is the unexpected. You die a LOT early on simply by not knowing the mechanics, which are not really explicitly explained to you. Even once you get the basics down, the game in no way forces you to learn more advanced techniques like parry/reposte, which is much less forgiving than MGR, and will severely punish failure. Pieces of wisdom like "Buy a shield with 100% block, and keep it raised constantly in case you get ambushed" are only learned through repeated deaths (not that one needs a shield to succeed in the game, but until you have really mastered the dodge roll, and know how to read enemies, it's the safest proposition). But basically, the game doesn't so much teach you, as put you in situations where it expects you to fail, so that you can learn from your failure and do better the next time.

If anything, the problem MGR has in teaching mechanics compared to Dark Souls, is it is too forgiving of failure. Nano paste allows you to fail repeatedly and still win a fight. Certain early fights like Bladewolf and Mistral are designed to force you to learn the parry mechanics, but you can just ninja run around and bypass that requirement, screwing you on later chapters. And then of course the ability to upgrade weapons to the point where you can trivialize encounters doesn't help you learn well either. Even Ripper mode, which doesn't last long and is really a limited super mode, allows you to basically get an auto-kill against any non-boss enemy that might otherwise be difficult, and can be pretty spammable as long as there are enemies to Zandatsu, which could be used to bypass learning enemy patterns and cues.

 

[MechaX]

Just got to the last boss, wtf is going on? Why does this fool have super armour? How long am I gonna have to hit this ninja?

Coming from someone who was in the exact same situation less than 24 hours ago... Keep at it. And be prepared to die. A lot.

 

[FlashbladeGAF]

A lot of the times I've died in MGR were apparently because I was doing something the game never taught me wrong but I thought I was doing it right but just not well enough (since hey, it is a hard game and I'm playing on hard). This is a frustrating and entirely avoidable negative gameplay experience.

Did you beat the game already and you are now on hard?

If your playing for the first time I get that you want to make it a challenge, but maybe you should go down to a lower difficulty so you can at least get a handle on the mechanics.

Hard was frustrating for me and I knew what I was doing. No shame in playing on the normal setting, especially if you're trying to enjoy the experience. That's what it's there for.

When your ready to be frustrated, then return to the higher difficulties

(I didnt think you were whining though, sorry if I made it seem that way)

 

[Fimbulvetr]

You can't parry yellow attacks, but it isn't really clear if enemy combos can be parried. I think most of them can be and my timing is just bad, but I'm still not positive about it.

Wouldn't the most rational thing be to at least try parrying every hit in a combo?

I can parry attacks. -> Parrying once won't repel a combo. -> Combos are made of multiple attacks. -> Therefore I have to parry multiple times to protect myself from a combo.

It's a pretty logical progression of ideas.

 

[ultron87]

Wouldn't the most rational thing be to at least try parrying every hit in a combo?

I can parry attacks. -> Parrying once won't repel a combo. -> Combos are made of multiple attacks. -> Therefore I have to parry multiple times to protect myself from a combo.

It's a pretty logical progression of ideas.

I did try that but I was apparently doing it entirely wrong. I was under the assumption that I could just leave the stick pointed towards the enemy while hitting X for each attack because the game never told me that wasn't the case. So when I was getting hit I figured I was just not timing it right.

 

[FlashbladeGAF]

Wouldn't the most rational thing be to at least try parrying every hit in a combo?

I can parry attacks. -> Parrying once won't repel a combo. -> Combos are made of multiple attacks. -> Therefore I have to parry multiple times to protect myself from a combo.

It's a pretty logical progression of ideas.

this right here.

Although some current gen games are to blame for conditioning gamers to think everything you need to learn is spelled out for you

 

[vid]

Just got to the last boss, wtf is going on? Why does this fool have super armour? How long am I gonna have to hit this ninja?

Spoiler

NANOMACHINES, SON!

 

[Fimbulvetr]

I did try that but I was apparently doing it entirely wrong. I was under the assumption that I could just leave the stick pointed towards the enemy while hitting X for each attack because the game never told me that wasn't the case. So when I was getting hit I figured I was just not timing it right.

That's you making an, honestly rather questionable, assumption that the parry mechanics somehow change during combos.

 

[Spring-Loaded]

The short music cue during the cutscene where Raiden

Spoiler

slices one of those stealth jets in half while riding the other

is so good. I wish they made some kind of heroic theme for him in that style. Not to mention the scene is badass.

That was the only moment in a cutscene that I wanted to be in gameplay. Even if if it were just like the slider section of the Sundowner fight, I'd have enjoyed that.

 

[Jawmuncher]

So uh on the last boss how do you stop regenerating?

 

[GuardianE]

So uh on the last boss how do you stop regenerating?

Spoiler

Go to his back and blade mode. You'll see a specific area you need to slash.

 

[LiK]

So uh on the last boss how do you stop regenerating?

Spoiler

Blade mode

 

[Bucca]

So uh on the last boss how do you stop regenerating?

Spoiler

Get around to his back and hit him there. That should stop the regeneration. Did for me anyway.

 

[Jawmuncher]

Spoiler

Go to his back and blade mode. You'll see a specific area you need to slash.

Thanks this will be useful for my nexy playthrough.
Knew I was doing something wrong.

Spoiler

Get around to his back and hit him there. That should stop the regeneration. Did for me anyway.

Spoiler

Blade mode

Thanks All

 

[ultron87]

That's you making an, honestly rather questionable, assumption that the parry mechanics somehow change during combos.

Here's the parry tutorial: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LgelipF6s_w

It says to have the stick in the direction of the attack and press light attack at the correct moment. That's it. I don't think it is an questionable assumption at all.

Look, I'm really just saying that the game should teach you its base mechanics a little more thoroughly so that when you die it is because you screwed up and not because you weren't even doing something correctly in the first place or didn't know something like the dodge move existed. I have anecdotal evidence that other people I know have had similar troubles, and I'm sure you can find it elsewhere in the thread.

I'm not saying to dumb the game down or make it easy or to eliminate all the depth.

If anything, the problem MGR has in teaching mechanics compared to Dark Souls, is it is too forgiving of failure. Nano paste allows you to fail repeatedly and still win a fight. Certain early fights like Bladewolf and Mistral are designed to force you to learn the parry mechanics, but you can just ninja run around and bypass that requirement, screwing you on later chapters. And then of course the ability to upgrade weapons to the point where you can trivialize encounters doesn't help you learn well either. Even Ripper mode, which doesn't last long and is really a limited super mode, allows you to basically get an auto-kill against any non-boss enemy that might otherwise be difficult, and can be pretty spammable as long as there are enemies to Zandatsu, which could be used to bypass learning enemy patterns and cues.

This is really a good point. The fact that I beat the Monsoon fight on hard by barreling my way through it without fully understanding the parry mechanic is something the game design shouldn't encourage.

 

[daica_]

this game is so much fun. one of the most hype boss battles ive played in a while.
especially the monsoon fight

 

[StalkerUKCG]

On the last boss enter blade mode even when you are stood infront of him and he will cancel the regen.

 

[Dawg]

Just finished chapter 6.

On this boss fight, I finally perfected my parrying. He still got a few hits through, but I managed to beat him using only one potion. A lot better than Monsoon, where I had to use 10.