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[HagglesworthMD]

I just tried out a couple reshade mods for this and man a couple really make the game pop. Holy cow.

Which one are you using? Might mess around with some tonight

 

[EviLore]

Jesus, From.

 

[Dr. Claus]

Mods already? That's quick. Are reshade mods something you can put together quickly?

Reshade gives you a bunch of options and can be used for any video game, IIRC. So you can set it to whatever you like.

 

[TheDuskwalker]

Not been seeing people do this, but vs. Guardian Ape you can use Ichimonji: Double to knock him out of the terror scream.

Spoiler: Video

 

[Northeastmonk]

finally beat Lady Butterfly! ah, it feels good to beat a tough fight. and good lord that was a tough fight. this was for real a struggle on the level of first playing through Dark Souls.

i kept dying over and over to the same attacks: the unblockables with the symbols. turns out i was too aggressive with the whirlwind slash, i kept using it too early & would hit it right before she fired off an attack, leaving me to get taken out while i watched it happen. you can override attacks by pressing LB before they fire off, but once you decide to go into a whirlwind there is no cancelling into a dash or jump. so for the final match i toned it down and used slash only half the time and patience was rewarded.

when i didn't take a single hit for the first phase, i knew i would win. isn't that always the way?

I had the very same luck with her except I just used slashes. The twirl will take two hits, but in this fight. Its not about taking life.. its about getting her posture down. At first I had it down perfect. I was super impressed with myself. I wanted to take a video. Nope, I got to the second phase and got destroyed. You can literally rush her down and drain her posture super fast. It looks like Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon type of choreography. Jump off her head during an unblockable (I wasn't very good with the miraki parry?). You can drain them real quick if you just press L1 or LB as soon as they attack. Future attacks will literally act like block bars in fighting games (attack until you break their defense). I would eventually back off because she jumps. If you stay on her tail during the second phase its much better because of those light things she shoots off. I think I died more times than I would like to say on that fight.

My trick, if the mini-boss has any room behind them. I sneak up to take out 1 of their bars. The guy who helps before the drunken master (forgot his name). I literally tried to take out everyone and then I triggered him for battle. He'd just get slaughtered.

I was dumb in thinking my blue confetti would help (thinking Lady Butterfly was somehow magically there). Nope. Its a mean old lady who can kill you super fast. Now I'm trying to gather more blue confetti. I have no idea where its at.

@ the youtube videos being posted. I'm not there yet.

 

[Meifu]

There’s a certain arm weapon that makes light work of him

Dude your icon is absolutely horrifying , I will pay you money to change it.


I’m in the memory and these lance guys are destroying me

 

[Manus]

This Snake Eyes fellow is rough. For a mini boss he's giving me some trouble.

 

[RiccochetJ]

Reshade gives you a bunch of options and can be used for any video game, IIRC. So you can set it to whatever you like.

Ah, I didn't know that it was universal! I'm actually pretty amazed that I've never heard of it before. I mean, I've used Steamworks and Nexus but it's never popped up on those. Looking it up I guess it's a lot like SweetFX but more robust?

Edit:

This Snake Eyes fellow is rough. For a mini boss he's giving me some trouble.

I got the impression based on the vocals that Snake Eyes is a woman. But yes, that mini boss is a pain in the ass. S/he has the same issues the same as the Ogre where they can grab you when it's clear that you're no where near their grab and you magnetize to them.

 

[Fbh]

Beat Guardian Ape.
It's the first boss battle in the game I didn't find particularly fun. Overall he just felt kinda cheap.
The camera struggles with him at times and the grapple move where he jumps went too far with the tracking. He grabbed me a bunch of times when I'm 100% sure I was out of the way, it pretty much felt like fighting a boss in an online game....with Lag.

 

[TheDuskwalker]

Beat Guardian Ape.
It's the first boss battle in the game I didn't find particularly fun. Overall he just felt kinda cheap.
The camera struggles with him at times and the grapple move where he jumps went too far with the tracking. He grabbed me a bunch of times when I'm 100% sure I was out of the way, it pretty much felt like fighting a boss in an online game....with Lag.

Disagree.

Not been seeing people do this, but vs. Guardian Ape you can use Ichimonji: Double to knock him out of the terror scream.

He's really weak to whirlwind slash in first form, also I kept forgetting to do in the video as I was whirlwinding like crazy but firecracker actually stuns him.
Then phase 2 Ichimonji is really good and can knock him out of scream, I was too aggressive in my video but he's really easy to block and has lots of moves that leave him open also in phase 2.

I did think he was kind of shitty at first, but once I learned what works against him I find him fine. Though when it comes to main story bosses there is 1 I find just ugh and unfun, even when you learn him....

 

[JimiNutz]

finally beat Lady Butterfly! ah, it feels good to beat a tough fight. and good lord that was a tough fight. this was for real a struggle on the level of first playing through Dark Souls.

i kept dying over and over to the same attacks: the unblockables with the symbols. turns out i was too aggressive with the whirlwind slash, i kept using it too early & would hit it right before she fired off an attack, leaving me to get taken out while i watched it happen. you can override attacks by pressing LB before they fire off, but once you decide to go into a whirlwind there is no cancelling into a dash or jump. so for the final match i toned it down and used slash only half the time and patience was rewarded.

when i didn't take a single hit for the first phase, i knew i would win. isn't that always the way?

I'm on Lady Butterfly at the moment and have only had a couple of attempts at her but am not sure that I even have whirlwind attack equipped. I'm guessing it's not essential to use in the fight?

 

[Virex]

Now that you mention, im playing this game on a ancient 11 year old budget plasma TV.

I dont even know the model, but can the input lag on it be so bad that its actually giving myself a handicap?

Check if you can rename the HDMI input to Game or PC or something like DVI PC or see if there is an option in the settings for game mode. Just calibrate your TV and you should be good to go.

 

[Achelexus]

This Snake Eyes fellow is rough. For a mini boss he's giving me some trouble.

If you're fighting the one in the Depths, push her towards the swamp, she eventually gets poisoned, which makes the fight way easier.

 

[nkarafo]

I made a lot of progress but still haven't found a way to the starting/tutorial area. Do you return to it at some point to re-explore?

 

[EviLore]

I made a lot of progress but still haven't found a way to the starting/tutorial area. Do you return to it at some point to re-explore?

Yep, you'll get there.

 

[Shadowcoust]

I'm on Lady Butterfly at the moment and have only had a couple of attempts at her but am not sure that I even have whirlwind attack equipped. I'm guessing it's not essential to use in the fight?

It's not, unless there's some way to cheese the boss with that skill which I'm not aware of. Lady Butterfly is like that gang initiation for the fresh meats; the fight essentially forces you to understand the relationship between posture and health before you go any further into the game.

Also, 1 or 2 well timed shurikens during phase 1 really really really helps you get into phase 2 without taking too much damage.

 

[Dunki]

I totally agree that the game can be beaten in 15 hours by Speedrunners, but that’s not going to be the average persons playtime’. Obviously it’s going to depend a lot on how lucky you get with the order you do things in, too. Fighting Genchiro with a 1 attack power is going to make the fight much harder (and longer) than if you went in with the recommended 2 or 3.

Same thing with a ton of the early/mid game bosses.

Like you’re dating the prom queen.. lol

Speedruns are already At 1hour 20. Since you Do not need stats you can push through the whole game very fast. Genchiro is done after 19 Minutes already.

Otherwise i am done for now. Not because i do not want to play anymore but because my cintriofinally broke.. Need to get a New one before i can play more.

 

[nkarafo]

lol, managed to beat the

Spoiler

drunk

mini boss on my first try....

Spoiler

It's pretty easy. Hug the walls, avoid the central area and kill all the mobs around him. He is very easy to avoid since the area is big. Then keep away to make him stop chasing you and go behind him for the first blow. Then rush to the center of the area and talk to the NPC. He will aid you so try to keep the boss between you and the NPC. I managed to kill the boss without using a single heal and i came close saving the NPC... BTW, anyone knows what happens if he lives?

 

[V4skunk]

Exactly the same, except a completely new stealth system, there's no stamina, skill trees instead of stat distribution, the XP system which works completely differently to the souls/echoes system, the parry system is totally different, the new dragonrot and unseen aid systems, etc.

Not sure what game you're playing. Sounds like you're just posturing.

And the core gameplay mechanics stay exactly the same.
Explore an area, fight bad guys, activate bonfire/lantern/idol rinse and repeat. On death spawn at last checkpoint. The core gameplay is identical to the other soulsborne.
Try harder comrade.

 

[Skyr]

So I finally arrived at my last boss fight

Spoiler

Genichiro/Ishin

What the actual fuck FROM
I manage to get through the first two phases by the skin of my teeth. But what is this third phase? I just get destroyed by his staff. And then there is still the fourth one which I didn't even see yet lol.
Now the other boss fights look easy compared to that.

 

[EviLore]

So I finally arrived at my last boss fight

Spoiler

Genichiro/Ishin

What the actual fuck FROM
I manage to get through the first two phases by the skin of my teeth. But what is this third phase? I just get destroyed by his staff. And then there is still the fourth one which I didn't even see yet lol.
Now the other boss fights look easy compared to that.

Did you read the advice on the wall?

 

[Helios]

Spoiler

Speaking of the drunk, did anyone that had problems fighting him the first time have a really easy time with the second one in the forest Obviously you have more tools and more stats by then but I think that's a way the game basically showing you that you're improving.

 

[Skyr]

Did you read the advice on the wall?

Nope. Which wall?

 

[tassletine]

I highly disagree with this, the game doesn't need RPG elements to feel rewarding and also the game great level design for exploration.

The level design is superb, and it's fun exploring but because you move quickly it's over pretty quickly also. There are also several instances in the game where the reward for winning a sub boss battle is almost nil. The best parts of the game are the exploring sections but I spend the least amount of time there.

I agree that the game doesn't need RPG elements, my problem is it that without them the game then comes into competition with lots of other more traditional fighting games which offer rewards for fighting.

Edit:

Later on the game, the criticisms above don't apply. Once the map opens up I found myslef having a lot of fun.

 

[Helios]

Explore an area, fight bad guys, activate bonfire/lantern/idol rinse and repeat. On death spawn at last checkpoint. The core gameplay is identical to the other soulsborne.

This is it? This is what connects every souls game to eachother? The fact that you explore an area, fight enemies and get checkpoints? Have you played games before?

 

[Helios]

Nope. Which wall?

If it's the one I'm thinking of -

Spoiler

From Ashina Dojo Bonfire go directly in front. There's a scroll on the wall

 

[tassletine]

Oh, I don't care what counts as a boss or anything. He qualifies as far as I'm concerned, I just wasn't sure if you were talking about the Ogre or something else.

What I wanted to say was just that I don't think you're supposed to fight him when you first see him. In that area there are a few warnings that you should come back when you have some fire.

Sometimes the Dark Souls branding works against the overall experience. People assume the game is supposed to be ridiculously hard, so its not always obvious when to back off and go do something else in the game world. FromSoft really likes to give silver bullets to players--some item or ability or combination of both that dramatically brings down the difficulty of a given encounter or area. It's part of their whole Zelda/Castlevania design sensibility. The right tool for the job can trivialize certain encounters. Maybe I'm darksplaining and you realize this already--sorry--but I guess I didn't think the Ogre was that hard when I went back the second time.

I agree with what you've said. It's a good design philosophy. The problem is not that he's hard but that he's too hard and unbalanced as a boss. He spins on the spot, has wide grabs that force the graphics to glitch (and suddenly appear in front of him) throws you offs cliffs etc. As a boss he's not only hard but the game code appears janky so it really sticks out.

All I was thinking up until that point was that the game was fairly average, a bit too western for my tastes, it wasn't really thrilling me, kept telling me what to do and how to do things which takes me out of the game but I was doing everything at an even pace, not rushing through -- Then I came up against the ogre. A rock hard, janky, boss.

All I could think of was: Has Activision ruined From? (they did it with Platinum)

The answer is YES. But only in the opening levels. It's great fun.

 

[tassletine]

This is it? This is what connects every souls game to eachother? The fact that you explore an area, fight enemies and get checkpoints? Have you played games before?

You can play souls simply like that if you want. That's the core game.

The surrounding gameplay comes out of you fiddling around with the RPG/story stuff because you need to overcome certain challenges -- But the actual gameplay is pretty simple.

 

[tassletine]

You've no stamina bar though. He so slow that you ought to be able to dodge and hit and doge and hit and run to a more comfortable position and doge and hit. You've enough spirit emblems to blast fire at him 7(?) times so that's like more than 20 free hits.

His move set is rather small and the perilous moves are very obviously telegraphed.
You can also use the tree above the arena to stop and heal.

You've no stamina bar though. He so slow that you ought to be able to dodge and hit and doge and hit and run to a more comfortable position and doge and hit. You've enough spirit emblems to blast fire at him 7(?) times so that's like more than 20 free hits.

His move set is rather small and the perilous moves are very obviously telegraphed.
You can also use the tree above the arena to stop and heal.

Thanks for the tips. I've already beaten him.

Still a much harder boss than horse guy that you just chase into a corner and beat.

 

[Shadowcoust]

Just got done with the retarded

Spoiler: mini boss

Lone Samurai or was it Swordsman dude.

Instant nostalgia of From Software's camera angle fuckery of a boss fight. If I had been living in a hole for the past 5 years and I saw this boss fight on video I'd instantly recognize it as one of their trademark features. Silly mini boss fight made a lot harder because camera.

 

[TyphoonStruggle]

Just beat NG+. I think I killed everything except those

Spoiler

Headless

guys. Fuck those guys. They're not fun to fight.

 

[mcjmetroid]

Just beat Gyouby Oniwa.

He's actually fairly easy once you get the grappling Hook attack and not be afraid to block. Most of his attacks are blockable.

 

[Skyr]

If it's the one I'm thinking of -

Spoiler

From Ashina Dojo Bonfire go directly in front. There's a scroll on the wall

Interesting. I will take a look at it later and hope it will be helpfull.
I don't like to watch straight up youtube tutorials on how to beat him. Would rather somehow find it out myself.

 

[JimiNutz]

It's not, unless there's some way to cheese the boss with that skill which I'm not aware of. Lady Butterfly is like that gang initiation for the fresh meats; the fight essentially forces you to understand the relationship between posture and health before you go any further into the game.

Also, 1 or 2 well timed shurikens during phase 1 really really really helps you get into phase 2 without taking too much damage.

I've spent my runs at her dodging around her so far and landing counters when her attacks miss. If I block her attacks I know my posture is still damaged but if I deflect her attacks does my posture remain unaffected?

I've also been using the shuriken to drop her when she jumps up on her ropes.

 

[tassletine]

Most human bosses are a complete joke if you just spam r1 and react to their counterattacks, you can keep them locked in a loop.
Also firecrackers are busted and you can cheese most bosses with it too.

Yeah, after the initial learning of tactics, the game is remarkably button mashy. Not sure if I'm into that. Pretty simple rock/ paper/scissors stuff.

 

[Makariel]

Explore an area, fight bad guys, activate bonfire/lantern/idol rinse and repeat. On death spawn at last checkpoint. The core gameplay is identical to the other soulsborne.

I guess you do realize that by this definition you can fit probably 30% of all games ever released into what you call "soulsborne"? That would make it over night one of the biggest genres out there, step aside "action game"

You're just trolling at this stage, or have never played a Souls-game in your life.

 

[thisiskupo]

I had a blast with this game, definitely going to do more runs in this to test out more stuff.

 

[Shadowcoust]

I've spent my runs at her dodging around her so far and landing counters when her attacks miss. If I block her attacks I know my posture is still damaged but if I deflect her attacks does my posture remain unaffected?

I've also been using the shuriken to drop her when she jumps up on her ropes.

You take less posture damage if you deflect and the opponent takes substantially more posture damage than a block would inflict. You would eventually need to get some deflects through because you can't trade posture efficiently enough against most bosses with block and they'll smash your posture very quickly.

 

[Fuz]

I am pretty good with the Souls, but goddammit I SUCK at this. Never been good with parries, the spearmen rape me. Took quite a long time to kill Juzou the Drunkard - I might say, all those adds were just annoying and added nothing of value to the experience, just a waste of time. I did only two tries on Butterfly and then NOPEd out.

On the other hand, the Chained Ogre was pretty easy. I'm definitely better at dodging.

Considering this, I'm not sure I'm gonna finish the game. I'm really awful at parrying.

 

[Freeman76]

This game looks so good, but in Souls games I was shite, I always summoned help for bosses, so I think this will be out of my league in terms of difficulty.

 

[Angry_Megalodon]

I am awful at parrying but as in every Souls game, there are often ways to cheat most mini-bosses and bosses. Some enemies truly make you think out of the box and that's amazing. Many of us are still playing thinking of a stamina bar that is not there anymore. Running is a very valuable resource in some difficult fights. There is one particular enemy ( I won't say which one) that may look difficult when you try beating him like in a Souls game but becomes a breeze once you realize you can run AND attack at the same time.

Other very useful skills are the air-block and attack while using the hook, ala Attack on Titan.

There is a very sweet farming spot right at the castle entrance. It's worth investing some time and get those skills.

 

[Fuz]

There is a very sweet farming spot right at the castle entrance.

Please elaborate.

 

[Saruhashi]

For someone still on the fence about this game, this thread is all over the place. My intentions flip flop almost on a post by post basis.

Positive post = that's it, I'm getting it.

Negative post = maybe not.

This is awesome! Where's my bank card?

Fuck this game! I'll pass.

I'm basically the crowd in this scene.

I think it's best to put it in the context of other games maybe.

I am a huge Nintendo fanboy and can easily say the best games I've played recently are Breath of the Wild and Mario Odyssey.
When it comes to AAA I've really enjoyed Assassin's Creed Odyssey, Hitman 2 and Fary Cry 5.
Then I play a ton of indies.

With Sekiro it's like you've got the graphics and world designs of a big AAA but you've got the difficulty and challenge really only found in indies these days.

I'm talking about single player, of course. If you want to be the best in the world at Street Fighter V then obviously there is a huge challenge there.

All of the Nintendo and AAA games I named above I pretty much breezed through BUT I did enjoy the worlds and the fun of just enjoying a nice, fun and entertaining video game.
Indie games are where I am finding real controller breaking, rage inducing challenge.

In Sekiro you can get through the game and see the world and enjoy the story but the game does not give that stuff up willingly.

Now, for me that's where a single-player video game moves over from a story and a world that you "experience" to a game that you have to "beat".

In the early game Lady Butterfly is a wonderful example.
I tried to beat her over and over. Getting closer and closer.
At one point I have her health almost done and her posture almost gone.
But I fucking panicked and lost my nerve and she ended me.

Dude, I felt fucking sick to my stomach. Like just my whole body reacted to that defeat.
So I go charging back in but I'm not thinking straight and she just wastes me.
Then I have a small spell where I can't even get close cos that near miss has completely fucked with my head.

I take a break and I go back in and I get her down again.
It's like you can feel it when you know you've got her 2 or 3 hits from defeat.
Panicking like fuck, trying to keep myself in check and not do anything stupid.

Then she breaks and you hit R1 and fucking end that auld bitch.

I'm jumping around like an idiot and for the next 10 minutes I am literally trembling with excitement.
Like it feels like I have actually managed to do something meaningful or satisfying or some shit.

At the time it's like "why the fuck am I doing this" but in hindsight it's like a great memory.
Like now I have a great story about beating that boss.
Not some lame ass, wine tasting, fart huffing, thing like "God of War taught me how to be a better father and abandon toxic masculinity".
Something better like "Sekiro presented me with a challenge and I didn't give up until I emerged victorious and it felt awesome".

Honestly, are modern AAA games offering that?
I beat Spider-Man and God of War handily enough. NOTHING like this.

I genuinely believe that if you like video games, and you are fine with the violence and blood etc, then games like this are absolutely must have experiences.

Yeah, it's tough and yeah you are going to be going up against it hour after hour but, honestly, I think Sekiro offers a rare experience of taking on a worthy challenge and/or opponent and feeling like a goddamn king when you come out on top.

 

[mcjmetroid]

This game looks so good, but in Souls games I was shite, I always summoned help for bosses, so I think this will be out of my league in terms of difficulty.

I mean I don't really care about the multiplayer but was there a reason given to why they didn't include it here?
The only issue I can see is the grappling hook pulling players apart too quickly?

 

[Angry_Megalodon]

Please elaborate.

Location: altar in the area where you fight the rider boss. Cross the gate, go uphill and kill the one soldier before the next gate. Use the hook to get to the top of the second gate but instead of climbing down, look to your right and you will see a clearing with a tree in the middle and 3 dwarves. They are all turning their backs on you so you drop to the area, stealth-kill 2 of them and fight the third one, which is a fast kill with the axe-attack. They are 90 xp each plus some good items like iron, sugars and medicines.

 

[Angry_Megalodon]

I mean I don't really care about the multiplayer but was there a reason given to why they didn't include it here?
The only issue I can see is the grappling hook pulling players apart too quickly?

MP feature is well implemented in the Dark Souls / Bloodborne lore / story so it makes sense for other players to be in your game. Sekiro is the story of a single character and it would be gimmicky to have copies of yourself hanging around.

 

[Fuz]

Location: altar in the area where you fight the rider boss.

Readig around in this thread, I think I skipped it... didn't even see him and I killed the ogre. Where the hell is he hidden?

The castle is right after the area where you are chased by the big serpent. It's impossible to miss. Outside the walls there is an altar and after that you get to the rider boss. Once you kill him, you just follow your way past the next altar and you will be in the spot I mentioned.

Oh, ok. I just got to the serpent. I thought I understood that the rider was before the ogre. Ty.

 

[AV]

And the core gameplay mechanics stay exactly the same.
Explore an area, fight bad guys, activate bonfire/lantern/idol rinse and repeat. On death spawn at last checkpoint. The core gameplay is identical to the other soulsborne.
Try harder comrade.

Lol get outta here, you can be reductive as hell with most games, doesn't make them the same game. Most FPS games = enter area, shoot bad guys, pick up ammo, rinse and repeat. On death spawn at least checkpoint. What's the point you're trying to make?

 

[Angry_Megalodon]

I think I skipped it... didn't even see him and I killed the ogre. Where the hell is he hidden?

The castle is right after the area where you are chased by the big serpent. It's impossible to miss. Outside the walls there is an altar and after that you get to the rider boss. Once you kill him, you just follow your way past the next altar and you will be in the spot I mentioned.

 

[mcjmetroid]

I have a question. Does the coins or currency have a bigger role in this game than I think. So far I found 1 merchant where I bought a prosthetic upgrade and I can upgrade Spirit Emblems but not much else?

Does merchants in the future have better items?