[Traveller]

I've been hunting mini bosses for beads I may have missed. Then I got to Senpou Temple - this area just looks so amazing.. breathtaking. All the more so because it's a 'real' rather than fantasy landscape.

Cleared most of it first go though, nearly got enough for shadowrush.

This post has been edited by Traveller: 07 April 2019 - 11:46 PM

[Traveller]

 IMG_20190408_062759.jpg (342.44K)
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[amphibian]

Finally got some time to play this in between work and wedding planning. I beat one general and then explored up to just past the point where a guy in bandages shot off a cannon at me with surprisingly good accuracy. It took me a bit to figure out how to get up to him to kill him.

Spoke to the merchant and then later died to the chained up ogre, who I initially thought might be a friend. Was very close to killing him, but made a stupid mistake by trying to fish for a backstab a la Dark Souls.

I would say my Dark Souls combat style of being smartly aggro is working against me here. Have been trying to stealth more, which is a new experience for me. I never could play stealth games before bc very few had subtitles for sound or dialogue. My version of being deaf means I cannot really hear background noises like the hearing, unless it's super loud - like neighbors can hear it loud.

[Traveller]

I wouldn't say the sound adds to the stealth gameplay - you could still play with the sound off. The alert icons over the heads tell you when you've been spotted.

Very different play style to DS. No more cautious blocking, rolling dodges or stepping back when things get heavy. I've found that winning and winning well instead means getting right in there, parrying, attacking and countering almost continuously.

I've only done it really well a couple of times, but when you see it you know - it becomes a fast flurry of blades, without the heavy blocking, but the high ringing of timed parries. It's so good, but means the bosses are really only beaten by learning every move and getting it right.

Still recovering from a night shift followed by playing too late last night - I need sleep, Ashina boss will have to wait.

[amphibian]

The stealth here is signified by icons. In other stealth games from 15 years ago to somewhat recently, there was very little to signify. Even Zelda Breath of the Wild uses animal sounds to guide hearing people to where certain animals can be hunted. I cannot operate on that level. It's just not something I can do.

I am 100% stepping back, trying to roll, and blocking like I'm lagging. It's hilarious to unlearn that, even if I did play Bloodborne.

[Traveller]

Briar King, on 09 April 2019 - 04:31 AM, said:

Can you re

Spoiler

buy the dragon rot cure from vendor where Horse Lord was as many times as you have to or is it one and done till next person? I have so many people with it now. My aid is at 9%. I’m scared to use the one I have now if it’s the only one I can get

He's only got one. I used it already, but you get others later.

Amph, I still find myself waiting for an attack so I can sidestep and counter. Just not the best way here! The game forces you to change, it's just not possible to win in the same way. I'm actually really liking all the differences, it's a different game, built on Souls but also fresh.

[Traveller]

Still haven't beaten Genichiro. Can get him to second phase, but now I know his attacks I've gone exploring again.

Reached a gun fort in the mountains, and got another prayer bead by beating a weird centipede guy. Staying here to farm for a bit; there are some latent sword skills I really want which will help me beat Genchiro, one that gives you more poise on every deflection, and one that does more poise damage when you attack.

There's a good place to farm gunners here, about 4 of them with their backs turned if you backtrack up the path.

This post has been edited by Traveller: 12 April 2019 - 06:04 AM

[Traveller]

Ah man. Genchiro.

Got him to 3rd phase. He has a goddamn 3rd phase. When after beating two, finally, and I have no health or emblems left.

And he has another full health bar. And lightning. Got him to 3rd 3 times but he only had to breathe at me by then and I'm out.

That mikiri counter seems so tricky to get consistently; I need to be able to rely on it but sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn't. Apparently you're supposed to stop pushing L in any direction to use it, but I was pushing up and O and it was working on spearman. Genchiro mostly cuts me anyway, while I'm attempting it, but as it works sometimes I keep using it, and then die.

I think every npc in the game must have dragonrot by now.

BK hit it in the head with the charged lunge - hold L1. Use firecrackers, it rears up - charge up the lunge and stab its head. It gets stunned, then just keep hitting it. It didn't recover when I did that.

This post has been edited by Traveller: 13 April 2019 - 07:11 AM

[D'rek]

Genchiro sounds like Ganon. Can you hit the lightning back at him?

[Traveller]

D, on 13 April 2019 - 02:31 PM, said:

Genchiro sounds like Ganon. Can you hit the lightning back at him?

You can! If you jump when it strikes, and hit attack, as you land you blast it back at him.

[D'rek]

I'm just waiting for one of you to get to

Spoiler

the ape

[Traveller]

I could probably progress until I reach him. I'm just worried that because Genchiro is back at the top of Ashina castle, I might change an outcome or miss something if I don't deal with him while he is there. These games have a habit of cutting off certain options of you do things out of order!

This post has been edited by Traveller: 13 April 2019 - 06:25 PM

[Mentalist]

Any tips on Jizou the Drunk? I'm not sure what's the best Prosthetic to use....

so far I collected the Fireworks, the Axe,, the Shuriken and the flamethrower.

In Ashina I killed the second general (the one after the first Chained Ogre), so I leveled up my health once so far.

I'm assuming I need to try to finish Hirata memory before moving deeper into the castle. Or should I come back for drunk sack of lard later?

This post has been edited by Mentalist: 14 April 2019 - 06:02 AM

[Traveller]

If you've killed the general after the ogre, head down the ravine, dodge the snake and go up into the castle grounds. There's a mounted boss you should be able to beat.

Then you get a couple more beads to power up as there's a trader nearby.

To beat the Drunk, sneak through the walkways to the left to get behind the guards, and use hit and run to take them all out. The axe one-shots the shield guys. Jizou will chase you each time but if you hide round the buildings and sneak, he should return to his original position. Sneak round again to his back for a backstab on his first point - disengage and run to the guy by the lake, and talk to him. He'll run in and start fighting jizou - letting you get in as many hits as you can until he's dead.

It's like ten minutes preparation for a 3 minute fight.

This post has been edited by Traveller: 14 April 2019 - 10:58 AM

[Mentalist]

Traveller, on 14 April 2019 - 09:16 AM, said:

If you've killed the general after the ogre, head down the ravine, dodge the snake and go up into the castle grounds. There's a mounted boss you should be able to beat.

Then you get a couple more beads to power up as there's a trader nearby.

To beat the Drunk, sneak through the walkways to the left to get behind the guards, and use hit and run to take them all out. The axe one-shots the shield guys. Jizou will chase you each time but if you hide round the buildings and sneak, he should return to his original position. Sneak round again to his back for a backstab on his first point - disengage and run to the guy by the lake, and talk to him. He'll run in and start fighting jizou - letting you get in as many hits as you can until he's dead.

It's like ten minutes preparation for a 3 minute fight.

Ok, so hit and run works there? Good.

To get the second general, I went all Arkham Barman, taking out all of his soldier so I could sneak in and get that first stealth deathblow in.

Didn't think that could work here. Nice.

[Traveller]

Do the same with Jizou. If you take out everyone first, before you talk to your ally, he won't get beaten down by guards, he'll go one to one with Jizou, which draws his attention away.

Also you can get that first deathblow through stealth.

This post has been edited by Traveller: 14 April 2019 - 04:26 PM

[Mentalist]

Coolio. Killed the next boss, only took like 10 tries, lol. Gonna have to call it quits for the next two days- I'm on the road and all I'll have is my old laptop. There seems to be a bit to explore now, and apparently I can upgrade prosthetics? Cool!

Might need to repeat Hirata a few times to grind out some money though. I wanna buy the gourd seed before getting into any more trouble.

[Traveller]

I think he means grind hirata to buy the seed at the castle?

Ment, in tbe building where you met Tenchu go up into the rafters, all the way. There's a chest up there...

Also just through the gate by the idol is a great exp farming spot. Up tbe steps and over the wall there are 3 little guys with big hats you can stealth 2, shield bash the 3rd, all in about a minute. Rest and repeat.

[Traveller]

Two... hits... away. From beating him.

I got to his 3rd phase without dying, without letting up or missing a beat. Then I managed to get his 3rd down, until finally in a flurry I went down first.

But I can't seem to repeat it, and I must have tried literally dozens of times.

The frustrating thing is, I've learned his moves. I know what he's going to do, and I'm reading his wind up; I just can't respond quickly enough all the time.

I need to get him to 3rd without using a resurrection, but I'm nearly always taken out by his arrow flurry or a misstimed mikiri. The frustration is.. I'm hitting those buttons. I'm going for the block, or hitting the counter... it just doesn't work or I'm too slow or something.

[Traveller]

Hah I actually rage quit last night. First rage quit since the Bed of Chaos.

I got Ashina to his final phase, first go; but again got beaten right before I took him. Then couldn't get past phase 2 without dying.

So I left the area, headed back to Senpou temple - and ran into a knight on a bridge. Managed to knock down his posture, dealt a death blow - and he stands up again with regained health and kills me!
I'd kind of had enough of being pounded into the ground for hours at that point.

Anyway despite cursing the whole damn thing and turning it off, this morning I put it on with the kids watching, and beat the knight - it was kind of like a metaphor for dark souls, the guy is fully armoured but fast while Wolf is fast and measured, and I started my day well by kicking his ass off the bridge.

So I'm off to find more prayer beads and moves, I'll return to beat Ashina another day.

Btw Senpou region is one of the most beautiful areas in any game, ever.

This post has been edited by Traveller: 17 April 2019 - 08:03 AM