Sekiro

I'm just bring facetious about it in terms of being a blood borne boss really, it would probably be fine there but in this game it feels like crap to fight. The combat isn't really designed around being dodge heavy and it just feels awful. It's one of the longest and most boring boss fights I've ever done. Hate it. If I replay the game I'll just do the cheese as it's not worth spending time on doing properly.

Only boss I can remember in this having awful hitboxes too. Can't stand watching attacks not hit my character but damage anyway.

The Guardian Ape is weak against fire: you can hit it with a charged flame blast from the Spring-Load Flame Vent to inflict burn status (if you don't have access to the upgraded version of this tool, you can douse the boss in oil and use the uncharged attack to achieve the same result). In the first phase, adopt a hit & run strategy: sprint out of reach of the ape's attacks, then close in and take advantage of the recovery, also remember that you can grapple onto the guy while he slowly walks sideways, or roars (grappling hook attack is useful).
Second phase: parrying/deflecting all the slashes and stabs gets the ape to use a giant overhead slam, deflect also this move and the guy will topple over. Either score a few hits, or use the Loaded Spear to drag out the parasite and inflict damage.

Ape is definitely a wall for many. I'd say many players give up at genichiro and ape. When I ran through all the endings lately on Xbox most of the endings had something like 12-20% player completion rate.

I did use them, Duffking. I used fucking HUNDREDS of them, and then I ran out and Sekiro turned into "Farming Cash, The Simulator" which was about as much fun as it sounds.

30 Sen a pop ain't cheap from where I am in the game, either. But regardless, me dropping the item-based approach wasn't an attempt at seeking purity, it was me seeking not to have to grind out any more fucking cash. :-D

First phase Lady Butterfly is a cakewalk with dodge and then attack, btw. Second phase is parry all the way, for sure.

Heh. I've now come across an Owly bugger and, if spoiler memory serves, this is the first junction point for the endings. Hmmm. Not sure whether to go for the rapid exit, or continue the torture. Probably best not a decision made a few hours after downing the Ape of Grinding.

Great work on the Ape, Phattso!

I'd personally reject Owl on a first run, as there's some great areas you otherwise won't see 😉.

+1 to the suggestion to reject Owl on the first run; not only beautiful locations, but also good fights wait to be discovered and experienced… not to mention stuff like upgrades and prosthetic tools.

Have they straight up stolen assests?

Thinking you can't parry something is a common trap that makes a lot of big enemies much, much harder if you fall into it. You can still parry all of DoH's attacks, but his fire attacks still inflict burn status on perfect parries, so you don't want to parry those. His physical attacks, however, are usually better parried than dodged. The stomp hitbox can be hard to gauge, and if you fail to dodge it you get smushed, whereas if you fail to parry it, you still block most of the damage. Therefore I recommend parrying over dodging.



I now see Zoan beat me to it, dammit. Hey, how do you do spoiler tags? Edit: Got it!

As for Sekiro, I thing bounding up to Owl right after The Week o' The Ape was a bad move, and I'm already neck deep in fuckit.

Decided to go and explore the newly changed areas, kill a few of the new mini-bosses, and then maybe park the game for a couple of weeks. Come back to it fresh and energised, rather than resentful.

Played about 5 hour so far. Coming from souls (completed all souls games and platinumed Bloodborne) and finding it a bit of a rough ride. Like Bloodborne It presents you with a completely different way of playing and forces you to get to grips with something you may have ignored in previous games. Bloodborne wanted you to be more aggressive and attack on the front foot and Sekiro confronts you with parrying and standing your ground. I pretty much Ignored parrying in all souls game so finding it quite tough (though I have played a fair bit of bayonetta etc which have a similar philosophy which I have enjoyed immensely so not at a complete loss here). There is also the fact That it’s not really a souls game either. You are probably at a disadvantage if you are a seasoned pro..

In the last two hours I have made, what felt as little progress. Tried to beat the ogre with red eyes but couldn’t and been transported to a memory and got to the second bonfire. It is really satisfying when you parry and fuck people up. Sound design and animations are exquisite. But finding I’m all fingers and thumbs at the moment and a little frustrated. My patience isn’t what it once was. I find it really hard to deal with multiple enemies.

It certainly throws everything at you too, and I actually think it’s a bit too punishing and maybe even shit design. The first memory feels like the game presenting you with one obstacle to overcome to then be greeted with a completely new one 10 yards up the road. Greeted with archers, thrust attacks, multiple attackers, pick up flame gun arm, back to learn it, carrying on, pick up miruku counter; back to train and learn how to use it, now I got a fat bastard on a bridge to deal with (though there is a route beside him which I guess I can skip him (which the game encourages you to do I guess). It feels very stop start at the moment and very slow progress. I wish you could have a little more time to acclimatise to one way of fighting before being presented with a new one.

But the the first 5 hours of Bloodborne were like that. It took me five hours to get to blood starved beast and beat him. Then it just clicked and became one of my favourite games of all time. Completed it twice and platinumed it.

So will stick with it, just worry that because I’m shit at timing parries that it’s going to be a bit of a struggle. I also worry that I don’t have the same determination to come back and beat it, I really enjoyed that process in the first couple of souls game, but my patience isn’t what it once was. Struggled with it in demon souls remake (although I did stay to complete it)

OK, folks - I'm gonna check out of The Sekiro Crew for now, I've decided. Thankyou all so much for the tips and encouragement - I've really really enjoyed (most of) my time with the game, and it's absolutely the furthest I've gotten with a From game since the pre-Souls era. Like Hollow Knight a few years ago, it's only a thread like this that kept me going when me skills threatened to leave me.

I'm about to take some holiday for a week and a half, then work is going to go insane for the final few months of the year, then Game Pass is about to get heavy with games I've been anticipating, so I've sent the Sekiro rental back and cancelled Boomerang.

HOWEVER! This is not the end. This is just a pause. In the long, dark, months at the start of 2022 I'm going to pick up Sekiro in the sales and get back on the horse.

Blame the ape. ;-)

Thanks for the pointers. I just had a much better session, taking into account some of the tips you have made. So thanks.

I've managed to make my way up to the fight with Juzou the Drunk. I can't quite read his attacks yet so gave him a little rest after a couple of tries. Getting confused by this grab attack, don't know whether to double jump him or whether it can parry it. So gave him a little rest and just beat the chained ogre. My heart was truly pumping souls style when I put him down. Actually a soulsy type boss. Just jumped backwards with the red attacks and made use of the flame vent now and then. Hugely satisfying.