JonFE
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Post by JonFE on Dec 17, 2023 11:43:33 GMT
FlexibleFeline The new missions are displayed and selected at the map, like the regular areas/missions. You just load up your save and "travel" to them 
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Post by JuniorFE on Dec 17, 2023 12:55:00 GMT
I bought the pass but haven't delved in - is it just there to join from the title screen, or is there something you need to do in your save? You probably need to have finished the story (and most likely you have), otherwise it's like DadFE says, they just appear in the stage selection screen as EX1-EX3. They progressively get harder, but you can start from part 3 if you want, a la Nioh. |
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Post by FlexibleFeline on Dec 17, 2023 12:58:10 GMT
Cheers, make sense. I'd forgotten there was a stage selection, it's been that long  |
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JonFE
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Post by JonFE on Dec 18, 2023 8:47:18 GMT
Last night I finished all the side missions in the first DLC (with 3 main and 7 side missions, I'd say it's a meaty one) and thoroughly enjoyed my return to the game (and getting ravaged by the bosses ).
There's one thing I noticed and I'm wondering, was it like this the whole time or was it added in a later patch: when you unleash your Divine Beast for attack, there seems to be a countdown (a circle around the divine beast icon slowly fading) that apparently allows you to call it once more within this time by pressing the buttons again; does anyone else know about it?
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Post by JuniorFE on Dec 20, 2023 20:47:08 GMT
Having tried out NG+ and a small bit of the DLC myself (not getting properly into it yet because we'll be leaving the house in a few days) I'm of the opinion that Team Ninja now needs to include a fist/claw/caestus/whatever option in every game they make going forward. They're just too much fun  Shame the DLC wasn't received all that well (although I can sort of understand it, if the late/endgame gameplay loop is as lacking compared to other TN games as it seems)... Especially since the documentation for it is as bad if not worse than Nioh 1, when the wiki started off so well... |
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Ulythium
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Post by Ulythium on Dec 29, 2023 0:00:34 GMT
I started this tonight. So far, so good - it seems like Nioh 3 in all but name, from a gameplay standpoint, and that's fine by me!
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Post by bichii2 on Dec 29, 2023 1:44:52 GMT
It's much easier (a good thing).
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Ulythium
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Post by Ulythium on Dec 29, 2023 14:17:01 GMT
Looking at the wiki, it seems as though I won't be able to get a set of dual swords until I do a mission called The Valley of the Crying Wraiths, at or around level 11 - does that sound right?
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Post by JuniorFE on Dec 29, 2023 20:38:43 GMT
Looking at the wiki, it seems as though I won't be able to get a set of dual swords until I do a mission called The Valley of the Crying Wraiths, at or around level 11 - does that sound right? You could probably land one from a random drop too. But of course that's random. Or, after you've finished the main mission The Demon Fort of the Yellow Heaven, you could try (mechanic spoiler) farming Cups of Cordiality to just get the companions' weapons/armour by bringing them to Bond 10, one of them gives you the Guding Blade and I think another one you'll have by that point has a set of dual swords.
I had a post about that farming route here yonks ago, I'll see if I can find it |
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Post by JuniorFE on Dec 29, 2023 20:43:40 GMT
For anyone interested in the Tiger Seal and bond Cup farming methods I mentioned above, here they are: Tiger Seal: start the first main mission of part 2, "Two Chivalrous Heroes". Run forward. There is a Tiger Seal right next to the first battle flag. Pick it up, travel somewhere else and back, repeat as needed. No enemies at all. Cup of Cordiality: start the third main mission of part 2, "The Demon Fort of the Yellow Heaven", then follow this path from the start of the mission: www.xbox.com/en-GB/play/media/EXD9WTW7Z4 (excuse the choppiness in places, it's only in the recording for some reason) Fair warning, this is essentially a suicide run (there is a battle flag nearby if you can defeat the enemies but it's honestly more trouble than it's worth) so take care not to go in with Qi to lose. Happy farming! This is the one Ulythium. You also don't have to go somewhere else AFAIK, just to the map and back to the spot. It doesn't work if you haven't cleared the main mission(s) in question because in that case teleporting out and back in puts you to where you were instead of back at the start with restocked treasure. Also, there's a better spot for Tiger Seals later on: In the mission Centuries of Glory Burned Away there's a set of 3 Tiger Seals on the high platform where you start. Same method otherwise. |
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Ulythium
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Post by Ulythium on Dec 29, 2023 20:47:35 GMT
Thanks very much, Junior - I'll look into that once I've done the mission in question.
I actually managed to get a pair of Bronze Dual Swords in the Two Chivalrous Heroes mission, and had enough mats to make them +1 when I met the blacksmith lady a short while later.
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Ulythium
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Post by Ulythium on Jan 1, 2024 15:26:23 GMT
I've run into my first roadblock - much later than in either of the Nioh games, it must be said - in the shape of Aoye.
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Post by JuniorFE on Jan 1, 2024 15:58:24 GMT
I've run into mu first roadblock - much later than in either of the Nioh games, it must be said - in the shape of Aoye. Can't help you there I'm afraid, as I actually found Aoye rather easy (or at least easier than some others' reactions made it seem) I will, though, talk about the elemental rock-paper-scissors Wo Long has going on, as it has a little extra besides the usual of each enemy being strong or weak vs certain elements and each element having an effect when adequately built up (a DoT plus something else, but no Confusion from multiple elements to be found here) Wo Long operates on the Five Phases theory, which, once you remove all the philosophical how-do-you-do, boils down to Wood/Electric beats Earth, which beats Water, which beats Fire, which beats Metal/Poison, which beats Wood. In practice, that means that a spell of a particular element cancels out any spells/abilities of the element it's strong against. For example, casting Venom Snare (a lategame Metal spell) against a Wood/Electric-spamming boss might see some of that boss' abilities sputter out entirely because of the constant poison cloud Venom Snare creates! Or, for something more pertinent to where you are, Aoye uses some Ice/Water attacks, so casting an Earth AoE will instantly destroy, say, its pools of ice if it hits them (and, conversely, Fire might not always burn enemies that look flammable all that well, unless they're aligned with Metal -not Wood!-) |
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Ulythium
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Post by Ulythium on Jan 1, 2024 17:06:01 GMT
JuniorFEHow did you quote a typo I *definitely* didn't make?  Thanks for the advice - helpful as always. Will bear it in mind when I tackle Aoye again this evening, and watch FightinCowboy's guide for further tips re said boss.
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Ulythium
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Post by Ulythium on Jan 1, 2024 20:03:37 GMT
Well, I got him - I'm not sure how, exactly, but I got him.
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Post by JuniorFE on Jan 2, 2024 15:03:45 GMT
Damn, the DLC final bosses do not mess around! Major step up from most everything else... A hearty eff you to whoever decided that Demonized Taishi Ci needed a second phase on top of his year-long combos, once-in-a-blue-moon red attacks and speed... Seriously, I'd easily take Lu Bu over him! And a hearty thank you to whoever put in the Grace of Nuwa (lots of health restoration and other useful stuff, the final effect being essentially the Absorb Vitality spell but stronger and permanent), even if it's locked to NG++ |
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Post by JuniorFE on Jan 2, 2024 15:06:34 GMT
(And yes, that does mean that I went to NG++ before even trying the spoilered one. My gear is still 4-5 star rarity because that's where the grace rolled, but I highly doubt I'd done it second try without that ) |
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Ulythium
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Post by Ulythium on Jan 2, 2024 20:10:30 GMT
Zhang Rang can suck my Wo Dong.
Also, Cao Cao (or 'Nibs', as my dumb ass insisted upon nicknaming him) is functionally useless in this fight.
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Ulythium
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Post by Ulythium on Jan 2, 2024 21:39:32 GMT
I beat Zhang Rang in the end, but it took the best part of an hour.
Even my eventual success was an extravaganza of button-mashing - a far cry from the rest of the game, which emphasises careful timing over brute force.
Still, 'tis done now.
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Post by JuniorFE on Jan 2, 2024 21:48:27 GMT
Zhang Rang is the bastard with the clones right? Probably a bit too late to mention that beating the clones weakens him besides limiting the amount of attacks flying your way... (He can summon them again, but it's still worth it) You'll like the next one though, I think |
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Ulythium
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Post by Ulythium on Jan 2, 2024 22:07:16 GMT
Yeah, that's the fellow.
He seemed able to summon the clones as quickly as I could dispose of them, which was irksome; meanwhile, Cao Cao kept going down, and I hardly ever managed to revive him without taking a load of damage in the process.
Is there some sort of upgrade you can get to make reviving allies quicker? It never seems worth the risk, as things stand.
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Post by JuniorFE on Jan 2, 2024 22:59:52 GMT
Is there some sort of upgrade you can get to make reviving allies quicker? It never seems worth the risk, as things stand. Not AFAIK. There's a Divine Beast whose active ability (Y+B) fully heals you and heals+revives allies, but aside from giving them buffs like Absorb Vitality for them to heal themselves that's about it. I'm actually finding allies more useful than I used to on bosses. Probably because I'm playing it more like Nioh than Sekiro at this point (Fists + Nuwa's Grace + coming from two Niohs in a row will do that to you), allies drawing the boss' attention is actually helpful to me rather than messing up my parry timings. Draws some damage away, gives me breathing room to heal or cast, they actually do decent enough damage and Spirit damage to be worth it and the drawbacks (the boss recovering Spirit by hitting them and red attacks not always aiming for me) don't seem as pronounced. There's a couple of bosses where I'd recommend not using them because you'd rather know they're going for you, but in general they can be of use. And of course during the actual levels having a team to back you up helps a lot vs mobs. |
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Post by JuniorFE on Jan 2, 2024 23:08:19 GMT
Ulythium one tip for general gameplay that may help you is that you should be able to embed Genuine Qi Obtention on every single piece of equipment you have on easily (AFAIK as soon as you unlock the blacksmith, you can remove one other passive you don't use and replace it with that)... And when it's something like 7% more Qi on each thing you've got on (2 melee weapons, 2 ranged weapons and 4 armour pieces, 10 total if you luck into it on your accessories too) it's a rather big passive bonus to your levelling. And speaking of accessories, if you can find some with Enemy Detection and Marking Flag Detection you basically jury-rig a slightly inferior version of the Divination Talisman, which is very nice! Just some things to look into for general use 
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Post by JuniorFE on Jan 3, 2024 2:17:56 GMT
Oh my fucking God. The final boss of the third DLC is just... I'm this close to rage-quitting, and JonFE can attest that I've never done that before (I've stopped games before for various reasons, even at roadblock bosses, but never specifically because of anger)! (tagged the rant because it got long) You want to play passively? He has all of one red attack that he never does, and he will catch you out enough with his normal attacks to kill you. Zero tells on his combo (singular, he just varies it), attacks that hit as often as the second DLC's final boss but twice as hard, blocking might stop elemental damage with the right passive but you'll stagger in like two hits anyway, and deflecting only keeps you from dying, there's essentially no offensive benefit (unless you're pretty much perfect, see below).
You want to go aggressive? Good luck dealing any sort of lasting Spirit damage to him (unless you deflect fucking everything, but I'm just not that good, I'm sorry 😢) while he rips through all of yours with a touch (seriously, I had like two and a half full bars, he did ONE (1) thrust attack I couldn't deflect and I'm 80% in the red! And that was after I'd tried to stack Spirit Defence!)
You want to use elements (you know, like with the vast majority of enemies)? Buildup is nonexistent, and the DoT is weak too (although I'll admit, the one time I even got close was through so much Venom Snare sloooooowly draining him that I think I used it less times in the whole rest of the DLC combined)... Meanwhile, he casually uses all five himself, so you might as well forget about actually mitigating anything.
You want to use reinforcements to at least breathe a little? They deal as much Spirit damage as you (read: none), he ignores them 90% of the time and the other 10% they just get decimated by his AoEs!
Seriously, what the fuck? People thought the second DLC's final boss was hard? I mean, he was, but at least he had some weaknesses, this guy takes every option you have and says "nope, can't use it"! Nothing else even comes close to this guy! I've dealt with very hard bosses before and I might (somehow) squeak past this one too, but (and I hate to say it) this one just goes to unfun territory, something I'm fairly certain I've never been pushed to say about a boss before... |
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Post by JuniorFE on Jan 3, 2024 2:24:58 GMT
Oh, uh, get this: apparently he has a second phase.
Everything I said above? I'm pretty sure that was all in his first (I certainly haven't depleted any healthbars).
Um.
Really unsure how to feel about that. If he actually does, after all of the above, I might actually be done.
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Post by JuniorFE on Jan 3, 2024 2:37:20 GMT
*Looks at video*
Ha. Ha ha. Of course he has a second healthbar. I mean, surely he needed it.
And there's threads everywhere of people having 6-7* equipment, beating NG++ and above, and still having trouble with this guy... on NG.
Weren't we done with balancing your DLC around the newest difficulty released with it two games ago (three if that isn't the case with Stranger of Paradise either, haven't played that one), Team Ninja? And even in the first Nioh or in the Warriors games it wasn't nearly as rough...
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Post by JuniorFE on Jan 3, 2024 2:42:58 GMT
Anyway, rant over for now, I'm sorry for being annoying everyone 😔
I might park it for now, I might tough it out and grind my way to a win (as in, overlevel/overequip the fuck out of him, I can't see any other option at the moment), I might just bin it entirely (which I really don't want to do) but for now I'll just take a step back and chill.
Such a pity too, the rest of the game is legitimately very fun (if not necessarily my favourite from TN) but they fumbled hard on this last boss and the Thousand-Mile Journey (endgame grind), in different ways of course... And unfortunately, this time it doesn't seem like it's just me being weird or not "gitting gud"...
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Ulythium
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Post by Ulythium on Jan 3, 2024 23:20:34 GMT
You'll like the next one though, I think
Were you referring to Lu Bu, perchance?
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JonFE
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Post by JonFE on Jan 3, 2024 23:21:43 GMT
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Post by JuniorFE on Jan 3, 2024 23:34:31 GMT
You'll like the next one though, I think
Were you referring to Lu Bu, perchance?
Eeyup. Welcome to the big skill check of the game now that the first boss got nerfed (with incredibly little bullshit, actually). The only tip I have is rather roundabout, and will only make things easier, not easy. You'll still have to actually learn him and see the openings to use said tip. That said, he's rough to actually damage and this helps, so here (use at your own discretion): Complete the side mission Wizardry Spell Mastery that should be unlocked for you in the same tab the Hidden Village is in, respec your Water Attribute to 40 (probably put the rest in Wood for HP) and use Ominous Chill when he's open. |
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