Nioh 2 - Turn demons into loot again

Games
#480

Dream of the Wise is down. The build did really well. Not as obliterating as the first mission where I reported back up thread, but it was really fun to play and certainly different than the way I’d been playing. I’ve (finally) started stance switching and using ki pulses. Even though I got purity dual swords to drop, I’ve kept using fists. I really like them and seem to be doing decent damage now, though more is always better.

And some general thoughts from playing now completely differently than I was.

  • I’m at Agility B now and I can’t tell much of a difference between that and A for mobility, but I sure feel it on survivability. In Dark Souls it seemed like a pretty big mobility difference between <25% and >25%, but it doesn’t feel nearly as severe here.

  • The guardian spirit Ho-oh (which you don’t get until you are through some of the DLC) has the “Calming Breath” trait. This is fantastic, as it heals you quickly when you are out of combat. Great for keeping elixirs for when you need them.

  • As has been noted several times in this thread, blocking is much more important than I had been giving it credit for. This is another reason it is nice to have heavier armor. Those Nure-Onna were much easier to handle if I just block their attacks instead of trying to dodge them.

  • Barrier may be the best Onmyo magic. Keeping your Ki up is a huge benefit.

On to Dream of the Nioh, now that I’ve finally finished the tutorial. :)

#481

Yes, but git gud is a Dark Souls thing. I think maybe the difference is there’s more complexity to manage in Nioh, so it feels like you’re learning more on each failed attempt, which keeps you engaged longer.

In Souls you have fewer tools, so eventually you reach a point where you know exactly what you need to do — you just need to execute (“git gud”) plus other lame bullshit like training yourself not to get greedy right at the end.** You’re still training your brain on the dodge timing and such but that’s it. That can become enraging because you simply want to move on. Whereas in Nioh, you know you can use your tools more effectively next time.

Of course Nioh can reach the same frustration point too eventually.

@KevinC your comment about brain overload is something I’ve discussed before. It’s the same effect as a fighting game or character action game. In all cases, my brain defaults to using the simplest tools while I focus on surviving. Once I can do that automatically, my brain has room to think about doing it stylishly or in a more efficient but complex way.

** It’s funny how in Nioh you sometimes avoid the problem of getting that last hit on the boss because the finishing moves and ki break attacks do so much damage. It’s still burned me many times on difficult fights!

#482

One thing I have observed with this game is most monsters have a tiny range. Like pathetic. If you just walk away when they are doing their thing, they just slash in the air hitting nothing.

First thing I learned in this game is to have my eyes on the enemy, not on my character. Is kind of like having your eyes on the screen and not on the keyboard but for whatever reason none of the games I played before teached me this.

Nioh 2 is teaching me to be a better darksoulsgames player, but only when I allow it.

#483

Just like the negative emotions that created them.

Deep thoughts.

#484

Argh. I played the game today and somehow was worse than yesterday. I must be one of the worst players in this game.

#485

I am much worse

#486

No, I’m the worst. You know that.

#487

100% achievements complete!

#488

Well you are clearly not the worst. Second region is kicking my arse, I’ve gone back to the first to level up a bit more.

#489

Ha, I thought I already said I was the worst up thread. I just have time and persistence on my side.

Are you still using an Axe? You might switch up the weapon to see if another one clicks better for you. I know when I was playing Nioh 1, I was having a ton of trouble and then the Kusa just clicked for me.

#490

Should be finishing off the last of the DLCs this evening and then it’s on to NG+. How much of a difficulty jump am I looking at? Anything I should do to prepare to make the jump or should I just dive in once I finish The First Samurai?

#491

I actually thought the DLC was harder than the beginning of NG+.

#492

Great, that’s good to know!

#493

They always back themselves into a corner with that since the level scaling still needs to work for people going into NG+ before the DLC is ever released.

#494

That makes a lot of sense. I forget that NG+ existed before the DLC, it’s just the later difficulties that were released with them. Is that right?

#495

I think each DLC added another NG+. I think…

First level of Dream of the Nioh got me 35 levels. I don’t know if that means I was really under-leveled (started at level 338) or that this NG+ is just going to just ramp up significantly. The gear is pretty awesome.

#496

Yes, you’re right about the DLCs. So theoretically the level scaling gets tighter each new NG+.

Sounds like you’re hooked on the loot chase! I’m curious to see if you try to tackle the content after DotN!

I’m still stuck on NG playing lots of co-op. It’s not the best random co-op I’ve ever played since it’s hard to make a connection with other players. It’s still fun.

#497

I think I’m just hooked in general. Really glad I was forced to give up Ninjutsu and move to something else, that really freshened up the game. If I had made it through without changing builds, I probably would have stopped after 100%.

The content after DotN, meaning the Underworld? I’m assuming that is like the Abyss in Nioh 1. I wasn’t all that interested in the Abyss, so I’m not sure I’ll get into it. I think I’ll try to just do the main missions in DotN, there are a lot of missions I’ve only played once since I would just do the first two regions to open up the next NG+ level.

#498

I spend quite a bit of time doing that too. I just really enjoy popping into someone’s game and helping them through a level or a boss encounter. When you join and there’s the host standing by a shrine right before a boss encounter that starts cheering when you show up, you get the impression they’ve been getting their butt whooped for a while.

I’ve gone through most of NG (is that the correct term for the first playthrough?) in Expedition mode with a friend. Dark Souls desperately needed this sort of thing. Dark Souls was fine for a quick coop experience but trying to play through with a friend (or worse, two friends) was an absolute nightmare of trying to see each other’s signs and having to play through each map/boss three times.

I’ve found Expedition mode to be more challenging with the two of us than playing solo for the most part, although there are obviously advantages. That’s also been something I’m really impressed with: usually coop in these games makes them significantly easier and that’s definitely the case for summoning visitors. But Expedition mode, they did a great job increasing the difficulty in a way that makes things challenging without becoming “bullshit” by massively increasing HP or damage of monsters. They achieved a really good balance of buffing enemies and adding additional enemies to the maps to keep it challenging but fair.

#499

I also lost interest quickly with the Abyss. It sounds like they streamlined it this time. There are only 108 floors and they’re all one large area with 4 kodamas to find for the buffs instead of 4 separate areas. So it’s like playing the game normally.

After the Underworld, there are 30 floors of the Depths. There are some new quirks there that make it extra difficult. I’d like to check it out but it depends on how engaged I am by then!