Heh. I always went light and nimble in the Souls games. So, it was the default for me in Nioh, too. Thankfully, there is @TimJames to set me straight. I had the most trouble with Hino-Enma, myself, but got her solo after multiple tries. Taught my hands and lizard brain a lot about playing the game.
Getting ready for another run through. This time, I will invest in stamina and heavier armors. Is it worth trying on the PC?
I will say I’m slowing down a lot in the DLC. It’s very hard so it’s kind of a grind. You’re meant to play a little NG+ first to get decent gear, and then switch back to NG for the DLC.
There is a strategy for that boss. I probably posted it a while back.
Stand mid distance and let him whiff, then time an attack or two so it hits the centipede head as it slowly returns to the front. It does double damage and you’re always out of range of his attacks. Don’t get close.
I sprinted back to the shrine to save. (By the way, I’ve never crashed during a mission since upgrading my drivers and setting compatibility to Windows 7.)
I’m trying to get to a stopping point so I can play some other games, but Way of the Demon (NG++) is way too much fun. Enemies have enough HP that I get to fight them a bit again. There are random elite enemies with a red glow and special upgrades, like basic soldiers with flame weapons. And nothing beats the joy of +10 gear dropping on the first level.
BREAK TIME! I need to change my build but I don’t feel like farming. That means it’s a good time to stop. I’m not going to bother with the last achievement because it’s a random drop that I will get playing the game normally.
I made it to NG+3 and it’s even more fun. They’ve redone some of the enemy placement, like DLC enemies in the first mission of the campaign. The abyss is also really brutal.
@TimJames : I just started playing, any recommendations on the starting weapons/spirit? I like light armors and weapons with fast swing animations. Didn’t like the spear in the prologue though.
I don’t think that matters in the long run. You can acquire all of them. The only permanent thing is the one or two stat points they give you. Everything else can be respecced.
That said, Kato the fire dog remains strong throughout the game. (Not many viable spirits.)
Keep in mind light armor is pretty hard in this game. You will get one shot by strong enemies until much later. There are ways to mitigate this.
All weapons have fast attacks in low stance. Spear has good variety. But you might as well pick sword or dual sword. DS has a nice timing-based combo that is fun.
So Tim, did this game end up feeling more like Ninja Gaiden than Dark Souls? I didn’t really care for the demo, but since I recently played Ninja Gaiden again on Xbox One, I kind of remembered why I loved that game. So maybe Nioh will grow on me too.
Do you have to switch between the difference stances all the time to do well? Or do you just mostly pick your favorite and only change it once in a while for specific enemies or types of enemies?
And do you change weapons all the time, or do you basically just stick with one weapon for long periods?
I’m using mostly sword and dual swords and they’re both awesome. I have tried other weapons and liked almost all of them, but I just love swords, so I’m trying to stick to them. I might try kusarigamas and what not in future playthroughs. ;)
As for stances, you can stay most of the time in one of them (usually middle stance), but you’ll be more efficient if you realize which stances are better in which occasions and feel comfortable switching between them as needed. I now switch between middle and low stances very often. I rarely use high stances, but I can remember a certain boss fight that pretty much required me too, and I love it all the more for that. ;)
Of course, keep in mind that I went for a low armor, high mobility build, in which speed is life, since you’re trying to never get hit. If I had an armored/power build, I’m sure I’d use high stances a whole lot more.
You can stay in mid-stance all game. Some people prefer low for better dodging. I was too lazy to switch. It’s there for style and efficiency if you want it.
My first 30-40 hours was all mid-stance sword (low stance for one crawling monster) switching to high-stance spear against bosses for range and damage.
That was my problem with the game in the end. All this complicated stance and button combo stuff and none of it matters. You can beat 95% of the game’s content with mid stance and attack-attack-backstep-repeat.
I don’t see that as a game problem because it’s common to all brawlers. I see it as a me problem because I have to force myself to get out of the rut, especially when it’s so satisfying to do the same thing over and over.
I did eventually use other stances because I got so good at the reads that I started toying with the enemies for style and variety.
The first boss must’ve kicked my ass like 30 times yesterday, easily. I think my problem might be that I’m wearing a purple Warrior of the West set which I looted off one of the level ~20 revenants (I barely meet stat requirements lol) so stamina management is a bit of an issue.
Thought so, the basic principles from Dark Souls (stamina and mobility >>>> *) still seem to apply here.
Do I gain more equipment weight by having multiple melee or ranged weapons equipped or is that only down to armor?
I’m really digging the axe btw, seems to be a great weapon for taking down larger enemies. Spear is also pretty fun, I’ve certainly come around on that one. I just can’t get used to the sickle though, which stance is generally the best for that one - High has a nice ranged attack but it’s very slow.