Is it normal to suck this bad?

[PossessingSpirit09]

I've spent bout 5 hours in this game, probably about 20 escape attempts at this moment, and I haven't gone beyond the Hydra. I can somewhat beat Meg semi-consistently, but I feel like I keep making mistakes which cause me to lose health

I also think my builds are slightly messy. I've heard other people beat this game within the first 10 attempts and I just wonder how. I'm finding it kinda hard. Should I turn on God mode? Will that lock me out of achievements and what not?

Edit: Guys I'm going to have to delete this thread soon as the toxicity emanating from a singular person is kinda starting to spiral out of control - I don't want to give that person anymore ammunition to argue with anybody else; nor do you guys have to put up with that. You guys have provided great tips on improving as a new player and I appreciate that.
Thank you very much

[Seti]

bow

[Boink]

The game is designed so that you won't beat the later levels (without preternatural abilities) until you've unlocked numerous upgrades. In the biz they're called basic DPS / HP gates. i.e. unless you're incredibly lucky and unlock a dash boon / you have MS reaction times, you will take damage at N(+1,2.3) points and you won't have the DPS or %DR reduction etc to withstand the attrition.

Ignore anyone claiming they beat the game in their first 10 attempts. Chances are... they're not actually the tiny percentage of people who can / did.

The game is designed about failing multiple times. In fact, you're supposed to repeatedly fail (especially later on when you *can* sail through on a vanilla run) so that you chat more often to NPCs.

God mode has no effect on the story. Probably not even achievements but it should.


~Edit: I played mostly in EA, but the until you've unlocked the Mirror in your bedroom to use Shadow on you're 100% not expected to even complete chapter 2.

[PossessingSpirit09]

Originally posted by Hyena of Set:

bow

I've tried the range weapons but they're not really my thing. I prefer either the shield or the double knuckles

[Boink]

Originally posted by PossessingSpirit09:

Originally posted by Hyena of Set:

bow

I've tried the range weapons but they're not really my thing. I prefer either the shield or the double knuckles

...How did you unlock the knuckles in 5 hours play?

That's... not possible. Unless something has radically changed, the weapons unlock in a specific order, the knuckles being the last, and they require materials you won't have if you've not beaten the Hydra.

Literally.

[PossessingSpirit09]

Originally posted by Boink:

The game is designed so that you won't beat the later levels (without preternatural abilities) until you've unlocked numerous upgrades. In the biz they're called basic DPS / HP gates. i.e. unless you're incredibly lucky and unlock a dash boon / you have MS reaction times, you will take damage at N(+1,2.3) points and you won't have the DPS or %DR reduction etc to withstand the attrition.

Ignore anyone claiming they beat the game in their first 10 attempts. Chances are... they're not actually the tiny percentage of people who can / did.

The game is designed about failing multiple times. In fact, you're supposed to repeatedly fail (especially later on when you *can* sail through on a vanilla run) so that you chat more often to NPCs.

God mode has no effect on the story. Probably not even achievements but it should.


~Edit: I played mostly in EA, but the until you've unlocked the Mirror in your bedroom to use Shadow on you're 100% not expected to even complete chapter 2.

I've put tons of shadow into the mirror already. I've unlocked aspects as of recently.
I'm just a little frustrated because the current stuff I can get in the mirror don't really help too much and my runs are really kinda dependent whether I get certain boons (especially DOOM) from Ares.
I'm not sure what I should do to improve. But I am afraid that using God mode will suddenly make the game noticeably easier - I'm starting to consider it

[Boink]

Originally posted by PossessingSpirit09:

I've put tons of shadow into the mirror already. I've unlocked aspects as of recently.
I'm just a little frustrated because the current stuff I can get in the mirror don't really help too much and my runs are really kinda dependent whether I get certain boons (especially DOOM) from Ares.
I'm not sure what I should do to improve. But I am afraid that using God mode will suddenly make the game noticeably easier - I'm starting to consider it

At 5 hours played you won't have "tons" of shadow.

The game is specifically designed so you won't get it.

Look: I don't care if you've used a CE/Nexus Mod to add in materials, but there's no way you've done these things legitimately playing the game. It's simply designed to prevent you doing so.

At which point you're wasting our time because you're asking for tips on the vanilla experience when you've clearly changed the flow of materials to speed up your progress. I don't care, but pretending otherwise just makes any response completely pointless.


And... if you can't beat the Hydra with multiple Mirror unlocks, then: you should learn to play the game. For real, the game is designed that way. If you can't do it, then take the time to learn the game / how to play isometric action games and less time Cheat Engine / hacking your materials.

[Minneyar]

Originally posted by Boink:

That's... not possible. Unless something has radically changed, the weapons unlock in a specific order, the knuckles being the last, and they require materials you won't have if you've not beaten the Hydra.

I'm not sure what you're thinking of, but you're very confused. The only things you need to unlock weapons are Chthonic Keys, which you can get anywhere, and the knuckles are the second-to-last weapon. It's entirely possible to have unlocked all of the weapons in five hours if you focus on collecting keys.

Edit: After thinking about it, I suspect you're thinking about unlocking aspects, which does require Titan's Blood, but you can get enough Titan's Blood to unlock a couple of aspects by just beating Meg with each of the weapons once.

Anyway, I like the Aspect of Talos on the gloves a lot, I've got more clears with that than any other weapon, but it can be tricky to use; staying in melee range of many enemies is very dangerous. Ideally, you want to get a boon that increases damage and adds a nice debuff on your special, such as Demeter's or Aphrodite's, and then use your special to drag enemies around as you repeatedly dash out of range. Dash abilities that leave dangerous areas behind you, like Ares' or Dionysus', combine well with that.

[⭕TheSodaman]

Originally posted by PossessingSpirit09:

Is it normal to suck this bad?
I've spent bout 5 hours in this game, probably about 20 escape attempts at this moment, and I haven't gone beyond the Hydra. I can somewhat beat Meg semi-consistently, but I feel like I keep making mistakes which cause me to lose health

I also think my builds are slightly messy. I've heard other people beat this game within the first 10 attempts and I just wonder how. I'm finding it kinda hard. Should I turn on God mode? Will that lock me out of achievements and what not?

I feel this is normal. I would suggest that if you are not consistently making it to the final boss after 50 attempts, that it may be worth looking into God Mode (or even before then if you just want to focus on story OR if you're about to quit from frustration, but want to know what happens and not have to sift through a bunch of YouTube vids without commentary as there is a LOT of dialogue in the game - which has been one of the more enjoyable aspects for me... hehe, the Aspect of Dialogue.)

I'll need to review my first clear in the log, but my earlier clears relied heavily on Demeter's cast and the boon that increases the cast duration + adds Chill. The extra health Mirror upgrade definitely helped a lot.

[⭕TheSodaman]

Originally posted by Boink:

Originally posted by PossessingSpirit09:

I've tried the range weapons but they're not really my thing. I prefer either the shield or the double knuckles

...How did you unlock the knuckles in 5 hours play?

That's... not possible. Unless something has radically changed, the weapons unlock in a specific order, the knuckles being the last, and they require materials you won't have if you've not beaten the Hydra.

Literally.

It's just the keys for this. Could probably get about two keys from Tartarus and maybe one more in Asphodel. Run in, die in 15 minutes. Do it all over again. The railgun seemed to be the last one that was available to unlock for me.

[PossessingSpirit09]

Originally posted by Boink:

Originally posted by PossessingSpirit09:

I've put tons of shadow into the mirror already. I've unlocked aspects as of recently.
I'm just a little frustrated because the current stuff I can get in the mirror don't really help too much and my runs are really kinda dependent whether I get certain boons (especially DOOM) from Ares.
I'm not sure what I should do to improve. But I am afraid that using God mode will suddenly make the game noticeably easier - I'm starting to consider it

At 5 hours played you won't have "tons" of shadow.

The game is specifically designed so you won't get it.

Look: I don't care if you've used a CE/Nexus Mod to add in materials, but there's no way you've done these things legitimately playing the game. It's simply designed to prevent you doing so.

At which point you're wasting our time because you're asking for tips on the vanilla experience when you've clearly changed the flow of materials to speed up your progress. I don't care, but pretending otherwise just makes any response completely pointless.


And... if you can't beat the Hydra with multiple Mirror unlocks, then: you should learn to play the game. For real, the game is designed that way. If you can't do it, then take the time to learn the game / how to play isometric action games and less time Cheat Engine / hacking your materials.

Ermm....dude I don't know why you're being so mean.
I've never used mods in a game other than GMOD and Starbound. I have so called "tons" of shadows because I've done many many many attempts - I like to call it kill fast, die fast approach.

I have not "cheated" to gain stuff any faster. If I did that, I wouldn't have bothered playing this game. Adding mods that change the fundamental gain of stuff just disrupts the intended progression and ruins the experience. I really don't understand why you're insinuating that I'm using mods but I consider re-checking your opinion

[PossessingSpirit09]

Originally posted by TheSodaman:

Originally posted by PossessingSpirit09:

Is it normal to suck this bad?
I've spent bout 5 hours in this game, probably about 20 escape attempts at this moment, and I haven't gone beyond the Hydra. I can somewhat beat Meg semi-consistently, but I feel like I keep making mistakes which cause me to lose health

I also think my builds are slightly messy. I've heard other people beat this game within the first 10 attempts and I just wonder how. I'm finding it kinda hard. Should I turn on God mode? Will that lock me out of achievements and what not?

I feel this is normal. I would suggest that if you are not consistently making it to the final boss after 50 attempts, that it may be worth looking into God Mode (or even before then if you just want to focus on story OR if you're about to quit from frustration, but want to know what happens and not have to sift through a bunch of YouTube vids without commentary as there is a LOT of dialogue in the game - which has been one of the more enjoyable aspects for me... hehe, the Aspect of Dialogue.)

I'll need to review my first clear in the log, but my earlier clears relied heavily on Demeter's cast and the boon that increases the cast duration + adds Chill. The extra health Mirror upgrade definitely helped a lot.

Hmmm...that's a neat idea. Maybe I should consider amassing alot of keys to unlock the enitrety of the mirror's perks and then work my way from there.

I'll consider using God mode if I'm feeling particularly hopeless or after I blow through 100 escape attempts. Thanks

[Boink]

Originally posted by Minneyar:

I'm not sure what you're thinking of, but you're very confused. The only things you need to unlock weapons are Chthonic Keys, which you can get anywhere

Someone count the # keys required and the story points that weapons unlock please.

They're not just available from initial playing and if you're dying @ Hydra, you're getting max 1-4 keys a run.

Then map out how you'd do this in 5 hrs playing Blind.


That'd be great.

[ButtGravy]

Originally posted by Boink:

Originally posted by PossessingSpirit09:

I've tried the range weapons but they're not really my thing. I prefer either the shield or the double knuckles

...How did you unlock the knuckles in 5 hours play?

That's... not possible. Unless something has radically changed, the weapons unlock in a specific order, the knuckles being the last, and they require materials you won't have if you've not beaten the Hydra.

Literally.

I unlocked the knuckles after 3 hours.

[Boink]

Originally posted by ButtGravy:

I unlocked the knuckles after 3 hours.

So weapons aren't locked to play # now and sequentially?

Sword > Spear > Shield > one I never use > Railgun > Knuckles?

Hmm.

Still requires a lot of keys though - 6, at least?

[Minneyar]

Originally posted by Boink:

Someone count the # keys required and the story points that weapons unlock please.

You need 24 keys to unlock every weapon. As far as I'm aware there are no story requirements, each one becomes available to unlock as soon as you've unlocked the previous one. Rooms with increased rewards give double keys. It's entirely possible to get 4-6 keys on a single run up until the Hydra if you prioritize them above other rewards and get lucky with a miniboss.

And if your run ends at the Hydra, that's what, maybe fifteen minutes, twenty tops? I could see an actual speedrunner unlocking every weapon in two hours with a little luck. Five is generous.

Rail is the last, by the way, not Knuckles. You're seriously misremembering all of this.