Moongrum is the biggest ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ I've ever seen

[Scharroth]

What is this mob? Totally ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ gamedesign. Spams like ♥♥♥♥, infinite attacks and if you manage to attack him, he staggers and in the same frame he parry your attack to oneshot you. Seriously wtf man. This is not making the game hard, its just ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥.

[SigilFey]

I have to support this. The enemy is poorly designed, based on the core foundations of what the From Software games have always been based on.

1.) Input reading. This has absolutely no place in a From Software title. PERIOD.

2.) Impossible moves -- moves the player can never recreate. (We're not talking special boss design using a special model that creates a unique challenge -- we're talking an NPC based on core, player mechanics that simply cheats the system to do things that are not possible for players to recreate. Like an AI "Invader" that gets the ability to ignore poise.
Or the ability to execute power attacks like light attacks. Or the ability to drink potions even when being CLEARLY interrupted.) The entire approach is flawed at the most foundational level.

3.) Damage variation. His Carian attacks will do variable damage, not consistent damage. I've had the Carian Blade attack alone cause half-damage while just standing there and letting it hit me, and insta-killing me while blocking. That should not EVER be possible.

4.) Movement tracking. I've seen this enemy flip instantly 180 degrees to hit me even though the ACTUAL ANIMATION was nowhere near me -- missed on the screen by nearly 20 degrees. Nowhere close.

5.) Absolutely ridiculous parrying ability. No enemy in the game should have the ability to parry / riposte while they're STILL IN A STAGGER ANIMATION.

Honestly, this is one of the best games that I've played...ever. The world design is amazing. The combat is amazing. The mechanics are amazing. The variety of enemy types and move sets are amazing.

WHY...would something like this be in the game.

It goes against all of the core design elements that make From Software games what they are. This is petty, trifling enemy design. I'd like to believe it's a bug, but I think it's more like a developer thinking they're going to redesign the wheel by making it a triangle. "Bet the player will never get that to roll!" Well...no kidding. Is this really a discussion?

[warmy bear]

what is Moongrum?
the guy in Raya Lucaria?
if you take the lift he despawns & dies/

[warmy bear]

Originally posted by SigilFey:

I have to support this. The enemy is poorly designed, based on the core foundations of what the From Software games have always been based on.

1.) Input reading. This has absolutely no place in a From Software title. PERIOD.

2.) Impossible moves -- moves the player can never recreate. (We're not talking special boss design using a special model that creates a unique challenge -- we're talking an NPC based on core, player mechanics that simply cheats the system to do things that are not possible for players to recreate. Like an AI "Invader" that gets the ability to ignore poise.
Or the ability to execute power attacks like light attacks. Or the ability to drink potions even when being CLEARLY interrupted.) The entire approach is flawed at the most foundational level.

3.) Damage variation. His Carian attacks will do variable damage, not consistent damage. I've had the Carian Blade attack alone cause half-damage while just standing there and letting it hit me, and insta-killing me while blocking. That should not EVER be possible.

4.) Movement tracking. I've seen this enemy flip instantly 180 degrees to hit me even though the ACTUAL ANIMATION was nowhere near me -- missed on the screen by nearly 20 degrees. Nowhere close.

5.) Absolutely ridiculous parrying ability. No enemy in the game should have the ability to parry / riposte while they're STILL IN A STAGGER ANIMATION.

Honestly, this is one of the best games that I've played...ever. The world design is amazing. The combat is amazing. The mechanics are amazing. The variety of enemy types and move sets are amazing.

WHY...would something like this be in the game.

It goes against all of the core design elements that make From Software games what they are. This is petty, trifling enemy design. I'd like to believe it's a bug, but I think it's more like a developer thinking they're going to redesign the wheel by making it a triangle. "Bet the player will never get that to roll!" Well...no kidding. Is this really a discussion?

theyu've had input reading at least in DS3. Soul of Cinder read inputs to put pressure on you when you healed. If you just circled hte area without healing it'd usually circle too.

[mewlynx]

who tf is moongrum

[Casval Zem Daikun]

Hodrick V2.0.
Guy's a parry god.

[LordPraxxus]

If you're talking about Moongrum The Cairan Knight in Raya Lucaria Academy, I didn't have a problem with him, beat him without difficulty. There are different strategies and playstyles that work with every encounter. I think I remember you can also summon during that fight, that will definitely help. I think I had the Mimic Tear with me and a fully upgraded Sword of N&F, but didn't use the weapon skills, and I was also overlevelled for the area, so that may be why I didn't struggle as much.

Great-shields and Guard counters help with most human sized enemies, if you don't have the stats to wield one, you can get Barricade Shield skill on a medium shield, Brass Shield dropped from Godrick Soldiers are a good one in that category. Or, can try Parrying him. Heavy attacks, jump attacks, aggressive playstyle, also help. Sorry, I can only give general advice, as my playstyle and build will be different than yours. Exploration, farming/levelling up is also recommended when you hit a difficulty wall in ER.

But yeah, I totally get this post, this was my frustration when fighting those 3 NPC Invaders in Caelid, by the Giant Living Jar. NPC Invader AI is so overtuned in ER it's broken, the game doesn't follow its own rules. That fight was so frustrating (even with Moonveil), I just ended up cheesing them, making them fall off the cliff. They have unlimited stamina & FP, many flasks, more HP than most bosses I've encountered, seemingly limitless poise, can stagger and kill you in the blink of an eye, can roll more times than Sonic, and they do insane amounts of damage. The worst part is you have to fight them all one after the other, you can't rest at the grace or they'll all reset, and the enemies are all randomised every time you respawn. The amount of bloodstains around that area were way more than what any major boss arena had.

I love this game, but its not without its flaws; optional boss-difficulty, overtuned enemy AI, camera rotation and enemy tracking are some of the most glaring issues I have with ER. FromSoft: "Hey, I heard you found this Erdtree Guardian Watchdog fight annoyingly difficult, well here's 2 of them at the same time, oh and here's 1 with 4 Stone Imps. And, they'll all track you more accurately than any radar system on the planet, oh and the fight will also take place in a cramped and dimly lit room, the reward will also be some weak Spirit Summon or weapon/spell that not every build can use, have fun", ffs!

Sorry, just wanted to rant about the seemingly artificial difficulty in ER, this is the only reason I'm okay with cheese methods for bosses/enemies, and farming to be overlevelled. Yo, but fk that Triple Crystallian Boss Fight in Sellia Hideaway though, they all cause Scarlet Rot as well, literally the worst designed boss fight I've ever played, in any game. That boss encounter forces you to play with a particular strategy, that's the only way you're beating it, throw the "Open world" and "build freedom/variety" out of the window. ER is the easiest and hardest FromSoft game, both at the same time.

[DFIDelta]

For Moongrum:
AI can't really handle jumping heavy attacks, so just spam them. (works for every NPC based on "players")
Alternatively, flail class weapons can't be parried, the NPC will try anyways. Get a flail or nightrider flail and watch that guy swing his arms around like a moron.

[SigilFey]

Yes, we're talking about Moongrum, the Carian Knight in Raya Lucaria.

I'm very sure there are tactics that will beat the enemy. That's not the point. The point is that all of the SoulsBorne games have been 100% skill-based. There's no RNG. You simply learn the enemy patterns, then decide what you need to do to win the fight with whatever build you've chosen. Given any build, there will be harder fights, and there will be easier ones.

I'm actually okay with the enemies here and there that input-read the player using a healing flask. In practice, that's fine -- you're completely exposing yourself when you do that. Whether the enemy begins it's counter-attack on the 1st frame of drinking or the 10th frame of drinking, you're not going to be able to interrupt the animation to dodge or defend, so the input reading is perfectly okay. Don't try to drink while under direct threat. That makes absolute sense. That's the player's mistake.

This is not the same thing.

This is an enemy that simply does things the player cannot counter -- based on total, random chance. There are no "dice" in SoulsBorne games. That's their whole selling point. You get a challenge -- you know it's going to be tough -- perhaps ridiculously tough -- but fair. If you die, you clearly see what the enemy did, and over time, you can learn to anticipate it and counter it. No matter how difficult it is, you can always see what you did that got you killed.

With Moongrum, that's not possible. Moves that don't actually connect...connect anyway. Animations that mean the character is exposed, like staggering, are simply canceled mid-animation so that the character can not only block...but execute a perfect parry. Damage from this or that attack might cause 200 points of damage...or 600 points...

...regardless of what the player is doing.

...regardless of what is actually happening on the screen.

I truly hope they address this. So far, this is the only major complaint that I have about the game. The design of the encounter has no place in this experience.

[ṼṏẌṏḭḊ]

Step 1) Get on the lift
Step 2) Stand at the edge of the lift and aggro him while holding up your shield
Step 3) Wait for him to jump down into the endless void
Step 4) Victory

[socially ept outcel]

If Moongrum is enough to get you mad then you're going to find plenty more enemies to get mad at, lol. He's not that high in terms of being an irritating enemy in this game.

[nazgull2k1]

I sent the elevator up, then watched him jump attack into the pit.

I laughed.

I laughed because the dude was nothing but a giant )#*$ing cheese wheel of monsterous BS level proportions.

Completely agree with OP.