Crucible Knight is not fun or fair

[TheDude]

Unlimited poise, combo after combo after combo with no openings and when I eventually run out of stamina I get stun-locked and killed. Apparently I need to parry with a shield but it's not part of my build and have not been building/practising for it.

Seems kind of lame that you somehow need to run every single different build otherwise you run the chance of being essentially softlocked out when you run into something you couldn't possible take into account or be aware of.

[Dollmaker]

Theyre actually pretty well balanced, theyre just strong.

Im guessing youre talking about the one on the Evergaol, yeah most players will be underleveled for that fight and likely die without good skill and knowledge of the fight, so youre better of leaving it for later.

[Rusty]

I personally wouldn't have a problem with the respec "requirement" (any boss can fall to any weapon but some of us aren't good enough to use one build through the whole game (hi its me)) if character respec didn't take a finite consumable item.

You go about trying different builds until you run out, and then the game is just like "Oh well, go and do all the annoying open world stuff on a new character if you want to try anything new." but I digress.

To stay on topic, I agree with Dollmaker. They're not as hard as their moveset and 90 trillion poise imply.

[TheDude]

Originally posted by Dollmaker:

Theyre actually pretty well balanced, theyre just strong.

Im guessing youre talking about the one on the Evergaol, yeah most players will be underleveled for that fight and likely die without good skill and knowledge of the fight, so youre better of leaving it for later.

Yea that's the one. Honestly that's probably the best idea.

[Dollmaker]

Originally posted by Rusty:

I personally wouldn't have a problem with the respec "requirement" (any boss can fall to any weapon but some of us aren't good enough to use one build through the whole game (hi its me)) if character respec didn't take a finite consumable item.

You go about trying different builds until you run out, and then the game is just like "Oh well, go and do all the annoying open world stuff on a new character if you want to try anything new."

If youre playing on PC, you could use mods to give yourself infinite Respect (Aka infinite Larva Tears)

But yeah, most people will be really underleved for when they find this Crucible Knight, hes similar to the Tree Sentinel, teaching you to go elsewhere if you cant handle this.

[DarkFenix]

Git gud.

It doesn't have unlimited poise, it has plenty of openings, and running out of stamina is your own fault.

I've beaten many crucible knights on every type of build with every type of weapon, the issue here is 100% you.

[BingusDingus]

I don't find them that bad, they just have a really well balanced moveset and they punish healing. Other than parrying, your best bet against them is to punish them in between their attacks.

[Dr.Acula]

Crucible Knights are indeed annoying fights. They are do-able though if you know how to deal with them (they're always somewhat dangerous though).

To defeat a crucible knight you basically "cuddle" with them and roll into their attacks. You have to learn the patterns though and attack (single L1 attack) whenever they are finished with a combo. I usually walk around them counterclockwise and roll past them on the right.

If you can parry then they become easier. If that is not an option then back to dodge rolling into their attacks or slightly passed them. It requires trial and error but the basic attack patterns for them are always the same. So if you've seen one then you've seen most of them.

[Silyon]

Early on, Crucible Knights are tough fights. Parry is an easy "I win" button if you learn the timing, just like it is for almost everything in the game. But they can still be evaded with enough practice reasonably easily. Generally you want to try rolling or circling behind the knight, since a lot of their attacks are frontal with relatively poor tracking. Never try to roll away from them, as he can just chase you and is likely to clip you regardless of your timing. Full sprint if you need distance or don't bother.

Their movesets vary a lot depending on the specific one you're fighting. I'd say the one in the Evergaol outside Stormwind is the easiest one to practice against, and also the safest since you can re-collect your runes without hassle. That one uses a shield, which means a lot of close-range shield-bashes that will always knock-down. Roll to the Left around him, you'll usually evade it and have a moment for a counterattack. For the Tail, always roll into it and be prepared to roll a second time for the follow-up. Shoulder-tackle, grab, and flying charge can all be dodged with a forward-right or forward-left roll at the moment he commits to it, and the momentum will carry him past you and leave his back open for a moment.

Crucible Knights are weak to lightning and resist most other things, especially Holy. Since they wear heavy armor, they basically can't be staggered unless you're using colossal weapons, so don't count on flinches to keep you safe like you can with regular knights and soldiers. Hit and be ready to move, try to avoid committing to combo-attacks.

[Jámez Bondo]

I can relate. Back then I also stumbled upon this gaol at a very low level and proceeded to bang my head against the wall for 3 hours before I beat him. If you have no way to parry, you'll need to figure out his combos and when it is safe to punish. Once you know, it's down to execution and you'll be able to take him in a few tries. Godspeed!

[Krampus]

spose i can help with that, if need be

[Krampus]

You don't need to parry but once you learn the timing you can parry them all. Makes it alot easier. I'd suggest buckler parry. Get a buckler shield.

[Krampus]

All of them can be parried, even the 2h spear guy

[EF_Neo1st]

Originally posted by TheDude:

Unlimited poise, combo after combo after combo with no openings and when I eventually run out of stamina I get stun-locked and killed. Apparently I need to parry with a shield but it's not part of my build and have not been building/practising for it.

Seems kind of lame that you somehow need to run every single different build otherwise you run the chance of being essentially softlocked out when you run into something you couldn't possible take into account or be aware of.

I never parried (at all Souls games and ER and even finished Sekiro without deflect) and beatem every single Crucible Knight in base game.

Also they are not even hard, just strong and tough and their combos are quite easy and fair to deal with.

On the DLC stronger versions of the Crucibles are literally normal respawnable enemies.

[DragonSoundxSG]

He's a call back to DS1...parry. Parry owns him.

[Rusty]

Originally posted by Silyon:

Early on, Crucible Knights are tough fights. Parry is an easy "I win" button if you learn the timing, just like it is for almost everything in the game. But they can still be evaded with enough practice reasonably easily. Generally you want to try rolling or circling behind the knight, since a lot of their attacks are frontal with relatively poor tracking. Never try to roll away from them, as he can just chase you and is likely to clip you regardless of your timing. Full sprint if you need distance or don't bother.

Their movesets vary a lot depending on the specific one you're fighting. I'd say the one in the Evergaol outside Stormwind is the easiest one to practice against, and also the safest since you can re-collect your runes without hassle. That one uses a shield, which means a lot of close-range shield-bashes that will always knock-down. Roll to the Left around him, you'll usually evade it and have a moment for a counterattack. For the Tail, always roll into it and be prepared to roll a second time for the follow-up. Shoulder-tackle, grab, and flying charge can all be dodged with a forward-right or forward-left roll at the moment he commits to it, and the momentum will carry him past you and leave his back open for a moment.

Crucible Knights are weak to lightning and resist most other things, especially Holy. Since they wear heavy armor, they basically can't be staggered unless you're using colossal weapons, so don't count on flinches to keep you safe like you can with regular knights and soldiers. Hit and be ready to move, try to avoid committing to combo-attacks.

This is GREAT advice, but I'd like to add to it: The crucible knight's tailswipe is not a 50-50 you need to respect. He rotates in the other direction if he's going to do two tail-swipes. If you can memorize which direction is which (unlike me, hence why the vague instruction) you can punish the single tail swipe every time.