Well, i gave the nerfed Radahn a go

[opus132]

This is what i came up with:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U4DYYNXt09c

Definitely easier than the earlier version on almost every level. Right now i'm a bit conflicted about this.

At first i raged because i was smack in the middle of doing him, and just needed a few more days to perfect him and then FromSoft decides to change him right under my nose. All i had of the pre-nerf version was a video where as i playing around rot, which was pretty good but needed refinement, and one i made with max scadu blessings since i wanted to see what that looked like:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ovt_HGLBN2I

Now somebody pointed out there's a mod that allows you to play against the previous version so i guess it's not an issue really, it's just that i was caught with my pants down. I came back from work all exited i was finally gonna do my no scadu, no-hit perfect run and bam, boss is different now. Like, crap.

I'll say this though. First of all, the criss-cross slash definitely needed to change and right now i think it's in a good place since it's still hard to dodge it but can be done more or less consistently. In the previous version, i needed to keep around a shield just for that attack, which created all sorts of problems first of all because blocking it was not ideal in the second phase since you can get hit by the light damage, and second because i kept getting endlessly confused by that second super fast opening he does for that five or six hit combo. Being able to tell one from the other in the microsecond you had was definitely ass.

Second, i guess it was indeed kinda of boring you couldn't punish some of his attacks. Like, the bloodflame swipe or that simultaneous double slash. Neither were particular hard to dodge but it was annoying just having to stand around there waiting for an attack you COULD punish.

As for the rest, i'm less enthusiastic about the changes. I don't like the fact the fight has been slowed down (unlike what some people believe, i don't think he is slower as such, it's just an impression created by the fact he lingers on longer after some attacks. The only one that's actually slower is the one where he flings rocks at you where they delayed the start up quite a bit). I sort of enjoyed how intense the fight was, how everything hinges on microsecond reactions it definitely felt epic.

Not sure what to make of the hit box changes since i never had a issue with that so i can't even make comparison to how it was compared to now since i can't tell the difference.

The damage nerf was completely unnecessary. When i did my max scadu try i was able to survive quite a few hits and that was with Sacred Scorpion Charm and Marika's Soresereal. I don't get how his damage was ever an issue.

Lastly, i'm also not sure i like that they toned down the effects. I mean in his second phase you are literally fighting a god shouldn't it feel like you are actually dealing with this divine being? Some people said the light show killed their framerate. I have an old 5700XT and the fight was smooth as silk for me. I think ray tracing may have been the issue so why not just turn that off?

I have a feeling eventually they'll likely revert some of those changes at which point the fight might be considered to be actually balanced. The real big one that needed to be changed was the criss-cross slash the rest for me could have remained as it was but i guess it be what it be.

[Key]

Agree on pretty much everything. The only warranted nerfs were cross-cut combo, the hitboxes not matching the visuals and the stamina damage he did to shield, which made him next to impossible to block with anything smaller than a greatshield.

In regards to the second phase I think that's an extremely hard feeling to balance, making the fight feel like you're actually fighting an all-powerful god without making it also feel completely one-sided, which ends up frustrating in a series with a core gameplay that revolves around memorization and patterns, which I think was one of the main problems with the previous version, to make it harder, they made him difficult to read and to react to correctly, going as far as to add one attack that was pretty much undodgeable.

I don't know how I feel about him in the current state, on one hand it feels a lot more fair, on the other hand, I'd place him below both Malenia, Bayle, Rellana, Morgott and Placidusaax in terms of actual mechanical depth, by that I don't mean difficulty, but how complex it is to properly adapt to the patterns to beat the boss flawlessly.

[lithops]

The thing is, cross-slash was top of the pile, he has some other problems that's need to be adressed, and i'm not talking about damage, no no, his 2handed powerstanced ground slam sometimes ignoring the player's i-frames, the sise of his swords hitbox being much bigger then the model itself, guaranteed inescapable permastuns if you get hit by some initial attacks and etc. And i'm not sure that they fixed everythying and ever do so. When i myself reach ng+7 with no skadu i'll figure this out anyway, at least for myself. Currently playing NG+, also good fact about ignoring the whole skibidi system, it forces you to explore and teaches to in-depth adaptation, i found myself using AoW's more frequently and sometimes finding out that some pre-DLC ashes was hidden gems just waiting for me.

[opus132]

Is there a mod people use to fight those bosses at NG+7? Because i can't imagine they are actually all finishing the game seven times over.

[opus132]

BTW, in terms of my own personal touches to this fight, there's two highlights. First, i discovered that if you don't hit him with a critical hit in the first phase you'll spawn right in front of him instead of fifty miles away. This may be common knowlede but it was new to me. At that point he does that Light of Miquella 80% of the times, and moving closer to him seems to increase the chances as well. This allows you to get some good free damage, and the light explosion isn't hard to deal with.

The second is the big nuke which you can cheese with Vow of the Indomitable. A friend actually pointed out to me it's possible to even roll through it, though i'm not sure how consistently you can do that i'd have to try. This allows you to basically slap him in the face once before he flies off, and again after he lands, which definitely feels better than having to run away for 50 seconds.

I personally just hate when bosses force you just run around endlessly doing nothing so i feel no shame in using those tactics, heh.