The ice cave level design is terrible

[Big Draco Fan]

It's worse than Dark Souls 2 in terms of level design. You actually get punished for wanting to move forward at a normal pace by the stage hazards.

[gungadin22000]

I personally like it. It's a frigid kick in the nutsack, but it's challenging and changes up the gameplay quite a bit. For best results, use the spell that throws dark spinning orbs in an arc to destroy the irritating ice crystals from above or below before progressinig.

You should also keep in mind that you can get here pretty early on, but that it seems to be intended for later in the game. Just met a boss here that takes next to no damage from my attacks, which is kind of a hint.

[Washing Machine]

The fun part of being able to come here early is that I found the boss right after fighting the exact same boss before, so it's just same boss twice in a row but a palette swap. Figured though fast from how little damage I was doing I was meant to go elsewhere first.

[gungadin22000]

Ice caves so far seem like the hardest area by far, mainly due to ice being a horrifying status effect that will bust yo ♥♥♥♥.

Might be less of an issue for a strength build, but for my instinct gunner it very often is game over whenever I get frozne in a pitched battle.

[Washing Machine]

Took it real slow so the stage didn't feel that bad. Some of the areas with all the snipers throwing crap at you were rough, and I think those crawling dudes that spit at you really need a better animation to telegraph when they're about to attack, it feels like mandatory damage since they just do it whenever with no warning.

[gungadin22000]

They're easy as hell. Spit at you when first seeing you, then spit after leaping away, they lean back and forth while they're getting ready to attack and can be stunlocked into corners with ease.

Real difficulty in the ice levels are the flying imps that shoot ice bolts at you. When you encounter them in arenas, they will pelt you from a full screen away, cause ice status effect AND leave icicles on the ground which also damage and freeze you. Since they love to spawn into locked combat arenas with other freezing critters like ice wraiths and ice vampires you will soon find yourself shot at from 50 directions, frozen and then killed. I recommend using the dark spell that launches projectiles in an upwards arc in a very Castlevania-like manner.

Maybe they're simpler when running a strength build, but ice and fire are both so punishing status effects that the lack of readily available +resist gear and items makes them brutal.

[Washing Machine]

Sometimes they just refuse to jump back and stand there menacingly, then instant insane tracking homing spit. And when they do jump back they love to fall off some ledge to another area and then I get ganked by 3 enemies down there because now that nuisance joined up with some dagger guy and spear guy. Annoying af enemies imo.

Also the area is really full of these gank fight rooms, and the game shares the same issue with Blasphemous 2 that the dudes spawn in and immediately activate and start attacking before the player has any chance to realize what even spawned in and where. It's jarring af and makes the little gauntlet sections pure trial and error, I have to know where and what spawns. There should be a proper delay when the enemies spawn in and before they start attacking, like let me see what's coming. Give them iframes for all I care while they appear if the worry is that the player burns them down before they can do anything.

And the ganks feel like just random assortment with 0 regard how they interact. 2 dudes spamming ground AE, while the witch does it's instant kill beam from the air. I have nowhere to go game. I'm stuck in a deadlock situation where I can't move without getting hit and being stunlocked to death. Gg. I think they knew this one was BS because there's a mini checkpoint right outside the gauntlet room.

[gungadin22000]

So, after exploring the entire ice caverns and beating the quite difficult frosty boss, I am rewarded with.....an amulet of ice protection.

Wow, that sure is useful. Two hours ago.

Well trolled, Last Faith. Well trolled.

[Miso]

and a legendary Ice Sword !!! :)

[thorin.hannahs]

Originally posted by gungadin22000:

So, after exploring the entire ice caverns and beating the quite difficult frosty boss, I am rewarded with.....an amulet of ice protection.

Wow, that sure is useful. Two hours ago.

Well trolled, Last Faith. Well trolled.

It is worth complaining about if you aren't doing a MIND build otherwise that is the best sword available until you get the double jump then it gets outclassed.

[Paradox]

I think there should be much better feedback about intended routing after you get the block push ability. A lot of players (myself included) seem to have gone to the ice zone right away because the pushable block outside the back mansion door is very memorable.

I struggled royally getting through the ice zone, only to be eventually stopped by air dash and double jump spots that were 50% or more of the way into the zone. I also picked up a *ton* of experience going through the ice zone so early, which then trivialized the two intended areas when I finally got back to them.

The "intended" route is kind of hidden behind a movable statue thing in the city area - I had no idea that this statue moved, or what I did to open it. I just eventually happened into that room once I hit dead ends in the ice zone.

[Black Captain]

It's really the enemies that make it rough. I grinded my eyes out here like I'm Wolverine, so I'm actually okay with the map.

Most of the enemies are annoying in the first layer.... and underground layer of the map. It's really a latter-game map. Shouldn't go there until you have double jump.

But I, like others, ventured there after Hermann and thought this game was the worst game ever (if you weren't a STR build). When you go there at the appropriate level, it's not so bad.

But the flying enemies are cancer and the stalagmites are buttcheeks.

[Washing Machine]

The witches are the worst thing. I got shot by one that was still offscreen, it just melts your health bar even if you're mashing out of the freeze. Generally once you get touched by the beam, you're just dead.

[gungadin22000]

All the enemies in the ice caves are the worst thing, really.

The worst thing of the worst thing to me are the yetis, though. They throw freezing spears at long range with weird arcs that are hard to predict, and when you manage to dodge a spear and rush in for the kill, the RELOAD ANIMATION of the yeti pulling a new spear outta his ass will also damage and freeze you.

The ice caves is really an exercise in the devs just ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ with you.

[Behold The Esoteric]

The ice cave was great!