NG+ and DLC questions

[pho_kko]

Hi, was confused about when to start DLC content, I just finished Dream of the Samurai and have now unlocked Dream of the Strong (I think?) There's 3 unfinished regions in Dream of Samurai which I assume is DLC, the Tengu one and the other two which I don't remember.

I had seen some posts on here saying that you should start DLC at level 170-ish, but I finished Dream of the Samurai at 120~. I don't mind doing Dream of the Strong to get to 170, but I was just curious what would offer me the best experience, as I had looked at the levels available in Tengu and they said the recommended level was right at 120.

[kripcision]

if you go straight into the dlc you might suffer a bit but if you tough through it a bit and get some better gear you should be fine, otherwise go to dream of the strong for a few missions to get better gear and then go back the dlc. the dlc is fun and you can get good guardian spirits, soul cores and other gear.

alternatively you can wait till you get to higher difficulties, its totally up to you.

[pho_kko]

Originally posted by kripcision:

if you go straight into the dlc you might suffer a bit but if you tough through it a bit and get some better gear you should be fine, otherwise go to dream of the strong for a few missions to get better gear and then go back the dlc. the dlc is fun and you can get good guardian spirits, soul cores and other gear.

alternatively you can wait till you get to higher difficulties, its totally up to you.

Is there generally a good point to stop in Strong or is it just player-dependant?

[Zanzilzar]

I would say it is player dependant, since it is more about how strong you feel is "strong enough" and how you like to play. Some people like to go with "cheese builds", so they might not need to gear up a bit before the DLC. Others, like myself, likes to take a more "middle-of-the-road" type of approach, so a small bit of gearing might be desired.
Basically, if you feel like the fights takes too long because you do too little damage, you might want to go gear up a bit and then come back :)
Remember, you can use the consumable branch (Divine branch. I believe. Its name is in blue, not the purple one) that will allow you to return to the map from a mission, without you losing any amrita (exp). Whereas the fragment, the purple one, will return you to the map at the cost of all your amrita. So trying out one of the mission and deciding that you need some more power will cost you nothing that way :)

I hope my explanation isn't too convoluted, this is a complex game after all :)

[Raven]

For my own personal conclusion of how the DLC should be done, to at least maximize the story potential, I came to this plan:

Dream of the Samurai>Dream of the strong+Tengu>Dream of the demon+darkness in the capital>Dream of the Wise+the first samurai>Dream of the Nioh+all DLC+Underworld

[kripcision]

Originally posted by phokko:

Originally posted by kripcision:

if you go straight into the dlc you might suffer a bit but if you tough through it a bit and get some better gear you should be fine, otherwise go to dream of the strong for a few missions to get better gear and then go back the dlc. the dlc is fun and you can get good guardian spirits, soul cores and other gear.

alternatively you can wait till you get to higher difficulties, its totally up to you.

Is there generally a good point to stop in Strong or is it just player-dependant?

it doesnt really matter honestly. it does depend of the individual, some want to enjoy the game and story slowly. meanwhile others rush towards dream of the nioh to get to the underworld, go as far as they can, then do all of dream of the nioh including the dlc.

what i did on my first character was just played dream of the strong till i had a full set of better gear then went back to previous difficulty to do the dlc, then did most of the missions on each play through to finally get to the underworld. took me like 200 hrs to get to dotN

on my second character i rushed to the underworld, only doing the side missions and running past most enemies lol. i was only level 300 when i got to dream of the nioh, i came to the conclusion the recommended level doesnt mean anything, only the highest level of gear is important really.

[Balm]

IMO do a little bit of strong for some gear upgrades (they will be massive upgrades), then go back and do the DLC. The DLC is very tough if you are fresh from the last mission in base game, and the gear will also be sadly worthless since its outclassed by ng+ gear immediately. There is no reason to suffer through it in the 'intended' order.

[Simbolic]

You can play any as much as you like. Just keep in mind in order to unlock the next NG+ mode. You must complete mission named -In the Eye of the Beholder-
So if you ever want to speed up progress for better upgrade or XP. Then just complete that mission when available to unlock the next NG+ mode.
I did every new game pus about 80 to 100 levels under. Without to much of a struggle though when start hitting DOTW ♥♥♥♥ will get allot tougher. So keep in mind it's not you or your build it's just gets alot tougher at that point.

[Dark3nedDragon]

The DLC is a LOT harder than the early NG+ (which will generally start off as VERY hard then quickly become easy).

I didn't die much, but I do remember dying back on PS4 at least a few times when I started up the DLC after halfway through NG+ or so (which is about when it released at the time). Some of the DLC bosses as you go through them are pretty difficult. A few of them have some very, very strong items. If I remember right, there are also some skill drops you can get from the DLC bosses.

[Doc Holiday]

you can play just 1 level on Dream of the Strong ( I suggest the one where Mumyo helps you and the boss is a Ippon Datara), fight Revenants to get their equipment, clear the mission, and go straight to the first DLC to clear it quite easily.

The second DLC I don't know, yet to play it.