♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ what is the first miniboss

[0xDEAD]

Some of the most ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ tracking I've ever seen, and not even on his overhead attack. He will literally just 'bounce off' terrain when goring you, doing a full 360 and damaging twice or three times despite having sprint across half the arena. Also yes, I know it's optional, but ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ does that difficulty seem cheap.

[Gentle Dementia]

Try taking off a piece of armor. I know it sounds ridiculous, but the starting armor set you have (the "Lone Wolf" set) is a medium-weight armor. By taking off the chest or legs, it should bring you down to light equipment weight, which will make your Ki replenish faster and make your dodges more effective.

I found Gozuki to be really obnoxious to dodge at first, his club attacks have a pretty long duration hitbox. I died probably over a dozen times trying to take him out, then I took off my chestpiece and dropped down to low weight and got him my first try.

[Tauriz]

Yeah, keep your Agility on B value and you'll be fine. Just don't dodge too early and try to get behind the bull' back. It's quite default enemy, you need to remember his moveset and understand how to dodge (default tactic). Also, while dodging, hold down the block button so that if you don't get into timing you don't get hit by HP, but by Ki.

[Dweller Beyond the Threshold]

You just need to learn his attack pattern. Gozuki is literally one of the easiest bosses in the entire game. He also killed me a bunch of times when I started and I just skipped him. Late game you will be able to just obliterate him without batting an eye.

[Sir_Knight_Arthorias]

After you beat Gozuki once he becomes a walk in the park

[: D]

just learn patterns then chip away.

[0xDEAD]

Gotta say, I was just posting this to vent expecting "get gud", it's really cool of you guys to offer insight. Thanks for that.

Yeah I'm trying to beat him when you first cross him, not just sprint past him (I know this is what is possibly intended). Running Sword and Dual Sword, but using Sword on him exclusively since the Dual Sword seems completely lackluster damage wise.

The hardest part for me is getting his timings right. I don't know if it's just me, but the timing on his overhead swings seem weird, I don't think I've ever dodged it intentionally, only when spam dodging. I'll try to take off a piece of armor as recommended.

Definitely struggling to manage ki as well. It never seems to last as much as I would hope, primarily because between combos and dodging I expend it, and find it difficult to interweave ki pulses due to timing.

Also watched a video that showed its possible to block his third overhead attack when he combos (the one where he glows red) and break his guard. Still haven't gotten the timing on it (that appears to be a recurring theme), but hopefully that will give me the edge I need. I didn't even know I could block his attacks really.

Heres to hoping that, literally, 16th times the charm.

[Gentle Dementia]

Originally posted by 0xDEAD:

The hardest part for me is getting his timings right. I don't know if it's just me, but the timing on his overhead swings seem weird

Yeah, it really is. You get the hang of it eventually but the animation has a weird stall in the middle that always makes it come out later than you'd expect. Only advice I can offer is try dodging towards him (if you're close enough to his feet you can kinda slip under his attack and end up behind him) and really hold it until the last second, the right dodge timing will feel like it was a second too late.

Originally posted by 0xDEAD:

Definitely struggling to manage ki as well. It never seems to last as much as I would hope, primarily because between combos and dodging I expend it, and find it difficult to interweave ki pulses due to timing.

This gets a lot easier once you unlock the Samurai Skills that let you activate your ki pulse by dodging, at the very beginning you kinda have to pick between regaining your ki or dodging, but later on you can do both.

Originally posted by 0xDEAD:

Also watched a video that showed its possible to block his third overhead attack when he combos (the one where he glows red) and break his guard. Still haven't gotten the timing on it (that appears to be a recurring theme), but hopefully that will give me the edge I need. I didn't even know I could block his attacks really.

Which Guardian Spirit did you pick? if you picked the fire wolf (Brute) you can interrupt those red "Burst Attacks" during the windup. If you picked the lightning hawk (Feral) you have a short dash instead, it comes out a lot faster than the brute counter but it's much trickier to time as a result, dash towards his red attack at the last second. The water shark (Phantom) is pretty much the same as that one except without the movement from the dash, but with more safety as a tradeoff since its counter is a guard and if you don't time it right for the counter you'll still block the attack.


Good luck!

[0xDEAD]

Originally posted by Gentle Dementia:

Yeah, it really is. You get the hang of it eventually but the animation has a weird stall in the middle that always makes it come out later than you'd expect. Only advice I can offer is try dodging towards him (if you're close enough to his feet you can kinda slip under his attack and end up behind him) and really hold it until the last second, the right dodge timing will feel like it was a second too late.

I noticed that helps a lot, by sticking close one rolls through and around him which helps deal with most of his attacks (except his sweep attack).

Originally posted by Gentle Dementia:

This gets a lot easier once you unlock the Samurai Skills that let you activate your ki pulse by dodging, at the very beginning you kinda have to pick between regaining your ki or dodging, but later on you can do both.

That explains so much. I had played Nioh with Dual Swords, and remembered the combat feeling more organic, and activating ki pulse with dodge. Hopefully I'm not far off from unlocking it, combat would feel _much_ better with dodge triggering ki pulse.

Originally posted by Gentle Dementia:

Which Guardian Spirit did you pick? if you picked the fire wolf (Brute) you can interrupt those red "Burst Attacks" during the windup. If you picked the lightning hawk (Feral) you have a short dash instead, it comes out a lot faster than the brute counter but it's much trickier to time as a result, dash towards his red attack at the last second. The water shark (Phantom) is pretty much the same as that one except without the movement from the dash, but with more safety as a tradeoff since its counter is a guard and if you don't time it right for the counter you'll still block the attack.


Good luck!

Picked the lightning hawk since it gives Heart, which plays into the Sword scaling. Gotta say doesn't feel like the transformation deals too much damage, but I probably got knocked out of it prematurely since I took three hits. Also what you're saying is that I can't block his wind-up attack to stall him?

[Yanxi]

Originally posted by 0xDEAD:

Picked the lightning hawk since it gives Heart . . . Also what you're saying is that I can't block his wind-up attack to stall him?

The lightning hawk (Ame-no-Mitori) Feral Burst Counter is the most difficult of the three for newcomers to use. However, once you get the hang of it, it will become an extremely valuable tool in combat.

When you see Gozuki's eyes flash red, stop moving completely and use the Burst Counter as his Overhead Strike descends. The Feral Burst Counter requires zero WASD / Left Stick movement for it to work best.

By completely halting your movement and using the Burst Counter, you will automatically dodge forward and crash into Gozuki, stopping it dead in its tracks. I know it sounds scary to stop moving in combat, but try it a few times and you will soon get it. It will be very satisfying once you perform it and completely turn the tables of the fight in your favour.

[FireForged]

Almost the same post as yours has been done at least twice here. Just saying in case you want more info. This link is a recent one and with a lot of good replies (not just mine but I quoted mine below the link):

https://steamcommunity.com/app/1325200/discussions/0/3132793555957628050/

Originally posted by Ching Cheng Hanji:

Hi Im new to this game but it's unplayable for me. How hard is it wtf.
I can't kill Gaki first boss is it even possible?
What am I doing wrong?

============================

Originally posted by FireForged:

Sneak on the perimeter and activate a revenant grave. Fight and kill the revenants (and maybe pull other misc monster using ranged weapon) one by one until you get a few pieces of gear and a level or two. Then you can take on the first boss if you really want to try.

Wait for his "lumbering" swings to be partly done/commited and roll past him or up to him. If you roll early his swing is going to land on you no matter what. (That's also true of enki leap/hover spear throw timing - wait long enough with the right timing you can roll toward them past the thrown spear).
Use low stance to block and for the extra mobility. Switch back to it immediately after attacking. Try to get behind him and hit his back with medium or high attacks. Purchase a special attack as soon as you can so you aren't just spamming regular attacks.
Learn how to use ki pulse (timing not just hitting it) and to keep an eye on/manage your ki so you aren't always out of ki. Sometimes you might only get one hit in before you have to defend/retreat, sometimes none if you wiff. Other times you might land a combo. Don't blow all of your ki every time if that exchange isn't going the way it should.
Use the mound or other barriers (or distance) to get breathing room to chug elixirs and activate other items as necessary. Don't just attack and hope for the best - learn his movesets and tells for charging and special attacks by heart. There are visual and audio cues.

Practice getting out of the way of his charge. Some bosses and creatures that charge are "spent" or collecting themself just standing there at the end of their charge which can be an opportunity to attack. Just be aware that most things have a "get back on their feet" attack so only risk as many attacks as is safe to do timing wise.
Get good at countering when the big red ring+audio cue goes off because that can be a huge gift. Get good at cancelling or re-orienting, sprinting to close distance etc to capitalize on a grapple because that does a lot of damage.

When the black static looking cloud and audio cue goes off, in general get away because that is an unblockable grapple-like grab attack bosses and even regular yokai and humans do. Attacking into that attack just as it warms up, especially the lesser opponent's, sometimes interrupts it but it's usually not worth the risk vs. avoiding it (especially when learning the game) since it can snag you even if frames away from it or mostly through an attack you are trying to land.

Don't just stand in place like some rpgs do. You have to be able to move close or back out and orbit a lot, at least I do. Spinning around a boss is a common souls type game thing. Slap them in the back/butt or from moving up and standing on their toes from where you can roll past or arc around if needed. Think about how boxers orbit each other in a boxing ring, and how gimli (LoTR) dive rolls under a trolls legs, etc. It's pretty easy to do with the lock on targeting feature. That strategy depends on the opponent type though of course and your power.

A basic theme with a lot of these games is getting the opponent to commit, knowing his move sequences by heart (from fighting them and dying to them so many times) so that you know what kind, what distance, and how many of his attacks will be once he triggers the sequence. Then you can operate around that and chip away at them or land a whopper or two. So it's like a dance give/take, hot/cold.
(As you get higher level you can do more chains of attacks with ki management/refresh skills and abilities though, incl. counters refreshing a few things and having the soul core abilities you can activate, etc).

The fight should be doable with perseverance and learning his attack sequences.

Definitely practice ki pulse, switching stances, watching your ki and not burning so much that you are left unable to block/dodge/roll/sprint. Don't miss too many opportunities to counter or grapple.

You can always skip him and come back later after gaining more gear and abilities too like everyone says.

[Fat Valentine]

Gozuki has more hp than the boss of the level, that should tell you something.

[0xDEAD]

Originally posted by FireForged:

Almost the same post as yours has been done at least twice here.

Yeah, but honestly, this was just a post I made to vent, and fully expected people to tell me to "get gud" and "QQ moar" not really expecting anyone to care at all. The earnest input was refreshing, especially since I got what was to me novel ideas such as:

-Remove armor to squeeze out a bit more ki savings.
-Burst counter exists, and stand still to execute it (depending on guardian spirit).
-Dodge direction counts, it's not just about iframes.
-Not all stances are equal for blocking, favor low.

Originally posted by Fat Valentine:

Gozuki has more hp than the boss of the level, that should tell you something.

I suspected that the miniboss on first approach is probably harder than the rest of the level, but that's what makes it an excellent opportunity on polishing ones mechanics, keeping cool and a great lesson in anger management.

[Simbolic]

Originally posted by 0xDEAD:

Originally posted by FireForged:

Almost the same post as yours has been done at least twice here.

Yeah, but honestly, this was just a post I made to vent, and fully expected people to tell me to "get gud" and "QQ moar" not really expecting anyone to care at all. The earnest input was refreshing, especially since I got what was to me novel ideas such as:

-Remove armor to squeeze out a bit more ki savings.
-Burst counter exists, and stand still to execute it (depending on guardian spirit).
-Dodge direction counts, it's not just about iframes.
-Not all stances are equal for blocking, favor low.

Originally posted by Fat Valentine:

Gozuki has more hp than the boss of the level, that should tell you something.

I suspected that the miniboss on first approach is probably harder than the rest of the level, but that's what makes it an excellent opportunity on polishing ones mechanics, keeping cool and a great lesson in anger management.

You can just go back and kill him later and still get the achievement. I honestly just said the hell with it and went back later when i was stronger.
Also sometimes it isn't worth it, if trying to prove something to yourself. Took me a long time to get good and understand how things worked. Had to do alot of experimenting, and practice. It's not something your gonna pick up in a day. You will most likely suck like i did for a long time but after a while. You will get alot better so wouldn't worry about it. Being a testament to your skill or patience.

[0xDEAD]

Also personal pro-tip when using Sword, get the ability that lets you kick after doing a simple strike, it makes is _much_ easier to defeat.

Also for as much as I tried, I couldn't land a single Burst Counter even when standing still as recommended above. Honestly, the whole mechanic feels like trash when using the Hawk since apparently I either get displaced (this is me standing still directly facing the enemy at swords distance) to the side or just overshoot, with the rest of the time me giving up health for free.

[Elizabello]

Originally posted by 0xDEAD:

Also personal pro-tip when using Sword, get the ability that lets you kick after doing a simple strike, it makes is _much_ easier to defeat.

Also for as much as I tried, I couldn't land a single Burst Counter even when standing still as recommended above. Honestly, the whole mechanic feels like trash when using the Hawk since apparently I either get displaced (this is me standing still directly facing the enemy at swords distance) to the side or just overshoot, with the rest of the time me giving up health for free.

I use hawk and it took a while to start landing those burst counters, now am landing them consistently on anything. Honestly not sure about standing still advice at all. Ur burst counter needs to connect with the attack so actually moving into position is quite important, considering that hawks counter moves u. I would say as in nearly all things in life, its just practice.