Do the fists suck? Or just bad early?

[pocbame]

As far as I understand, you should choose your weapons early, since you gain weapon xp and you can unlock new skills for them. I've just started the game and killed the gozuki guy (pretty tough first enemy I have to say), I thought he seemed insanely tanky because I was trying to beat him down with my 40 damage fists, but when I switched to my Odachi, my high stance heavy attacks were just dealing 700 damage and I took him down in no time. Do the fists just suck? Because if so, I'd like to switch weapons early to avoid crippling myself. Or are they just bad at fighting big enemies maybe? Or are they just bad in the early-game? They feel really fun, but it felt like I was putting in 5x the effort to do the damage the Odachi was doing

[Safarel]

fists is a most powerful weapon in whole game

Originally posted by pocbame:

Or are they just bad in the early-game?

this
play with fists = play with combining a LOT of skills, this is like endless combo, there one skill are fluidly goes into another

[pocbame]

I've been doing some research and the consensus is that once you get a few skills fists are really broken and trivialise the game. In that case I'll probably drop it and choose a different weapon

[Iorveth]

I've used Fist for all my runs, the point, of course in my opinion, is that, they are really Ki intensive, so you'll need to put pts into Courage,in order to sustain your combo, and STR (at least in the beginning), to add dmg, otherwise they'll be useless , of course flux and ki pulse will add value to that, but until you get to Way of the Wise, and find/get items with inheritable -> Transform Bonus, in this case Transform Bonus Courage they won't shine 100% , but after that you just need to remodel your best pair of Fist, and reset your skill points, because obviously you'll need way less STR, you don't wan't to slow your ki regen at all, quite the opposite, so you'll be at B or A agility, reason why with a bit of STR and Stamina, you'll be good, the usual 30 DEX and 30 INT paired with the passive that boost your magic and ninjutsu capacity, 150 Courage to activate Ultimate Courage bonus, also 150 Heart is good for obvious reason, CONST it's a no brainer, for when you get hit and won't to avoid a quick trip to the shrine/death screen.

[Your mom but better]

I used fists from the moment I began the game and never looked back, they require you to learn the ki pulse and flux or you won't last long with them at all:
Once you get Flux II (which should be the first thing you unlock anyway) the fists become the best weapon in the game because they get the benefit of not only having the best skills but also having infinite combos and insane damage + ki damage

[Toffe]

Originally posted by pocbame:

I've been doing some research and the consensus is that once you get a few skills fists are really broken and trivialise the game. In that case I'll probably drop it and choose a different weapon

That's not what I've heard. General consensus is that they're really good. But I wouldn't go as far as to say they trivialise the game.

But I guess it makes sense. Game doesn't have any PvP or competative aspect which can be used to belittle others and boost your ego so people try to find new ways to accomplish that.
This is exactly one of those things.. "Oh you beat boss A with weapon B @ lvl ???, that's nothing. Personally I beat it with weapon X at level ??? which basically means I'm better than you"

Anyway just use whatever weapon/build that feels good, don't listen to anyone else. The rate at which you gain skill points doesn't seem to be linear either so you can dip into the basics of most weapons before you really commit.

[Fat Valentine]

You want Claws, they inflict 25% more damage than Fists. Fists do 25% more ki damage instead.

[BlueValkyrie]

You dont need to worry about switching weapons early in the game. You can do that at any time. You gain proficiency with weapons by fighting enemies, the stronger the target the more xp you gain. So when fighting a boss you can swap to a weapon you dont have much proficiency with and it'll build up. There's one boss later in the game that you can farm for proficiency due to his massive health pooll and multiple hit locations.

As for Fists they are a great weapon, and posts above have pointed out why, but I would also suggest that you pay attention to your stats. If you're spreading your stats out too thin and not focusing on the three core ones that govern your weapon then your damage output is going to suffer a lot. And if that's the problem then respecing your stats is easy as well, just grab a Reincarnation manual from the blacksmith or the Hidden Teahouse (when it's unlocked)

[Outrun]

Originally posted by pocbame:

I've been doing some research and the consensus is that once you get a few skills fists are really broken and trivialise the game. In that case I'll probably drop it and choose a different weapon

Unrelated but I just wanted to say I love your profile picture

[pocbame]

Originally posted by Toffe:

Originally posted by pocbame:

I've been doing some research and the consensus is that once you get a few skills fists are really broken and trivialise the game. In that case I'll probably drop it and choose a different weapon

That's not what I've heard. General consensus is that they're really good. But I wouldn't go as far as to say they trivialise the game.

But I guess it makes sense. Game doesn't have any PvP or competative aspect which can be used to belittle others and boost your ego so people try to find new ways to accomplish that.
This is exactly one of those things.. "Oh you beat boss A with weapon B @ lvl ???, that's nothing. Personally I beat it with weapon X at level ??? which basically means I'm better than you"

Anyway just use whatever weapon/build that feels good, don't listen to anyone else. The rate at which you gain skill points doesn't seem to be linear either so you can dip into the basics of most weapons before you really commit. :mhwgood:

...No? I just want the game to be fun, I don't want to spam one button and stunlock everything to death

[y u do dis Fromsoft?]

fists are the best weapon in the game, atleast later in the game. not saying the other weapons aren't viable, in fact they all work pretty well. but the fists are just a bit above the rest.

however, the fists trivialise some enemies. especially human enemies/bosses can very easyly be stunlocked by a 2 button endless loop (atleast until you run out of ki), but you can always not use that strat or switch to your 2nd weapon for human bosses.

so, all in all:
use the weapon you enjoy and feel comfortable with.

[Douchebag Extraordinaire]

They're my mains right next to odachis and what I use if I need things dead quick in 1vs1.

Fists are high risk, high reward that require a bit more initial investment than most of the other weapons. Eats your ki like crazy on top of having short reach and little to no crowd control but can also destroy enemy ki bars like nothing. Once you get used to it and learn proper technique (ki pulse dash to keep pressure every three or four hits), it does way more enemy ki damage than what you put into it at a very rapid pace.

[GrayHound]

Originally posted by Douchebag Extraordinaire:

Eats your ki like crazy on top of having short reach and little to no crowd control...

Their reach isn't that much shorter than swords/dual swords. It only seems short compared to odachi/kusa.

[Douchebag Extraordinaire]

Originally posted by GrayHound:

Their reach isn't that much shorter than swords/dual swords. It only seems short compared to odachi/kusa.

Its range is similar but only because fists are lunge heavy, whereas swords, dual swords, have longer effective range so they don't have to move wielders further.

Guess I should have said fists displaces wielders in predictable but sometimes unpredictable ways, that on top of not being able to control crowds makes them risky without proper positioning, more so than most other weapons.

[HeeRoTH]

fist + ki recovery + melee ki damage + lifeseal = continuos combo damage especially the human boss Get hit a few times and die.

[GreedRecycler]

It was a weird transition, I play both fists and Odachi because I like the play style for both weapons. When I was new to the game I mainly just ran with Odachi, but as I learned to be more familiar with Stance switching, buffing, flux II and how to properly build your character.

I would unconsciously switch to fists when I feel nervous because it just wreks face, you are literally untouchable, and your overall DPS gets ridiculous. I just use Fists now when ever I get annoyed at anything because when you get the upgrades and can sustain infinite combos, no other weapon really tops that.