Tutorial Boss - Too Easy?

[[OTS]EchoZenLogos]

I know a lot of people have been complaining about the difficulty of the introduction boss, but am I the only person who was a bit disappointed by it being a bit too easy?

I am a fan of FromSoftware's games, having played their games since Dark Souls 1 (Dark Souls 1-3, Sekiro, and Elden Ring I have all finished). In Elden Ring beating Margit the first time took me many attempts, and the same goes for Ludex in Dark Souls 3 or the like.

Yet the first tutorial boss in this game - the flying gunship - has very telegraphed attacks. It can kill you fast, but if you just use the buildings for cover and shoot it reliably it doesn't take too long to kill. The machine guns aren't really a danger unless you get too close, the powerful rockets are easily avoided, and the missiles are the biggest threat - but a quick dash can avoid them, and you also have cover.

I died once to it, and then beat it on the second try. I then spent a good 30 minutes customizing my armor and weapon color scheme, which by the way is very well done.

Any other thoughts, perhaps from others who have also played FromSoftware games?

I never have played an Armored Core game before, so it isn't like I'm an expert at managing my energy or whatever else. In fact I didn't understand most of the mechanics until after this fight when I took the training missions.

Overall this is a minor issue, but I find it fascinating how many people struggle with a boss that I personally felt was a bit overwhelming compared to what FromSoftware usually does.

[Imposture]

Gonna copy pasta my post from another topic.
"I think the fact that using melee will ♥♥♥♥ on the boss and most people will generally think, "hey melee probs not good against flying machine" is valid for people to get stumped. I killed it first try because I ran out of ammo and just said ♥♥♥♥ it I'll melee it to death and it worked 20x better. Your handler Walter says stay in the air, and that helps dodge missiles and land more consistent hits, but would have been nice if he said to try melee. I've played almost all the AC games and melee wasn't my first idea when fighting it."

[[OTS]EchoZenLogos]

Originally posted by Imposture:

Gonna copy pasta my post from another topic.
"I think the fact that using melee will ♥♥♥♥ on the boss and most people will generally think, "hey melee probs not good against flying machine" is valid for people to get stumped. I killed it first try because I ran out of ammo and just said ♥♥♥♥ it I'll melee it to death and it worked 20x better. Your handler Walter says stay in the air, and that helps dodge missiles and land more consistent hits, but would have been nice if he said to try melee. I've played almost all the AC games and melee wasn't my first idea when fighting it."

I melee'd it as well, but only when I staggered it because it's really risky to fly in while it's actively shooting you. If you take too many hits while flying in, you can get obliterated and have your stagger or whatever kick in. I died my first attempt by getting stunned when I got too close to it.

Melee helps against it, but you can only attack a couple of times then have to wait on a cooldown. I did most of my damage from a distance, using the buildings for cover and dodging missiles. The machine guns are the only thing that can't be as easily dodged, but they do pitiful damage overall as long as you don't get too close to them.

So my recommendation to people fighting that boss is to use your missiles and keep firing your gun at it while dodging, waiting for a time to do a combat boost and melee it when its posture breaks.

[ZTL-Altima]

I have platinum in all the Souls games, plus thousands of hours of PvP, and played AC1, 2, 3, Nexus, Last Raven and 4A. I found it hard since it was the first "thing" in the game that requires you to control your AC with some decency, and in this game it takes some time to get used to, especially with all Souls stuff engraved in muscular memory. Think of it as a mini-Genichiro, as far as tutorial bosses go. Not hard (you'll crush this boss in the future when controls are memorized), but requires understanding of the game.
For people coming from normal, non challenging mainstream games (which may or may not include Elden Ring depending on how you played it), it's just a matter of persevering until controls click.

[Ricky the "No Guard"]

I don't see how anyone can possibly come to the conclusion that melee would be bad against a flyer... unless they have never swung the blade even once.

[Larzech]

In my opinion, the tutorial boss is just at the right difficulty. It separates the journalists from gamers.

The arena structures aren't there for a show. Think!

[No_Fate]

Oh, look at this humblebragging ♥♥♥♥. What a douche topic. You reek of insecurity. Is this the first time you've ever killed a FromSoft boss or something?

[[OTS]EchoZenLogos]

Originally posted by ZTL-Altima:

I have platinum in all the Souls games, plus thousands of hours of PvP, and played AC1, 2, 3, Nexus, Last Raven and 4A. I found it hard since it was the first "thing" in the game that requires you to control your AC with some decency, and in this game it takes some time to get used to, especially with all Souls stuff engraved in muscular memory. Think of it as a mini-Genichiro, as far as tutorial bosses go. Not hard (you'll crush this boss in the future when controls are memorized), but requires understanding of the game.
For people coming from normal, non challenging mainstream games (which may or may not include Elden Ring depending on how you played it), it's just a matter of persevering until controls click.

Honestly, I do feel like the intro mission definitely threw you into it without enough time for many people to properly learn the controls. In Sekiro I definitely got annihilated against Genichiro in the tutorial the first time around, but in NG+ he was very easy to beat there.

But compared to other FROMSOFT games, it isn't really that bad. It's a bit different, but the boss only has three attack types (missiles, guns, and the slower rockets it fires), and they are fairly easy to see and avoid if you are paying attention. So 90% of the challenge is firing your guns properly and using your dash to move around and avoid the hits.

Originally posted by Balegrim:

Oh, look at this humblebragging ♥♥♥♥. What a douche topic. You reek of insecurity. Is this the first time you've ever killed a FromSoft boss or something?

lol

How is it insecure to make a legitimate criticism of a boss being easier than I'm used to in FromSoftware games, and to ask for the opinion of other fans of their games which aren't just complaining?

It obviously isn't the first time I have killed a FromSoft boss either, I said in the post what games by them I have completed over the years. Though I'm assuming you didn't read my post, and just wanted to complain and insult me.

[Home]

Originally posted by Balegrim:

Oh, look at this humblebragging ♥♥♥♥. What a douche topic. You reek of insecurity. Is this the first time you've ever killed a FromSoft boss or something?

Nah he is just better calm down

[TurboTired]

If a boss is frustrating difficult unless you do an untaught an unintuitive strategy, in which case it becomes trivially easy, then its just bad design, plain and simple.

[ninjastinjala]

TC is farming clown rewards, throw them my way instead of paying his aichat bot

[No_Fate]

Originally posted by paintheuniverse:

I don't see how anyone can possibly come to the conclusion that melee would be bad against a flyer... unless they have never swung the blade even once.

Seriously? You can't see why using a sword against a helicopter might put one at a disadvantage?

[01-$HADOW]

Eh I died once I love how aggressive and smart it was but after the first fight I saw all I needed and came back and bodied it but the difficulty is just fine, I think if people dont have good reflexes I can see how that boss would be a pain to be honest.

[[OTS]EchoZenLogos]

Originally posted by ninjastinjala:

TC is farming clown rewards, throw them my way instead of paying his aichat bot

The heck are you talking about? Who is TC? What part of my post looks like a bot post?

Did you respond to the wrong thread by mistake?

[Leziropav]

that chopper is not even the boss...

[[OTS]EchoZenLogos]

Originally posted by 01-$HADOW:

Eh I died once I love how aggressive and smart it was but after the first fight I saw all I needed and came back and bodied it but the difficulty is just fine, I think if people dont have good reflexes I can see how that boss would be a pain to be honest.

I mean, that's fair. I can understand why many people would find it difficult, but my issue is with people acting as though the difficulty is unexpected, or with people giving the game a negative review for the difficulty alone when that is completely on brand for FromSoftware.

It would be like complaining that a real-time strategy game requires you to control too many units, or complaining that an RPG requires you to manage character progression, or complaining that a first-person-shooter requires you to know how to aim to hit your target.

Overcoming difficult challenges is the core of FromSoftware's design philosophy, and relatively speaking I think that the first boss in this game is no worse than their usual fare.