Combat Parry QTEs are ruining the combat for me.

[HotSipOfColdTea]

This game was advertised as a turn based JRPG, yet the QTE difficulty is similar to a dark souls or fighting game parry window.

And while there are other turn based rpgs that have quick time mechanics such as Super Mario RPG, or Legend of Dragoon, these both had options for mitigating skill at them and still being able to play. For example, in super mario rpg, offense and level were more important and it was easier to time consistent weapon attacks and you could change to a favorite animation if you liked. Similarly for Legend of Dragoon, you could change your attack to something easier to time if you wanted.

In Expedition 33, the defensive parries are 100 percent damage reduction and a counter attack. Its more offense, way more defense and is so strong it becomes mandatory. The tells for these windows are very small and require memorization.

And while you could turn the difficulty down so that the attacks hit for paltry amounts, this does not make the game engaging.

The game is not enjoyable from a casual perspective of being able to miss parries simply because the performance difference for hitting parries is so high, that it is usually right to go for them and you can fight enemies that one shot you for non parried attacks.

To me, the game is not enjoyable to play because the parries are inconsistent to hit for me. The game needs to either have parries be something more achievable with a bit less in the risk reward department on them or it needs a difficulty mode where there is challenge outside of hitting the parries.

Also I feel like the parry timings are very off from the animations. This is probably not something fixable but because this is such a huge element of the game it needs to be addressed.

[Sliph]

You can turn on AUTO QTE in the settings under accessibility.

https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3469863284

[Powercrank]

there is an "automatic QTE" option in the accessibility menu.

Hope this helps.

edit: i lost

[HotSipOfColdTea]

Originally posted by Sliph:

You can turn on AUTO QTE in the settings under accessibility.

https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3469863284

As far as I can tell this is offense only. My issue is with the defense parry on medium or high difficulty.

[JCKLNTRN]

If you find a particular enemy or attack too difficult to parry, use dodge instead, as the timing window for that is much more generous, and while it doesn't give you a counterattack, it still negates the damage and you can equip a passive that gives you extra AP for perfect dodges.

[Sturmgold]

I am no Souls Like veteran, rather a noob and it SUCKS that beside the wonderful game itself the Battles (especially boss fights) are so difficult and remind me a lot of Dark Souls and it is simply frustrating. I was expecting a turn based game, yes that's it, with some real time combat included and not Dark Souls mechanics. Still I will keep it because of everything else that is exceptional but it leaves a bitter taste in my mouth :(

[Otoan]

skill issue

[Crunchy[Daz]]

You might want to re-read the advertisement.

[Shadow Wizard Money Gang]

I had to stop. While people may scoff at the "difficulty debates", games like this prove that its a conversation needing to be had. I am an ablebodied person who has mastered Souls-likes and their parry systems. I have played the above mentioned RPGs and this game is the most inaccessible RPG I have ever seen. I can't imagine someone with disabilities being able to complete this game without going to the easiest mode and hoping they can out heal damage they are forced to take.

Ignoring the input lag or general lack of ques for parrying, also forcing party wide parries as the only means to avoid damage is egregious.

Originally posted by HotSipOfColdTea:

Originally posted by Sliph:

You can turn on AUTO QTE in the settings under accessibility.

https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3469863284

As far as I can tell this is offense only. My issue is with the defense parry on medium or high difficulty.

Not only that, you lose out on maximum damage and amount of attacks. If you automate the QTE's it minimizes the damage to the least possible ammount.

[Garrington]

you can literally disable qtes lmao if you wiped your tears you may be able to see that

[Maniac]

Originally posted by Garrington:

you can literally disable qtes lmao if you wiped your tears you may be able to see that

you dont seem to be able to read because it cleary says that it only disables them for offensive actions, not for dodge and parry

[HotSipOfColdTea]

Originally posted by Otoan:

skill issue

While I am sure it is somewhat a skill issue, its also an accessibility one.

I think missing dodges/parries due to unclear animation, input lag and graphical stuttering is also an issue.

For me the game is barely playable and this comes from someone who beat several souls likes and has many many hours playing games. There is a lot of people below my skill level who are going to have huge issues with this game.

[HotSipOfColdTea]

Originally posted by Garrington:

you can literally disable qtes lmao if you wiped your tears you may be able to see that

Again, this is for defensive parries and perfect dodges which are not auto usable.

[Tozobi]

I haven't liked pseudo real time gameplay in turn based RPGs involving timed strikes since Squall's (and Seifer's) extra attack damage in FF8. I don't like it here either, but at least the attack part can be skipped.For the defense ones, the dodge is OK to use. Parry is attrocious, as several enemies do not have as many visual cues as you'd think. They clealry used it to differentiate themselves from other games in the genre, but I think the rest of the game is more than sufficiently different and good enough to not have needed this. Still love the game though. I've just given up on trying to parry combos and just dodge them. Single attacks I occasionally attemt to parry with some success. Bright side is, you can dodge easily once you can get the hang of it.
I think the dissonance is that it IS a turn based game. A lot of us who like these, prefer them because they are turn based and don't need real time reflexes.

[WhiteLezard]

It's pretty depressing how Dark Souls became people's sole reference when it comes to videogames.

[Dex]

I heard there are items that will disable parrying for some other effect, I hope that's true, because I'm not interested in a qte fest.