Fighting makes ZERO sense.....

[karmazyn1]

.....ok this might be unpopular opinion but fighting mechanics with parry and dodge makes zero sense.
The idea is ok and it would work if game did not punish you every time you miss a dodge or a parry.
We are talking "game over" type of punishment here". You miss a dodge, boss will wipe you out but you need to go 8-10 turns before you wipe boss out. Scratch your nose during the fight, sneeze, talk to your missus and it is a "game over".
That is why fighting makes zero sense. Why just not to make a souls game and dont pretend that strategy and tactical thinking means anything in this game if missine one dodge can decide on you winning/loosing the battle.

[RaiJin-Roh]

You can play in easiest mode if your soul is to weak, expert is not for the faint of heart. Many people like those mechanics and they are indeed revolutionary.

[sandro0510]

What you say is why i love the game. It's pretty cool that you can parry everything coming at you. I don't think the timing are that hard to be honest.

I must confess i play a lot of fighting game and soul's like so it helps but imo you can learn enemy's paterns pretty fast. Enemy usually has a maximum of 3 differents attacks...

[KombatKaine]

if your getting 1 shot for missing parries, build tanky or simply do the thing youre supposed to a learn the timinigs. the game is unique by blending 2 genres that dont really go together, and they do it really well. its pretty exhausting seeing everyone talk about how "bad" a system is when really its just hard for them. souls/elden ring/bloodborne/etc are hard for me. so i dont like them and dont play them. i dont call them bad games.

[Dad]

skill issue

[Ken10]

I don't think it's the game's fault that you're in control of the buttons you press. I don't think the devs should make adjustments to account for if you have to scratch your nose or sneeze or if your wife is talking to you... did all of those plenty of times during my playthrough and still beat the game, it's still a turn based game if you aren't ready to play the game then don't start the next turn

[karmazyn1]

Originally posted by Dad:

skill issue

This system makes zero sense. Why to pretend that game is turn based if it.js not. It is a parry/dodge simulator. It does not matter what attack you use or how you play. The only thing that matters is blocking and parrying. That decides if battle is won or lost, nothing else. It is a fake turn based mechanic.

[archmag]

Originally posted by karmazyn1:

Scratch your nose during the fight, sneeze, talk to your missus and it is a "game over".

Scratch whatever you want or talk with whoever you want during your turn. That's why it is turn based. You are not in any hurry to do your action, enemy is waiting until you make your move.

Why to pretend that game is turn based if it.js not.

But it is.

[Porcelain Heart]

That's a 'you' issue. Many of us love the challenge. Just refund it - this game isn't for you.

[Dark]

Stacking defense makes a difference. Can have one character getting 1-2 shot, while another with stacked defense can get hit a dozen times before going down.

Playing it with a focus on keeping defensive/speed buffs up, having multiple sources of heal from luminas and characters, you can in fact play defensively. And there are multiple potential builds for defensive play (Shield build, full heal and buffs on ally death build)

I want to go back and see if i can do a no dodge/parry run.

Note: This may not apply to super bosses / high level optional bosses in low level zones.

[a passerby]

On difficulties other than expert, the only enemies that one shot you are most likely going to be optional bosses; bosses that you can go back to once you've leveled up more.

Otherwise, the story bosses are very forgivable. Parrying and dodging successfully means you take ZERO damage. And if you do get hit, there are many ways to work around that. You have pictos that buff your defenses, and you can also assign a character to be a dedicated healer. And as you progress through the game, there are pictos that reward you for getting hit...

So no, parrying and dodging, while a big part of the game, doesn't actually make or break the game.

[Mae_B_Today]

I really like it.

It still has the turn based strategy element because the better you build your stacks, the fewer turns it takes you to kill the boss, and the fewer dodges and parries you have to execute well to survive. The various character build options also let you decide if you want to handle mitigating incoming damage by dodge/parry or with buffs or with heals and ressurects after; there are multiple options for buffing you health stat through pictos and skills, and options to absorb damage with your tankier team members.

But also you don't just have to stand there and let the other guy wail on you, which is something that bugs me in purely turn based RPGs. You at least have the possibility of avoiding incoming damage altogether. And when you get the right pictos/lumina on, those dodges and parries become a chance to gain more AP to execute bigger and badder skills when your turn rolls around.

If you're finding that bosses are taking six turns to your one, or one-shotting you, you need to go do something else until you're leveled appropriately for the combat, or else turn the difficulty down. There are options for you to still enjoy the game if you don't want to bother with parrying and dodging.

I started gaming later in life than most, so I'm behind the curve on skill and timing has never been my strong suit. I still got adequate enough to play and enjoy the main quest on Expeditioner. The game has bads who have slow and predictable attacks that will teach you how to anticipate when the target window for a dodge or parry is. There's also a much more forgiving window on dodging than on parrying; I didn't touch parrying at all until Act III when I'd built up my confidence more, and still rely on dodging more when I'm dealing with an enemy that likes to fake you out or has a difficult combo rhythm. (If you get a Perfect dodge, that timing would have been a successful parry.)

I promise if you are a little patient you will learn how to do this part of the game.

[Soulgain]

Originally posted by RaiJin-Roh:

You can play in easiest mode if your soul is to weak, expert is not for the faint of heart. Many people like those mechanics and they are indeed revolutionary.

Honestly this, I'm tired of the adherence to "I can't do it, so the game needs to change for people like me" crowd. Practice, fail, learn, fail, improve, fail, retry and succeed.

I absolutely am in-love with the combat, so I'd rather keep it where it's at. Do whatever you want with your own game, mod it, cheat engine it, I don't care how you win, just leave the game people love and care for alone.

If you're failing story mode difficulty, then the game is clearly not for you.

[archmag]

I like that this game is more about memory than reaction. You don't need to react to enemy attacks, you need to remember them. You can practice parrying any attack and find your own pattern which works. Look for cues you yourself remember, like animation of a falling sword or some sound and remember how long after that cue you need to press a button. This works much better for me compared to if it was a random letter popping up on the screen and you need to quickly react after that point and press exactly that button.

The idea is ok and it would work if game did not punish you every time you miss a dodge or a parry.

I use the opposite mindset. It is a turn based rpg and every time you succeed in dodge or a parry you are rewarded instead of always taking a hit like in other games. I do build defensively because I know I am bad at dodge and parry so I can survive several hits and heal myself after that. It feels great when I manage to pull a rare counter after learning and memorizing enemy attack.

[Спартак здесь?]

there is no problem with that, because the game gives you lots of ways around it: you can lower difficulty ( and contrary to first responce in this thread I dont find it as shameful or something like that), you can pay more attention to how your characters are built to overpower bosses, you can download mods which make parry and dodge more lax, and finally game doesnt punish you for trying, so if you failed you can get back into a fight in under a minute. there is really no "skill wall" or anything like that. I am telling you that as a guy whos absolutely bad with his reactions, I was able to get through first half of the game with trials and error, and after my pictos and luminas started to ramp up in second half, and Ive come together with semi-competent build enemies werent getting their turns ever since