New to the game, got questions.

[Mister Sir]

So I just got the game, outside of being snappy when entering new area, works great.

Was able to beat first boss on normal dif on first run, ended up at age 33 before closing the game and trying to figure some things out.

Directional throw don't seem to work well. Also whats the point of dodging when parry is there? Game teaches you to hold block and press W or S (m+k setting) to do these cool parry dodges vs the big dudes grabs. High learning curve but really cool, still, if that parry dodge is there, when is regular dodge even optimal to use? I recall trying to dodge stuff in opening credits vs bosses when they throw one combo at you and parry dodge is hard but allowed me to counter artists and CEOs weapon combo, meanwhile normal dodges did not.

Also vs weapons, should I try to dodge or parry dodge or blocking works fine? Also should I defend vs bladed weapons differently than blunt ones? Sometimes I see enemies foot or fist glow when they attack me, which seemingly I can still parry? What those are all about?

At which point do I know that it's safe to attack after parry? Like can I sneak in some lights in between enemy attacks or break their combo somehow? Is there indicator when thats an option? Also counter hook, can't seem to make it do what I think it should do? Unless it's not meant to be combo breaker?

Is this game roguelike? Means if I get too old and run out of lives or giveup/restart do I lose everything? Skills seem bit easy to unlock so I do imagine I do lose lose those but keep conspiracy board stuff?

Sorry, bunch of newb questions but thats cause I am the newb and I need some sifu masters to teach me the way of whoopazzzzzzz.

[JAG]

Originally posted by Mister Sir:

Directional throw don't seem to work well.

It's influenced by the direction you're holding, as can be gleaned from its name. Be sure to hold the respective WASD buttons when doing a throw. Unless you wanted to say "I can't throw enemies", in which case you can only do that after parrying or otherwise putting them into a dizzy state.

Originally posted by Mister Sir:

Also whats the point of dodging when parry is there? Game teaches you to hold block and press W or S (m+k setting) to do these cool parry dodges vs the big dudes grabs. High learning curve but really cool, still, if that parry dodge is there, when is regular dodge even optimal to use? I recall trying to dodge stuff in opening credits vs bosses when they throw one combo at you and parry dodge is hard but allowed me to counter artists and CEOs weapon combo, meanwhile normal dodges did not.

...okay, let's tackle one thing at a time here.

Firstly, I would strongly recommend that you check out the training mode/tutorial. You can do that by interacting with the wooden dummy in the Wuguan.

Secondly, I'll shamelessly shill my guide that should give you all the basic knowledge you need when starting out: https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2949828935
You shouldn't confuse dodging and avoiding. You also shouldn't confuse deflecting and parrying.

• Dodging is done by pressing the Shift button. It's purely a repositioning tool - to not let yourself get surrounded, or prevent yourself from getting cornered/pushed up against a wall. It has invulnerability frames, but it won't allow you to counterattack.
  
• Avoiding is done by holding Spacebar and doing directional inputs (ASD for high attacks, W for low attacks). This restores your structure (the yellow bar at the bottom) - which allows you to block more attacks - and it also allows you to actually punish/counterattack your enemies. This is the bread & butter of your defensive options.
  
• Deflecting is done by timing the Spacebar right before the attack hits you. This builds the enemy's structure bar - the thing that allows you to do takedowns. It also doesn't break your own structure, even when the bar is completely maxed out. Worth noting that it doesn't interrupt the enemy.
  
• Parrying is the same as above, but it interrupts the enemy and momentarily opens them up for a punish.

All attacks can be avoided, all attacks can be deflected (except for throws). Specific attacks can only be punished by avoiding, specific attacks can only be punished by parrying. Both options have their own properties that affect you or the enemy. When to use what is up to you to discover.

Originally posted by Mister Sir:

Also vs weapons, should I try to dodge or parry dodge or blocking works fine? Also should I defend vs bladed weapons differently than blunt ones?

As mentioned above, all attacks can be avoided/deflected, and that also goes for all weapons, regardless of their type, so it depends on the situation. If you want to restore your structure, go for an avoid. If you want to go for structure damage, do deflects/parries.

Blocking against bladed weapons isn't recommended, though - you'll still get chip damage'd. (Unless you are also holding a weapon)

Originally posted by Mister Sir:

Sometimes I see enemies foot or fist glow when they attack me, which seemingly I can still parry? What those are all about?

They're just stronger attacks with more damage. They're a good example of the type of attack you can only punish with one specific defensive option, though.

Originally posted by Mister Sir:

At which point do I know that it's safe to attack after parry? Like can I sneak in some lights in between enemy attacks or break their combo somehow? Is there indicator when thats an option?

I think this question stems from you being confused by terminology, so I'll skip over it. Again, play the tutorial.

Originally posted by Mister Sir:

Also counter hook, can't seem to make it do what I think it should do? Unless it's not meant to be combo breaker?

.That, uh, depends on what you're trying to counter. Using it in the middle of an enemy's combo seems very risky though - you should use it as they begin to attack you.

Originally posted by Mister Sir:

Is this game roguelike? Means if I get too old and run out of lives or giveup/restart do I lose everything? Skills seem bit easy to unlock so I do imagine I do lose lose those but keep conspiracy board stuff?

Pretty much, yeah! To permanently unlock a skill, you need to unlock it 5 times. If you get a game over, or play levels out of order, you'll lose any skills that you haven't permanently unlocked. You never lose any of your detective board stuff.

[Mister Sir]

Originally posted by JAG:

Originally posted by Mister Sir:

Directional throw don't seem to work well.

It's influenced by the direction you're holding, as can be gleaned from its name. Be sure to hold the respective WASD buttons when doing a throw. Unless you wanted to say "I can't throw enemies", in which case you can only do that after parrying or otherwise putting them into a dizzy state.

Originally posted by Mister Sir:

Also whats the point of dodging when parry is there? Game teaches you to hold block and press W or S (m+k setting) to do these cool parry dodges vs the big dudes grabs. High learning curve but really cool, still, if that parry dodge is there, when is regular dodge even optimal to use? I recall trying to dodge stuff in opening credits vs bosses when they throw one combo at you and parry dodge is hard but allowed me to counter artists and CEOs weapon combo, meanwhile normal dodges did not.

...okay, let's tackle one thing at a time here.

Firstly, I would strongly recommend that you check out the training mode/tutorial. You can do that by interacting with the wooden dummy in the Wuguan.

Secondly, I'll shamelessly shill my guide that should give you all the basic knowledge you need when starting out: https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2949828935
You shouldn't confuse dodging and avoiding. You also shouldn't confuse deflecting and parrying.

• Dodging is done by pressing the Shift button. It's purely a repositioning tool - to not let yourself get surrounded, or prevent yourself from getting cornered/pushed up against a wall. It has invulnerability frames, but it won't allow you to counterattack.
  
• Avoiding is done by holding Spacebar and doing directional inputs (ASD for high attacks, W for low attacks). This restores your structure (the yellow bar at the bottom) - which allows you to block more attacks - and it also allows you to actually punish/counterattack your enemies. This is the bread & butter of your defensive options.
  
• Deflecting is done by timing the Spacebar right before the attack hits you. This builds the enemy's structure bar - the thing that allows you to do takedowns. It also doesn't break your own structure, even when the bar is completely maxed out. Worth noting that it doesn't interrupt the enemy.
  
• Parrying is the same as above, but it interrupts the enemy and momentarily opens them up for a punish.

All attacks can be avoided, all attacks can be deflected (except for throws). Specific attacks can only be punished by avoiding, specific attacks can only be punished by parrying. Both options have their own properties that affect you or the enemy. When to use what is up to you to discover.

Originally posted by Mister Sir:

Also vs weapons, should I try to dodge or parry dodge or blocking works fine? Also should I defend vs bladed weapons differently than blunt ones?

As mentioned above, all attacks can be avoided/deflected, and that also goes for all weapons, regardless of their type, so it depends on the situation. If you want to restore your structure, go for an avoid. If you want to go for structure damage, do deflects/parries.

Blocking against bladed weapons isn't recommended, though - you'll still get chip damage'd. (Unless you are also holding a weapon)

Originally posted by Mister Sir:

Sometimes I see enemies foot or fist glow when they attack me, which seemingly I can still parry? What those are all about?

They're just stronger attacks with more damage. They're a good example of the type of attack you can only punish with one specific defensive option, though.

Originally posted by Mister Sir:

At which point do I know that it's safe to attack after parry? Like can I sneak in some lights in between enemy attacks or break their combo somehow? Is there indicator when thats an option?

I think this question stems from you being confused by terminology, so I'll skip over it. Again, play the tutorial.

Originally posted by Mister Sir:

Also counter hook, can't seem to make it do what I think it should do? Unless it's not meant to be combo breaker?

.That, uh, depends on what you're trying to counter. Using it in the middle of an enemy's combo seems very risky though - you should use it as they begin to attack you.

Originally posted by Mister Sir:

Is this game roguelike? Means if I get too old and run out of lives or giveup/restart do I lose everything? Skills seem bit easy to unlock so I do imagine I do lose lose those but keep conspiracy board stuff?

Pretty much, yeah! To permanently unlock a skill, you need to unlock it 5 times. If you get a game over, or play levels out of order, you'll lose any skills that you haven't permanently unlocked. You never lose any of your detective board stuff.

Thank you, looked at your guide a bit, but another 1-2 quick questions. The first boss has this jump machete attack in phase 2, when he leaps out of the bamboo at you and I could not figure out how to deal with it. Dodging did not seem to work and neither did blocking or anything. I wonder if I mistimed it and just took chip dmg?

Also what you mean unlocking something 5 times? Like if I were to reply the game or restart over and over and just keep buying same skill 5 times it will perma unlock? So you can have everything ready to go outside of those upgrades you do at dragon statues? Speaking of which, not quite understanding the age ones, like more life regain on take down, maximum age 40. What does that exactly mean? Also that one did not seem to even take xp.

[JAG]

Originally posted by Mister Sir:

The first boss has this jump machete attack in phase 2, when he leaps out of the bamboo at you and I could not figure out how to deal with it. Dodging did not seem to work and neither did blocking or anything. I wonder if I mistimed it and just took chip dmg

Again, avoiding, not dodging. Anyway, no, it should be as simple as just doing one high avoid (Spacebar+ASD) at the right time.

Blocking that attack isn't recommended — if your structure bar is too small, it'll just bypass it and stun you instantly. Besides, chip damage exists. You could try deflecting it, though, but the benefits from that are negligible.

Originally posted by Mister Sir:

Also what you mean unlocking something 5 times? Like if I were to reply the game or restart over and over and just keep buying same skill 5 times it will perma unlock? So you can have everything ready to go outside of those upgrades you do at dragon statues?

Kinda? In the skill tree, in the bottom right corner, you can see that there's five bars, indicating how many times you need to buy the skill before it gets unlocked permanently. You can do it over the course of the game, or by replaying the levels, either method works.

Originally posted by Mister Sir:

Speaking of which, not quite understanding the age ones, like more life regain on take down, maximum age 40. What does that exactly mean? Also that one did not seem to even take xp.

Once you go past that age, that shrine bonus can no longer be obtained. You gotta stay young if you want to get it. (Once you got it, though, aging doesn't matter).

Also, yeah, of course, why would it take XP? It's not from the XP category. For the ones in the Age and Score category, those metrics just act as thresholds/checks to make sure that you're eligible for those rewards. XP acts as a currency for the rewards in its respective category.

[Mister Sir]

Originally posted by JAG:

Originally posted by Mister Sir:

The first boss has this jump machete attack in phase 2, when he leaps out of the bamboo at you and I could not figure out how to deal with it. Dodging did not seem to work and neither did blocking or anything. I wonder if I mistimed it and just took chip dmg

Again, avoiding, not dodging. Anyway, no, it should be as simple as just doing one high avoid (Spacebar+ASD) at the right time.

Blocking that attack isn't recommended — if your structure bar is too small, it'll just bypass it and stun you instantly. Besides, chip damage exists. You could try deflecting it, though, but the benefits from that are negligible.

Originally posted by Mister Sir:

Also what you mean unlocking something 5 times? Like if I were to reply the game or restart over and over and just keep buying same skill 5 times it will perma unlock? So you can have everything ready to go outside of those upgrades you do at dragon statues?

Kinda? In the skill tree, in the bottom right corner, you can see that there's five bars, indicating how many times you need to buy the skill before it gets unlocked permanently. You can do it over the course of the game, or by replaying the levels, either method works.

Originally posted by Mister Sir:

Speaking of which, not quite understanding the age ones, like more life regain on take down, maximum age 40. What does that exactly mean? Also that one did not seem to even take xp.

Once you go past that age, that shrine bonus can no longer be obtained. You gotta stay young if you want to get it. (Once you got it, though, aging doesn't matter).

Also, yeah, of course, why would it take XP? It's not from the XP category. For the ones in the Age and Score category, those metrics just act as thresholds/checks to make sure that you're eligible for those rewards. XP acts as a currency for the rewards in its respective category.

Ah, makes sense. Past 40 you no longer regen life or hair. Again, thank you, gotta try it again once work lefts off a bit.

[JAG]

Originally posted by Mister Sir:

Past 40 you no longer regen life

...you do regen it, though. Your maximum HP is decreased, but you regen it just the same. I'm not sure what you mean by that.

I feel like I should also point out that both regular kills and takedowns heal you. That shrine bonus buffs the heal trom takedowns specifically.

[Bloodartist]

Originally posted by Mister Sir:

Also whats the point of dodging when parry is there?

When it is fine, it is fine. However, not all attacks can be blocked (and I think same goes for parry by extension). In other words: there will be attacks later on that you must dodge as there is no other defense. Dodging is also easier than the timing of parry(imo), and you can use it to position yourself better.

EDIT: also as others said, blocking wears down your structure, so you cant keep doing it indefinitely.

Lets say that the game gets progressively harder the further you travel into it. First map is really quite easy.

At which point do I know that it's safe to attack after parry? Like can I sneak in some lights in between enemy attacks or break their combo somehow?

Probably not. The enemies have attack strings similar to yours, and mostly you cant interrupt them. Defend against the whole thing until you can counterattack imo.

Is this game roguelike? Means if I get too old and run out of lives or giveup/restart do I lose everything? Skills seem bit easy to unlock so I do imagine I do lose lose those but keep conspiracy board stuff?

No, it has fixed maps (that sometimes have alternate routes tho). Knowing and remembering the map helps. For repeated content there is an arena mode, but I havent tested it yet.

ps. Im not a master, but Ive finished first 3 maps. I stopped at the skyscraper because both the map and the boss felt boring to me.. I dont like monochromatic color schemes.

pps. If you die a lot in the beginning, I recommend restarting the whole level until you dont die.

[Amene]

Game teaches you to hold block and press W or S (m+k setting) to do these cool parry dodges vs the big dudes grabs. High learning curve but really cool, still,

One small suggestion - I'd recommend getting a good multiple button mouse with decent placement of those (e.g. rival 500 (eol sadly) or roccat kone xp or anything similar - I listed those two as they have good large thumb button(s) that can be pressed down, I'm still waiting for a mouse that has real MMB though ...) and then completely rebind the game to your preferences once you get more used to its mechanics.

Overall I recommend that in every action combat game, instead of sticking to subjectively horrible wasd. YMMV

[Mister Sir]

Originally posted by Amene:

Game teaches you to hold block and press W or S (m+k setting) to do these cool parry dodges vs the big dudes grabs. High learning curve but really cool, still,

One small suggestion - I'd recommend getting a good multiple button mouse with decent placement of those (e.g. rival 500 (eol sadly) or roccat kone xp or anything similar - I listed those two as they have good large thumb button(s) that can be pressed down, I'm still waiting for a mouse that has real MMB though ...) and then completely rebind the game to your preferences once you get more used to its mechanics.

Overall I recommend that in every action combat game, instead of sticking to subjectively horrible wasd. YMMV

Not to biggest fan of those keyboard mouses and I am pretty used to mine already. Just have light and heavy on m1 and m2, dodge on side button on the mouse, block on space, take down on q, arts on f, pick up on e and throw on r, shift for direct throw. All pretty close together and flows well.