Stage 4 (Hard) Too Hard [Solved]

[BelphegorATS]

I just kept trying to clear Stage 4 (Hard) several times. I made it near the end a couple times because I kept taking healing items along with my preferred collabs, including my preferred super collab, Snow Queen. I also fully upgraded most of the upgrades available in the shop.

While it is certainly doable, the most annoying thing about it is the random thunder that occurs every so often. On my last run, the random thunder blast completely destroyed me in one shot while I was at full health and fighting the stage's last boss, and I just happened to be unlucky enough to not be able to avoid it in time when I noticed. If that had not happened, I would have more likely won Stage 4 (Hard).

Edit: Removed the last paragraph of this post since it is no longer needed. I have cleared the stage now, so it can be disregarded.

While I find the random thunder in this stage manageable with Dash now, I still think it could be annoying, so I respectfully stand by my opinion about it in that regard.

[Juno Brier]

Just dodge it.

[HEAVY METAL HAZARD]

did you use the dash function? the developers intended us to use the new dash function in the shop to dodge the lightning, but it's doable without dash

[Casual Amateur]

Normally this game often give user a head up warning before area about to attack user. But this time thunder come in with out any warning.

Hmm... Look like I going have to turn my character into some what a tanker.

[ObliviousMischief]

It gets trivial after a while.

If you're lucky, the lightning comes in when your dash ready to use. The one shot was probably 2-3 lightnings in one spot. It's best to just keep moving and keeping awareness up. It usually spawns in a way where you have very little time to get out of it, but you actually can, even with the breastplate on. So be ready to turn back if you must. invest in speed up upgrade.

the headphones item works but not reliable. I can hear it save me a lot of times, but you won't catch me just standing still and trying my luck. haha.

[Annie T. Mood]

I usually just outrun the lightning since I always thought that speed was the most important stat for that place. I only ever use the dodge when I'm on overlapping circles, so I just don't bother worrying about it otherwise; if I get struck, I'll just try to heal it since I find healing to be another important factor in that place.

By the time I hit the 20-minute mark, I forget it even exists by that point because I can outrun any red circle I see, or even tank through whatever lightning hits me and just heal back whatever was lost pretty fast, so all I'll have to worry about is the boss, which can actually kill me pretty fast if I don't watch it.

Get more upgrades, fandoms, fan letters, strategize, "git gud", yadda yadda. For maxed marketing Halu 5 runs, I really had to strategize, and differently per character.

[TheBigDog]

I dunno, I think the lightning bolts are a part of what make it more fun actually. Hard stages are meant to be, well, hard.

[Kuronami]

Start working your way through getting a Prism to ease the pain somewhat since it'll help mitigate damage early in the stage so you can build up your character. After that, get a few defensive items. Breastplate helps a bit if you can get the super version.

Otherwise just dash. The dash has pretty decent i-frames that the moment you dash when the indicator pops up, even if you accidentally land on another thunder spot, you'll still avoid it.

[QBEY of GENSOKYO]

Just facetank all the lightning strikes like gigachad with full tank build.

[Blank]

I dunno I never really had issues with it after a few runs and you don't even need to build tank and just use the dash support item or the food that increase spd.

And it's even easier on weapon only runs because the high stats on SPD and HP basically trivializes it.

[Jesus Christ]

Honestly a skill issue, if your using max upgrades (like you should be on this stage) the lightning is very managable and easy to work around yeah it still hits for half your health but its not unfair, Its called stage 4 (HARD) for a reason.

[Uta]

dodge it. or get revives. or health upgrades. or headphones.

[DarkFenix]

You should be on full upgrades by the time you reach stage 4 hard. This means you're fast no matter which character you're playing, fast enough to dodge the lightning, if not then you have access to the dash anyway.

I got round to completing it yesterday, using Pekora I did it second attempt. I did occasionally get hit by lightning, but I was running a largely survival-based setup (body pillow, plushie, nurse horns, and full meal). It meant I could easily tank a lightning strike without even being in any real danger.

Just make sure you complete your upgrades, then make sensible build choices. After the stories I'd been seeing on the forums I was expecting stage 4 hard to be a lot harder, turns out it really isn't.

[BelphegorATS]

Thanks for the comments everyone. Some of the advice you have given mostly falls under dodging the lightning, which I have been doing as best I could, but it is still challenging since there are so many enemies around.

To those of you who suggested I use the dash function, I have not used it since unlocking the support item recently. My main support item happens to be the potion in case I need health. I have not used the potion at all, actually, because I have yet to find myself within a situation where I have to use it. Because I am largely taking healing items that will increase my health and heal me as I go, I might not need it and may switch to dash. However, I also do not press the button on the keyboard the support item is assigned to -- never did -- and I am concerned that I might run into another situation I would need to get out of. Kuronami says there are i-frames in the dash in their comment (quoted below with regard to the suggestion about prisms and Breastplate), which should help to an extent, but again, once those i-frames end I may have another problem on my hands. Thanks to Kuronami for mentioning that, by the way.

Originally posted by Kuronami:

Start working your way through getting a Prism to ease the pain somewhat since it'll help mitigate damage early in the stage so you can build up your character. After that, get a few defensive items. Breastplate helps a bit if you can get the super version.

Otherwise just dash. The dash has pretty decent i-frames that the moment you dash when the indicator pops up, even if you accidentally land on another thunder spot, you'll still avoid it.

I could try and get a prism, yes, and I do enjoy the grind of gathering stone and wood-based materials in HoloHouse. That said, I sold all of the materials I gathered for HoloCoins to buy the ability to disable weapons and items I do not need in the armory. Breastplate was one of the items I disabled because even though I like the super version of it, I am not a fan of the normal version and do not take it while playing. Moreover, the super version of items does not always appear, so there is no guarantee it will. In fact, on one of my attempts at clearing Stage 4 (Hard), I actually acquired a few triple-box prizes when I defeated several of the bosses. It helped somewhat but I still lost.

To provide more information, my preferred super collab is Snow Queen for the ice damage and the ability to freeze targets. My preferred collabs are: Black Plague (replacing Eldritch Horror); MiComet; and Dragon Fire. The items I am taking for Stage 4 (Hard) are: Uber Sheep for the health items; Piki Piki Piman and Just Bandage for more health; Full Heal to double healing; and Nurse's Horn to absorb health from enemies. I also took Knightly Milk for the knockback effect, and maxed out the Knockback stamp when I took it. The other two stamps I had were Slow and Weaken, and both were just as instrumental when I had come close to beating the stage.

The two characters I am maining are Tsunomaki Watame and Nanashi Mumei -- I do not play as any of the other Holomem. However, I will add that I shall also main Yukihana Lamy alongside Watame and Mumei if and when she is added to the game.

I am going to give this stage a few more tries now to see if I can beat it. Because it is very difficult, I will not return to it unless it is while playing as either of the characters I just said I main so that I can beat it with them. I am more of a casual gamer and play for fun, which is why I often do not play on harder difficulties in games. However, I am still giving it a try.

[BelphegorATS]

Well, I finally did it. I finally defeated Stage 4 (Hard), and boy was it a war of attrition against the stage itself! I managed to do it with everything I mentioned above, and had switched to the Dash support item like some of you had suggested. It certainly helped where I needed it, every time, more than the potion, so I am going to stick with that from now on. The Pacifist stamp was also immensely useful for its abilities to stop enemies in place and destroy their projectiles, as was the combination of the Knockback stamp and Knightly Milk. Without this arsenal, I would not have even survived the attempt at clearing this stage.

Now that I have beaten this stage with Watame, I am going to do it again with Mumei. But that can wait for a while. I need a bit of a break from this stage after having gone through that full-on war of attrition.

[Ame-kun]

the potion is actually very strong on watame btw. Since you can use it to insta-save a big group