B4 I Buy - What happens if I ignore the beat?

[DirectOrder]

So, I've done some research, and I might have gotten the wrong impression, but from what I can tell, the "penalty" for ignoring the beat (and just moving/doing whatever and whenever I want) is simply a lower score multiplier....

Is this true? Can I totally ignore the beat and play however I want and beat the game with a much lower score than I would have gotten otherwise? Or does the difficulty increase dramatically if I ignore the beat, and make it nigh impossible to beat the game if I don't move in-time with the music?

In other words, can I simply ignore the beat and still beat the game?

[Adriel]

There are characters like Aria and Coda who die on a missed beat. You can certainly ignore the beat with Cadence, but enemies will not. If you'd prefer not be bound by that restriction I suggest playing with Bard. He is not bound to the beat and enemies only move when he does.

[Franka_Scythe]

You can play as the Bard, his ability is that he ignores the beat and makes the game turn based. Any other character will do a little lag stumble when you miss the beat, and this may well kill you.

[Stabbey]

For almost all characters (except Bard at least), you can only move on a beat. Otherwise you stand still. Mashing move will also make you stand still. So you have to pay some attention to it.

[DirectOrder]

Originally posted by Stabbey:

For almost all characters (except Bard at least), you can only move on a beat. Otherwise you stand still. Mashing move will also make you stand still. So you have to pay some attention to it.

AHHHHH....ok. So there is a penalty (other than lower score) to not moving with the beat...you "lose" your turn. Is that correct? And I assume the enemies still can move and attack while you are standing still? So there is actually a mechanical advantage (besides score advantage) to move with the beat?

My basic question is this: Does the game get harder when you miss beats, or do you just get a lower score (excluding the Bard from the discussion)?

[Stabbey]

If you are not moving, enemies will be able to move and attack you easily, so yes, the game gets harder.

[Nintendork64]

If you try to move more than once in the same beat, you won't move at all. If you try to move slower than the beat, you'll have some missed beats. Everything else will move in time with the beat, and you need to match that in order to have a fighting chance.
You're correct that missing a beat will cause your coin mulitplier to drop to 1, but some items also depend on your coin multiplier being high.
As heather said, the Bard character plays more like a normal roguelike: enemies only move when you do.

[DirectOrder]

Originally posted by Nintendork64:

If you try to move slower than the beat, you'll have some missed beats. Everything else will move in time with the beat, and you need to match that in order to have a fighting chance.

Originally posted by Stabbey:

If you are not moving, enemies will be able to move and attack you easily, so yes, the game gets harder.

Thank you! This was the piece I was missing. So if I'm "bad" at the game, my chances of beating it decreases (rather than simply getting a lower score). I'm now much more interested in getting the game! Thanks for all the replies!

[Tenzek]

Originally posted by Denigrate:

AHHHHH....ok. So there is a penalty (other than lower score) to not moving with the beat...you "lose" your turn. Is that correct? And I assume the enemies still can move and attack while you are standing still? So there is actually a mechanical advantage (besides score advantage) to move with the beat?

Yes, ignoring the beat or trying to move off the beat costs you a turn. Enemies move with respect to the beats regardless of what you do (unless you're playing the bard, as already explained).

There is more to it than just the score multiplier as well. You get less gold to spend on items, which means you will be able to afford less in the shops. There are also some items that have their power modified by the multiplier. If you're good at keeping the multiplier, you can make use of items that are exceptionally strong with the multiplier, but very weak without it.

[Achelon]

It's perhaps also worth noting that your score multiplier is directly tied to the amount of gold you get on kills, which can hold you back from getting some of the more high-tier items from the shop.

I honestly don't think you'll find that the game punishes you too little for not moving to the beat, but try it out and I'm sure you'll see for yourself.

[Sly-Scale]

Certain enemies certainly become much harder to beat if you are sometimes missing beats. For instance, as long as you are deciding to move, Red Bats can't hurt you if you are either two squares away or directly beside them. However, if you find only 1 square between yourself and them, or find yourself diagonally adjacent to them, then you cannot reach them with a dagger, and they'll have a chance to move into and hurt you if you attempt to move beside them (without a Ring of Luck.)

Similarly, with Dragons you must successfully land multiple beats in a row in order to defeat them with a 1-damage dagger and without taking damage: you have to alternate between attacking and stepping away, and repeat this until they are at 2 health as you step away so you can finish them off.

[[MB] BigBass]

Originally posted by Denigrate:

Originally posted by Stabbey:

For almost all characters (except Bard at least), you can only move on a beat. Otherwise you stand still. Mashing move will also make you stand still. So you have to pay some attention to it.

AHHHHH....ok. So there is a penalty (other than lower score) to not moving with the beat...you "lose" your turn. Is that correct? And I assume the enemies still can move and attack while you are standing still? So there is actually a mechanical advantage (besides score advantage) to move with the beat?

My basic question is this: Does the game get harder when you miss beats, or do you just get a lower score (excluding the Bard from the discussion)?

the multiplier also multiplies the gold you get and gold is needed to buy items from the shop, so yes a lower multiplier is a harder game because you can buy less (good) items

[Edorn]

Missing a beat is a valid strategy, alot of enemies are much easier when THEY come to you, and the penalty is not that bad, most runs I had more gold then I could waste (because I didnt ignored the beat completely)

Don't think I'll ever play with the "miss beat= death" chars :)