Making the game as easy as possible.

[Hoonter]

Since I find this game to be super unfair, does anyone have any tips on how to make it easier?

[TheEvilNoob]

What part are you having trouble with?

[paugus]

No. While trying to restrain myself from just screaming "GIT GUD" at you, I've gotta say that practice is the only tip I can give you to make the game easier. Unless you're struggling with controls (i.e. you're playing with KB+M and aren't proficient at it), that's really the only general advice I can give you.

Kill things, heal when hurt, repeat until game is over. Unless you've got a more specific complaint (like a boss that you're struggling with, an area you can't pass, etc) that's all I can give you.

[Hoonter]

Originally posted by paugus:

No. While trying to restrain myself from just screaming "GIT GUD" at you, I've gotta say that practice is the only tip I can give you to make the game easier. Unless you're struggling with controls (i.e. you're playing with KB+M and aren't proficient at it), that's really the only general advice I can give you.

Kill things, heal when hurt, repeat until game is over. Unless you've got a more specific complaint (like a boss that you're struggling with, an area you can't pass, etc) that's all I can give you.

Aight, I can be way more specific.
First of all, I'd like some help with getting the controls more responsive. Why can't I remap buttons on the controller is beyond me. Once died because I tried to slash up to hit an enemy, while standing next to an NPC and instead talked to him. Why is slashing upwards and talking to someone on the same key?
Also, the hairpin sensitivity of the thumbstick is ridiculous. If I so much as brush my thumb against it, the character turns to the side.

Next up is - how do you deal with enemies that don't give you any time whatsoever to heal up? The fact that I must be completely stationary for such a long time to heal up (which is impossible in a boss fight) is just ridiculous. Even the charm that speeds healing up does not cut that time enough to make a difference.

And the most recent gripe I have with the game - teleporting enemies (also ones that spawn out of nowhere), who run away from me as soon as I get close and shoot homing missiles (the combination of the 2 most ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ mechanics a game can have. Especially when the enemy teleports right in front of you, giving you 0 time to react so you instantly walk into him).
Currently I'm in the City of Tears and there's a miniboss that spawns ghosts that make it impossible to navigate around him. Also he spawns homing missiles and teleports, so it's kind of a "either you have the reaction time of a south korean esports player or go ♥♥♥♥ yourself" situation.

Lastly, just to vent my frustration at the game, I realised why I love Castlevania: Aria of Sorrow so much. That game allowed you to bypass your problems by being smart if you weren't quick enough to deal with them. I remember having a lot of problems killing one of the bosses there until I realised that there's a clear pattern to their attack. Sure, maybe it made the boss more predictable, but it also made it so there were 2 ways of defeating him. 1. Be quick and avoid the attacks or 2. strategise, learn and plan. It pains me so much that in recent years the developers keep throwing the "being smart about things" options out of Metroidvania style games, because as I said - I don't have reaction times of a ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ korean prodigy.

[paugus]

Well, as far as responsiveness, have you tried the d-pad? I prefer it in platformers because it's less "loose" with its inputs, so when I'm pushing left, it's not left+four degrees upwards, or at least not to the extent the control stick seems to. (I use a standard wired 360 controller)

There are a couple ways to deal with healing. There are charms that let you move while focusing, shield you from damage while you heal, or even heal faster. However, avoiding damage is preferable to any of these, since you won't need to heal at all in that case.

Almost every single thing in this game follows a pattern, some looser than others. However, bosses will telegraph certain moves, and if you know what you're looking for you can quickly heal a point of health back before they manage to hit you. It's really all about knowledge and experience rather than insane twitch reflexes (though they certainly don't hurt).

As a last resort, maybe try watching someone fight the boss on youtube. Generally, good players look almost robotic in their reactions to boss movements and attacks, because they've trained to recognize the tells and know exactly how they plan to react to everything the boss is capable of.

[AchromaticSky]

I hate to say "git gud", but this game really isn't that hard. You kind of have to actively hold back (like not using combat charms, limiting how many masks you collect, and not upgrading the nail past level 3 or so) for the game to be challenging.

[wataniyob]

Originally posted by NHunter:

First of all, I'd like some help with getting the controls more responsive. Why can't I remap buttons on the controller is beyond me. Once died because I tried to slash up to hit an enemy, while standing next to an NPC and instead talked to him. Why is slashing upwards and talking to someone on the same key?
Also, the hairpin sensitivity of the thumbstick is ridiculous. If I so much as brush my thumb against it, the character turns to the side.

As others have stated, you might have better luck with the d-pad. As someone who 100% the game on a keyboard (which according to most people is less optimal than a controller), I found absolutely no issues with the controls. If you absolutely need to re-map the controls, there should be a few programs available online that do just that.

Originally posted by NHunter:

Next up is - how do you deal with enemies that don't give you any time whatsoever to heal up? The fact that I must be completely stationary for such a long time to heal up (which is impossible in a boss fight) is just ridiculous. Even the charm that speeds healing up does not cut that time enough to make a difference.

Almost every boss has one or two attacks which allow for healing if you recognize the opportunity. You just need to learn the boss patterns better.

Originally posted by NHunter:

And the most recent gripe I have with the game - teleporting enemies (also ones that spawn out of nowhere), who run away from me as soon as I get close and shoot homing missiles (the combination of the 2 most ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ mechanics a game can have. Especially when the enemy teleports right in front of you, giving you 0 time to react so you instantly walk into him).
Currently I'm in the City of Tears and there's a miniboss that spawns ghosts that make it impossible to navigate around him. Also he spawns homing missiles and teleports, so it's kind of a "either you have the reaction time of a south korean esports player or go ♥♥♥♥ yourself" situation.

Those teleporting enemies are honestly not hard to take down if you stand in one place until they pause in their teleporting and start shooting off projectiles. Then you just whale on them with nail attacks. If you're aggressive you take at most one or two hits from their projectiles before they die.

Originally posted by NHunter:

Lastly, just to vent my frustration at the game, I realised why I love Castlevania: Aria of Sorrow so much. That game allowed you to bypass your problems by being smart if you weren't quick enough to deal with them. I remember having a lot of problems killing one of the bosses there until I realised that there's a clear pattern to their attack. Sure, maybe it made the boss more predictable, but it also made it so there were 2 ways of defeating him. 1. Be quick and avoid the attacks or 2. strategise, learn and plan. It pains me so much that in recent years the developers keep throwing the "being smart about things" options out of Metroidvania style games, because as I said - I don't have reaction times of a ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ korean prodigy.

I have two friends of mine who love the Castlevania games and neither of them felt that Hollow Knight was ever as unfair as you seem to think it is. You can still "play smartly" in this game by figuring out enemy/boss movesets and you don't have to have reaction times as sharp as you claim as you need to in order to do well in this game. Every boss has defined attacks and those attacks are preceded by tells that leave enough time to dodge them. This is speaking as someone who has played barely any games with actual boss fights.

[4thQueen]

Sounds like you just plain suck.

Use dashes and jumps to avoid Soul Twisters projectiles. You can nail them with Vengeful Spirit if you're too slow to get up and hit them.

If you need to heal in the middle of a boss fight, you're probably doing it wrong. Most bosses have set times where you can heal up, but if you hit them in this state they immediately recover. Use your brain, take a time out.

Some bosses won't give you many opening for this. You'll have to think fast and act smart. Protip: don't get hit.

[JapanGamer29]

@NHunter, Vent away! I found Hollow Knight to be quite frustrating, too. I bought it expecting another Ori and the Blind Forest only to find out it was a 2D Dark Souls. I raged a lot until I came to accept that some parts of the game require a lot of patience, study and practice (if you're not as gifted as the other posters, that is).

There's some good advice above. I found YouTube videos and a 100% map to be the most helpful tools on my journey.

Good luck!

[Hoonter]

Originally posted by Kanaev:

You don't own it.

GoG.com

[TheBrightKing]

Originally posted by NHunter:

Since I find this game to be super unfair, does anyone have any tips on how to make it easier?

Nah its not unfair and not that hard, try to recognise the tells and patterns and practice a bit before going tp the forums to complain about how hard it is, whe its not.

[laiken]

You can try different platformers/2-D combat games and/or other metroidvanias that are easier to practice. Eventually you will start to "git gud" and the game will seem easier to you.

[UNLUCKY STAR]

What controller are you using, some controllers are not "as well supported" as others, for example you can rebind buttons with a xbox 360 controller but cant even play with one from the ps4 (at least mine doesnt work with hollowknight whatsoever).

[Radical Rat]

@COLONEL FEUERBUSCH

I use Dual Shock 4 + DS4Windows.
Works fine =)

[UNLUCKY STAR]

Originally posted by rusty-double-oh-seven:

@COLONEL FEUERBUSCH

I use Dual Shock 4 + DS4Windows.
Works fine =)

is yours from sony? mine is basically a cheap knockoff from some other company that does gamepads, i forgot to mention that.

[SoftSpot]

git gud :^)
Game hard, yes, but it's fair