Reinhart + Hardcore playthrough = Learning curve

[Milouze]

5 hours into the game, did a bit of grinding but I am stuck at level 5.
Got my asss kicked by Vera in the early cavern and now I'm trying to get decent gear (blue), but the two available merchants only sell crap....and no amulets/rings.

I tried following boss related advices:
https://steamcommunity.com/app/39160/discussions/0/2217311444341181899/#c2217311444342701421

But I'm not even capable of beating the fish monster near the first village, he (and his minions) are too fast and quickly kill poor Reinhart taking ages to cast a miserable spell.

Some guidance/advices on how to play with Reinhart at this stage of the game would be nice. Do I need to grind to a further level ? Are spiders worth my time or should I stick to Lescanzi henchmen ?
I'm trying to focus my stats on Will, Agility and Armor thus far. Is it the way to go ?

The game seems nice, I don't want to give up just because this character sucks early in the game :(

[zaphodikus]

Hardcore -5 to all rolls

[Fates]

Dodge! The only boss u need to block sometimes is Rajani. To dodge u must use block while moving, or move while blocking. Get used to dodge every mob's attempt to harm you and regular monsters will suffer and bosses will fall.
Sometime just use regular attacks, when you think you can't cast a spell.
One more thing - the higher level of your character - the tougher monsters that you meet (even if you met someone before your level up and bought better gear.)
It will be a loooooong journey.

Mb some1 played as Reinhart on hard dif and will help you here.

[Milouze]

Oh man, the level scaling is terrible news :'-(

Right. So I made it to East forest with all side quests completed thus far (Gunderic Mansion was not too difficult). Focused on Agility + Will, Geometry of Annihilation maxed (not yet mastered though), and decent gear.

But now, those stupid running Vodyanoi are tearing me apart ! This is insane...even Anjali is getting killed in seconds despite her jackal and myself aggro-ing those stupid fish. They're just to numerous and too fast, going for melee while I'm dodging like mad with Reinhart.

The forest closes and I have no save point along the path. What the hell ?!

[lirmont]

Sounds like a job for Clockwork Trap, Mirror Leap, and Barrier Field. Be sure to kill everything before moving onward. Retreat back the way you came, lest you spawn a lot more enemies by running forward.

[Milouze]

By walking slowly, backtracking when swarmed, I finally made it.

Right. I am now at Rajani and I think I am going to quit. I mean, took me a severe endurance fight to get her, just to realize she has a second form. The room is crowed and I can barely move, Anjali AI keeps dying and won't move out of the way, and I can barely scratch Rajani's health.

Any of her attacks is one shot KO so healing is useless. I manage to make it without a single in her first form as the moves are easy to read and anticipate, but this second form...I don't even have time to practice/learn. From what I'm seeing on Youtube/forums, coop or Katarina is the way to go so I'm out of solutions.

Did the devs want to discourage people from liking the game ? I mean, what kind of balance is this crap ? I love tough challenges in such games (the fight reminds me of the battle against Darth Vader in Star Wars Force Unleashed in Sith Master difficulty, so freakin epic !), but it has to remain fair and not rely on stupid buddy AI.

[Fates]

Fight her second form in melee (I mean run into her and keep hitting as soon as it is possible) and when she casts those balls - just block them.

[Milouze]

Thanks for the advice ! The few videos I watched showed Reinhart going for melee, but it's hard to distinguish her close combat attacks from them videos.

While I can see the randoms "balls of light" standing on the ground coming, I can't read the hunting spears shot or a melee attack she would use. Think I'm in for some tough learning, it takes ages to defeat her first form, then I have to little time to read her second form moves. Will try.

Is she the toughest boss or am I to expect worse if I make it to the rest of the game ?

[Fates]

Warbeast might be a problem and mb some dlc guys.

When your m8's dead - start reviving and then use dodge and stop revive - it will be finished without need to stay at one place

[Milouze]

Thanks for the feedback NeeyzZ, but I'm afraid the revive needs to be completed. I found that my partner would revive only if I move far away from a fight otherwise.

Unlike some RNG based stupid bosses (I'm looking at you Rogue Legacy), I realized this one has patterns, but the Hardcore mode is unforgiving and won't allow time for you to learn them.

I took the few seconds allowed in her second form to go for brawl and it worked !
I was jumping joy in my living room, screaming how I mastered this awesome game by unlocking both achievements (didn't heal during the fight). So freakin epic

This fight forced me to learn one way of fighting with Reinhart, to then unlearn it and adopt a unique shielded/brawler style for its second phase. Amazing.