second comic book is too hard

[Aure]

Let's say I use Rocket Launcher, I need 4 shots to take down one guy. Some of the small (one screen rooms) have 4 or even 5 enemies. That would be like at least 20 shots to take them all down. When they start shooting the game turns into a bullet-hell. There is no way I can beat them unharmed. few rooms like that and I am out of HP, no way I can make it to the final boss. The only thing that works is stomp, which kills them instantly, but it is not always a viable option and it requires some precise maneuvering.
I play solo and default (hard) difficulty. Is this game balanced around co-op? What am I missing?

[Gem of Temporarity]

Looks like you're missing meleeing while shooting(as long as you're not using a double weapon you can), approacing single targets with single target guns if other guns are too weak and replacing weapons during the run(you must be using the starter rocker launcher for it to need that many shots on everyone instead of just the tanky stomp bait there).

[Aure]

well, if i approach enemies for melee, I am sure to get shot in the face. and again, first book it's enough to melee hit two times, second book, i need to melee hit them four times.
I am only thinking if the game gets back to "normal" if i level up much more and have all the perks..? my current setup is way too weak for second book. or maybe this is one of these "get good" games, in which case i will just quit and move to something fun instead.

[Gem of Temporarity]

Do you sprint(whch doesn't stop you from doing anything) while going to enemies to shoot+melee them? If you do and play aggressively, fewer squishy enemies will have the time to shoot at all. For those that do, jumping, dashing, then stomping to be grounded(able to sprint) again should avoid damage more often than not without slowing you down much.

I don't remember the trick to telling when to avoid that way and when to gtfo, maybe this part and (mini-)bosses need the getting good you're not into.

[Aure]

Thank you for the tips!
Yeah, I try to remember about dashing, maybe indeed i can get to some enemies before they even are able to take a shot at me, but I would need a stronger melee weapon (2 hits like in the first book, instead of 4 hits).
About the bosses, how can I keep my combo when I stumble upon a boss room? I guess I need to have a super high damage to destroy the boss in a few seconds?
It puzzles me, because there are achievements like: Beat the game on one combo .. Again, it makes me think that this game is for hardcore players.

[Gem of Temporarity]

Dealing damage restarts the combo timer. As long as you keep hitting the boss, the combo bar is happy. Getting hit more than combo shield can take is the only problem there. Don't have all gun slots filled with miniguns.

[Silencio o Rebeldía]

Comic book has made me rage quit so many times. such weird pacing. the game was great up until that point

[Placenta Salad]

Late response, but maintaining your combo, if there aren't any enemies around to shoot, can also be replenished by destroying crates/boxes in the map. I usually try to save those as I am running around the comic book, just in case I plan my pathing wrong and end up too far from an unexplored room and don't want to spend any teleports to prevent losing my combo. I almost got to 200 for the achievement just now but made a silly mistake. I'm pretty sure you can interact with one of the shopkeeps and spend money and that'll replenish your combo meter.

My favorite starting gun is the shotgun and I usually hope for a rocket launcher or grenade launcher as a secondary. I find that the second comic book just has too much CQC to really necessitate starting with something that has longer range. The shotgun isn't too bad for starting with and it reloads decently quick. It's usually a two-shot and melee combo and that'll finish off most of them, at least in the earlier pages before you get to those big brute dudes.

Grenade launcher lets you bank grenades off of the walls to get the enemies who might be camping a corner, but I noticed pretty immediately that stomping is a necessity for this particular comic book. I got the skill that creates a shockwave when you stomp the ground to stun grounded units that are camping corners as well in case I didn't find something like a grenade launcher or don't want to use a grenade resource.

I'd recommend trying to save gold and earning around 350 of it to try and buy a legendary weapon. I purchased a shotgun with 80-something DPS that also had fire damage and penetrative bullet modifiers, and earlier in that run, had acquired a grenade launcher that also dealt fire damage. I was able to beat one of the final bosses on the second book on my first attempt with this combination of weaponry, and like five grenades that I saved.

The third comic book seems like it'll be way worse.

It's really just about constantly moving around the 2D space, target priority, and recognizing your opportunity to goomba stomp. You can always backtrack from the panel as well if you are being overwhelmed, or exit to another panel.

[Aure]

Originally posted by Placenta Salad:

Late response, but (...)

Thank you for taking your time to put such a detailed response! If I ever decide to come back to this game, I'll be sure to use your tips. Still, I don't think I will. I just moved on since there are too many better balanced and more fun games for me.