What on earth is this difficulty curve?

[★ Moonlight ★]

I'm pretty new, and I've been playing through the base campaign for the first time. I've been taking it somewhat slow to grind better armour and stuff, and so far I've beaten every fight without much difficulty. I mean, none of it was easy but it was doable without fainting (although I'd go down once the first time on a few of them). Odogaron is just like a brick wall. I even tried with the overpowered defender gear, and I still can't beat it. It's like someone switched the game from "normal" difficulty to some sort of "extreme hardcore veterans only"
Am I just terrible at the game or something?

[Ironslayer541]

Did you bring astera jerky if not it cures bleed which might help you.

[Washing Machine]

He's pretty fast, but I'd say it's nothing you didn't fight already when facing Tobi-Kadachi.

Lock onto him and walk forward, makes most everything he does whiff.

[Juno Brier]

Originally posted by ★moonlight★:

Am I just terrible at the game or something?

Yes. Keep trying until you get it.

[Nonfat Milk]

hes a quick moving and aggressive monster, take the fight slower at first to get a feel for his moveset to know when to attack

[Kenuty]

Originally posted by Juno Brier:

Originally posted by ★moonlight★:

Am I just terrible at the game or something?

Yes. Keep trying until you get it.

^
Git Gud

[twiggy]

yeah you are lol. youll eventually learn his entire attack pattern which is really easy, even for the ebony odogaron. they have really long wind ups for their attacks and they telegrpah what direction their going too

[Suzaku]

He likes to attack in series of 3's. If you're using a fast weapon, you can dodge and counter some of his strikes (watch for which claws he raises and dodge accordingly), and once the third attack is launched, move in for a quick strike.

Make use of traps. He's not that fast when he's flailing in a pitfall or twitching in a shock trap.

Maybe change your weapon if you're having trouble keeping up. Something more mobile might be just what you need.

[Blue Thunder]

What Ironslayer said, bring Astera Jerky if the doggo makes you bleed (bought at the shop). Also, while Odogaron is quite "jumpy", his attack pattern is way too obvious and easy to dodge to the sides if you pay enough attention. I usually use the "move camera to target" feature to keep track of him, but there are points that I don't need it anymore due to the fact almost all of its attacks are done in a straight line in front of him, so like I said dodging to the sides will avoid almost everything all the time.

Edit: In case you're a longsword player, nothing beats a Iai Spirit Slash counter against Odogaron. Easy to pull off due to the predictable pattern and easy to learn timing it has.

[ChelseaBlues1905]

nah bro, everyone has to learn at some point. what weapon do you use? personally i prefer fast weapons like DBs on fast monsters like odo or rajang. i switch to LS or CB on bigger targets/flying monsters. i definitely recommended learning 2-4 weapons to main so you can switch up your style, certain monsters are easier with certain weapons.

[★ Moonlight ★]

Originally posted by ChelseaBlues90:

nah bro, everyone has to learn at some point. what weapon do you use? personally i prefer fast weapons like DBs on fast monsters like odo or rajang. i switch to LS or CB on bigger targets/flying monsters. i definitely recommended learning 2-4 weapons to main so you can switch up your style, certain monsters are easier with certain weapons.

I've been using the bow

[Dragonixor]

If it makes you feel better, most "noobs" face their first wall earlier than that.

Odogaron is a quick boi, but he tends to miss a lot of his attacks. Since he jumps around a lot, he can be hard to catch by yourself with heavier weapons, but try to go for him right after his attack. Bring astera jerky or get far from him and crouch to heal the bleed (Some astera jerky should be in the box when you spawn). Eat before the fight, to raise your max HP. Learn his pattern. Go do some side quests and come back to him when you get tired of hitting your head against a wall.

[ChelseaBlues1905]

i dont main bow but from what i understand its rather difficult to make good builds for until you get access to certain (rare) decorations. gear and builds in this game are paramount after learning the monster moves. might be worth it to switch to something else for now, but a bow main can provide more insight.

[AnemoneMeer]

Odogaron's the first truly aggressive monster you face, but rest assured, he's not really any sort of step up from the other monsters so much as he's a completely different style of fight.

Before now, you've not fought any monsters with "combo" abilities. Odogaron is almost entirely combo based. Odogaron will launch a sequence of attacks, ending in one of a few finishers, as opposed to using individual attacks, and it's important to be aware not just of what he's doing, but of what he can do after.

[Juno Brier]

I forgot, was Legiana fought before Odogaron? Odogaron's weakest to Ice, so Legiana's weapons are good to use on it for a faster kill.

[dreadead]

Like others have said many other new players face their first wall earlier than Odogaron, so don't beat yourself up too much. When you start to catch onto his various attack animations he becomes a lot easier. He often does a 3 attack combo with a brief opening afterwards where you should get your attacks in. Take the hunt slower and don't be too aggressive it'll give you a chance to familiarize yourself with his patterns and safe openings (A good strategy with monsters you're unfamiliar with). Bring Jerky and if you have the vitality mantle bring that too. If you feel like you're hitting your head against the wall, take breaks between attempts and do some investigations or optional quests. Anyways good luck, lots of good advice/information here in the thread already.