Unfair combat ? (Please save my controller)

[Man]

Hello everyone,

I had purchased Yakuza 0 several months ago, and after a short week, I dropped.
ffw a couple months, I decide to give Yakuza 0 a new try and surprise : I thoroughly enjoy it ... Except for one part : the combat, which already bugged me on my first trial.
I don't know if I'm a total screw-up at videogames, but I find it truly unfair and hard, especially with Kiryu (I'm on hard difficulty, ofc I'm a dumbass). There are fights during which I'm getting stun-locked with little chance to escape (especially with those who wield knives) and they litterally drive me crazy (to the point I've damaged the appartment in which I live).

Now I know I get easily angered when playing videogames, but never to this degree, and never so often ...
I've tried lowering the difficulty settings, but couldn't find how to (it was during one of those moments so I might have missed it).

Fights can be really challenging even when there are only 3 opponents and one knife-wielder. I usually manage to win these fights by spamming potions, which really isn't fun, and I encounter multiple ones per hour.
Weirdly enough, I always manage to overcome challenges without triggering when playing as Majima.

I try to do these fights with the regular blue fighting style (forgot its name lol), and beast. I honestly don't know what I'm doing wrong, and hope you have some advices for me to enjoy this game anew.

Anyways, thank you for stopping bye.

[Robert F.]

When it comes to enemies with weapons like knifes, guns (weak enemy), stun baton stick and etc that cause you in stun-lock for a moment. Focus on that enemy with Rush or Brawler attacks.

They're easy to avoid from behind by using Rush's quick/side steps or use Brawler's essence of disarming (training required from Bacchus) when the enemy attack in the split second.

Beast on the other hand is useful when it is fully upgraded. Your attacks are slow but It can resist all stun-lock effects (2-3 heat bars), useful against crowd control in streets or use Heat moves that can wipe out 3-4 people in the open area when grabbing an enemy.

[Smufius]

- Use Beast + bikes to demolish large groups of enemies
- Spam dodge when in trouble. If Beast/Brawler dodges aren't good enough, switch to Rush.
- Level up dodges whenever possible. They make you godlike quickly and make you feel like Bruce Lee as you zip around enemies and stay untouched.
- Go for knives/guns first. Gun enemies are really weak almost always, and knife guys take long breaks between attacks.
- Beast mode's grab heat attack near multiple enemies is one of the best crowd control tools. It's the move where you spin the guy around to hit everyone around you.
- Always have healing items on you. You're bound to get hit by guns and knives since they're hard to notice in crowds.

Basically leveling should be: Dodges > Attack damage > Heat moves > Health

Health last because healing items are cheap and you can heal pretty much whenever you want and it's perfectly safe.

Combat does take time to get used to, but I'd suggest that you just keep playing and failing until it clicks, because it's one of the most satisfying combat systems once you realize how to fight properly.

OH! And before I forget, don't go for long combos. Kiryu's one-two punch (square,triangle) is great for knocking down guys in a hurry. Plus his gut punch (square,square,triangle if I remember correctly) takes out guys for a good while. Only use long combos when there aren't guns or knives around and you're mostly fighting 1v1 against someone.

[Man]

Hi guys,
Thank you both for answering. I have tried running around with Brawler and Rush, it does help (one-two punch combo is actually great), but I still need to get accustomed to this weird way to handle combat.

It's still very weird to me and feels off. I often fall into a combat pattern in which 2-3 ennemies atatck SINCHRONOUSLY, and once I get hit, I'll get beaten down for a good chunck of my HP.
I have also noticed ennemies can change punch directions during animations, which I cannot (maybe I'm just a noob).
For most fights, I will still consume multiple potions, is this even normal ?

What I find extremely hard, is that, while I find this experience one of the hardest I had to encounter in gaming (no ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ joke), I cannot find articles on the net discussing its difficulty ... Is it because players were already accustomed to such combat mechanics from the other Yakuza games ?

Welp, anyways, thanks for trying to reconcile me with what feels like a truly enjoyable experience.

[Kazuma Kiryu]

Check if you have the charismatic biography item equipped. It makes combat a lot harder.

[Robert F.]

You could try practicing your moves on Kiryu in Climax Battles (if available) in the main menu (pick the one that labeled "Strong Kiryu") and see if which stategy you're most comfortable with.

[NormireX]

Use Rush and dodge with A and Bob and weave holding Left Bumper. Invest in Tornado kick in Rush skills so you can hit the enemy when getting up. That should help I would hope.

[nekkernest]

Check if you have Charismatic Autobiography equipped as Kiryu . It makes combat crazy hard.It could be the case if you don't find Goro Majima fights difficult.

[Man]

Originally posted by Pattaasu Baalu:

Check if you have the charismatic biography item equipped. It makes combat a lot harder.

Yep, that was my main problem.
I can't say I still am in phase with the combat system, but other comments help me a lot, and I don't find combat to be such a sore anymore.

Therefore, thanks everyone !

[[DPDN] Leet]

Originally posted by Pattaasu Baalu:

Check if you have the charismatic biography item equipped. It makes combat a lot harder.

I love you, I was difficulty locked and this saved my ass.