Fighting Golems

[Jennay]

**Potential Spoilers**

So I'm at the part where you meet Grand Inqusitor Jia and you have to fight the two golems. I definitely built chi and a little bit of health, so my focus is really low and my weapons are not that good. Does anyone have any tips for fighitng the golems? Is there a particular companion I could bring to make it easier? Am I ♥♥♥♥ outta luck when I run out of focus?

[stcaFylnO]

Spoilers? Good grief, everything below this point. This one here "___" <---Don't read past this point! You're still reading, aren't you ;)

Some quick ideas:
-Use some Gems to boost Focus.
-Sky will provide Focus regeneration, as a follower (support skill).
-Use good weapons like Tang's Vengence or some of the other late game weapons.
-Maybe revert to a previous save, then farm other areas first to build up levels and gems.
-Get the Techniques that boost Focus, like at shops, as rewards, and Lord Lao's upgrades.

See the next post for details and more ideas, if you can stomach the verbosity (regurg-osity?).

[stcaFylnO]

Only weapons and transformations damage them. If you don't have either, you're still out of luck, unless...

A few too many miscellaneous ideas:
-Turn down difficulty temporarily?
-Maybe a Transformation on Student level might kill the Golems well (tell me if it works)?
-Use a gem that increases Focus sphere drops (power-ups)?
-Maybe set a follower on combat mode & let them kill while you evade (if no Focus left)?
-If backing up and farming some levels, boost weapon performance, not just Focus.
-Maybe try the Demon Staff (free), or Dragon Sword ($10k) upgrades for basic weapons (both: +25% damage); they do not impress me, see below.

Technique upgades may help a lot versus Golems.
Some of the biggest are from Lord Lao. Look online and see that one is +30 Focus, which is nothing to sneeze at vs. your Golem fight. Collecting all the small ones may not seem like much, but over time, they add up.

Chi Strike can add damage to your attack:
EDIT: If low level and low Chi, it is not usually worth it; it might help kill an enemy with one less weapon combo. It works best with unarmed styles (but costs a lot of Chi), affect magic attacks slightly (had to try Student mode to see it), and isn't always a good idea to burn with Supports and Unique (Spirit Thief). It can be activated for any style, but not all have the upgrade path. So, short answer? Don't waste points on this versus your Golems... unless you just need to kill it a couple seconds sooner; however, with lots of Chi & on JM, it is quite valuable.

Hoard a level-up:
Don't spend the Ability Points; then when necessary, spend them to fill your HP, Chi, and Focus meters. Not during battles though, but between them it works. This is helpful to recharge if there are no shrines, power-ups, or follower.

Hoarding the Scroll Stands:
If you enter the Jade Golem fight with a hoarded level and almost enough points to level again. The meters can all be filled after the fight, then read the scroll to level up a second time. Kill the next boss, then if meters are depelted, level up a second time to fill meters. Saving scroll stands until last, or when needed to hoard a level is a great way to always be prepared and level up higher by saving them till later (more XP per level, more XP with "Gem of the Frail Scholar").

Better Weapon?
Tang's Vengeance costs ZERO Focus when "Focus Cost Reduction" is maxed out (5 slots cost 23 points). I forgot about this, it is another great reason to use TV late game. Here is more information about weapons...

I just tested Fortune's Favorite, Demon Staff, and Crimson Tears on basic Golems. I recommend the Crimson Tears if you can't hold out for Tang's Vengeance instead. CT style is incredibly fast and does much better damage than regular long swords and staves. Even without upgrades, CT does admirably versus lil' gollies. CT is acquired sooner than TV and from easier fights too (both are free rewards). TV rules for aggressive footwork, cleaving sweeps, crowds, insane reach, and high damage; meanwhile, CT is great for being jumpy, in-&-out tactics, single opponents, and partial combos (actually, all styles benefit from partial combos and even interupting styles with others). I've learned to like the Dragon Sword more, if improved; on JM I really enjoy it as Demon Sword while toggling with Tang's Vengeance, they ruled in your Jade Golem fight.

Tactical Tips?
Be nimble: In-&-Out tactics, jump past them, hit them from behind, roll into them before striking; trick them into attacking, evade, then hit them while they are trapped in a recovery state. Be patient and work on one at a time, while waiting for openings, rather than taking risks. I usually like followers on support, but they are good decoys and may cause enemies to block more often (leaving them wide open to heavy attacks). Avoid trapping yourself in recovery states... only use partial combos and also interupt the recovery animations by swapping styles at high speed, unless time permits otherwise. Some attacks cause the character to move counter-clockwise around enemies, so roll to the same direction between attacks (TV's combo is the prime example). Fortune's Favorite can be upgrded to cost zero Focus also, so that is nice, and it may be a good alternative if you don't have other options.

Final note on Transformations:
Some people love them, I never did on Xbox, but the Jade Master mode on PC is changing my opinion. I use them just to dispel status effects and apply status effects (except for the exceptions on both counts), why? Spend 69 points to totally max it out, and it might kill an enemy a little faster than base design. I'd rather dump my points into things that get more use. Mobility rules and ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ are not mobile. Early ones are a waste of points, while late ones come very late (not available during the Jade Golem fight). Even on Grand Master difficulty, the peformance begins to wane, but plummets on Jade Master (my experience is mostly from Xbox, & now JM). Horse Demon, Jade Golem and Red Minister ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ are perfect in some scenarios, but the first won't help you here and the other two aren't available for your fight, unless you are playing JM. If on JM, then everything changes. With so many points available and increased enemy damage reduction, maxed out Transformations, Demon Sword, and Tang's Vengeance all work great if toggling. In your case, for these Golems, a weapon and Focus seems more appropriate.

Edits?

A youtube video displays classic toggling (style interupts) and Horse Demon immolation versus other demons; beware of golems though, they don't stagger or suffer from status effects, so it is best to hit and evade instead, see link in other post:

Jade Master Difficulty: Combat Strategies
http://steamcommunity.com/app/7110/discussions/0/215439774860857369/

Many, for readability, clarification, typos, additons, etc.