Nioh and Nioh 2

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ratsoalbion
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Nioh and Nioh 2

Post by ratsoalbion »

Looks like this has been something of a surprise hit as neither I nor Leah could go to a shop and buy a copy today due it it being sold out.
Of the rest of the team James already has it, and possibly Sean too..?

Any of you guys and gals on the Team Ninja does Souls wagon?
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KSubzero1000
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Re: Nioh

Post by KSubzero1000 »

The demo was very promising so the game is definitely on my radar, but I've chosen not to buy it at launch. I can't justify paying 60€ for a Team Ninja game after the 10+ years of mishandling the Ninja Gaiden franchise as well as their shameless business model on DoA5. But I could definitely be tempted by a complete version at some point later down the line. I hope it's a great as everyone says and that you're all having a blast with it, though!
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Chopper
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Re: Nioh

Post by Chopper »

I'll most likely be getting it, though I'm away from home till next week so I have time to mull it over.

I really enjoyed the demo but struggled mightily with the Ogress boss. Several rage quits were involved. I might be moving on from the 'gated by a massive boss' type gameplay so I'll have a think.
PapaJupe13

Re: Nioh

Post by PapaJupe13 »

I have been playing for two days. Gotten through the first real mission and a side quest.
And I am ready to say something really ignorant....like this is one of the best games I have ever played.

As far as boss battles being too difficult, that worries me too.
But gradually, there are tactics coming out that make some of these boss fights much easier to handle.
For instance, that first one on the boat, using the blinding bombs created through one of the ninja skills makes it very hard for the boss to hit you with his weapon. And during his second phase, the bomb will make him literally stand there and chuck his weapon at the wall, giving you ample opportunity to whup his ass.
I know there is a magic that makes the second boss move at like 50% speed (and other bosses/enemies too). But you actually have to beat her once and play a dojo side mission that opens after in order to get the magic. It is called Sloth.
And of course I will just SunBro it up if anything gets too crazy. I have no shame.
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Alex79
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Re: Nioh

Post by Alex79 »

Definitely interested, but buying it now would be a waste of money since I am halfway through a few other games. I'll certainly be picking it up at some point though.
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Stanshall
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Re: Nioh

Post by Stanshall »

Well, I decided to get involved while this is hot, it'll stop me thinking about the Switch for a bit, hopefully. Very very Demon's so far, which is great in my book. Like, very very very Demon's. I will miss the Souls lore and so on but as a pure mechanical thrill, I'm looking forward to putting some serious time into this.
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Suits
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Re: Nioh

Post by Suits »

I watched the GB Quick Look and thought it looked cool.

Checked my local Smyths Toys and there were copies in stock, so I thought I'd go grab it.

Then I looked on my game shelf and saw Dark Souls 2 and Bloodbourne sitting there, that I've not played and feared this would go the same way.

I just don't have the time to invest in these types of games :( .
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Chopper
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Re: Nioh

Post by Chopper »

Was at home for a while yesterday evening so finally got a go on this - three hours just flew by!

I only got up to the first proper boss. Very enjoyable, though the individual mook combat was quite easy and enemies seemed to have a very small player-detection range. Hopefully this changes as you progress.

Am away from home again now till Friday, really looking forward to getting back to it.
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Stanshall
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Re: Nioh

Post by Stanshall »

Really looking forward to getting stuck into this over the weekend. I opted for the kusarigama, which reminds me of playing Extreme Conkers as a kid. Eye injuries all over the playground and consistently sore knuckles. Great times. Using the low stance, you build up a head of steam and burn through your ki like it's nothing. A well-timed ki pulse and you're good to go all over again. Anyone swinging something big and pointy is getting pulverised when you get on the inside. I love it.
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Chopper
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Re: Nioh

Post by Chopper »

Spent a bit of time on this yesterday. Got up to Hion-Enma who gave me all sorts of issues. The bosses certainly don't seem to lack variety in their attacks :?

The different strategies available from the off - high medium or low stance, with your movement speed coming from both that and your armour choice - tends to muddy the waters excessively for me, and prolong the fight (or at least the endless dying) as I hum and haw over the best loadout.

In the end I summoned help. On the second boss :oops:
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Stanshall
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Re: Nioh

Post by Stanshall »

I summoned for the first. I'm too used to i-frames and dodging through attacks. I have no idea about the strategy I should have used on that boss because I could only get one hit in with the spear before he'd spin and wipe out two thirds of my health. I'm really enjoying the mob enemies and exploring but that boss was no fun at all.

The guy I summoned was using magic and seemed to hit two or three times as hard as me, and I've basically just been grinding the first couple of areas levelling up. I feel like there's something I'm missing at the moment. Maybe I should just use a regular sword for DPS.
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Chopper
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Re: Nioh

Post by Chopper »

Haha, yeah :D

After getting a bit frustrated I looked at a video of the boss fight a PSN friend had up, and he was hitting hard, not to mention summoning some kind of spirit animal which was laying waste to the boss.

On the other hand I'm chipping away for ages and one wrong step means death...

There must be a lot of stuff we're missing. As you say, it's nice and easy and enjoyable getting through the levels..
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Stanshall
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Re: Nioh

Post by Stanshall »

I will probably look into weapon upgrades, as well, because it's all a bit overwhelming at the minute. I'm just picking stuff up and using the thing with the greatest attack power. Glad to hear I'm not alone. I suspect it does mean that these systems are pretty deep and allow for a lot more options than we're used to from Souls games. I'm playing it like Souls and I'm currently baffled, to be honest!
Todinho

Re: Nioh

Post by Todinho »

Ok so I've been playing the game since the alpha demo and I just arrived at the second region of the game so I thought I'd give you guys a few tips to help you through it:

-Master stance switching and Ki Pulsing: Yeah this one is kinda of obvious but I cant stress this enough,sure you can go through the game without doing it but you're basically tying your own arm back during combat,Stances switching is really usefull because for example High stance while high damage makes you slow and a rich target for Hine-Enma so you'll probably die or take forever to kill her because every hit will be costly,low stance for example allows you to quickly dodge around get a bunch of hits in and them dodge out, Ki pulsing goes without saying is vital it allows you to keep on the attack or it gives you that extra Ki to dodge away or to block. In short High stance is good to batter at a weakened enemy that cant react quickly(say when they are out of Ki),Mid stance is good for defending and attacking in equal measure, Low stance is good for dodging and getting damage in it`s pretty usefull agaisnt more powerfull enemies you cant afford to get hit but that you still need to hit.

-BLOCK!: I see alot of people neglecting this but if you think you cant dodge something just block, in this game is vital to avoid damage at most because even a basic enemies combo can easily kill you so even if they break your guard and you take damage is better then eating the full combo and dying like say the combo of Hino-Enma, also there a some moves that cant be blocked like grabs or that will simply smash your guard pay attention to those.

-Keep your weapons up to date: I see this happening alot too people just pick a type of weapon and stick to it just changing it to one that has a higher damage number,first off it's better to have a weapon that you're comfortable with the moveset then one you're not, but it's also important to look at the many passive bonus weapons give you like Bonus to light attack,plus to life,etc. Purple weapons have the best bonus while white have the worst which why is important to pay attention to that,sometimes a purple weapon has a lower damage number but the bonus makes up for it, also if you have a good purple weapon but a find a really good white one with better damage dont switch,that white weapon likely has a higher level(which you can see in the upper left corner of the menu) so go to the blacksmith and use soul matching to elevate the level of your purple weapon at the expense of your white one thus increasing the damage of the purple one but keeping the bonuses it gives you. Lastly if you want more information on the gear you`re using just press Options while on the weapon menue and it will give you a more detailed explanation on what everything means.

-How to use the Blacksmith: So this is a bit complicated but it's important,not only can you do soul matching to increase the level and stats of your gear using other gear but if you dont like a particular bonus a weapon or armor gives you,you can make that item better by re-rolling that bonus at Reforge. Also it's always better to dissassembled weapons and armor if they are any color other then white because that gets you materials,and why getting materials is good? Because If you disassemble a purple weapon you get purple materials and this is usefull because when you ask the blacksmith to forge a new weapon you will see what weapon it is,the level and damage but up top also the probablity of the rarity type(White,Yellow,Blue,Purple) and you`re gonna want the weapon with the most rarity like purple so the more purple materials you have better the chance of having her forge a purple weapon instead of a comon white one,you can go through the game without engaging with this but it`s always better to have more options.

-How to use techniques: Ok so this is also important,when you use a type weapon alot or put points in skill or strength at the Shrine you get samurai points that allow you to buy new skills and moves for your weapons. The important techniques to get at first are: Ki pulsing while dodging in all 3 stances(this is usefull because with this you can attack and quickly dodge out of harms way while regaining Ki,awesome right!) and damage bonus while Ki pulsing to different stances(so like say when you Ki pulse from mid to high stance you get a bonus in attack for a little while this also stress the importance of Ki pulsing and stance switching. These techniques in particular are very important because they go across all weapons so no matter what you`re using it`s gonna work.
Now for weapon especific ones it`s gonna be dependant of the weapon but it`s good to pick techniques that help you chip the enemies Ki, now I havent explored much of the skill tree of the Kusarigama or Axe but for example the Both the Sword,Dual Swords and Spear have a kick move in which at the end of a SQUARE combo you press Triangle to perform a kick on the enemy this really damages their Ki and is really usefull, also the Sword has a similar move you can do while guarding at High stance that sends a shockwave that damages their Ki which is super usefull.

-Ninjutsu and Magic: You dont have to want to do a Ninja build or a Mage build to want to spend points in those, for example the Ninja skill tree has a move that allows you to perform a backstab on unaware enemies which is really usefull,also the ninja tree allows you to get a bunch of pills that help you with stats ailments like say the paralysis of Hino-Enma, Magic gives you talismans that buff your weapons with different effects which can be usefull. The best thing about the itens these skills give you is that they always restock at a Shrine so you dont have to worry. That said use your regular itens too,bombs,talismans,sacred watter and more are all usefull in many situations and you have a limit to how many you can carry so there`s no point in hoarding.

-Use your Living Weapon!: So at the start of the game you get a spirit guardian this little guy not only gives you a bunch of passive bonus and guards your Amrita when you die but when your Amrita gauge is full you can press Triangle and Circle to use the living weapon which is basically Devil Trigger or Rage of Gods mode from a character action game, it`s really usefull to get a bunch of damage in because not only you`re invincible but you do alot more damage, dont get hit though! This mode is timed and if you get hit that meter drops by alot. you can see if you can use the Living Weapon by looking at the upper left corner of the screen,if you spirit animal icon is shimering you can use it! Also when you`re at a shrine take a look at the guardian spirits you have,each has different bonuses they give and you might want on over another,for example Kato increases your damage and gives you Fire damage during the living weapon while Dashi-Wabishasi increases your dodge and gives you Wind damage in the Living Weapon. Also pay attention to the bonuses that are the spirits give that are locked behind a certain level,this is what the SPIRIT stat is used for if you level that up you can unlock more bonuses from your guardian spirits.

I think this covers almost everything I hope it has been usefull XD, more importantly though have fun if that means summoning do it!

PS: Ok one last thing remember that you can summon the revenant of dead players from their bloodstains this is good because you can see the gear they had when they died, so if you summon them and kill them you get gear so it`s always good to do so if you see a purple armor or weapon since you might get them.
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ratsoalbion
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Re: Nioh

Post by ratsoalbion »

Great stuff - thanks for the tips, Toodles!
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Chopper
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Re: Nioh

Post by Chopper »

Very nice tips, thanks Todinho!
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Stanshall
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Re: Nioh

Post by Stanshall »

Thanks for the tips, great stuff. I've spent a good few hours on this today and certain aspects of the combat mechanics and upgrade systems have started to click. I've beaten the second proper boss but again had to summon. I reckon if I had prepared for it with certain items and defensive stats appropriate to the enemy, I'd have done better solo but I'm not especially enjoying the bosses so far, they seem too punishing to be much fun so I'm happy to summon and try solo on another playthrough once I've got the hang of the game.

Very very good game, though, I'm really surprised by how good it is. It's a true evolution. The story isn't anything as enigmatic or powerful as Miyazaki stuff but it's actually pretty cool, I'm enjoying it, and it's properly atmospheric. Gorgeous music, too, definitely some here for a future SoP episode!
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Stanshall
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Re: Nioh

Post by Stanshall »

Well, I'm off work this week and I've absolutely hammered this today. I just want more shortcut slots! I've opened up so many magic options and ninjitsu buffs and the like that I'm running out of space for the common items like health and antidotes. I can point at various annoyances like instant drowning deaths and the like and grab attacks which are impossible to read (for me) but it's like a combination of Demon's Souls and Bayonetta. A hell of a lot of fun. I'm also really enjoying the medieval Japan aesthetic, the mythical monster designs are like something from the Buddhist vision of hell. It's just very damn cool.
Todinho

Re: Nioh

Post by Todinho »

Yeah the game just constantly surprises me,for example I thought that the japanese aesthetic would get samey after awhile but no every stage is cool and interesting in it's own way, also I love how tightly designed they are. While story doesnt seem nothing to write home about having a huge Bio of all the characters and monsters is really cool and interesting, I also like how whenever you get a new guardian spirit you get a cutscene basically giving you what that character is about in a short time is a good way to effectivelly show these characters because of how little time you have with them and the sheer amount of them in the game and I have to say as someone who isnt too familiar with the history of 1600's Japan it has been really interesting.

One thing I noticed yesterday that gave me a new appreciation for the mid-stance is that it's the only stance where your Ki recovers while you're blocking which can be pretty usefull especially in stage 5 where you cant afford to dodge around too much. Also parrys are tricky to pull off at times but boy does it feel good when you do it,especially when you do it to a Boss.
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Stanshall
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Re: Nioh

Post by Stanshall »

Yeah, the architecture and material details are wonderful, so evocative, especially in a thunderstorm! I may have misheard but I'm sure CJ said on the latest Twin Humanities that it's based on an Akira Kurosawa script. I adore that whole vibe, stuff like The Hidden Fortress and Ran, so thick with atmosphere. I also love the tone of the dialogue and the political intrigue. It's actually quite boring (!) for a modern audience but it really evokes the era, in as much as I've experienced it through film. There's a moment when you're walking up some steps in a cut scene which is just brilliant, and just like something from the film Sword of Doom, which isn't Kurosawa but it's almost as good, despite the daft title. Anyway, I'm waffling somewhat now but yeah, I really love the aesthetic and tone.

The Oni and Yokai are also beautifully consistent, so well animated and quite frightening and grotesque at times but I'm left with a sense of their beauty and elegance and power, rather than the dread which Bloodborne gives me. I can't say it's quite as powerful or so environmentally rich in terms of storytelling, it just isn't, but it is a lot of fun to play, and I can't stop thinking about jumping back into that world.
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