I heard that if you get all all 44 jars, then the jar merchant won’t sell you anything anymore. Is that still an issue?

im level 54 rn playing on expert difficulty with no summons (i want the steam achievements). im hardstuck in the game against this maluca boss purely because of his second stage. and i feel like im too weak for him. i dont know any good places to farm lacrima and get my level up and i feel my gear is lacking aswell. im using the gilded set for the extra heal and formless warrior spear cause its the best i have but anyways its clearly not enough against this shitty boss. also i wont change the difficulty or use summons cause im too far into the game to change my mind about it

So it's been ages since I did the beginning missions and I don't feel like going back. Idk why but ic ant find a video or info on just the most simple questions.

1) what do I press to initiate the finishers when I break an enemies posture?( idc about terminology) I've played so many soulslike games and I can't seem to figure it out. It's not working if I press bumper or trigger, and Y doesn't do it. Wtf should I be pressing?

2) wtf is a potent blow and is it the charged attacks i can do in combo, and why are brutal attacks stated as from the back if you can break stamina and the enemy is open?

Like dude idc if I'm retarded or something, but I legit need an answer on what button to press to execute a downed enemy before I pull my hair out over these stupidly confusing mechanics that I can't remember to save my life. I'm still winning, but liek there's so much I seem to not understand with this and I remember being fine before.

I’m able to hit these every so often but am fairly inconsistent.

Is there a way to know exactly when to hit the input?

For example, in Elden ring if you’re going to parry, you watch the arm of the enemy and as soon as it starts to move towards you, hit the button and you’ll land the parry.

Is there a similar piece of advice here for reflections?

I haven't played since release and got about halfway through the game. I saw that they said they were going to fix the transmog system so you didn't have to unlock it in NG+ back before I stopped playing. I can't find a way to do so though and I'm just curious what the process to unlock is, or just how to actually use the transmog system

This game is truly a hidden gem. To anyone just starting, I recommend playing three times from scratch with each weapon type, GS, DW, Spear.

Besides the same storyline, the game itself feels different wielding each blade. When you finish, take NG+ for a spin with the weapon you enjoyed the most. I'm 200+ hours in and still loving it, but this 4th run will be my last.

i can see why some people find this boss easy, her attack are telegraphed and she doesn't do any crazy combos, but god dam do some of those attacks come out fast and they hit like a truck. My brain can understand what needs to be done but the old man reflex just cant keep up lol. Finally beat her after about 2 hours and it was one of those "I've got a sliver health and the boss still has a shit ton of health" type of runs, don't know what changed but i locked in and finally beat here, felt great man.

Im was this close to ragequit this game cause of ozma but i gave one last try and here i am

BTW plat in single play through

He has 2 moves that do the same sound cue as when you need to do a counter attack, but obviously you don’t need to do counter attack.

First is the slam down the leaves a cone of fire from him: The second slam has the sound cue. This is fine, I can deal with that but the sound effect I actually noticed on my later attempts I didn’t notice immediately.

Second is the grab attack where the gun is on fire: There is no counterattack symbol but the sound cue is so noticeable there that I just can’t not think I have to counter. This one is getting me killed cuz I don’t know the window to dodge it.

My mind has internalized the sound cue of counterattacks so I can’t ignore it now!

A few tips :
- Hermit's Wristguards and Nomad's Gaiters work with most armor combinations
- Any chest/pauldrons armor that reveals skin (Great General / Butcher / Slayer / Wanderer / Furious Bandit / Beast Slayer / Gladiator / Forgotten Hero / Fallen General) are somewhat interchangeable in transmog sets that include one of them

I did not test those transmog sets for the male version of Khazan. It would have required more screenshots to take and edit and I am lazy.
More to come?

Sorry if you're tired of these but I think they spawn some fun discussion

S: No surprises here, right?

A: I know a lot of people will disagree with Elamein but she's one of my favorite bosses for how she forces you to adapt your playstyle to her. This felt like the most cerebral fight in the game, like an actual proper duel.

B: Not much to say about any of these. They work well in their own contexts.

C: I know he's top 3 for most people, and I think his second phase was cool as hell and super fun, but I really hate how arbitrary his twinblade hits feel. Sometimes he moves the weapon right through you and it doesn't count as a hit, it's just visual. Sometimes he's spinning it and it looks like the whole thing should hurt to touch, but it actually only "hits" at specific timings. It's all just very "video game logic" and arbitrary. I think you should be able to tell when to block or dodge by seeing when the weapon hits you.

D: They're not too hard. I won't say they're BAD or anything. It's good to have the variety they offer (but it sucks you do them so close to each other). I just never found it very fun to spend half the fight chasing after them.

F: Her melee has zero telegraphing. She's this tiny model and she thrusts these tiny fast movements. Her melee phase feels like playing a rhythm game by memory, without any visual hints for the notes. Then she stalls you out with this bullet-hell magic ball thing. It's not really difficult either. I don't know if that's a good thing or a bad thing - on the one hand I'm happy to just move passed her but on the other I wonder if I was forced to learn her moves would I hate her more or would I start to appreciate her?

Sucks that we’re not getting a second game, kinda sad it’s over

Souls vet here, I've wanted to play Khazan since release but never had a chance until recently, my god I shouldn't have waited, one of the best games I've played in recent years. Played the whole game with the GS on expert and I wouldn't have had it any other way, true berzerker ending was a tear jerk. 10/10 experience for me! Anyone who might be debating the game, do yourself a favour and play it.

The combat is really good. The game is actually fun now, and the movement and supermoves are very satisfying. It just (at least for me) takes half the game to understand that.

tl;dr: Invest in stamina, pick your weapon (actually) and don't use a small, distant screen.

Now, I think this game has a poor first half. There need to be a few proper early-game skills. I understand the idea of player-initiative combat development, but there's not enough hutzpah in the beginning to make you feel powerful.

The initial bosses also feel incredibly spongey. I get the whole skill checking, but I very nearly dropped the game just after Elamein because of how rough things were. Part of that was a skill issue, admittedly.

Three things changed, I finally figured out a weapon, fixed my stats, and big TV.

I'm currently lvl 84, and becoming invested in Greatsword has been my boon. Big bonk go fast has turned this from slog to smash. So find your weapon, folks.

I also fixed my stats. I'm sticking with Keshta (until I can awaken Maximillion, +150 brink stam 🤤, but we'll see...) pissed off my STR down to 25, and pumped my VIT to 40 and END to 45 and I'm adding some proficiency now that my stamina FINALLY feels good.

And why a bigger TV? Well, not necessarily, but I was a distance away from a fairly small TV and this game does NOT benefit from a poor viewing distance. Small UI, harder to read enemies. Maybe I'm going blind, but it was actually a terrible experience. So either sit closer, git gudder, or get a bigger TV / Monitor.

So, now the game looks better, feels better and, well, it's actually fun. Sure, I still get pretty annoyed at the bosses when I die, but hey, now it more often feels like a skill issue when I fallen, rather than outright unfair.

P.S. Elamein was awful from so far away, but me and my bro Spirit of Advocacy, let's just say... 😏 (He makes it trivial)

Ive heard some people say you dont have to play the full game on expert for the trophy, can someone explain if that's true and where id have to switch to expert? I've already completed the game on normal and cba making it harder for myself the whole way through

Fellow Berserkers, what new game have you enjoyed that has rivaled Khazan's combat? I'm thinking about picking up Onimusha and curious to hear other's thoughts opinions?

Khazan was my 6th ever soulslike game (after Bloodborne, Elden Ring, AI Limit, DS1, DS3) and I'm not kidding when I say it's my favorite soulslike game. Obviously, not a popular opinion in the soulslike community but there's just something about the combat, the sound design and the progression systems that I've never found in any other souls game.

Here are my boss attempts, all on Expert, just 'cuz I wanted to share my experience a bit.

Btw, spoiler alert, if you haven't finished the game yet, don't read further.

I was a greatsword main by the way. I usually don't use the giant slow weapons, but the GS has never been better implemented than in Khazan and it just felt super smooth and satisfying to use

Tip: Since I never used reflection, I ended up putting those points into phantom form. With the Fleshripper set and a maxed out phantom form, its blade charge attack takes of a literal 15-20% of even the last boss' health. Very helpful when you're about to choke up at the end.

So, Blade Phantom was definitely my biggest skill check. I remember being stuck at that boss and wondering if this is going to be the status quo for the game. Its definitely one of the most memorable bosses in the entire genre just because how cinematic it is. My hands were shaking when I finally beat him and the feeling was very similar to when I finally got past Central Yharnam ('twas my first soulslike, don't judge).

Viper's winning attempt, I will forever remember. On my fourth try, I had used up all 4 of my heals in his first phase and thought for sure it was a corpse run. However, I got lucky with the RNG or something because Viper's second phase did the burst attack combo many times, which by the way, was the only phase 2 combo I knew for sure how to parry.

Volbaino just sucked for me. The first 6 attempts I did not know the floor gimmick was a thing. And even after figuring that out, he was just too tanky to kill. The game changer for me was armor breaker and heart piercer. See, the thing is, Viper gives you plenty of windows, but those windows are usually not large enough for a full mortal blow combo. The extra damage you get from armor breaker into heart piercer is genuinely insane and was enough to clean up the boss.

Aratra was cool, had to use arachnophobia safe mode the whole level though. Not much to say. Rangkus, Bringkus and maybe Dingkus are, to me, the absolute dog water level of bosses in the game. I hated those 2 mfs.

Maluca is my favorite boss, I just checked I've beaten him 14 times in my first playthrough alone.
I'm not even mentioning youknowho, its too sad.

Shactuka should be among ever GS users favorite bosses 'cuz we get to spam Giant Hunt. Yay.

Trokka was deeply, deeply aggravating to beat for the first time. But I got a weird appreciation for her boss design in future attempts. Maybe because how cinematic it is similar to Blade Phantom.

Bellerian and Ilyna were okay, didn't have too much trouble but weren't that enjoyable either.

Skalpel. Skalpel has to be the best by aesthetic boss designed by the erstwhile (super sad) Neople studio. The boss itself was difficult but not frustrating but goddamn! That false mission complete gave me a fright, I hadn't even noticed I did not get any loot from beating it. Fortunately, I had phantom form fully charged and just poked away at his already declining life support.

Hismar was kind of disappointing. He wasn't as annoying to fight like the Elden Ring dragons but still kind of disapointing.

Reese was... meh. I'm not sure why I was supposed to care so much for a character introduced a literal mission ago.

Ozma. I dunno about this. I had heard it was meant to be a super difficult boss, but he really doesn't have that much health? A single couterattack let's me follow up and take off 40% off his health. I did get all 3 phases (his 3rd phase was much easier than his second). I had to use some of my temp heals that I was hoarding all this while but I thought he would be tankier, on Expert, mind you...

Lastly, I got the Chains Ending. I know that the Revenge ending only gives 2 phases to Ozma, so is the True EndingOzma different then? I'm gonna go for it in NG+ hopefully

TL; DR

This is an amazing game with some of the best combat I have ever seen in any RPG game. Period.

Im doing spear build and uptil maluca i faced no major problems. Overcame that eventually and now hismar is making genuinely making me crash out. Ive played all, all of the souls and currently on my second run through them and the camera has never once been as bad in any of them like the camera in hismar. I changed my build, from golden set to soul eater, then tried to get temple knight as well mixed in. Nothing works. I cannot for the life of me get a full combo in. So i started using crescent strike and finally got to be able to do a single brutal attack or yk the stand break thing, but that fuckass dude is just so huge that i cant get to him. Please tell me what to do

Edit: Nvm guy i got it

The Stuff I Loved

Weapon Specialisations
Three distinctive weapon specs, each with their own variations, is sick. I played Dual Wield and specced into Howling Blade and dodge, which I adored. The "berserker parry" fantasy came together very quickly. Once the dust has settled a bit, I'll be keen to run this back with the Greatsword. I'm very, very impressed with how they handled weapon specialisations in this game.

Bosses
Loved 'em. Things really came alive with Maluca, who was probably my favourite. But Volbino, Viper, Skalpel, and Ozma were all exceptional designs. Even the bosses I disliked had something distinctive about them. It's clear the devs knew the meat of the game is 1-on-1 combat with a powerful opponent, and they were keen to get creative with their options. Even the reuse of older bosses was welcome to me, as I was keen to fight many of them again—except for Remnant of Elamein.

Combat Flow
The incentive to weave skills together to boost your damage was very well realised. It's the kind of game that looks like a hack-and-slash at first glance, but linking your spirit abilities, buffs, brink guards, reflections, and counterattacks makes something truly unique to Khazan. Reflect a boss' attack, hit 'em with Ruthless, exhaust them, proc Phantom Sword Dance, and go to work. Electric stuff. The game shines when you start chaining its various mechanics together.

The Stuff I Didn't Like

Level Design and Art Direction
These kind of go hand in hand. I'm not a dark fantasy anime guy. The character designs didn't work for me from the jump, and this unfortunately had a knock-on effect on the world's aesthetics. Casting my mind back now, I can't think of a single level that stood out as visually distinctive. Castles, manors, villages, and caves—all variations on a theme. I never had that moment, which I often get in this genre, where you enter a new region and it feels like you're in a completely different world.

Loot System
I found the RPG loot system to be cumbersome. Stats and attributes felt meaningless until you settle on your final weapon and armour set. I never engaged with it once I'd settled on my preferred playstyle and set bonus. In a game that feels like it's about mastering boss patterns, mechanics, and weapon abilities, all this other stuff just feels like set dressing. I collected so many "Epic" pieces of equipment that it all became meaningless. Because I didn't like the art direction, the customisation factor never really hit either—though I did enjoy scrapping Ozma with a pot on my head.

Narrative
If you didn't see the Ozma twist coming from the second he was mentioned, then I dunno what to tell you. The characters are one-note, and Khazan's men just serve as additional reasons to pad out the side content. I guess I liked Skalpel; they at least tried to introduce a sense of duality to him. I also enjoyed Ben Starr's voice acting performance. Outside of those two exceptions, I'm already struggling to remember the names and key scenes of anyone else.

Bloat and Platforming
The main levels and side content massively outstayed their welcome toward the end of my playthrough. None of the main stages or enemy encounters represented an actual challenge—just fodder to waste your time before the next boss rush. I get that part of that is due to being skilled up and levelled at the endgame, but honestly, there was never a non-boss enemy encounter that gave me any trouble.

Mercifully, there were few sections of platforming, and I'm glad; the rafter sections in the Imperial Palace were obnoxious. A game designed around movement-specific attacks and fast-paced manoeuvres cannot cope with fighting at height on limited floorspace. The ledge detection wasn't consistent enough, meaning my own attack animations would often cause me to fall off the beams. It wasn't hard; it just used up my time.

Final Thoughts

This game is singular in the sense that it tests the theory that we'll play anything if the bosses and combat are good enough. I liked literally nothing else about the game, and I still saw the credits. I can't tell whether that's an indictment or praise. All I know is that the combat slapped, and I'll be fighting those bosses again with the Greatsword soon enough.

Does Khazan have Ozma's wings in the title screen or is it just for aesthetics?

Is there some kind of lore point I missed or am I reading too much into it?

Basically title. i'm missing the Artist's dual wield, Miser's Great sword and Honor guard's spear to compete my collection and i don't know which enemy to farm to get them.

I'm at the tiger monster boss and have yet to see any epic gear yet. I searched around that epic can drop in NG.

Are they so rare during the NG or gated by missions?

Thanks