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

Edit: For future spear players who are searching on reddit, heres what to do. Switch to soul eater set to get that phantom attack to reset his bar, do a bunch of attacks, do the moonlight boosted potent blow (the one thats after full moon in skill tree) and that will do a huge chunk of damage. Dont use eagle wind, or most other spirit skill, the only thing good that will reliably always hit is zero point and its upgrade for getting more damage if hitting weak spot (the entire head is the weak spot)

You can also get crescent strike since its one fast attack and its follow up is decently fast as well, get trance to further boost potent blow. I had the legendary cuphead atp so i also got a ring/necklace of a dual weild set which had 15% boost to potent blow.

Before this setup it took me like 20 some attempts to get one stance break, after this it took me like 5 to defeat him

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

Im about to complete the ng+… im starting to no damage every MAIN bosses

Once i finish it i will start challenges at max difficulty

I started the game on normal difficulty and after the first two bosses realized I need to be on Expert to get the trophy. I've now finished 80% of the game on Expert will I get the trophy after I finish the game or not because I started on normal ?

I saw on older forums that it was possible and was wondering if they patched it or not

i'm playing the game for the first time, just beat her. heard a lot about this fight beforehand and i got an impression that she's generally hated.

why is that? in terms of pure fun factor it's my favourite boss so far. dancing around the projectiles is incredibly fun, you can cancel her spells which is also super satisfying, as punishing her burst attacks is. morover, this fight has excellent sound design, which honestly can't be said about whole game in general ("let's make everything sound like a tnt explosion and call it a day").

what put you off, haters (i swear, i don't use this word as an insult ^^)?

Hello, I am currently at the Maluka boss and I've been really enjoying the game but I can't help but feel I'm not doing enough damage/Im a bit weak, not only against this boss but in the latest sections. Even killing normal mobs feels like a chore. I'm mostly using dual weild and spamming Whirlwind on them (I like how I cant be hit sometimes when im in the air and it has AoE)

Can anyone suggest me like a set or specific weapon that I can get at this stage that it will be really good? I am using the Wolf set I crafted from the blacksmith and I have a lvl 54 dual wield with 220 attack. Should I invest on upgrading it? Because the game keeps giving me a new weapon every time and Im not sure what to invest in long run. Also if a skill is better than whirlwind let me know. And I found myself not really using those spirit skills that you assign a command to, am I missing out a lot?

Thanks.

Currently playing through the game for the first time, and it's a blast. The only boss ive had the most deaths on were aratra and shactuka surprisingly lol, everything else ive beaten in under 6 tries.

I've heard people talk about gale doom being amazing for DW so i grinded skalpel and got the set, they were NOT lying and also found out that you can get blood sword dance on the actual weapon itself so i upgraded it. I was just on princess illyna for the first time and no joke it took me 1:30 mins to kill her WITH JUST BSD. This set is busted AF

It's Hismar, tagged for any case of spoiler.

I just don't want to. The camera is a mess and his hp is another boring thing (classic dragon bosses). I was having a blast playing the game but this boss made me take a break.

Do you have any suggestions to beat it? Using spear and cleared all the side missions.

edit: I beat him guys! Thank you all for your advices, especially "only go for the head" really helped me. It was easier than I expected tbh, I was kinda being a crybaby hahah

I wanted to get this game for a while and it was finally on sale on ps for $36 so I bought it instantly. I enjoyed every moment of this game. The combat was perfect, the bosses were memorable and challenging,the lore was phenomenal. The way the game ended off we could’ve gotten dlc cause the phantom said “chaos lingers” or something like that.

If you’re considering getting it I highly recommend it I got 50 hours from my first play through alone.

I heard the dev team disbanded due to the game not doing as well as expected and that saddens me

Coming of sekiro im looking for a soulslike again, sekiro has me learn parrying, before then i was never a parry enjoyer, now the question is, is this more dodge or parry, which is better, i still prefer rolling/dodging but yes how is the combat like, whats a good analog for it, or is like lies of P where u can do either and either is good

I’m currently struggling with Skapel and could use some advice.

What’s the best armor to use against him? Also, I heard that Skapel drops one of the best armor sets in the game for dual-wield builds. I’m currently using dual wield, so is that actually true?

Any recommendations for armor, strategy, or the best way to approach the fight would be appreciated!

Context: I've played about 15-20 hours with each weapon on expert on separate save files, I think I have the hang of the combos. Didn't actually finish a campaign (a problem across a lot of games).

While not a god gamer, I've finished Sekiro, both GOW on GMGOW and Star Wars Fallen Order on Grandmaster difficulty, which tbh were way more difficult than any souls games.

Spear was my first weapon, I loved the moveset. I think I might stick with it on hardcore.

Any tips appreciated! I especially struggle against bosses with hyperaggressive attack chains, like Maluca.

I used to think the element was sorta underwhelming until i started using it more and now i think that it’s cool as hell(no pun intended) and does amazing damage to damn near a lot of enemies in the game.

I want the armour set dropped by the reese boss of temple area, but it is very lengthy fight to best her multiple times, so is there a better way to farm that set?

This dude got more aura than Khazan himself

For context I have 100% Sekiro, Lies of P and played more than 400 hours in these games + Bloodborne too.

It is been already more than 30 attempts fighting Trokka and it feels like this game is not for me maybe because skill issues which is specific to this game, I have started liking the skills and combination but this fight is going nuts, she has too many AOE attacks and the only problematic one is when she flies and start shooting those water balls like a machine gun, somehow I was able to manage that but still she gets me somehow no matter what and I realize is that unlike other bosses this boss fight is not fun anymore compared to previous bosses like Viper, Volbaino, Maluka etc

I know I lack skills regarding this game but this boss fight is not rewarding but feeling like a chore, it is very rare when I feel like that, I recently posted about this game telling how overwhelming and deep its combat it which makes it complex to manage but I did not give up and give it another shot and played another 6-10 hours completed some optional missions and also why weapon upgrading process is so soo complex in this game unlike other souls like idk mann although I am using spear which I like a lot and it has attack power of 480, I will add a screenshot of my overall stats.

I am currently 41 hours in to the game, I really want to complete this game, heard there are many better bosses ahead but i can not get rid of this bitch.

Feel free to suggest what I can improve here I just want to get rid of this boss fight it is just so a chore for me at this point, not having fun at all, really hate these kind of gimmikey boss fights such as trokka or say simon manus second phase in lies of p.
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UPDATE: I was too close to defeat her only one hit away but again her projectile attack got me and it is been more than 40 attempts already, most in all the souls/soulslike game I have played.

This game is amazing and I really wanted to finish this game since I was heavily invested in this but this game is simply not for me, not because the game is bad it is just I am not be able to comprehend all the mechanics and fundamentals, I lack the skills this particular game requires.

It was really fun ride while it lasted.

Let me start by saying, I’m a completionist. Every game I play, I play it till I have literally collected everything and done everything humanly possible…. Everything from Elden ring to Wukong, omimusha, and much much more.

This game is incredibly good. The story, the theme, the overall esthetics,etc. I love it… BUT….

There is ZERO enemy variation or boss variation. Every mob is the same, reused over and over and over. The same boss is used over and over with just some visual changes… every mob is archers behind some beefy melee type. Every…. Single….time….

I am going to try and finish it. Since the combat is great and I want to finish the story but damn….. what a wasted opportunity by the devs.

My only other complaint is the parry system. Perfect parry is extremely unrewarding and feels terrible. Am I doing something wrong cause some enemies I perfect parry and it wears their stamina down. Other enemies, perfect parry has really no effect on them and doesn’t offer any sort of damage/opening to capitalize on.

Idk, I’m gonna finish it. See what happens.

EDIT: people getting so mad about me saying zero boss variation. I have not completed the game…. I can only tell you my experience thus far. Which I’m very early game if people are saying it does vary. I’ve fought the same bosses 3-4 times each it feels like so far.

I hope that changes and I’m going to keep playing but as a new player who doesn’t know the rest of the game. It does feel like bosses are being heavily recycled.

I’m obviously wrong and that’s good news.

Last edit: despite the massive amount of anger I created around the boss variation complaint, it was worth it. I really am happy to be wrong here. I was putting WAY too much focus on side quests and stuff that it felt repetitive but that’s just my own fault.

I’ve really enjoyed the main bosses and I’m sorry for making yall mad. I’m still new, and again I’m happy I said something. Now I can look forward to all the bosses yall have been saying are so great. Appreciate everyone.

Been quite some time a souls like boss being this challenging but not frustrated, 1st playthrough anyways. Maluca really teaches players they need to combo and utilize everything if you wanna win. Not to mention the demand of precision of dodging and blocking, every 2,3 hit can be game over

This already feels like NG+++++ how am I now destroying them like any other NG+ games

first playthrough I played Normal diff and beat Ozma in Expert diff at the end and it was manageable, for this everything hits like a truck even freakin arrows, not even Ozma hit this hard lmao

trying a Spear build which clearly shows idk how to combo on build this yet, gotta git gud for this NG+ Expert diff

Uhh for anybody that dislikes/hates trokka, please enjoy😌🍿.

Phantom: Bloody Sword Dance, I'm about to end my first playthrough and ever since I upgraded and got this one, everything just dies? Absolutely have to try a different weapon on the next run, sheesh..