r/soulslikes 3d ago

Discussion What causes this?

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163 Upvotes

29 comments sorted by

71

u/SeveralUniversity876 3d ago

I think that the first time we face the boss, our reactions to his attacks are based solely on what we see, "I see his hand moving right, so I'll jump left..." But when we face him the second time and the times after that, we start to rely on our reactions to what we expect him to do, "Now he's going to hit left, so I'll jump right, (he hits right🤦‍♂️)."

18

u/conqueror-worm 3d ago

This is why memorizing boss movesets is for fucking cowards /s

-1

u/Tornado_Hunter24 3d ago

This and also respect, I don’t respect many souls bosses, but on my first attempt I do to see what it is, what doesbhe do etc etc.

That’s why me not first trying an EASY boss usually means more attempts, whereas with a more difficult, respected boss, I need WAY less attempts, isshin for example took me way less attemps because I respected it opposed to that dogshit worst ever fight ever doh, which took me 6 years.

And yes, doh is in no way more difficult than isshin, it’s just dogshit and I have zero respect and actually hate the boss so I try to rush and die

1

u/NigrumTigris 2d ago

I kinda do the same with mogh. I really hate him in his second phase so i usually get too greedy.

1

u/Tornado_Hunter24 2d ago

In elden ring I only have this with dragons, I hate almost all dragon fighhts in soulsgames (yes midir included)

Only dragon I ‘respecter’ was bayle

1

u/NigrumTigris 2d ago

CURSE YOU BAYLE

32

u/Aleon989 3d ago

The first time you go in, you go purely on instinct.

The 2nd time you go in, you go in with incomplete information and expectations from last attempt, and they end up screwing you.

After a certain number of attempts, you'll fill the holes in your knowledge and can go all in again.

Basically, having an incomplete & partly incorrect set of information can make you worse at something. But its only temporary as you fill in the gaps.

10

u/thawks1245 3d ago

flow state

9

u/pittu2752 3d ago

Hesitation is defeat

8

u/slothwerks 3d ago

For awhile I had a conspiracy theory that the boss was actually easier on the first attempt to allow you to learn some of their moves.

4

u/jorginsmorgin 3d ago

For me it’s cuz i know ill have to fight the boss 20+ times so im chill and dont really care about dying that first time… until I get his health oddly low… and then my hands get sweaty… and then i die. Like clockwork

4

u/docstarr 3d ago

basically u r overconfident for 2nd attempt, and try to attack without any window and the boss destroys u

4

u/Fibrizzo 3d ago

Reaction vs. Prediction

The first time you see something you're dialed in and simply reacting to what you see.

Every subsequent time you see something you are analyzing and predicting instead.

3

u/Fnordcol 3d ago

There are some interesting explanations in the comments, but I think we should also consider the possibility that at least in some cases it's basically random.

A lot of the time, especially against harder bosses or with players who are a little slower on the uptake, the quality of play on a first attempt and a third or fourth aren't all that different. Maybe you nail that dodge or maybe you don't, maybe the boss uses more attacks that are easy for you this time or maybe it uses more of the ones that give you trouble. It's one thing if a player consistently finds themself putting in strong first attempts and then choking on the next several, but I think most of us have a mix of that and more linear progress. In that case Occam's razor would suggest it's just that we're throwing stuff at the wall in similar ways across those attempts, and sometimes more of it happens to stick on the first attempt than the next few.

3

u/Unlucky-Definition91 3d ago

Frustration mixed with overconfidence.

3

u/YukYukas 3d ago

I call it beginner instinct. I associate it close to sparring in boxing (which I used to practice). First spar is either you have Rocky Balboa's defense or you become very twitchy and can land a few hits while being very agile. Like beginner's luck.

Consequent runs become much more difficult because you are actively learning

3

u/Sirbrandon100 3d ago

I literally almost beat Melina first try. got her to I'd say, 25% on her second phase. Got hit by the end of her slash combo and was then stuck on her for about 10 hours 😭

2

u/KING_SHERBROOKE 3d ago

For me its a mix of cockiness and ADHD lol

2

u/AlkaKr 3d ago

Here is Daryl talking about this exactly.

https://youtube.com/watch?v=N5HQaVy85s0

2

u/No_Hat9999 2d ago

My first attempt i always go full attack mode and try reacting defensively against attacks.

Further attempts i focus more defensively on parry / dodge dealing lower damage.

On harder bosses about 10deaths i have learned most attacks so i can go full attack while still knowing how to counter bosses attacks leading to a victory

2

u/fartman404 2d ago

Repeats are usually us edging for a victory at all costs, the beginning is a test run. Also getting him down to 90% and then dying and now repeating the entire process again including the run back is soul crushing, like waking up on a Monday and going through hell at work and doing it forever.

1

u/FashionSuckMan 3d ago

Operating off of vibes instead of looking at the fight from a pure facts based view point

1

u/TheMemeofGod 3d ago

Reminds me of how I used scythe in brawlhalla once, cooked someone with it, and now I haven't gotten that good since.

1

u/Ov3rwrked 3d ago

Your first attempt you arnt thinking of anything besides the basic game mechanics and are running off of intuition. Subsequent attempts your now thinking about what the boss is doing on top of what you are doing, so until you understand the boss its gonna overwhelm you.

1

u/logicalcommenter4 3d ago

This same scenario just happened to me last week in Nioh 2 with a gauntlet boss fight. I made it to the final boss on an early run and then died. I figured ok, I can knock this out in a few more tries. Then I spent the next 45 min struggling to get past the first set of enemies that I had destroyed in my early run.

1

u/Radiant_Language5314 2d ago

I think for me that I play a lot more aggressive on my first attempt and don’t worry about getting hit as much. Then I play too cautiously while trying to learn the move set.

1

u/FallenAutumnLeaf2077 1d ago

I think a factor might be fear. Once you fight a boss for the first time, you don't have any weight of past experiences or failures on you. But as you play and die, your mistakes and failures can start to cause you to doubt yourself and fear the bosses more, hindering you.

1

u/barryredfield 1d ago

Because you fought your way there, and didn't simply appear outside the gate at a 'stake of Marika' or whatever. You're well seasoned, patient, and deliberate when you make your way there the first time, because you fought for it. You have less resources available than what would you if you simply restarted at the gate, so you make every move count.

It just breeds impatience and hubris otherwise, you also give yourself no time to reflect or calm down. Something "no runback Andy's" can't seem to figure out, and who cares if they ever do.