NIOH

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sze5003

Lifer
Aug 18, 2012
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682
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What brightness do you have it set on? Seems I can't leave the london tower since I can't see 2 feet in front of me. Something I hated about these type of games. Kind of getting used to the combat but I'm annoyed I can't see anything.
 

sze5003

Lifer
Aug 18, 2012
14,319
682
126
How the hell do you beat the second boss if you have nothing left to block paralyses ?
 

SteveGrabowski

Diamond Member
Oct 20, 2014
8,979
7,693
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How the hell do you beat the second boss if you have nothing left to block paralyses ?

Ah Hino-Enma. That has to be the hardest early game boss I have ever fought in a game. You can't block the paralysis. You have to roll to the side (eg double tap the dodge button while also moving sideways) to avoid that when you hear her yell.
 

sze5003

Lifer
Aug 18, 2012
14,319
682
126
Ah Hino-Enma. That has to be the hardest early game boss I have ever fought in a game. You can't block the paralysis. You have to roll to the side (eg double tap the dodge button while also moving sideways) to avoid that when you hear her yell.
Yea she's super tough. I watched a video of a guy who put on some special talisman or something. Or it may have been an outfit. But after he was getting hit with her paralysis move, he was able to move without an issue.

I think it's better to stay close to her. This level barely dropped any better weapons or useful items. I die within 20 seconds of entering the battle lol.
 

SteveGrabowski

Diamond Member
Oct 20, 2014
8,979
7,693
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I think it's better to stay close to her. This level barely dropped any better weapons or useful items. I die within 20 seconds of entering the battle lol.

It's not. That paralysis attack is a lot harder to dodge close up but even worse, if you stick close to her she does a blood sucking attack that's very hard to dodge and does huge damage to you while also healing her.
 

SteveGrabowski

Diamond Member
Oct 20, 2014
8,979
7,693
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Yea she's super tough. I watched a video of a guy who put on some special talisman or something. Or it may have been an outfit. But after he was getting hit with her paralysis move, he was able to move without an issue.

He might have been using acupuncture needles; those remove paralysis immediately. They're not common enough for you to use in your fight with Hino-Enma though, because trust me: you will be fighting her many times before you kill her. I'd put the acupuncture needles in one of your quick usage slots but I'd only use one if you have her health very low and just get caught in a paralysis while being just about to kill her.

Also weapon drops are kind of lame in Nioh. I only keep weapons with transferable skills that I want and disassemble all the others for crafting material. The only drops I ever keep and use are armor since occasionally you'll get a really good effect like Shorten Ki Recovery Time on a piece of armor. By the time I got to Hino-Enma I was already using exotic weapons and armor I crafted.
 

sze5003

Lifer
Aug 18, 2012
14,319
682
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I used 3 acupuncture needles and I'm down to two. I read about equipping the Archer gear as it will lower your effect from her paralyses move. Not sure if I have any though. I also can't seem to find out how to make the throwing stars either. I put some points in ninja skills and I have a ninja tool box that I can't seem to interact with.

The guy in the video equipped a paralyses charm. I haven't come across one during the level. But I also took a few shortcuts. Maybe I'll try and kill all the enemies in that open area right before her cave in hopes of finding some anti paralyses gear.
 

SteveGrabowski

Diamond Member
Oct 20, 2014
8,979
7,693
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I used 3 acupuncture needles and I'm down to two. I read about equipping the Archer gear as it will lower your effect from her paralyses move. Not sure if I have any though. I also can't seem to find out how to make the throwing stars either. I put some points in ninja skills and I have a ninja tool box that I can't seem to interact with.

The guy in the video equipped a paralyses charm. I haven't come across one during the level. But I also took a few shortcuts. Maybe I'll try and kill all the enemies in that open area right before her cave in hopes of finding some anti paralyses gear.

You might have to go to the ninja tab in the skills tree to be able to craft stars. Then you get something like 7 every time you start a level or pray at a shrine. The regular stars are really only useful for picking enemies out of groups, like pebbles are in Bloodborne. You can open up paralysis stars in that skill tree though, and those are useful. There might be a paralysis charm in the onmyo magic skill tree, but I never bothered because the paralysis attack from Hino-Enma is easy to dodge by rolling when you hear the scream. The attack where she swoops into you, the bloodsucking attack, and the spin attack she does are much more dangerous in that fight IMO (especially the bloodsucking attack). She doesn't give such obvious warning on those attacks.

The best talisman to get from the onmyo magic tab is sloth, it's extremely useful in boss fights, though in Hino-Enma's case it makes the timing to dodge the paralysis attack much more difficult whereas it's extremely easy to dodge normally.

Another thing you might consider is using one of the branches to get out of that level and then do some side missions so you can craft better weapons. The level of gear you can craft seems dependent on the best level of gear you have found, so doing side missions and twilight missions at a higher level than that cave you're in will help you be able to craft better weapons. Of course you'll have to completely re-do the level again to get back to that shrine near the boss fight.

For me, early in the game I disassembled everything I wasn't using or saving for soul matching (some weapons have one buff you can transfer to another weapon through soul matching). Then I'd go craft the highest level materials from the lower level materials and from those materials keep crafting the sword I wanted until I'd craft an exotic one (eg purple). You always want exotic weapons and gear since they have the most buffs. And with the money I'd find I'd change the buffs I didn't like until I got ones that are helpful.
 

sze5003

Lifer
Aug 18, 2012
14,319
682
126
I tried even fighting her without any armor and I still can't get the right timing down before she paralyses me. She makes the sound cue just as she's throwing the purple crap.

Looks like I may just be stuck here for who knows how long. I can barely get two hits on her.

If I use a branch to go back to the map, when I go back to the level do I get to choose the shrine or you start from the beginning ? I did the bandit side mission so I guess I can farm that one again but I would rather not start over.
 

SteveGrabowski

Diamond Member
Oct 20, 2014
8,979
7,693
136
I tried even fighting her without any armor and I still can't get the right timing down before she paralyses me. She makes the sound cue just as she's throwing the purple crap.

Looks like I may just be stuck here for who knows how long. I can barely get two hits on her.

If I use a branch to go back to the map, when I go back to the level do I get to choose the shrine or you start from the beginning ? I did the bandit side mission so I guess I can farm that one again but I would rather not start over.

You'd start from the very beginning of the level. Are you rolling or just jumping sideways? If you only press dodge once to jump it's pretty hard to dodge. If you press dodge twice to roll you shouldn't get hit.
 

sze5003

Lifer
Aug 18, 2012
14,319
682
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Yup I've been trying to roll. For the most part I crafted 3 anti paralyses pills and I like that they always reset once I use them.

My main issue is I'm using a high stance spear because I want to keep my distance. I watched some videos and some people are just able to walk backwards and avoid her combos.

When I try doing that I seem to run out of ki quickly or she just unleashed some fast spin attacks right as I'm trying to back up or roll away.

I do think I beat Amelia in Bloodborne without any issues so this boss is just crazy.

I really don't want to play through this level again. I wish I could find the Archer armor set from one of the guys near the third shrine but none seem to drop anything good even with the 3% kodama armor blessing.

She's just too damn fast and I think the spear in general is tough to use against bosses because I still have to get in close for a high stance strong attack.

I think I'm level 20 or something because I've been farming that downstairs area all day. Body and heart are at level 12 too.

I was hoping to find a guard talisman or that paralyses charm but no luck. I remember picking one up but I don't see it in the inventory..not sure what I did with it.

Thanks for the tips though I'll keep trying probably until I stop playing the game all together.
 

SteveGrabowski

Diamond Member
Oct 20, 2014
8,979
7,693
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I only like high stance against enemies who are easy to get behind. It's way too slow against a boss like Hino-Enma. My strategy against her was to always keep moving sideways and roll when she screams to avoid the paralysis (I play at the second fastest agility level, with equip load just below 70%) any time she is in the air or standing still, since that's when she does the paralysis attack. I try to jump back when she does the spin attack and if I get hit obviously have to block then. After the spin attack I'd get two quick heavy attacks in mid-stance (I did beat her with a spear the first time) and back off and do it all over again. If I'd go for three hits it really opened me up to the blood sucking attack, which I found by far the most frustrating part of the fight. It also drained my ki too much, and you can't really do ki pulse after hits against her since it opens you up to the blood sucking attack. I also always get my living weapon meter full before fighting her and unleash it on her at the beginning of the fight. You can't get greedy with living weapon either though; after a couple of hits she'll do the blood sucking attack on you.

When you die against her definitely call your spirit back at the shrine and kill a few enemies to refill your living weapon meter. Because beating her without the living weapon to start off would be a nightmare.

It probably took me 50 attempts over maybe three days to beat her the first time. I think it's the hardest part of the game (though the game remains difficult throughout IMO). You'll actually have to fight Hino-Enmas a few more times, depending on how thorough you are with side missions, but they're way easier later on when you have stronger weapons and armor.

I do think if you'd have much trouble getting back to her your weapon and armor isn't strong enough to stand much of a chance against her yet and you probably need to level up some more as well as craft better gear (though of course that necessitates redoing the entire stage). I had to bail on that stage twice when I wasn't strong enough to beat her.
 

SteveGrabowski

Diamond Member
Oct 20, 2014
8,979
7,693
136
I'm kind of surprised you thought Vicar Amelia was one of the harder bosses in Bloodborne though. I got her in the first attempt and got that fight over really quickly. I found Blood Starved Beast, Rom, and especially Martyr Logarius to be much harder fights. But Orphan of Kos from the Bloodborne DLC is the hardest boss I have ever fought in a game.
 

sze5003

Lifer
Aug 18, 2012
14,319
682
126
Not sure if armor is the key as much as dodging avoiding her attacks. If I use lightning on my spear it does help.

Even if I leave the mission I'm not sure what I would do to farm stuff. Probably the first side mission since I can do that one in about 15 minutes.

I like the game a lot but putting a boss so difficult in the beginning is pretty ridiculous. I also checked out the blacksmith before I started the mission but every weapon I owned was more powerful than what the blacksmith offered.

I'm going to keep farming that bottom cave area and bring up my body and heart levels to at least 16 each..maybe that will help out. My main weapon is a single sword and I'm surprised how I keep getting drops for every other weapon with better stats except for a sword.
 

crisium

Platinum Member
Aug 19, 2001
2,643
615
136
Pure speed. Light armor, below 30. Dodge everything in the world. I don't see the point of armor in a game of pattern memorizing and where you cannot win wars of attrition. Poke with Spear medium stance strong attack, and run away.

But yes, she's very annoying. That was my tactic though, for most bosses actually.
 

sze5003

Lifer
Aug 18, 2012
14,319
682
126
Pure speed. Light armor, below 30. Dodge everything in the world. I don't see the point of armor in a game of pattern memorizing and where you cannot win wars of attrition. Poke with Spear medium stance strong attack, and run away.

But yes, she's very annoying. That was my tactic though, for most bosses actually.
I think I'm below a weight of 30. I've only got on a chest plate and some armor for the arms.

I've gotten pretty good at realizing her moves and dodging them. What I have the most trouble with now is her spin attack.

At one point she spammed the spin attack continuously. I came prepared to deal with the paralyses and remembering to back up and roll and then she screws me with the continuous whirlwind spin move.

I believe her moves that she does are based on how far you stand from her. If you are too far she will charge at you. If you are too close she will use the spin attack.

Even with a spear you have to be pretty close and it takes a while as I'm doing one medium hard attack then backing away.

Got to the point where she goes in the air and then she spammed the spin attack again. What a cheap boss.
 

SteveGrabowski

Diamond Member
Oct 20, 2014
8,979
7,693
136
Make sure if she hits you that you block the rest of the attacks, as you cannot dodge any combos in Nioh once you get hit by that first attack. Her spin attack is actually one of the best times to get an opening to attack. After she finishes it you can usually get in two strong attacks in medium stance before having to back up and play defense again.

I personally found going with armor at <30% to be too unforgiving and found right under 70% to be the better compromise between speed and still being able to survive a couple of bad hits. In the Souls games I always go for minimal weight armor but the armor actually seemed somewhat useful to me in Nioh.
 

sze5003

Lifer
Aug 18, 2012
14,319
682
126
Well I got hino enma down to less than 50% health today. Probably less than that even. I almost beat her except I didn't use my living weapon and I pressed the wrong button when I meant to heal.

You have very little timing to do anything in this battle. What keeps screwing me up is her spin attack. At one point I avoided it but if I try to go for two hard attacks right after it, I don't have enough time to back out of her yokai realm or I end up out of stamina and get hit.

Another time I got her very close to low health and she just started spamming the spin attack. Or she will do the close up forward dive right after I heal, like as I'm tying to heal so I cant even dodge. Feels so damn cheap. Well at least I came close.

I think I just need some luck and maybe I'll beat her this weekend. I need at least 10,500 amrita to level anything up at this point so I'm tired of farming that downstairs area.

I think if I can find a strategy to avoid the spin attack and close up forward dive then I'll be fine.
 

slayer202

Lifer
Nov 27, 2005
13,679
119
106
ok so it's hard to give tips as we've seen above but I'll do what I can

the level is quite short and you can run through it pretty quickly if you know the route so if you feel the need to leave the level and come back don't force yourself to stay at that shrine

next, you've tried sword and spear right? either way, I'd stick with mid stance or low. you should be able to get off at least 2 hits at each opportunity otherwise you'll have to get lucky to beat her.

Like you said, staying close is the best strategy. Do you know how to do ki pulses? it seems like ki might be your biggest problem here, so I'd learn that skill for whichever weapon/stance you decide to use. it helps regenerate ki.

when fighting her a couple times just now I didn't see her spin move too often but it didn't see any harder to dodge than the rest of her moves. I suggest you try sprinting instead of dodging/rolling, I find that it works better against her. bait her attacks by running around/close to her. when you're out of range and she's still attacking, go back to walking to regain ki faster, and then sprint in at the right moment to get off a couple hits. you should be able to sprint back away pretty easily. the only thing I remember having trouble with was figuring out when she would finish her umbrella combo with that extra hit
 

SteveGrabowski

Diamond Member
Oct 20, 2014
8,979
7,693
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Like you said, staying close is the best strategy. Do you know how to do ki pulses? it seems like ki might be your biggest problem here, so I'd learn that skill for whichever weapon/stance you decide to use. it helps regenerate ki.

I could never do ki pulse against Hino-Enma for fear of the blood sucking attack. I'd get hit with that so many times while doing ki pulse.
 

sze5003

Lifer
Aug 18, 2012
14,319
682
126
Yea I can usually get ki pulse on regular enemies if I'm lucky. Even if I think I get the timing right, it doesn't always work and I have that unlocked for both spear and sword.

I'll try getting two hits in mid stance with the spear next time. Although I think I could beat her with one hit each time although it will just take me longer so I'll need to go farm for more healing potions.
 

slayer202

Lifer
Nov 27, 2005
13,679
119
106
1 hit is of course going to take twice as long and open you up to twice as many attacks so I think you should readjust. 2 hits should be very doable if not *three* so you probably need to change up your strategy, if not for now but the rest of the game

check out this video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dkfkVEE4lqo
it's a good example of the range to keep to easily avoid the melee attacks and when to rush back in to attack. it also shows a way to bait her when she's in the air that I wasn't aware of
 

sze5003

Lifer
Aug 18, 2012
14,319
682
126
1 hit is of course going to take twice as long and open you up to twice as many attacks so I think you should readjust. 2 hits should be very doable if not *three* so you probably need to change up your strategy, if not for now but the rest of the game

check out this video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dkfkVEE4lqo
it's a good example of the range to keep to easily avoid the melee attacks and when to rush back in to attack. it also shows a way to bait her when she's in the air that I wasn't aware of
Nice, thanks for the video. I'll watch it after work. I did watch a bunch of other videos before I began the fight but until I was able to finally telegraph her moves and find stick to my defense strategy, nothing was really helping.

Actually, I don't usually dodge unless she's throwing purple crap. I usually walk backwards when she does the umbrella or kick moves. I do try to dodge the spin and dive attack but sometimes I get caught up in it.