Topic: NIOH -OT-

@Mega-Gazz 50 heart!!! I'm only lvl 53, with +/- 12 points per skill and just few more points on onmyo and spirit because I love to add some colour to the game using spells. I bet it feels great to wear those beautiful heavy armors, swinging axes or hammers, but I'll try that only after beating the game to have a different experience on NG+.

@andreoni79 yea, after a point I had enough of everything so I kept a pumping up heart. I want to get rid of the wotw armor now because of the rear dmg, so it made me think of that.

So much for that pipe dream. 98 points in stam, STILL can't wear full heavy armor at less than 70%.

Finally beat the game, just in time for HZD . I admit though I hyper-cheesed the last last boss by chugging ~30 spirit stones (2000 Amrita versions) to extend living weapon and not really worry about death or damage. But, yea, I don't feel bad. I could probably have beat it without that, but this was more fun

@Mega-Gazz Well done! There's nothing wrong in using all those items during a boss fight and last night I finally beat Yuki-Onna using a lot of bombs and other tricks! I had no trophy for beating her, is it normal?

@andreoni79 I don't think there is a trophy for each boss, usually for starting a new area?

PS, nice new avatar

How do we interact with those creepy living walls? If I get close, their eyes are white; if I whistle in front of them their eyes turn red and then if I choose any blue, yellow or red gestures they always end attacking me...

@Mega-Gazz If you have a retail copy you can try this to add some colour to the case inside. I made it for me and it looks fine.

@andreoni79 most of them respond to "bow", but a couple need "threaten". If you get the right one they disappear and give u loot.

@Mega-Gazz Ok, thanks!

Holy Nioh! Only tonight, after +60 hours I realized I could spend those Prestige Points! I thought it was just a minor bonus related to some kind of stat recording!

Been playing Defiant Honor and it sure is more Nioh!
So I don't know if the missions scale with your level, but they are kicking my arse.
Beat the main game, got the platinum, beat 80% of the game on 'Way of The Strong', but I'm finding it super difficult.

I had to quit the first available sub-mission, The Dragon Returns (Lvl175), because I was just getting destroyed. Majority of my gear is divine+5, but I'm still using a legendary Mononobe Axe as I haven't found a divine one yet & no weapon I have comes close to its damage output.

I did beat the first main mission, The Siege of Osaka after 2 hours or so. I really liked the trench warfare & that first boss was AWESOME!

Also the final piece of DLC was announced a couple of days ago and will supposedly be titled: Genna Enbu.
http://www.dualshockers.com/nioh-third-dlc-announced-defiant-...

Might be silly, but I'm waiting for all three dlc to play all at once.

@Mega-Gazz Nah makes sense. It's also a hard game to just pick up and play. I just beat Defiant Honor and it took me over 8 hours just because I kept dying A LOT.

@Fight_Teza_Fight yea, I'd rather put them together and have 20 more hours of nioh that little bits.

Update 1.18 introduced NiOh's final DLC: Bloodshed's End

It's a pretty substantial update as it also introduces a new game mode: The Abyss

I thought the final DLC started good & ended very strong.
There's a new 'common' enemy type that hits very hard, very quick & some enemy types have had their arsenal upgraded. There's added unpredictability, which makes map awareness more important than it's ever been.

The final story mission is an absolute monster. Took me about 3 hours, as it builds to the climax quite incredibly.
The level design again is sublime. As I kept dying, over and over again I kept thinking: 'Thank god this isn't Dark Souls'. You don't truly lose anything (bar Amrita). This allows for experimentation and reinforces that 'one more go' mentality which again is helped by the fast paced arcade-like gameplay.

The post-story sub missions are pretty difficult & are probably going to require excessive grinding probably via The Abyss.

The Abyss is something straight out of Bloodborne's Chalice Dungeons. It introduces a new weapon rarity- 'Defilled', has supposedly 999 floors & allows for 2 other player summoning.

All in all, fantastic update.
The Abyss on its own adds like a hundred hours.
The DLC itself also tells a far better narrative then the main story.

What a game! I'm at 168 hours (2000 deaths!!) & I intend to continue playing.
Into the Abyss!

@Fight_Teza_Fight Glad you're still enjoying it, I have a few questions if you have the time to answer though. First up is I played through the main story and found the game got repetitive quite a while before I finished it, so does the DLC do anything to help counter this or should I just accept the fact that it might not be for me?

Second you say the game introduces its version of chalice dungeons, unfortunately chalice dungeons in Bloodborne felt a lot like something the developers tried as an experiment, found they didn't really work and threw them in for the sake of a bit of extra content and as a way to showcase some bosses that weren't good enough to make it into the main game. Do the ones in Nioh do anything to lift themselves above this?

Finally, from the main game I don't remember it being any more or less punishing than Dark Souls for dying, but you say "As I kept dying, over and over again I kept thinking: 'Thank god this isn't Dark Souls'. You don't truly lose anything (bar Amrita)". Am I missing something here?

I'm thinking of picking up the complete edition when it is released to replace the standard copy I sold on, but have a feeling this game may not be for me. If you could answer the question to someone who really liked the first half of the game and was sold on its premise, but then gradually lost interest through the second half that would be helpful

@Dichotomy It is more of the same. There are a few more maps, but for the most part the sub-missions, if you choose to do them, will see you return to the same maps introduced in the story DLC and getting to your target objective. I believe the 3 pieces of DLC added 3 more enemy types as regular enemies.

The Abyss is a bit like Chalice Dungeon+. On arrival you have 4 afflictions placed upon you. Each floor has 5 exits. 4 exits are via boat which will take you to a battle map, where you are to retrieve a special kodama. That kodama will dispel one of the afflictions. Alternatively you can head straight to the 5th exit and fight the boss under those conditions- NOT RECOMMENDED!
The gear that you find in The Abyss is of very high quality (Divine+), but you can also chose to 'defile' your gear at the shrine (post floor 2). Doing so makes the item unequippable, but it has a chance to raise its rarity to 'Ethereal' every time you clear a floor, as well as become significantly stronger the deeper you head into the abyss.
However, if you die without your guardian spirit you lose all Amrita as well as your defiled item. This also happens if you try teleporting out. So high risk, high reward.
So it has a more purpose than the chalice dungeons imo. I've not played much and so far the bosses that I've encountered have all been from the main game. Then again I'm on floor 4 and there are supposedly 999 floors...

With Dark Souls I never want to use any items, because I'll feel like I've wasted them it if I die, so I'm usually forced into being conservative. There's also the hollowfication effect, which in theory makes every battle more difficult (unless humanity is consumed). In Nioh this isn't the case. Whenever you die or pray at the shrine your ninjutsu and onmyo magic is refilled. All you lose are the Amrita (souls) which can be retrieved and elixirs (of which you should have near infinite supply off if you make offerings at the shrine, have a talisman or receive the 'healers blessing'). This allows for experimentation and you don't have to feel bad if you for ex. add elemental damage to your weapon, do some good damage and then die (instead of wasting a resin in DS).
Whilst the shortcuts to boss fights in Dark Souls/Bloodborne are good, Nioh does them better. You can literally die and have another crack at most boss fights within 15-20 seconds.

It's a loot based gamed. The grind makes up a lot of what the game is. There's going to be a lot of reused environments and enemies. I imagine you lost interest due some of the sub-missions, which have you return to the same places, fighting the same enemies. The main campaign is worth seeing through though. It finishes on a real high, with some epic boss fights and fantastic visuals.
Honestly I wish I could say that the DLC changes things up, but in all reality it's more of the same.
I do think the DLC story missions tell a much better narrative then the main game, but the boss fights are the real draw here.

Nevertheless, if you do decide to give the game another go and pick up the complete edition, it's going to be packed with content! Hope I could help.

@Fight_Teza_Fight Thank you for the very detailed answer. To be honest I think I'll take the time between now and the inevitable complete edition to think it over. I did really like the game, but as I said I found myself losing interest in the second half. I had just come from 130 hours of P5 though and following it up with Ratchet and Clank probably was not fair and maybe I should have broken those two huge games up with that in between.

I see your point with Dark Souls, I'm so used to that series now I tend to use items freely and look at them as a fun bonus to use if you have them rather than a resource to save. I also treat the hollow form as normal and human as a bonus (although I'm usually able to remain human these days for the majority of the game - a far cry from my Demon's Souls days). It is interesting how we can experience the same set of circumstances differently though.

If anyone else has picked up Nioh in the sale or for Xmas etc and fancies running through some coop just message me