Nioh (the series)

I can get through the statues and Onyudo easily enough, the problem is Nue has so few openings (Sloth only lasts for so long, and even when you deplete its Ki it recovers with thunderbolts so it's almost never safe) that eventually the buffs run out, and then you're left with no healing and little damage against a thunderbolt-spamming cunt... Something will go wrong eventually

The real problem might legitimately be no Tonfa (and having Fuse-Ushi's heal on Amrita would also be nice even without Extraction I suppose), the game telling me I can't use the weapon I know best because reasons is not helping at all... I actually got Nue to about a third on one or two attempts, I might've won with the weapon I actually have skills (and skill!) with...

(And even if character level doesn't matter, having higher level/rarity armour and accessories should still count for something, right? They don't give you preset armour in this mission, only the weapons...)

Come to think of it, I think that one gave me the most trouble besides Yatsu-no-Kami (Enenra notwithstanding, because I didn't know my left from my right when I beat that one).

Bosses that teleport around (or just fly/zip around constantly) are usually bad news in these games because most of the time it's difficult to keep track of them, and it's easy to waste your big damage opportunities if they decide to take off at a bad moment (see also Magoichi)

Then I made the mistake of watching FightinCowboy tackle Tatarimokke for the first time, and he totally decimated it. How?!

I don't know football, Junior!

Is this Messy bloke any good?

Tatarimokke is dead!

I'm not going to do any in-depth reviews or anything, but I'd say Nioh 1 was still awesome, but not as good as 2 IMO. With the caveat of me not having played the DLC or NG+ on either:

2 has a better, more personal-feeling story, a wider variety of enemies, weapons (both with and without DLC) and movesets/skills, more balanced combat and mechanics (that's subjective, but there were definitely less oneshots happening in 2 as far as I remember, and that's with me being more experienced in 1. Living Weapon is also more of an "I win" button than Yokai Shift when played correctly, but that's appealing in its own way too!) and, while the soundtrack in both was awesome, 2 had less tracks shared between bosses overall. Nioh 1 also has many more dual bosses that really weren't balanced for being fought together in the side missions, but these are optional content so I'm not docking points for that personally.

Both games are great and very much worth playing, but if you're dead set on only playing one of them for some reason, I'd say go for 2. There will be one scene that has much less impact without playing 1, but otherwise 2 is 1 but better in many aspects IMO. Again though, best to play both if you can

Ulythium Re: your spoiler, that is entirely possible! I personally enjoyed all three games very much, and while I would rate Wo Long slightly below the Niohs, it's for generally subjective opinions/reasons (mostly less variety in the movesets/magic and builds), someone else might enjoy the relatively simpler ways of Wo Long more.

The gameplay itself is tight, and you may very well find it more to your liking when all is said and done!

Gyuki is quite the asshat.

Thanks, Junior.

The biggest problem I have with boss fight strats that require you to destroy/kill something quickly - e.g. the individual snakes with Yatsu-no-Kami, or the projectile-spewing orb with Tatarimokke - is that my build isn't geared towards high DPS. As a result, I never managed to pull off those approaches to the bosses in question.

Gyuki's Amrita-encrusted ankles make for an attractive target, but I haven't been able to break them without eating a ton of damage in the process.

Water sword with dual swords made very, very short work of him. Easiest boss in the game 4 me. Spin to win also works pretty well.

Ulythium Nick already mentioned one, the Water Sword skill. High stance, hit the strong attack button while guarding. You basically just whirl your swords around and dice up whatever it is you're fighting. I think it also has an upgrade to make the attacks even faster.

I'll point out (sorry for repeating myself, but Extraction/Life on AA was probably my biggest revelation back when I was playing) that Extraction Talisman plus Life Recovery on Amrita Absorption (can roll on chest pieces, a few specific accessories, and I believe is also a Clan benefit -you'll want to go to the Hidden Teahouse to check those out-) would really help for survivability when combined with skills like that.

If you can deplete the thing's Ki easily as you say, pulling a Water Sword with Extraction set up is very safe until it gets back up and would probably shoot you back up to full health from almost nothing, even. And then of course it also helps you prolong the inevitable Yokai Shift when it goes into the Dark Realm.

Also - and apologies in advance for the dumb question - is there anything I can do with the Amrita Absorption stuff without having to quit the mission and start over from scratch? Obviously I can't go to the Hidden Teahouse, for instance.

Many thanks for all your help, as always.

One of Nioh 2's biggest QoL updates was the ability to filter your equipment list for specific effects. Go to your chest pieces and accessories, filter for Life Recovery on Amrita Absorption and hope for the best. Unfortunately I don't think it's a Guardian Spirit buff this time (praise Nioh 1 Fuse-Ushi ) so short of restarting the mission after a Teahouse visit it may be your only option...

Edit: turns out it does exist as a Guardian Spirit buff after all... But unfortunately it's on Oh, who is a DLC mission reward... Something to look forward to, I guess? 😅

Cheers, guys.

I was honestly so pissed off last night, after an hour and a half of smashing my head against this bastard boss, that I was giving serious consideration to binning off the game altogether; however, having slept on it (reducing my level of saltiness somewhat in the process), I'm determined to get back on the horse.

I'll start by unlocking Water Sword (if possible!) and giving that a shot.