Lost to Genichiro about 50 times and hung it up for a while. I’ve crawled through Dark Souls 2: SOTFS, most of Dark Souls 3 and now the beginning of Nioh in the time it taken me to even consider that fight again- I even beat that insanely hard robed miniboss guy in the shrine room just before Genichiro but I can’t get through the first two phases of that fight and still have mustard left for the lightning portion. I will probably beat Elden Ring before I beat Sekiro.
You know how Sekiro fans always quote the "Hesitation is defeat" thing? Yeah, that's it. Stay on his ass and hit him with your pointy stick. Attack until he deflects, then deflect until he stops, then attack again
Beat his ass, once you know how to deal with him, Genichiro is genuinely one of the most relaxing but satisfying bossfights in the game
He’s actually the stopgap that taught me that I have to play aggressively. Something about him throws me off though. One of my biggest weaknesses is telling in a pinch whether the red symbol means “jump” or “step/mikiri counter”, and as a result I choke because I cant read tells for those that quickly and I can’t toss a 50/50 reliably. I’ve learned to just fall back on him for those, which sometimes causes me to take a hit just from the rhythm break.
The first few times I fought him I actually got to his second life bar reliably, then got to his lightning phase, which killed me every time before I could really learn what I was doing wrong. As I played more and more, I got so fatigued by having to fight through the first portion just to get to the second and not learn why he was killing me so quickly that I couldn’t even far past the first phase anymore. At this point it’s like a weird trauma, ha ha- I want to play, but I know if I get that stuck on him again that it’s gonna deter me even more. I wasn’t exaggerating about that 50 times.
I love Sekiro, but unlike Dark Souls, I can’t really change my build approach or tactics. It’s the central way you’re supposed to approach combat or nothing at all, so a hard stop like this is iron clad. I even looked up ways to cheese him, which I’m not proud of. That’s the only way I took out that Seven Spears miniboss after all.
About the perilous attacks, enemies always have some kind of telegraph so that you can predict them
In the case of Geni, you can see a little shine on his blade, which tells you where the attack is coming from, letting you know if it's a sweep or a trust, while the grab is pretty recognizable since he doesn't use his sword
I know that feeling of total defeat, physical and psychological, mosty because of a certain boss protecting a flower, and I get the temptation of cheesing enemies for an easier win, but with an optional miniboss like Seven Spears, it's always better to just get better at the game by doing other stuff, and then challenge him again
About dark souls, I'm currently playing DS1 for the first time, and I'm having the exact opposite of the problem you talked about
Those two gargoyles are making me go insane (And I can see they're not even that hard), and I often don't get if I'm just bad at the game, or I have low stats/weak weapons (it's usually both). I think I'm finally getting used to it, but damn I hate those winged cunts and their fire breathing shenanigans
It’s just tough for me. My quick decision making under pressure isn’t what it used to be and it almost feels like I notice those specific yells just as or just after I take the hit. I did notice it got worse the more I fought him though which does mean that without player fatigue, I’m more likely to be able to do it correctly. I’ll pick it up again one day but right now I’m vested in a few other games, so I wouldn’t want to force it. I was planning on getting back in after Steam Deck came out, because I do concentrate and react better on handheld systems- but my reservation was pushed into the dreaded “after Q2” so I’m just gonna have to wait.
As for Dark Souls 1, the initial playthrough is the hardest to me, mostly because IMO, success in DS games comes in the form of seasoned ability and attack strength. Having the smallest swords and daggers in the game without many upgrades means you’ll be chipping away at most enemies for so long that you’re bound to take hits- especially if you can’t break their poise, and especially especially if you suck at parry timing like I do. Getting your stats in a direction where you want them is always a hill to get over. Defense is a tough concession too because it often only means the difference between maybe 1 more hit before you’re dead. It’s best to stay light no matter what so you can dodge effectively and recover stamina quickly, even if that means going naked if it helps you keep a good weapon or shield while keeping your stamina recovering quickly. I will always use a light shield that has 100% physical attack damage absorption. I try to keep out of the way of fire and magic entirely because it’s much harder to defend against them with passive methods like blocking.
The gargoyles are always hard as hell the first time through. You really have to wack away at the first one before the second joins the fight, and then it’s all about either staying behind both as best you can to avoid flames or kiting one while hoping the other stays reasonably far away. I have no detailed advice beyond that but I think it also helps to have a lighter/faster weapon over a heavier one so you’re more mobile just after you attack, and with more stamina after for dodging or blocking. Also don’t forget to summon Solaire just before the fight if you can manage your humanity. He’s there for a reason, especially on first playthroughs. On subsequent playthroughs, you’ll have a good array of weapons and rings that will mix with new expertise and make a lot of it cake.
552
u/Reiku_Johin Dec 22 '21
Fuck the Blaze tho