Incline Hollow Knight

[torpid]

Bought this on sale, no regrets.I think it started out too easy, and for some reason I thought it was a "souls-like" (idk if marketing or what made me think this), which was to the games detriment for the first bit.

As far as I can tell, souls-like has become code for "melee combat requiring some basic thought," or even just "challenging combat," where you have to pay attention to enemy attack patterns.

However, after it got going (around fight with hornet), it really got going. I keep stumbling into new upgrades while just exploring, and then finding that I could have taken stuff in another order if I had wanted to.

Yeah the first two areas--which I'm pretty sure (?) you have to do consecutively, as Crystal Peak can be reached without the dash but I don't think you can complete the area without it--feel like starter zones, then it opens up.

I feel I have to mention how easy it is to mostly ignore the movesets of certain bosses and simply go all out offense with magic and the right trinkets, but this is actually a good thing, maybe?

I didn't use magic in my playthrough, but you can also take a brute force approach once you upgrade the nail. Just melee+charms will allow you to tank through certain bosses with minimal dodging required. It does make those bosses easy, but that's part of doing things in a different order and finding upgrades to successfully go through earlier areas. It could be a downside, but then again bosses IMO are part of the overall package of exploration, platforming and fighting. If you explore and find certain charms/upgrades that make a boss easy to dispatch, your heavier "investment" in exploring pays off via an easier fight.

 

[MediantSamuel]

I've been playing this more over the weekend after pausing the game around a month or more ago (I ragequit in the City of Tears after I lost 3k geo.)

Damn, this game's a beauty. City of Tears theme + atmosphere is absolutely majestic, kind of wish the zone was larger. I really liked the Soul Sanctum, too. Not sure why but I was really struggling to make any progress a few days ago; all of a sudden I'm running around Deepnest with a ton of charms & powerups.

Does anyone have any advice for phase two of the Mantis Lords? I can't seem to reliably dodge that fucking spinning blade shit, especially in phase two.

Oh, is it easy to miss storylines? I feel like I haven't seen any characters in a while except for Cornifer.

 

[Jaedar]

Does anyone have any advice for phase two of the Mantis Lords? I can't seem to reliably dodge that fucking spinning blade shit, especially in phase 2.

Iiirc there's 3 patterns, 2 of which have places where its safe to stand for the entire thing and give opportunity to heal. Learn to recognize the patterns so you know where to stand.

 

[Blaine]

MediantSamuel Yeah, the Mantis Lords seem pretty obnoxious at first, but you should learn where to be intuitively after a few attempts, as Jaedar indicates. Personally, I don't think it's worth it to try to heal, but instead to almost never get hit.

Best piece of advice I can give is to not think about hitting them primarily, but about not getting hit. Once you're not getting hit it's easy to figure out when it's safe to quickly stick them. This is exactly the sort of "don't get greedy" fight for which smug assholes invented the term.

If you think that shit's bad, wait until the second Hornet fight. That's the objectively best fight in the game, in my opinion.

 

[MediantSamuel]

Blaine I may try them again once I've explored Deepnest a little more. I have two pale ore and enough geo for the next nail upgrade so perhaps that'd be a good idea, too.

I really liked the first Hornet fight, despite the simplicity. Follow-up should be good. Soul Master was good, too.

That mimic thing in Deepnest, though, Rork? Boring. The parasite 'queen' was dreadful, too. Minion boss fight + horrible noises, not keen.

 

[torpid]

The thing about the Mantis Lords is that they have an almost fixed attack pattern--they don't follow the player, or switch to a different attack depending on their distance from the player, or use a homing projectile; the only adjustment they make is to have their dive attack trigger directly above you. So once you dodge their attack, you're clear until they reset, and that's when you can hit them or heal up (preferably with the Quick Focus charm). Vs the dual spinning blades, I'm pretty sure you can just jump over them then dash to a side when the two blades meet in the middle.

The Nosk fight in Deepnest is indeed underwhelming, especially after the eerie prefight.

Best thing about Deepnest is the spike and vine thorn hazards being replaced with squirming spiked maggoty things. Great artistry and attention to detail.

 

[MediantSamuel]

Alright, Mantis Lords are down.

Actually quite a simple fight now I'm looking back on it. I may have brute forced it a little with the 2 pale ore 2k geo nail upgrade, though.

Yeah, I do like Deepnest's design. Very claustrophoic and threatening. Not keen on navigating now I have the stag station, though.

Going for the Dreamer Beast thing next, how the fuck do you kill those shielded face plate 3 swipe guys?

 

[torpid]

You can try to bait them into an area where you have room to jump-downward slash or jump-dash to avoid them. Doesn't work for all of them. In a straight up fight you either wait for them to open their mask or hit it to force them to open it, then strike their exposed head and dash away. Timing is everything, obviously. You can get a free hit in if you come from behind.

 

[PrettyDeadman]

How do you beat the first boss?

 

[MediantSamuel]

The first boss is the big(ger) knight guy, right? As far as I remember he's basically a larger version of the big knight you can find in the Forgotten Crossroads.

It's been a while, but I'm pretty sure I beat him by hitting once and then either running away / jumping over his attack or running underneath him when he jumps. Focus on avoiding his attacks initially, then when you know his moveset you can dodge a little easier. When he does his rage move, you can run to one end of the room to heal.

I've been exploring the Queen's Garden (hue hue) for a little bit; somewhat beautiful but too many fucking spikes. I could probably go and get the Dreamer teacher guy very soon, also.

One thing, how do you guys feel about the borrowed Dark Souls story elements? It's cool 'cuz bugs, but, y'know.

 

[PrettyDeadman]

I mean the second boss. The first boss was so easy I forgot I fought, the second boss is a woman with dash.

 

[MediantSamuel]

Oh I see, she's quite easy imo. She has four moves, I believe.

She likes to ground dash towards you in a line, throw her sewing needle at you in a line, jump in the air and then dash down at a 45 degree angle & do a mini 'explosion' thing.

Ground dash is easy; stay away from her and when she does dash, jump over and hit her in the ass. May only have time for one hit. Back off and she'll likely jump up and dash down, avoid by running in the direction she comes from, hit her in the ass again.

The needle throw I'm actually kind of shit against. I don't really get how to hit her if she's in the corner and she needle throws & I'm stood at the other end of the room. Just avoid I guess.

When she jumps up into the air more slowly she does the explosion, my explanation is shit, but you'll know it after a while of fighting her. Just stay away.

Mainly, you need to jump and dodge a lot. Once you learn dash timings, you can slap her after the attack ends. It's a pretty fast paced fight, but it's fun when you get it down.

 

[MediantSamuel]

Blaine any ideas for who / where / what the two new bosses are in the update today?

 

[hajro]

Isnt it Super dung knight, Dark zote and some tease for the real dlc?

 

[hajro]

Spoiler

TFW a game allows you to kill the man who tried to cuck you
edit: some cuccboi got triggered ayy lmao

 

[MediantSamuel]

Where'd you find the new bosses, hajro?

Tried to get Dung Defender, apparently he falls asleep, but I couldn't find him while he was snoozing.

 

[hajro]

There is a breakable floor in the room with the water valve thing, i wont handhold you more than that :patriot:

 

[MediantSamuel]

I did find that, no sleeping Dung-guy though.

 

[MediantSamuel]

Gonna do some mopping up tonight.

I assume I need to get into the Palace to get the other half of the queen's charm, need to do the hive, need to get all the grubs, do the arena and then I'm onto the last boss.

Somewhat intimidated, that black egg doesn't exactly look inviting.

 

[torpid]

Gonna do some mopping up tonight.

I assume I need to get into the Palace to get the other half of the queen's charm, need to do the hive, need to get all the grubs, do the arena and then I'm onto the last boss.

Somewhat intimidated, that black egg doesn't exactly look inviting.

Do the Hive before the Palace, and use what you find in the Hive to avoid potential frustration in the Palace. Doesn't apply if you're good at platforming.

 

[hajro]

Using that shit charm is cheating, i didnt use anything that helped me with palace

 

[meanwhileInPoland]

fuck i am stuck in soul sanctum i cant beat fucking soul warrior to get to soul master for desolate dive. so far i killed false knight&hornet. i also found mantis lords and dung defender but without desolate dive cant open way to bench in royal waterways.

is souls sanctum late game area or i just suck at this game? i already visited : greenpath, fog canyon, fungal wastes, howling cliffs, royal waterways and city of tears. i upgraded my nail to +1, got first nail art and found some basic charms but i feel like i am missing fuckton of upgrades&abilities.

should i keep trying with soul sanctum or is there some alternative way of progress?

tldr: where the fuck should i go if i cant beat soul sanctum ?

 

[Cowboy Moment]

fuck i am stuck in soul sanctum i cant beat fucking soul warrior to get to soul master for desolate dive. so far i killed false knight&hornet. i also found mantis lords and dung defender but without desolate dive cant open way to bench in royal waterways.

is souls sanctum late game area or i just suck at this game? i already visited : greenpath, fog canyon, fungal wastes, howling cliffs, royal waterways and city of tears. i upgraded my nail to +1, got first nail art and found some basic charms but i feel like i am missing fuckton of upgrades&abilities.

should i keep trying with soul sanctum or is there some alternative way of progress?

tldr: where the fuck should i go if i cant beat soul sanctum ?

It's pretty much what you're intended to do at this point in the game, and the Soul Warrior definitely shouldn't give you too much trouble. So yeah, git gud basically. For alternatives, you can go beat Mantis Lords and enter Deepnest, though I doubt you'll find that an improvement over Soul Sanctum. You can also buy the lantern and explore Crystal Peak. I'd honestly suggest to stick to the Sanctum for now, though. As a small tip, look at your map and think of where you might be able to break a wall to create a small shortcut in the area.

 

[Belegarsson]

Soul Sanctum belonged to the bridge between first half and second half of the game I believe.

Soul Warrior is the sword dude with teleport right? He's fast but his moves are predictable. The best opportunity to hit him is when he uses the drop attack (he will always teleport above you), or jump and down strike on his head when he dashes. His dash range is limited to half of the battle stage so if you need to heal, you can try bait him to one side and quickly dash to another side so he can't reach you while you're vulnerable. But still, you should try not to get hit too much.

 

[sullynathan]

yea game is good. It really says something though when the environments are giving me more trouble than the fucking bosses and enemies. It feels good kinda like Dark Souls. I've made it far enough to get the dash but I'd like to know what the green worms do and if it's possible to have more than 2 upgrades at a time.