Or there should be different kinds of games for different people.
Undertale did nothing to the production of other RPGs.
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Undertale did nothing to the production of other RPGs.
I feel like the phrase RPG (role-playing game) itself heavily lends itself towards needing a story to play a role in.
Regardless, just because you don't play for the story doesn't mean you're wrong, there's plenty of RPGs carried by/played for their gameplay when their story blows. Just because Undertale (which isn't explicitly "tearing down" what you like, it still has barebones progression elements like gear, its just a barebones game in general and subverts certain aspects like EXP for narrative effect. Regardless, its own sequel already has more fleshed out RPG elements present like a party and SP) happens to be popular doesn't mean every RPG made after it will be some sort of Undertale-lite. It's already been out for half a decade and I haven't seen a huge influx of them, at least.
Also, how are you phrasing your dislike of Undertale around these circles? I think there's a big difference between saying "I hate Undertale, it's destroying RPGs" and "Because I play RPGs for their deep gameplay systems and not the story, I don't like Undertale very much". I think most people could understand the latter.
This is some pretty interesting food for thought for me, so I'll try and ramble about my take on this.
First off, J-RPGs have always been about standing out and pushing new boundaries. Take 90s J-RPGs for example, a lot of the ones that are seen as influential and are still talked about either did interesting things with their story/structure (Final Fantasy VI, Xenogears), their gameplay (Secret of Mana, the SNES Fire Emblem games, Super Mario RPG, Gen 1 and 2 Pokemon lol), or even both (Chrono Trigger, Panzer Dragoon Saga). Seeing as J-RPGs were constantly trying new things, on top of games like Earthbound and Mother 3 being story-centric experiences with rudimentary gameplay that smashed a lot of basic J-RPG norms, I think Undertale, a game that subverts J-RPGs on a conceptual level, was going to happen eventually. Hell, Spec Ops: The Line predates Undertale by a few years, and based on what I know about it, it deconstructs the Shooter genre far more viciously than Undertale deconstructs the RPG genre. Concerning the gameplay of Undertale, I do think the concept of "feeling bad for the enemy" is some good food for thought and that mentality has carried over into some other RPGs I've played, but I don't think those words were ever meant to be gospel, just an idea worth considering.
Secondly, that doesn't mean gameplay-centric J-RPGs don't exist; the (non-Persona) Shin Megami Tensei and Etrian Odyssey games are all proof that you can make a J-RPG with a heavy focus on gameplay work in the modern era, not to mention the roguelike boom in the indie circle taking lots of influence from old-school dungeon crawlers. It's like how stories in video games were joked about until the last decade or so, when good story-centric games, which have always existed, started breaking into the mainstream (to believe there was actually a time when Ninja Gaiden was considering a good and cutting-edge story lol...); RPG gameplay isn't outdated, you just need to make it good.
Primarily, I've just peeked in, noticed the discussion is a whole lot more focused on things that I don't care about than things I do care about, and then not bothered to engage further.
In general, I do think that part of this feeling could be bleeding over from tabletop RPGs. The talking can be a lot more overt in terms of Rollplaying bad, and I've yet to have a campaign outside of my immediate family because I've yet to find a group that I feel I can play fully how I want to without disrupting it for everyone else. There's also that my main system got revised to be much less enjoyable for me with story as a justification. It happening at the same time as less massive but still for me not great changes to the character building side in Fire Emblem and Pokemon has got me worried for my enjoyment of the hobby in general.
i didn't get on with undertale and i don't expect that type of parody/satire to redefine the genre. it was an interesting and refreshing take (albeit not one that made the game enjoyable to me) but once you got past that novelty, the gameplay was primitive.
not to mention that RPG gameplay elements have infiltrated every other genre - almost all FPS, adventure, and turn-based strategy games have a skill tree and items that modify gameplay etc. that's because those elements are interesting and allow for complex experiences + replayability.
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i know i'm late to the game here but i just blasted through ori and the blind forest over the weekend. i already had this game on PC and barely got past the first level since it did not seem interesting enough but i decided to give it another go on switch. that was a much better experience and once i had unlocked a few skills i started enjoying myself. the aesthetic is obviously incredible but what i liked most was the level design, particularly the ginso tree with the portals and race against the rising tide at the end, the forlorn ruins with the gravity puzzles, the misty woods which thoroughly confused me in the way that they shifted around, and the final level which was exhilarating while being achievable for an average gamer like me.
i ended up completing almost to 100%, or at least getting all of the collectibles on the map. i really appreciated the map for pointing out most of the puzzles i had missed, which were satisfying to try and complete.
my only complaints:
- enemies were not very unique, seemed like you found the same types of enemy throughout all the biomes
- overuse of particle bloom effects. too distracting when you can't make out what's going on
not to mention that RPG gameplay elements have infiltrated every other genre - almost all FPS, adventure, and turn-based strategy games have a skill tree and items that modify gameplay etc. that's because those elements are interesting and allow for complex experiences + replayability.
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i know i'm late to the game here but i just blasted through ori and the blind forest over the weekend. i already had this game on PC and barely got past the first level since it did not seem interesting enough but i decided to give it another go on switch. that was a much better experience and once i had unlocked a few skills i started enjoying myself. the aesthetic is obviously incredible but what i liked most was the level design, particularly the ginso tree with the portals and race against the rising tide at the end, the forlorn ruins with the gravity puzzles, the misty woods which thoroughly confused me in the way that they shifted around, and the final level which was exhilarating while being achievable for an average gamer like me.
i ended up completing almost to 100%, or at least getting all of the collectibles on the map. i really appreciated the map for pointing out most of the puzzles i had missed, which were satisfying to try and complete.
my only complaints:
- enemies were not very unique, seemed like you found the same types of enemy throughout all the biomes
- overuse of particle bloom effects. too distracting when you can't make out what's going on
Am I the only person who feels that Oblivion (TES) doesn't get enough credit? I feel a lot of the spotlight goes to Skyrim and for good reason, but I do strongly feel that Oblivion world was much more enjoyable to explore and travel in. The NPCs in Skyrim always seemed fairly shallow and you couldn't talk to most of them. But the NPCs in Oblivion felt much more alive. Even despite having worse graphics objectively; I feel the game was just much more alive than Skyrim.
I’m inclined to agree. Skyrim is infinitely prettier, but it also always felt kinda lifeless in a way. I don’t think I ever really gave a damn about anything going on in that game.
Plus, Oblivion dark brotherhood is WAAAAY better lol.
Also, Ori and the Blind Forest. Yes. One of the best 2d platformers ever made. The end of the Ginso Tree level, especially with the music, really leaves a lasting impression.
yeah the worldbuilding in Oblivion was superior, and in turn the worldbuilding in Morrowind was far superior. it feels like with each technological step forward, bethesda are less adventurous; i suppose that's because they're trying to appeal to the mass market and it's easy to sell LOTR/ASOIAF style fantasy settings
I'm an RPG junkie. While I'm ostensibly gameplay first, I love a good story when it engages me and I love good gameplay when it engages me. FF13 has fantastic combat specifically, which particularly draws me in, and leads me to defending it a lot in discussions where people lament it being a hallway simulator among other problems. I'm currently working through Trails in the Sky now and, while I have been challenged on occasion, it's not terribly difficult for the most part but has really drawn me in with the depth of its characters and world-building.
Compare to the aforementioned Elder Scrolls games, which has terribly lacking gameplay and I'm just not a fan of what is effectively tell-your-own-tale sandbox style games. I personally need some direction, some linearity, defined challenges to overcome and the recent explosion of open-world games has only served to aggravate me. (Big fan of the roguelite/roguelike indie stuff, though, heh.)
Compare to the aforementioned Elder Scrolls games, which has terribly lacking gameplay and I'm just not a fan of what is effectively tell-your-own-tale sandbox style games. I personally need some direction, some linearity, defined challenges to overcome and the recent explosion of open-world games has only served to aggravate me. (Big fan of the roguelite/roguelike indie stuff, though, heh.)
I can agree on the FF13 portion. I feel that FF13 is a fantastic game personally and replayed it many times and even played 13-2 which had the same exact combat style. I've gotten into a few arguments where people say the story is pretty good but the combat is bad in their opinion, I respect the opinion but I for some reason get really into it when I defend a series I love lmfao.
i think it can be a good or bad thing, depending on the rest of the game. for example...
- Minecraft: the quintessential sandbox game and i agree that it's just not for me, however i can appreciate that some people (especially kids) really enjoy this type of self-guided experience. i think i would have loved it when i was young. the appeal here is pure creativity, which i think as an adult i can find in more rewarding activities
- No Man's Sky: had so much hype around the fact that it was essentially infinite thanks to the procedural generation - but then players found that there wasn't actually much to do in the game, which made it boring
- Red Dead Redemption: has extremely good reviews and ratings but after playing it for a while i couldn't help but feel that the open-ness detracted from the game. the only time i think it was necessary or enjoyable was the treasure maps (my fav part of the game), which encouraged you to explore and examine the world. apart from that, i would have preferred to just play a series of missions, to enjoy the story and the shootouts and the scenery. part of that for me is that there was not much of a reward for exploration. even with the gold bars that you got from the treasure map sidequests, you couldn't really spend that gold on anything cool
- relatedly i think the 'realism' aspect of RDR was extremely detrimental. i can't imagine how much time, energy and money went into the nutrition and hair growth systems: completely superficial nonsense that did not contribute to gameplay in any way. i used to think this type of realism in games would be amazing, but since then i have studied game design and come to the conclusion that less is more: if it doesn't directly contribute to gameplay or story then get rid. that applies to the open-world concept too imo.
- Zelda Breath Of The Wild/Horizon Zero Dawn/Skyrim/Oblivion/Morrowind etc: i think all of these games benefit greatly from being open-world. they encourage exploration and you benefit directly from it, by finding neat loot, interesting sidequests and hidden lore that tie in to the rest of the game
- Outer Wilds: in this type of game (does it even have a genre?) the open world exploration is the gameplay and the game could not exist without it. it's one of the best games i have ever played, and the open world was essential for that experience
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So Roller Coaster Tycoon 3 Complete Edition was released yesterday for FREE on Epic Games. I remember playing the game when I was much younger on my dad's PC and I enjoyed it a lot back then, and when I saw it for FREE on the Epic Games store, I was excited to say the least. So was it as fun as I remember, or was my childhood more sad than I thought?
Thankfully I can say it's the former. Idk what the general consensus of Roller Coaster Tycoon is, but personally I can't get enough of it. Just everything about the game, The building, the customizations, the rides, it all blends together into something so addicting, I had to refrain from playing the game just to get this post out. Every time I play the game, time flies by like it's nothing, first 1 hour, then 2, then 3, and so on until I finally put down the game and do something productive with my life. Even flaws that I can point out such as the graphics still play to the game's strengths as most of the time you're building your park from a distance and not face first into the ground. I can personally say that this game was what got me into sandbox building style games. Just the idea of building something unique and trying to make it look as nice as possible is just so fun and addicting to me. Now if you'll excuse me, I have a virtual amusement park to manage.
Thankfully I can say it's the former. Idk what the general consensus of Roller Coaster Tycoon is, but personally I can't get enough of it. Just everything about the game, The building, the customizations, the rides, it all blends together into something so addicting, I had to refrain from playing the game just to get this post out. Every time I play the game, time flies by like it's nothing, first 1 hour, then 2, then 3, and so on until I finally put down the game and do something productive with my life. Even flaws that I can point out such as the graphics still play to the game's strengths as most of the time you're building your park from a distance and not face first into the ground. I can personally say that this game was what got me into sandbox building style games. Just the idea of building something unique and trying to make it look as nice as possible is just so fun and addicting to me. Now if you'll excuse me, I have a virtual amusement park to manage.
Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity Livestream was today and it looks bonkers. It feels like there are more attack options than there was in the original HW, and some of the stuff they're pulling out is amazing. Impa uses attacks that look like Maz Koshia's! Already pre-ordered it of course.
Loved the discussion above about JRPGs. If there's one game I could bring back with just an added PVP function, it would be FFTA 2. That had such a great expanded job system and you could build character level-ups to exacting specifications. It being mobile was awesome.
Loved the discussion above about JRPGs. If there's one game I could bring back with just an added PVP function, it would be FFTA 2. That had such a great expanded job system and you could build character level-ups to exacting specifications. It being mobile was awesome.
Minecraft Steve. That is all.
Genshin Impact has been pretty fun. For a Mobile game, the graphics and controls are pretty solid, though the virtual buttons can get annoying to use sometimes. I'm not too far in the game yet (only AR 15) but so far the game has introduced most new mechanics at a slow, comfortable pace. The gacha system isn't great, but I've made use of most of the 4-stars I've gotten just fine. I think its a great game to casually play.
So Fall Guys season 2 came out today, and I'm honestly really happy with the changes they brought. They brought in new minigames, updated the old ones, new cosmetics, name plates, and improved season rewards. I'm a bit disappointed that they only made four new minigames for season 2, but whatever, I'll take what I can get. So here's a quick ranking of the season 2 minigames.
Wall Guys: D+
When I first saw this minigames teased back in early September, I had a very strong feeling that it would have a similar effect that See Saw has on people. While I might not know the general consensus of the season 2 minigames yet, I can speak for at least myself that my feeling was correct. This is another minigame where you have to rely on other people in order to qualify. You have to move boxes around in an order that will allow to you go over the walls. It sounds like a decent idea until you play the minigame yourself. First you have bullshit player collision, and I kid you not when I say this easily the biggest prime offender of the player collision. Then you also have the janky boxes, not only are they difficult to push around (especially if there's players on them), but the sizes of them makes it incredibly frustrating to climb them when you're surround by over a dozen beans. Then finally, the ledge grab mechanic is just soo inconsistent with the boxes. Sometimes I can do it first try, while other times my bean just falls down with his hands literally scraping the box from top to bottom. Overall, it's a very frustrating minigame, and one I can only see getting a C grade at best.
Hoopsie Legends: B
Thankfully the other 3 minigames pull their weight and more. Now if you remember my initial rankings, Hoopsie Daisy was Number 3 on my list, only behind Jump Showdown and Slimb Climb. So what gives? Why is this one at a much lower grade? Well, there are two main reasons as to why. Reason 1: the boxes, not only are they as janky here, but they're also very spread out, and it always feels as though there should be at least a couple more on the map. And reason 2: The golden hoops. In Hoopsie Daisy the Golden hoops were balanced because they came very rarely and only awarded five points when the average amount is roughly 40-50 points per team. In Hoopsie Legends they're still a rare sight, however, they still award five points... in a minigame where only need SIX points to qualify. That makes the golden hoops insanely OP, and you'll always see at least 4-5 crowded around whenever one spawns in. These two reasons for me are enough to knock it out of an A grade and into the Bs.
Egg Seige: B+
I honestly much prefer Egg Seige over Egg Scramble. For starters the map has a much better layout, and nests are much bigger, making it more difficult for the top 2 teams to bully the other. There's also the bridges that go up and down, adding a layer of strategy when trying to get eggs into your nest. My only real grip with the minigame, and the only reason why it doesn't get an A-/A is that the map doesn't seem built with smaller rooms in mind. Ever Since the Big Yeetus update, it's been possible to get Egg Scramble with only 12-15 people, and this also applies to Egg Seige. Other than that gripe, it's without a doubt one of the better team minigames and the 2nd best season 2 minigame.
Knight Fever: A
The best season 2 minigame goes to Knight Fever. This minigame has qualities that parallel that of the other great round 1 minigames. It's fun, it's simple, and it has some great obstacles. The length of the course is also a great strength, allowing people in the back to potentially catch up and qualify. My only real complaint is that it's a bit on the easier side, but that's to be expected with round 1 race minigames. In the end, it's still an A grade minigame.
When I first saw this minigames teased back in early September, I had a very strong feeling that it would have a similar effect that See Saw has on people. While I might not know the general consensus of the season 2 minigames yet, I can speak for at least myself that my feeling was correct. This is another minigame where you have to rely on other people in order to qualify. You have to move boxes around in an order that will allow to you go over the walls. It sounds like a decent idea until you play the minigame yourself. First you have bullshit player collision, and I kid you not when I say this easily the biggest prime offender of the player collision. Then you also have the janky boxes, not only are they difficult to push around (especially if there's players on them), but the sizes of them makes it incredibly frustrating to climb them when you're surround by over a dozen beans. Then finally, the ledge grab mechanic is just soo inconsistent with the boxes. Sometimes I can do it first try, while other times my bean just falls down with his hands literally scraping the box from top to bottom. Overall, it's a very frustrating minigame, and one I can only see getting a C grade at best.
Hoopsie Legends: B
Thankfully the other 3 minigames pull their weight and more. Now if you remember my initial rankings, Hoopsie Daisy was Number 3 on my list, only behind Jump Showdown and Slimb Climb. So what gives? Why is this one at a much lower grade? Well, there are two main reasons as to why. Reason 1: the boxes, not only are they as janky here, but they're also very spread out, and it always feels as though there should be at least a couple more on the map. And reason 2: The golden hoops. In Hoopsie Daisy the Golden hoops were balanced because they came very rarely and only awarded five points when the average amount is roughly 40-50 points per team. In Hoopsie Legends they're still a rare sight, however, they still award five points... in a minigame where only need SIX points to qualify. That makes the golden hoops insanely OP, and you'll always see at least 4-5 crowded around whenever one spawns in. These two reasons for me are enough to knock it out of an A grade and into the Bs.
Egg Seige: B+
I honestly much prefer Egg Seige over Egg Scramble. For starters the map has a much better layout, and nests are much bigger, making it more difficult for the top 2 teams to bully the other. There's also the bridges that go up and down, adding a layer of strategy when trying to get eggs into your nest. My only real grip with the minigame, and the only reason why it doesn't get an A-/A is that the map doesn't seem built with smaller rooms in mind. Ever Since the Big Yeetus update, it's been possible to get Egg Scramble with only 12-15 people, and this also applies to Egg Seige. Other than that gripe, it's without a doubt one of the better team minigames and the 2nd best season 2 minigame.
Knight Fever: A
The best season 2 minigame goes to Knight Fever. This minigame has qualities that parallel that of the other great round 1 minigames. It's fun, it's simple, and it has some great obstacles. The length of the course is also a great strength, allowing people in the back to potentially catch up and qualify. My only real complaint is that it's a bit on the easier side, but that's to be expected with round 1 race minigames. In the end, it's still an A grade minigame.
Some games that I've been playing:
The mummy demastered
A metroidvania-ish shooty platformer from wayforward. Based on the 2017 movie, with pixel-art russel crowe giving you instructions to go and kill some mummies. It plays basically as caslevania aria of sorrow but with guns. The game is alright to fill an afternoon, and who knows might replay it some time again. There's not much in movement abilities, but finding the guns is pretty nice. The game's central mechanic is that once you die, you turn into a mummy and you take control of another faceless agent sent in, who must kill your original body before getting all the abilities. This can create some....bad death loops, because you have no items and need to kill yourself at full power. Basically losing makes you lose harder. This isn't really a big issue, because the game is pretty easy. The big winner here is the soundtrack. It's super atmospheric and 16-bit groovin. As a completionist I immediately replayed the game to do a no-death run, and the music makes that manageable. 3/5
Deleveled
I got introduced to this indie game a full year ago at PAX, saw it was up my alley and have been patiently waiting for the release ever since. It's a puzzle-platformer, though the puzzle skills are much more needed than the platformer. What struck me about this is just how DIFFICULT the 120 levels get. I thought this would be a couple of afternoon's worth, but it took me 20 hours to complete them all. I didn't expect this level of difficulty to come from a 2-man dev team. If you think you're good at puzzles, then you need to get this and prove yourself.
Risk of rain 2
RoR2 and the precursor are among my favorite games of all time. The original is one of the greatest roguelikes of the early 2010s and the sequel perfectly captures the entire feelings of the first, though this one is a third-person shooter rather than 2d platformer. Your characters have 4 unique abilities with varying synergy and impact on enemy monsters, but the real power comes from the randomly generated items you pick up as you attempt to survive endless waves of monsters on an alien planet. The sheer variety present on any run is totally insane, and the differing characters aren't just minor tweaks on a central main character but completely different playstyles from each other. You can spend 10,20 hours perfecting each character, and there's going to be plenty of post launch content for the game's life cycle. When I've got an hour, there's nothing better than going for a run in ROR. Get it!
Keep on gaming folks
The mummy demastered
A metroidvania-ish shooty platformer from wayforward. Based on the 2017 movie, with pixel-art russel crowe giving you instructions to go and kill some mummies. It plays basically as caslevania aria of sorrow but with guns. The game is alright to fill an afternoon, and who knows might replay it some time again. There's not much in movement abilities, but finding the guns is pretty nice. The game's central mechanic is that once you die, you turn into a mummy and you take control of another faceless agent sent in, who must kill your original body before getting all the abilities. This can create some....bad death loops, because you have no items and need to kill yourself at full power. Basically losing makes you lose harder. This isn't really a big issue, because the game is pretty easy. The big winner here is the soundtrack. It's super atmospheric and 16-bit groovin. As a completionist I immediately replayed the game to do a no-death run, and the music makes that manageable. 3/5
Deleveled
I got introduced to this indie game a full year ago at PAX, saw it was up my alley and have been patiently waiting for the release ever since. It's a puzzle-platformer, though the puzzle skills are much more needed than the platformer. What struck me about this is just how DIFFICULT the 120 levels get. I thought this would be a couple of afternoon's worth, but it took me 20 hours to complete them all. I didn't expect this level of difficulty to come from a 2-man dev team. If you think you're good at puzzles, then you need to get this and prove yourself.
Risk of rain 2
RoR2 and the precursor are among my favorite games of all time. The original is one of the greatest roguelikes of the early 2010s and the sequel perfectly captures the entire feelings of the first, though this one is a third-person shooter rather than 2d platformer. Your characters have 4 unique abilities with varying synergy and impact on enemy monsters, but the real power comes from the randomly generated items you pick up as you attempt to survive endless waves of monsters on an alien planet. The sheer variety present on any run is totally insane, and the differing characters aren't just minor tweaks on a central main character but completely different playstyles from each other. You can spend 10,20 hours perfecting each character, and there's going to be plenty of post launch content for the game's life cycle. When I've got an hour, there's nothing better than going for a run in ROR. Get it!
Keep on gaming folks
kingdom hearts anyone
So I've been utterly addict to Genshin Impact recently, and haven't been able to stop playing it for the past week. Now with the reputation I've made with the Fall Guys posts and ranking the minigames, I figured I'd do something similar. So I'm gonna rank every Genshin Impact Boss from easiest to hardest. How it will work is I'll have two separate categories, the mini boss category and the elite boss category. Elite bosses are the ones that I consider to be REAL bosses, and the mini bosses are the ones that the game says are bosses, but don't really stack up against the elites. That said, let's get to the ranks (also spoilers)
Well that's the rankings. It's 1:30 am where I live, so I'm gonna get some Zs. Let me know if you like this along with any agreements/disagreements that you have on them.
11: All 3 Mitachurls
They're all super easy, and none of them do enough to differentiate themselves from the other enough to rank them separately. Their attacks are super predictable, their damage easily healable with even the worst food, and their health is laughable for a "boss". This is why I call these ones mini bosses, cuz NONE of them can even hold a candle to the elites.
10: WhopperFlower
This fight solely depends on 1 thing, do you know your elemental matchups? If yes then the fight is a joke, if no then you could be in for a moderate time. They've above the mitachurls soley because they do have an attack that can be somewhat of a problem, but again the elemetnal matchup negates that.
9: Geovishap Hatchling
Don't let its speed and burrow happy nature fool you, if you have a character that can negate its damage in any way, you are guaranteed to win every time. It can do damage, which does put it above the other two, but it's still very easy.
8: Fatui Electro Mage
This is where the mini bosses can start putting up some bit of a fight. While the mage's health isn't anything to write home about, she does have a decent bag of tricks and can be annoying to take down with the wrong rng. However, if you just keep up the pressure, she won't even have a chance to pull her tricks, nullifying a good amount of the bad stuff.
7: Eye of the Storm
For a boss with a super badass design, you'd think it'd put up a bit more of a fight. While it can be somewhat difficult if you won't have a ranged character on you, it's still pretty easy even when that's the case. Most of its attacks are super predictable and give you very generous tells, and any ranges character can make minced meat of it.
6: Ruin Guard
Similar to Eye of the Storm, this boss also struggles to put up a good fight despite its design. It has a weakpoint on its back and face, and if you hit it with say a fully charged electric arrow from Fischl, you'll temporarily stun it for a couple seconds. Shoot it again during that stun, and you'll temporarily shut it down, leaving you more than enough time to sink in all the damage in the world. I should not that the difficulty of this boss does get higher when it's paired with other minibosses, but that rarely happens in the main game itself.
5: Fatui Pyro Agent
Fights against these guys go on for way too long, simple because you cannot damage them while they're invisible. Like wtf devs? It's invisible not invincible dammit. Other than that the fight is very simple. He'll charge at you a couple times, use a combo attack that can be troubling at times, and repeat. I like using a hydro or electro character against it because the elemental effect allows you to see them while they're invisible, allowing to to know exactly where they are at all times.
4: StoneHide Lawachurl
Why yes, a Hillachurl miniboss that CAN put up a decent fight. Unlike the Mitachurls, the Lawachurl actually has a health bar to speak of, an it also creates this geo barrier, which not only protects it from a certain amount of damage, but it also makes some of its attacks very deadly by adding earthquake AOEs to them. This is where you'll learn that Geo is very strong against itself. As either Ningguang or Noelle can make minced meat of the barrier, making its attacks go from actually kinda lethal to manageable.
3: The Abyss Mages
I didn't think much about these guys upon making this list at first, until I realized how high they began to creep up, and they somehow managed to creep up all the way to the top 3. This is another case with the WhopperFlower where elemental matchups matter, but this time they really matter. The barriers they make do not like going down against attacks that aren't strong against their element. There are also 3 variants of them, Cryo, Pyro, and Hydro, and I bunched them all here because similar to the mitachurls, none of them had enough to make the more difficult than the others. Overall, just use the right elements and you'll be in the clear.
2: Fatui Skirmishers
Ngl, I was scared of these guys the most for the longest time. They're always in groups of 2-3, and sometimes they'll be very close to each other, meaning you'll have to be very careful of where you go. Once you actually fight them though, they're not that bad. It is still a 2-3 v 1 gank fight that requires elemental matchup knowledge in order to succeed, but other than that, they aren't super difficult. Some of the Skirmish members are more difficult than others, but so long as you keep calm and use your abilities, you'll win.
1: Ruin Hunter
The hardest mini boss is the Ruin Hunter. The Ruin Hunter is the Ruin Guard's jacked up bigger brother. It has 4 arms and flies, making melee a bad option. It also has a health bar, and damage to boot, which already puts it in the running for the top 3, but what makes it the hardest is its attacks. It's got fast close range attacks, and an long range attack that covers a large portion of real estate. It also doesn't help that the Hunter will spam it 3-4 times before going to a different attack. These things combinate to make the hardest miniboss.
They're all super easy, and none of them do enough to differentiate themselves from the other enough to rank them separately. Their attacks are super predictable, their damage easily healable with even the worst food, and their health is laughable for a "boss". This is why I call these ones mini bosses, cuz NONE of them can even hold a candle to the elites.
10: WhopperFlower
This fight solely depends on 1 thing, do you know your elemental matchups? If yes then the fight is a joke, if no then you could be in for a moderate time. They've above the mitachurls soley because they do have an attack that can be somewhat of a problem, but again the elemetnal matchup negates that.
9: Geovishap Hatchling
Don't let its speed and burrow happy nature fool you, if you have a character that can negate its damage in any way, you are guaranteed to win every time. It can do damage, which does put it above the other two, but it's still very easy.
8: Fatui Electro Mage
This is where the mini bosses can start putting up some bit of a fight. While the mage's health isn't anything to write home about, she does have a decent bag of tricks and can be annoying to take down with the wrong rng. However, if you just keep up the pressure, she won't even have a chance to pull her tricks, nullifying a good amount of the bad stuff.
7: Eye of the Storm
For a boss with a super badass design, you'd think it'd put up a bit more of a fight. While it can be somewhat difficult if you won't have a ranged character on you, it's still pretty easy even when that's the case. Most of its attacks are super predictable and give you very generous tells, and any ranges character can make minced meat of it.
6: Ruin Guard
Similar to Eye of the Storm, this boss also struggles to put up a good fight despite its design. It has a weakpoint on its back and face, and if you hit it with say a fully charged electric arrow from Fischl, you'll temporarily stun it for a couple seconds. Shoot it again during that stun, and you'll temporarily shut it down, leaving you more than enough time to sink in all the damage in the world. I should not that the difficulty of this boss does get higher when it's paired with other minibosses, but that rarely happens in the main game itself.
5: Fatui Pyro Agent
Fights against these guys go on for way too long, simple because you cannot damage them while they're invisible. Like wtf devs? It's invisible not invincible dammit. Other than that the fight is very simple. He'll charge at you a couple times, use a combo attack that can be troubling at times, and repeat. I like using a hydro or electro character against it because the elemental effect allows you to see them while they're invisible, allowing to to know exactly where they are at all times.
4: StoneHide Lawachurl
Why yes, a Hillachurl miniboss that CAN put up a decent fight. Unlike the Mitachurls, the Lawachurl actually has a health bar to speak of, an it also creates this geo barrier, which not only protects it from a certain amount of damage, but it also makes some of its attacks very deadly by adding earthquake AOEs to them. This is where you'll learn that Geo is very strong against itself. As either Ningguang or Noelle can make minced meat of the barrier, making its attacks go from actually kinda lethal to manageable.
3: The Abyss Mages
I didn't think much about these guys upon making this list at first, until I realized how high they began to creep up, and they somehow managed to creep up all the way to the top 3. This is another case with the WhopperFlower where elemental matchups matter, but this time they really matter. The barriers they make do not like going down against attacks that aren't strong against their element. There are also 3 variants of them, Cryo, Pyro, and Hydro, and I bunched them all here because similar to the mitachurls, none of them had enough to make the more difficult than the others. Overall, just use the right elements and you'll be in the clear.
2: Fatui Skirmishers
Ngl, I was scared of these guys the most for the longest time. They're always in groups of 2-3, and sometimes they'll be very close to each other, meaning you'll have to be very careful of where you go. Once you actually fight them though, they're not that bad. It is still a 2-3 v 1 gank fight that requires elemental matchup knowledge in order to succeed, but other than that, they aren't super difficult. Some of the Skirmish members are more difficult than others, but so long as you keep calm and use your abilities, you'll win.
1: Ruin Hunter
The hardest mini boss is the Ruin Hunter. The Ruin Hunter is the Ruin Guard's jacked up bigger brother. It has 4 arms and flies, making melee a bad option. It also has a health bar, and damage to boot, which already puts it in the running for the top 3, but what makes it the hardest is its attacks. It's got fast close range attacks, and an long range attack that covers a large portion of real estate. It also doesn't help that the Hunter will spam it 3-4 times before going to a different attack. These things combinate to make the hardest miniboss.
8: Anemo Hypostasis
The easiest Elite Boss is the Anemo Hypostasis, but don't let that get you thinking that this boss is easy. It can easily kick your crap in if you're not careful. Not only that but you also have limited windows to actually get damage in on it, which is also true for the other Hypostasis bosses too. This means you'll have to focus on dodging and keeping your party healthy until you can get ample opportunities to chip away at its health. However, with enough practice you'll find that its attacks aren't terribly difficult to dodge. The only attack that can be a problem is an AOE that covers over 2/3s of the arena, but if you know when it's coming you can dodge it every time. It's definitely not an easy boss, but it's not one that should force any massive changes in your party either.
7: Electro Hypostasis
From one Hypostasis to another, the electro variant is a bit of a double edged sword in its difficult. It has some of the deadliest attacks between the 3 Hypostasis, but it also has gives you the largest windows of attack out of the 3. So while I do find its attacks more difficult to dodge than the anemo, I often find myself ending the fight rather quickly. Granted this could be because my Xianling is a dps machine, but I digress. The main reason why it ranked above the anemo however, is because of the attacks. Some of them can be very difficult to dodge such as a 3 combo attack that can desimate your health bar. Again, definitely not easy, but no super difficult either.
6: Geo Hypostasis
Tired of the Hypostasis train yet? Well too bad! I should note though that I find this one to be much more difficult than the other two. When you first begin the fight, it immediately opens by creating 5 Geo pillars, 1 in the center, and 4 on the sides. The thing is that it really likes to stay up on those platforms, and some its attacks thrive off of those platforms, including an earthquake AOE that covers even more real estate then the anemo's. I should note that if you do break the platform that its on, you will be given an ample opportunity to sink some damage in on it, however, there are 2 problems with that. 1st, the platforms do not go down easy. Even when you're using a claymore character, you'll find that they don't go down easy at all, and 2nd, it's teleport habits. Unlike the other two hypostasis that only teleport for a single attack or two, the Geo Hypostasis is incredibly teleport happy, to the point where it will feel like it will teleport after every other attack. This all forces you into 1 of two strategies to take it down. 1: Camp in a place where the earthquake can't hit you with a bow character, or 2: use a claymore character and try to take down the platform it's on in order to get good dps. To put this fight short, bring a claymore character and either a bow character, or your pest melee dps.
5: Pyro Regisvine
We now enter the top 5, and from here one you're probably gonna need to do at least some sort of party switching if you want the optimal strats. The 1st thing you should know about this boss and its Cryo sibling are its weakpoints. In both fights they start by exposing the on at the bottom stem, then the one on their face, and so long as one of these is active, your damage against it will be incredibly miniscule. Another thing to note is that the shields will only go down optimally if you use the right element against it, otherwise the weakpoints will feel like damage sponges that take an eternity to destroy. Once they do break however, you'll be given a decent amount of time to sink in damage. So what's the optimal strat against this? One word, Barbara. Barbara is a FREE Hydro mage that is more on healing than actual damage, but the catch is, the damage doesn't matter against the weakpoints. No joke, you could be dealing SINGLE DIGIT damage against them and you'll still cut through them like butter. Once it's down, swap to your dps and whale on it. Rinse and repeat until the boss is dead.
4: Cryo Regisvine
Most of the things I said about the Pryo Regisvine apply here as well, with the only major differences being attacks and elemental matchups. Key note, those difference are what make it more difficult than its pyro sibling. Unlike the Pyro one where you had an easy answer against the weakpoints, here you don't have that luxury. Your best FREE option is Amber, who is a meme and garbage, other than that, you're forced to play the gacha and hope for either Diluc or Xialing (you can also get Xianling by beating the third floor in third chamber, but good luck beating that at level 30. I beat it at 30, and it was very painful), but even then both Diluc and Xianling struggle to reach the weakpoint on its face. On top of that you also have to deal with the freeze status, which is easily the most annoying of the statuses. All of this blends together to be a quite difficult boss.
3: Oceanid
This is probably my least favorite elite boss, mainly because the very majestic thing flying around the arena, the creature that is suppose to be the boss, rarely every attacks. Instead it summons these annoying water underlings that do the dirty work for it. This boss beats the rest of the pack for a couple reasons. 1: The minions regenerate health and do loads of damage. 2: The arena shrinks as the fight goes on. And 3: the one attack that Oceanid actually does. If you take too long Oceanid will create a water attack beneath you, which is inescapable and insta kills whoever you have out. These 3 things make this boss difficult and very annoying. Just spam electro and cryo and you'll win.
2: Stormterror/Dvalin
The final boss of the monstadt arc and my personal favorite of the elite bosses, Stormterror/Dvalin earns its spot at second place. It's got deadly attacks, small windows of attack, and a health bar to suit a final boss. However, the biggest thing that puts it at 2nd place is the removal of platforms. Similar to Oceanid, Stormterror/Dvalin will delete certain platforms during the fight. However, unlike Oceanid who does it at certain points of its health. Stormterror/Dvalin does it at regular intervals and will continue to do it at those intervals, meaning if you take too long you will run out of safe platforms to go on and will likely have to restart the fight. All I can say is good luck.
1: Lupus Borealis
The hardest boss in Genshin Impact is Lupus Borealis. Basically take everything that made the previous bosses difficult, and that's what this fight is. He has it all. Freeze status, limited windows of attack, a massive health bar, absurd damage, and arena covering attacks, all of which is topped off with a second phase that cranks everything I just mentioned up to 11. Like with Stormterror/Dvalin, all I can say is good luck, you're gonna need it.
The easiest Elite Boss is the Anemo Hypostasis, but don't let that get you thinking that this boss is easy. It can easily kick your crap in if you're not careful. Not only that but you also have limited windows to actually get damage in on it, which is also true for the other Hypostasis bosses too. This means you'll have to focus on dodging and keeping your party healthy until you can get ample opportunities to chip away at its health. However, with enough practice you'll find that its attacks aren't terribly difficult to dodge. The only attack that can be a problem is an AOE that covers over 2/3s of the arena, but if you know when it's coming you can dodge it every time. It's definitely not an easy boss, but it's not one that should force any massive changes in your party either.
7: Electro Hypostasis
From one Hypostasis to another, the electro variant is a bit of a double edged sword in its difficult. It has some of the deadliest attacks between the 3 Hypostasis, but it also has gives you the largest windows of attack out of the 3. So while I do find its attacks more difficult to dodge than the anemo, I often find myself ending the fight rather quickly. Granted this could be because my Xianling is a dps machine, but I digress. The main reason why it ranked above the anemo however, is because of the attacks. Some of them can be very difficult to dodge such as a 3 combo attack that can desimate your health bar. Again, definitely not easy, but no super difficult either.
6: Geo Hypostasis
Tired of the Hypostasis train yet? Well too bad! I should note though that I find this one to be much more difficult than the other two. When you first begin the fight, it immediately opens by creating 5 Geo pillars, 1 in the center, and 4 on the sides. The thing is that it really likes to stay up on those platforms, and some its attacks thrive off of those platforms, including an earthquake AOE that covers even more real estate then the anemo's. I should note that if you do break the platform that its on, you will be given an ample opportunity to sink some damage in on it, however, there are 2 problems with that. 1st, the platforms do not go down easy. Even when you're using a claymore character, you'll find that they don't go down easy at all, and 2nd, it's teleport habits. Unlike the other two hypostasis that only teleport for a single attack or two, the Geo Hypostasis is incredibly teleport happy, to the point where it will feel like it will teleport after every other attack. This all forces you into 1 of two strategies to take it down. 1: Camp in a place where the earthquake can't hit you with a bow character, or 2: use a claymore character and try to take down the platform it's on in order to get good dps. To put this fight short, bring a claymore character and either a bow character, or your pest melee dps.
5: Pyro Regisvine
We now enter the top 5, and from here one you're probably gonna need to do at least some sort of party switching if you want the optimal strats. The 1st thing you should know about this boss and its Cryo sibling are its weakpoints. In both fights they start by exposing the on at the bottom stem, then the one on their face, and so long as one of these is active, your damage against it will be incredibly miniscule. Another thing to note is that the shields will only go down optimally if you use the right element against it, otherwise the weakpoints will feel like damage sponges that take an eternity to destroy. Once they do break however, you'll be given a decent amount of time to sink in damage. So what's the optimal strat against this? One word, Barbara. Barbara is a FREE Hydro mage that is more on healing than actual damage, but the catch is, the damage doesn't matter against the weakpoints. No joke, you could be dealing SINGLE DIGIT damage against them and you'll still cut through them like butter. Once it's down, swap to your dps and whale on it. Rinse and repeat until the boss is dead.
4: Cryo Regisvine
Most of the things I said about the Pryo Regisvine apply here as well, with the only major differences being attacks and elemental matchups. Key note, those difference are what make it more difficult than its pyro sibling. Unlike the Pyro one where you had an easy answer against the weakpoints, here you don't have that luxury. Your best FREE option is Amber, who is a meme and garbage, other than that, you're forced to play the gacha and hope for either Diluc or Xialing (you can also get Xianling by beating the third floor in third chamber, but good luck beating that at level 30. I beat it at 30, and it was very painful), but even then both Diluc and Xianling struggle to reach the weakpoint on its face. On top of that you also have to deal with the freeze status, which is easily the most annoying of the statuses. All of this blends together to be a quite difficult boss.
3: Oceanid
This is probably my least favorite elite boss, mainly because the very majestic thing flying around the arena, the creature that is suppose to be the boss, rarely every attacks. Instead it summons these annoying water underlings that do the dirty work for it. This boss beats the rest of the pack for a couple reasons. 1: The minions regenerate health and do loads of damage. 2: The arena shrinks as the fight goes on. And 3: the one attack that Oceanid actually does. If you take too long Oceanid will create a water attack beneath you, which is inescapable and insta kills whoever you have out. These 3 things make this boss difficult and very annoying. Just spam electro and cryo and you'll win.
2: Stormterror/Dvalin
The final boss of the monstadt arc and my personal favorite of the elite bosses, Stormterror/Dvalin earns its spot at second place. It's got deadly attacks, small windows of attack, and a health bar to suit a final boss. However, the biggest thing that puts it at 2nd place is the removal of platforms. Similar to Oceanid, Stormterror/Dvalin will delete certain platforms during the fight. However, unlike Oceanid who does it at certain points of its health. Stormterror/Dvalin does it at regular intervals and will continue to do it at those intervals, meaning if you take too long you will run out of safe platforms to go on and will likely have to restart the fight. All I can say is good luck.
1: Lupus Borealis
The hardest boss in Genshin Impact is Lupus Borealis. Basically take everything that made the previous bosses difficult, and that's what this fight is. He has it all. Freeze status, limited windows of attack, a massive health bar, absurd damage, and arena covering attacks, all of which is topped off with a second phase that cranks everything I just mentioned up to 11. Like with Stormterror/Dvalin, all I can say is good luck, you're gonna need it.
Well that's the rankings. It's 1:30 am where I live, so I'm gonna get some Zs. Let me know if you like this along with any agreements/disagreements that you have on them.
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Hello everyone, if you are lost in the world of genshin like some of us do, feel free to join our discord for Smogon users
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Anyone like Paladins or Hollow Knight?
Yung Dramps
awesome gaming
So I've been thinking of a kinda ridiculous hypothetical since earlier today. I just think it'd be an interesting discussion topic, so here I go.
I'm sure a lot of you know about how certain companies (namely Nintendo) have built a reputation for being really picky around fangames and hitting them with DMCAs. But what if they not only didn't do that, but went so far as to officially absorb these fangames?
Now, I know companies have worked with fans in the past, the most well-known example in recent memory being SEGA's hiring out of Christian Whitehead and friends to make Sonic Mania, as well as lots of Valve's library being built off mods. But what I'm thinking of goes beyond this. Going back to Nintendo, what do you think might've happened if rather than taking down games like Uranium and Prism they had instead paid their developers some sort of royalty fee to have those games put on the EShop, perhaps after some internal vetting to meet their polish standards? If something like this were to happen and succeed, what would the implications be for the industry at large?
I'm sure a lot of you know about how certain companies (namely Nintendo) have built a reputation for being really picky around fangames and hitting them with DMCAs. But what if they not only didn't do that, but went so far as to officially absorb these fangames?
Now, I know companies have worked with fans in the past, the most well-known example in recent memory being SEGA's hiring out of Christian Whitehead and friends to make Sonic Mania, as well as lots of Valve's library being built off mods. But what I'm thinking of goes beyond this. Going back to Nintendo, what do you think might've happened if rather than taking down games like Uranium and Prism they had instead paid their developers some sort of royalty fee to have those games put on the EShop, perhaps after some internal vetting to meet their polish standards? If something like this were to happen and succeed, what would the implications be for the industry at large?
I played a lot of Paladins a few years ago. I had access to Overwatch, but Paladins ran a lot smoother on my older PC. I got into the meta and stuff, but the addition of a new hero every week made it hard to keep up with. I also hated the Viktor changes they made, and some of the characters added at the time just seemed stupid. If I'm ever looking to play and team based shooter, I just play Overwatch, haven't touched Paladins in a few years
Huge fan of Hollow Knight. Easily top 10 games of all time. I'm quite invested in the lore, and I can't wait for Silksong.
I believe TPC did something similar like that- They hired an artist who posted art on Deviantart showcasing Pokemon if they really existed to help make the costumes for the Detective Pikachu Movie. Not video game, but fan art made professional nonethless.
Me, Hollow Knight is one of my favorites and hard ones to complete it. A total masterpiece with amazing music and hard battles.
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