Good news - I finally got an Astronaut at the fabricator shop. And I had a good run going, bought it, as well as the med pack, and got a level 5 weapon!
Bad news - still died during phase three.
That makes 30 deaths, 1000 hostiles killed, 12 hours of gametime, and 9 trophies, and I still haven’t beat Phrike. Not to mention a couple hours of watching videos, reading online strategies, and thinking about this stupid game during almost every waking hour.
Well at least Biome 1 is fun and beautiful.
“We cannot solve our problems with the same thinking we used when we created them.”
@Th3solution It’s crazy how different people’s experiences are with Returnal. I got stuck on Biomes 3 and 4 the most, but beat Biome 1 and Biome 5 my first time visiting them (minus the forced death in biome 1 at the start). I think different skill sets mean you can handle different sets of enemies. The game, to be perfectly honest, only starts hitting its potential when the next set of weapon traits start unlocking. I actually only just learned there was such a thing as a 3rd level weapon trait. Only saw up to level 2 while playing the game. It’s a weird one.
@nessisonett And by the way — after remembering our exchange the other day, when I sat down to play today, I went into the settings and disabled the online functionality, just to see if it would prompt the astronaut to appear in the fabricator. And presto! — there is was in the fabricator shop right away on that very run. Coincidence? Maybe. But I wonder if there is code in the game whereby things like this could be integrated. I don’t know why it would though. Anyways, i was thrilled to see it available.
And I guess that’s my frustration is hearing about people finishing the entire game with only like 24 deaths or whatever it was (@Voltan - wasn’t that you?). Or clearing the biome 1 boss and all on their first playthrough. It seems unfathomable to me.
There have been a few games I quit because I just physically or mentally could not progress any further. Tetris Effect was one. I hit a wall and could not make my mind work fast enough on the highest levels. Other games that I end up quitting are just due to lack of motivation to keep on because it doesn’t interest me. But here, I enjoy the game a lot also have fun playing it and learning all its nuance, but I seem to have a disconnect in my brain or my fingers,… or something.
Honestly, I feel like I’m going to make it out of biome 1 eventually. I keep getting close. But I’m terrified of the latter ones if they get harder. But like you say, maybe it’s like those Bloodborne bosses where everyone seems to struggle with different ones for some reason. We all play things a little differently. I beat Blood-Starved Beast on the first try fairly easily and I remember being shocked that some people found him one of the hardest Bloodborne bosses.
@Th3solution I don’t remember the exact number at this point but it was in the 20’s indeed. I think it was 26 or 27. I wouldn’t worry about it though
A tip for the Phrike fight from me: her melee attack is the most devastating one so remember that she always does it right after the “red ring of death” but also twice at the beginning of phase 3. Time your dashes right
@Th3solution It took me something like 25 hours to get out of the first biome. It sounds like you're having a similar experience to me in that you seem to like playing the game and it has its hooks in you, you just can't progress. Sometimes, I think, it just takes a while to figure out how you like to play it.
BTW, how I beat the first boss, was to repeatedly, every go, clear out every single room in the first biome until I got good at it. Depending on a little bit of luck you can clear out the whole thing with 500-600 oblite things and then head back to the fabricators and pick up a big health pack and an astronaut if you can, or the 25% boost to health. Then it was just a matter of time.
PS weapon choices are really down to the player and how you play, but for what it's worth I found clearing out the whole of biome 1 incredibly easy when using the normal pistol with the homing trait. You can basically keep a safe distance and just fire knowing it's going to land. For the boss I think the carbine is probably the best weapon.
@Th3solution Looks like you are getting close. Took me about 20 hours to reach biome 2. As long as you are still enjoying, that is the main thing.
Only got the 2 fragments left in Biomes 5 and 6 to get now. And then after I've done act 3 I've got a few Scout logs (I'm aware one of them appears after act 3, and then will that biome complete) and a couple of glyphs left for the platinum.
@nessisonett Yep the Drones in Biome 3 are still a mare to deal with! I actually find them easier in Biome 5 as it is usually more stuff you can hide behind. Any weapon that does continues to deal out damage after you've stopped fireing is a just for me.
@velio84@johncalmc@JohnnyShoulder I’m relieved to see I’m not an outlier on my struggles and that @Voltan is actually the odd one 😜. Must be those nimble fingers from playing music. That or those performance enhancing beverages he drinks. 😄
Another sign that I’m making progress — I went into the challenge room out of curiosity on a subsequent run and I actually made it pretty far through the onslaught of enemy waves. I wasn’t even really trying and it was right before ending my session and I was just experimenting with how far my skills had come. The last time I tried that (like 15-20 runs ago) I got overwhelmed in about 30 seconds and died.
I also tried a couple runs where I re-enabled online and was just going straight to the first body I found all trying my hand at exacting revenge and I actually was able to beat the enemy 1 out of 3 attempts at that. So that’s also a little confidence inspiring. It seems that there is a wide variation on how tough those mini bosses are. One of them was an enemy I haven’t even seen yet in my 12 hours of gaming that sent out constant triple stacked red rings and I discovered that the pillars don’t stop those rings… 😅. I guess that’s a taste of what’s to come in the latter biomes.
“We cannot solve our problems with the same thinking we used when we created them.”
@Th3solution There are those people that will sail through this game and make it look easy but I bet they are in the minority. I think most people on this thread have struggled with at least one biome, if not more, and I was definitely the same. The game is so good though that it just pushed me to keep going and it sounds like you are in that same place. So like others have said, keep going you will do it! And as I was where you were I know that is true!! 😀
@Th3solution Remember you can just dash through the rings - the instinct might be to jump over them (I know it was for me half of the time) but dashing is actually the better route, probably
You'll want to dash into the ring so you're on the inside after the dash
@Voltan Yeah, I’m trying to get the timing better for the dashing and when to dash and when to jump. The early enemies tend to train your reflexes to jump since the orbs come at ground level. Actually, that’s what got me in the end during my recent Phrike fight. I think I actually have her melee attacks relatively well figured out and when to dash in relation to how she telegraphs the move. What actually got me was the high density of purple orbs and then the stream of red ones shooting out because I actually dashed into orbs one too many times. That and I had seen a video on YouTube where the player beat the boss with only melee attacks and so I tried to mix in some melee hits and I think maybe that wasn’t a good idea for my playstyle. It’s high risk/reward and a couple times I was not able to get away quick enough to avoid either a return melee or a huge purple orb dump onto my head while I was still at her feet. 😅
I think next time I’ll avoid taking chances with melee.
I also had a weapon which was good my didn’t have a very good alt-fire. It was the one what shoots a horizontal burst and it seems like it didn’t land half the time and the extra time to aim it got me in trouble and I took damage.
“We cannot solve our problems with the same thinking we used when we created them.”
@Th3solution Just 17 deaths to complete act 2 for me and the vast majority came in biome 4! I died more times trying to get the fragments for act 3..
I got quite lucky that I whizzed through biomes 3 and 6 first go, and only the first two bosses took more than one go (I did have quick reads of what to expect with some bosses). I generally found the bosses were okay as it was only one enemy to focus on; most deaths came from being overwhelmed on hordes. It’s just a safety first approach to bosses and getting lucky with artefacts/items. My best was to have the one that heals you when you give damage and has a better effect with higher adrenaline levels; combine that with the item to put you to adrenaline level 5 and it was a lifesaver (literally!).
I think out of any game I’ve played, this one has so many ways to approach it. I tried clearing every area before a boss and just sprinting straight there and sometimes one worked better than the other.
@Thrillho I forgot that you managed to complete this with so few deaths. A pretty awesome achievement and those boss vids you uploaded made them look really easy. Even to this day I don't think I've managed to beat one with that much finesse 😂
@Th3solution The purple orbs are a real pain on that fight and I made a total meal of it when I first took Phrike. At some point though once I'd learned to be calm in that fight I realised that you can easily walk through them or just pull back far enough that they just fizzle out before they get you. It's not easy when you just want to beat it to get some progression though so I know that probably won't help much.
@Th3solution Red and blue lasers/rings/orbs can be dashed through. Purple lasers/rings/orbs cannot be dashed through and you need to avoid them either by jumping over or walking/running around them.
Life is more fun when you help people succeed, instead of wishing them to fail.
Better to remain silent and be thought a fool than to speak and remove all doubt.
@Thrillho Bruh, no way. You’re my hero. I know about half my deaths are probably because I faff about for a couple runs right before I close the game down, just experimenting and doing things I know I shouldn’t (like taking on the challenge room and the online avenge mini-bosses). Sometimes I use the last 1-2 runs of the day as throwaway runs just to see if I can get to the first ether before closing down. But still! — your numbers are impressive!
@render There is definitely an element of impatience that can play a role. When I started phase 3 last night I was at pretty full health, having just used the astronaut, so I got a little foolhardy and too aggressive. Learned my lesson there.
@JohnnyShoulder Actually didn’t know that about purple attacks being immune to dash. That helps. It makes sense now why they got me the few times I was dashing around. It means I need to change my approach when there is a sea of purple orbs and then she shoots a line of red ones or a laser on top of that. The dashing will need to be very calculated.
“We cannot solve our problems with the same thinking we used when we created them.”
@Th3solution Ha, it’s nice to finally find a game I seemingly had a natural affinity for! That said, the avenging enemy thing only came in after I finished act 3 and they still killed me most of the time..
If you have another unsuccessful run at the boss, try saving the video clip of the fight and watch it back; it’s amazing to see things you didn’t realise at the time to help you out with your next go like being able to see windows for attacks or how they telegraph certain moves.
It’s definitely “safety first” in the third phase of the first two bosses though as the melee attacks they have can be brutal.
@Th3solution it took me 123 hours to beat the game and I died something like 167 times so you've got a way to go before you need to start worrying.
If it's any consolation, I struggled with the first boss but beat all of the others in less than five tries I think, and fighting the first boss again once I'd been through the later stages felt like a breeze. It's similar to like Bloodborne or something in how it seems insurmountable - like I never thought I'd actually be able to finish the game for a while - but then once you get it you get it.
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