Topic: Returnal

@MatthewJP Iron Man thing? Oh… there is a really strong brute at about the halfway point, that’s right. Or are you referring to the climb up the tower? If I recall, he’s not present in every run at the earlier point, necessarily, depending on what route you take. In B3 there’s quite a few side paths that might be better to avoid as the risk/reward is heavy on the ‘risk.’.

But if you do run into him in one of the main areas in the mid part of the biome — I was able to cheese him a few times by backtracking (he follows you) to an earlier platform where there was a centralized structure I could just run and hide behind and do the whole ‘circle around and take pot-shots then retreat’ thing until he was dead. Of course with every run being randomized, your mileage may vary.

And hopefully it’s not a spoiler but in my opinion the hardest part of Biome 3 is the trek to the boss. If you can get to the boss in one piece, it not actually as bad as the first two (although it is definitely a very new challenge). So hang in there!

@MatthewJP ooh, they can be rough. The full suit ones would demolish me if I wasn’t moving or prepared for them. I’ve found that staying away from them works well, and you can dash out of the grappling hook move.

Anybody have any idea what the platinum image represents? The only things I can think of is the snake biting it’s tail (Selene shooting down her ship), or the circle the snake is in (the eternal cycle). All the other trophy images correlate to the trophy, but this one doesn’t.

I'm well aware that this news is 'small fry' compared to those that have progressed much further... but I can finally announce that Phrike is down (!).

Onwards and upwards through B2 now... Thanks again guys for the tips

(For those interested, I managed to get the Carbine to proficiency #4 and also scored big in the shop - securing the astronaut and also the large health pack. RNG on my side also, fairly short run to the boss... Could have probably cleared a few more rooms to farm ether etc, but felt I was strong enough for a quick shot at him. Phases #1 and #2 no issue, Phase #3 a bit of a challenge though!)

@MatthewJP @Tatarimokke Those drones, gotta love em!! I think I gave some tips on these the other day but early on I really struggled with them so totally know where you are coming from. I found one of the best things to use against them was Void Beam alt-fire as you can take a pack of them out with one use. When you get an absolute shed load of them all in one place though sometimes it's better just to get the hell out of there. My wife always dived into a side room and started picking them off one by one which seemed to work well for her. If you are going to dash then you definitely need to get your timing right and try and dash forward as then you will miss but bulk of the attack.

@CJD87 Well done on dispatching Phrike. Enjoy B2

@MatthewJP exactly the same here. Full health, 160% integrity 1 large and 2 small vial. felt so strong to finally reach the boss room then i was destroyed in no time by those drones.
Honestly Biome 3 is the first one i can say i really don't like. Not just the drones but the environment. Small spaces, hard to maneuver and strong quick enemies with completely different approach than in the other 2 biomes. Biome 2 was a cakewalk compering to Biome 3. My favorite is Biome 2 very enjoyable. Biome 3 is rather frustrating.
I just checked i have 22 death so far but it's going to easily double up soon in Biome 3. I just want to get out of here:)

@Tatarimokke @MatthewJP I remember feeling that about B3 but then once I'd finished the game and gone back I realised it's actually quite a cool biome. It's a great challenge even when you've got more powerful but the atmosphere created by the brutalist architecture and the mystery about the place adds to it. The drones do make it quite a painful experience when you just want to get moving though.

The good news is that for most people the majority of their deaths occur in the first three biomes so if you can clear that then it's all plain sailing from there 😉

The citadel sure does feel more hostile than other parts of the game. Makes sense, since it's supposed to be some kind of a military complex, I guess

@Voltan @render @Tatarimokke @MatthewJP Ditto to the remark that I disliked Biome 3 the most but upon returning later after clearing it it doesn’t seem nearly as onerous. It’s a real training ground for future biomes and although it’s probably the biggest stumbling block, if I can get past it, I’m sure you can. I’m fairly average as far as gaming skills.

@CJD87 Don’t sell yourself short, my friend! Beating Phrike is definitely a rite of passage and something to be proud of. It’s a sort of threshold and once you get past her then the game seems to click a bit more. I was hitting my head against the wall trying to clear her for a while, then in Biome 2 you get rewarded with a little bit easier time until you hit another wall at Biome 3. But by then you’re so invested in the addictive gameplay loop that you just can’t stop! 😄

@Voltan @Th3solution @render how difficult is the boss here compering to the first 2 biome?
However sometimes it seems not the boss itself the biggest challenge but to get there:)

@Tatarimokke I definitely think the boss in B3 isn't as difficult as the one in B2. Like you say it's the getting there that's the hard part. There's a shortcut in B3 that once you've unlocked you won't have to do an entire section of which makes it easier but there's still other challenges to overcome. I don't want to give too much information away as one of the things I enjoyed about playing this was finding my own way.

@Tatarimokke I’d say it’s exactly that. The boss isn’t really the hardest part.
It’s actually quite different from the first two but I wouldn’t say it’s necessarily harder. There are some tactics I could share but I don’t wanna spoil anything before you get there and see for yourself

@Tatarimokke As render and Voltan say, the boss isn’t terribly hard, although I died multiple times. The worst is getting to the boss with a reasonable amount of integrity left over. I was often making it to the boss with no left over silphium vials and no astronaut and was really frustrated at one point. But I focused on building myself up and saving silphium vials for the boss and on the first run where I beat the boss I had a ridiculous amount of health that I actually didn’t end up needing 😅. But I was so tired of not being prepared that I overprepared. I probably had enough health to beat it twice. Also, I think I tried like 3 or 4 different weapons on it and I think I ended up being successful with the Hollowseeker, but I can’t remember. Maybe it was the carbine. People have beat it with just about every weapon available, so it just depends on your playstyle.

If you want or need further advice then let me know. I don’t want to spoil things too much. After you actually get there, i think a few things become clear that you need to do.

@Tatarimokke I was going for the 200% integrity trophy and I beat the boss on the first try, and had quite a lot of health remaining. You might find a better way to do it though.

@render @Voltan @Th3solution Thanks guys for the info. Now i just need to get there. Also yesterday i found a portal in biome 1 which directed me straight to the biome 3 and it wasn't marked on the map. I was quite surprised to be honest. What is it good for? I mean without upgrades felt like a suicide mission to go Biome 3 that early

@Tatarimokke That portal to Biome 3 has always been there, you just couldn't get to it without the grapple.

If you don't fancy going there straight away now, it is useful later on for end game stuff.

@Tatarimokke Personally, I think it wisest to do the first half of B1 to the fabricator shop, buy some upgrades there, then do the first half of B2 up through the open area to the portal point to B3, since that area is fun and “easy” compared to other areas, but I skipped the indoor temple parts where the severed roam, and then teleported to B3 from that midway point. You can teleport to the right before the B2 boss fight from the entrance to the temple and then make a couple jumps/grapple to the teleport to the B3 Biome without really having fighting needed. For me that was the best way to buff myself without risking unnecessary early death.

But given the proficiency calculator at the beginning of B3, you could certainly try the direct jump from B1 to B3, but your integrity isn’t very large and I think it’s worth the extra time through the first part of B2 since it’s fairly straightforward. But that’s just me and my playstyle

@Tatarimokke Yeah, now that you have the grapple, you can skip the wastes entirely. It actually is marked on the map - the door to the “room” with the broken bridge has a different door icon.
With biome 1 being as random as it is, it’s just as likely to be near the crash site or at the very end of the biome. It’s probably good to spend some time in the first biome before going to the citadel. You can also go to Crimson Wastes and play through the outdoor part. There is now a portal at the base of the mountain that will take you all the way to the top.

@Tatarimokke I would run through b1 before going in, to try and get health + astronaut, but for cipher hunts I went in ASAP.

@Tatarimokke @MatthewJP I don't know if it's been mentioned already but you're immune when grappling. Lots of the tough areas in biome 3 have grappling points all over so if you're getting swarmed or in trouble, knowing where a nearby grapple point is can be a lifesaver.

As for the drones, the hollowseeker with serrated blades or the lobber both work well for the fact you can fire at them and then hide while the extra damage does it's job.

I got extremely lucky when I played the game and had such a good build when I finally beat the biome 2 boss that I managed biome 3 first time! I didn't fare so well going back there to complete act 3 though