Board 8 > God of War discussion topic?

(+) Yeah! (+)

tazzyboyishere posted...

Hey so I just got the Blades of Chaos. I got a trophy for helping all wayward spirits, but this opened an entirely new skill tree, so I was curious about how far in I am.

depends if you go off doing side stuff but I'd say roughly 65% of the way through?
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...whatever
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I thought it was just me, but watching the TBF LP, and the puzzle where you have to tear down 4 sets of 3 vines in one small area in Nifleheim....way too obscure, right? I don't imagine somebody figuring that out until atreus tells you, and the game seems to push you away from it.
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Nice, that means there's still plenty more game for me to look forward to

I tend to get sad when I'm nearing the end of a great game
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Oh cool, I was a bit disappointed when I found out the spirits were all helped, so it's good I still have a decent chunk left!
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Just got to Helheim for the second time, and found the missing panel

four symbols of war, two of which are Norse and Greek. One is Egyptian and I think the other is Slavic? goddamn if that's a hint at them bringing Egyptian mythology into the series later I'll be fucking elated
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Johnbobb posted...

Just got to Helheim for the second time, and found the missing panel

four symbols of war, two of which are Norse and Greek. One is Egyptian and I think the other is Slavic? goddamn if that's a hint at them bringing Egyptian mythology into the series later I'll be fucking elated

I think the other one was Japanese
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That would be even better!
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Found my way into some fire world with trials. I got to the third set of them, which seems OK considering where in the game I am.
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personally got stuck on the last wave of the second trial

killing them is easy but everytime I'd have it down to just like 1-2 left they'd all respawn just before I could finish
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That one was pretty nasty. I got lucky with Atreus' crow summons there I think.

Now I can make a couple of pieces of which set of these epic armors I want. But I wonder, should I be afraid of not having enough materials? Is there one of these set that are way better than the others?
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so yeah i got the platinum for the game five days ago, and i'm actually midway through another playthrough. decided to replay it anyway to see if the pacing and narrative problems that some people bring up affect me as much.

i actually appreciate more the craft in storytelling for one plot thread (baldur and freya's relationship), seeing the small things that affirm that particular climax.

nothing super glaring so far in the pacing, but i do still have a ways to go before the last quarter, which is the part that gets most of the complaints regarding the pacing.

if there is one thing that i definitely missed in the early game, it's just the lack of combat options. makes me wish for a new game plus. of course, i get why the moveset is as basic as it is in the beginning. it took me about 3-5 hours into the game the first time before i got comfortable enough with the combat. maybe some of the moves could have been there from the start though, like the running attacks and the axe cleave?

going back to the narrative, i do empathize with the more big picture problem critics have with it. the story sony santa monica decided to tell was done well enough. it's just that it falls into the same trappings of these kinds of stories. the typical idea of masculinity isn't really challenged in a meaningful way, and it doesn't make for good representation of women. it's nowhere near straight-up juvenile misogynist like in the previous games, but it still doesn't do much for positive, forward-thinking depictions of women. faye is mythologized to be this perfect warrior/sage/saint, and i cannot for the life of me fathom how she ever got into a relationship with kratos and had a kid with him. maybe that's the one thing that makes her seem like a real person - her downright atrocious taste in men, which i say as a joke but even then if taken on face value also doesn't speak kindly for women's representation! freya is just overburdened as the one on-screen female character. there are all these male characters showing a range of personalities and arcs, and there's the one woman who becomes a trope in the end. i don't find it off-puttingly offensive, but it is disappointing.

i also take issue with the game's gestures at "being better" in regard to kratos' violent past. it's just so pg-13 "mature" action fiction to say violence should be the last option while glorifying violence 90% of the time. yes, it's hard to ignore commenting on it when the game is telling a father and son story framed in a much more grounded way, but i can't help but roll my eyes when games try to moralize on that front and still paint protagonists who kill hundreds as heroic all the while making violence feel viscerally satisfying. why even bother when you're not really saying anything new or profound about those conflicting emotions?!

these failings have only made me think more fondly of the last of us. now there's a big-budget sad dad video game that interrogates paternal masculinity and violence without having that disconnect in story and gameplay.

it's probably easier for me to look past those flaws anyway because hey i'm a dude and a person who has been playing video games since childhood without the highest expectations for aaa stories, but yeah, despite my problems with the narrative, i still think god of war is an enormously fun time. the combat really is something special, the exploration loop is rewarding, mimir is the perfect addition to the kratos/atreus dynamic, brok and sindri are incredibly charming, the small moments with kratos and atreus are genuine and heartfelt, the big moments are exhilarating and fist-pumping, the nods to the past games are succinct and impactful, and the valkryie fights are just the best.

i'm going to finish it again, and i will likely still feel positively about it in the future. here's hoping the sequels are better with women????
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Getting close to the end I think, will have full thoughts after

I will say already though it's so obviously trying to set up a full new franchise with how little you see of any gods aside from Baldur and Freya. Saving Thor, Loki and Odin for 3 I suppose
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Clearly you haven't finished the game yet, lol

Just finished the game...sad to see it end. Can't wait for the sequel!
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Final ultra Valkyrie on Give Me God of War mode was some serious bullshit
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So I got to the Hidden Chamber at Kratos' home, and there's no Valkyrie, just a really really hard realm tear fight.

Most of the enemies in it can be beaten pretty easily except the one Revenant, who takes my whole health bar in 2-3 hits and it's so damn hard to hit.

I hate Revenants and while I can occasionally beat them by stunning with an arrow, attacking and repeating, ones like this are such a pain
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Johnbobb posted...

So I got to the Hidden Chamber at Kratos' home, and there's no Valkyrie, just a really really hard realm tear fight.

Most of the enemies in it can be beaten pretty easily except the one Revenant, who takes my whole health bar in 2-3 hits and it's so damn hard to hit.

I hate Revenants and while I can occasionally beat them by stunning with an arrow, attacking and repeating, ones like this are such a pain

Boy are you gonna love the one tear in Nifelheim then
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oh boy
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Oh... oh my god. The R3 finisher against the wulver might possibly be the most brutal kill in the game.
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All Midgard Valkyries down. I'm assuming there's gonna be one each in Alfheim, Helheim, Muspelheim, and the other one I can't think of the name of?
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Funny thing is I'll constantly die to Valkyries even after using resurrection stones, but the times I actually beat the Valkyries I always do it in a single life
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So I just picked this game up today. Just made it through the 2nd boss (the really big/long fight)... Holy crap. This game is so friggin intense and so different than I expected. Wow. I did not really care for the original games, so I didn't even expect to buy it until the reviews came out.

I'm pretty engaged into the story, even though I don't really 100% know what is going on. Out of curiosity, is this by design, or are a lot of things that they don't directly address that those familiar with the original series would get?
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Icehawk posted...

Out of curiosity, is this by design, or are a lot of things that they don't directly address that those familiar with the original series would get?

Actually I think they did that specifically because the original series was so well know. Part of what makes the story intriguing is the mystery behind it all. I played the entire series, but I still went in with no idea how Kratos got there, who his wife was, or anything beyond "Kratos is a god from a some different realm"
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Just beat the game. The whole experience was phenomenal
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Spoilers ahead.

My one kind of complaint is the complete lack of any large group of characters that you can walk amongst/interact with.

In Midgard, the humans are basically extinct in the area. In fact, you don't come across a single living human in the game, unless we are counting the Travelers as rogue human warriors, which I am not.

In Alfheim, apparently the dark elves and light elves exist in droves. You spend the whole time killing the dark elves and when you win the war for the light elves, there is that scene of them entering the castle, but then when you come back later, you find that note on the floor about them all out "looking for their leader," so nobody's around.

Niflheim and fire world have nobody in it, and while Helheim as a lot of lost souls, you can't interact with them at all.

It was a very lonely journey at times. I kept on waiting to come across some kind of in tact village where people or some creatures lived, but never happened.

Jottenheim was also a bit of a disappointment that you just got to see a few mountaintops.Though the hidden reveals done there made up for it.
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Been playing, been avoiding the topic until I'm finished, but I couldn't not post this:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PWwvR6cSH4o" data-time="
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"Yeah, I guess I explored this lake thoroughly" I say just before I stumble over like 100 more things including a second chained up dragon area like five feet away
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Just beat the Valkyrie Queen after trying for nearly 2 hours and what a tough mother****** she was (GMaChallenge mode). I don't think anything else in the game even remotely comes close in terms of challenge.

I can definitely see myself playing GMGoW in the future but I doubt I can beat the Queen in an even more difficult mode. I feel like the end part requires a bit of luck with all the chaos. I was literally shaking after having died against her like 10 times atleast after getting her health to about 10%. ****ing Stomp move is the one that always gets me. My Runics charged just enough for me to barely edge out a victory. Sheesh.

Anyway having done everything in the game I can say it is easily my favorite GoW game, my GotY so far (but to be fair I only played DB FighterZ and Ni no Kuni II this year) and I cannot wait for the sequel.

So Ymir just said "Well, I don't know what lies ahead, so better make sure your gear is prepared for the worst. Anything you have to do, you should do it now"

I assume that means I'm at the final mission arc. Will I be able to come back and do the Valkyrie stuff later or will I not have the chance after the story?
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You can go back and do everything after you beat the game.
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Finished every Muspelheim challenge except the Valkyrie. Think I'm gonna wait til the morning for the Valkyrie though; that "defeat 20 enemies with taking a hit" bullshit has me a little annoyed right now
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Johnbobb posted...

Finished every Muspelheim challenge except the Valkyrie. Think I'm gonna wait til the morning for the Valkyrie though; that "defeat 20 enemies with taking a hit" bullshit has me a little annoyed right now

I've got some bad news son...

Well not really
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skullbone posted...

Johnbobb posted...

Finished every Muspelheim challenge except the Valkyrie. Think I'm gonna wait til the morning for the Valkyrie though; that "defeat 20 enemies with taking a hit" bullshit has me a little annoyed right now

I've got some bad news son...

Well not really

boy
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Gondul beat


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THE FUCK DO YOU MEAN ULTIMATE CHALLENGE

I JUST BEAT A FUCKING VALKYRIE

WHAT MORE DO YOU WANT FROM ME SURTR

fuck man I dont want to do more trials
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Johnbobb posted...

THE FUCK DO YOU MEAN ULTIMATE CHALLENGE

I JUST BEAT A FUCKING VALKYRIE

WHAT MORE DO YOU WANT FROM ME SURTR

fuck man I dont want to do more trials

I tried to warn you

You only have to do 3 out of 6 of the new trials and some of them aren't that bad honestly.
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are the trials really necessary for anything though or do they just get you more upgrade material? Because honestly I'm looking at the Smoldering Ember armors and they don't really look particularly better than the armors I currently have (current set is the Royal Dwarven ones you get for finishing Brok/Sindri's sidequests, fully upgraded, though I'm thinking of switching to the new Gauntlets of the Valkyrie I just got)
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Like I'll do them if it'll get me like another Valkyrie fight or some big secret but if it's just more embers then I'll probably pass.

Grinding for upgrade materials isn't really what I play God of War for >.>
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Also that makes 5/8 Valkyries. I haven't even been to Niflheim yet (just got the cipher for it) but I'm guessing there's another Valkyrie at the end there. Also gotta head back to Alfheim and Helheim too to get those, and then I assume the Valkyrie Queen they keep talking about will be the final Valkyrie boss after collecting all 8 helms
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I think you can't fully upgrade the Valkyrie armor without smoldering embers but yeah it's just more upgrade material.
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Johnbobb posted...

THE FUCK DO YOU MEAN ULTIMATE CHALLENGE

I JUST BEAT A FUCKING VALKYRIE

WHAT MORE DO YOU WANT FROM ME SURTR

fuck man I dont want to do more trials

Welcome to the real Musphelheim endgame
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skullbone posted...

I think you can't fully upgrade the Valkyrie armor without smoldering embers but yeah it's just more upgrade material.

Yeah blah I think I'm gonna go try and go after the rest of the Valkyries

seems more fun
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man I don't like Niflheim at all
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I suggest looking up a map online to make it more fun because the layout never changes, just the enemies. The mist eventually becomes a pretty pointless mechanic because you can clear the entire maze with one bar after a few pieces of armor.
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Johnbobb posted...

are the trials really necessary for anything though or do they just get you more upgrade material? Because honestly I'm looking at the Smoldering Ember armors and they don't really look particularly better than the armors I currently have

Yoy don't just get Smoldering Embers but other unique materials like Crest of Flame and Greater Crest of Flame which are required to upgrade the Mist Armors to max level (IMO the best equipment in the game). To do that you have to beat the Surtr Trials with a Gold ranking. Honestly it isn't that much more difficult than the Trials you have already beaten.

Has anyone here beaten the Valkyrie Queen on GMGoW difficulty?

If so I give you serious props.

I beat her by the skin of my teeth on Challenge and cannot even imagine what she would be like in GoW. Her stomp attack is ridiculously hard to predict and dodge consistently. Not to mention it glitches and prevents you from using a resurrection stone.

Probably the toughest boss battle I had in an action game in a long time and I consider myself pretty good in the genre.

Also I was Level 9 and absolutely destroyed the other Valkyries so I went in expecting not too much of a challenge. Boy was I wrong.

Mimir wasn't exaggerating when he said Sigrun being so much stronger than all the Valkyries you've faced so far is a gross understatement.

if there were a ng+ that also allowed switching to gmgow difficulty, i'd totally give it a shot. just can't be arsed to get through the opening hours with the damage sponge enemies that kill you in 2-3 hits with your extremely limited moveset.

i also can't imagine resurrection stones not working when you get VALHALLA'D as a glitch that passed through the qa process of a game of this magnitude. i'm 99.99% sure that's intentional.
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Axl_Rose_85 posted...

Has anyone here beaten the Valkyrie Queen on GMGoW difficulty?

If so I give you serious props.

I beat her by the skin of my teeth on Challenge and cannot even imagine what she would be like in GoW. Her stomp attack is ridiculously hard to predict and dodge consistently. Not to mention it glitches and prevents you from using a resurrection stone.

Probably the toughest boss battle I had in an action game in a long time and I consider myself pretty good in the genre.

I managed to do it but man its fucking ridiculous. Not being able to interrupt or get out of range of the blind AOE is stupid unless I was doing it wrong the whole time
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Pirateking2000 posted...

Axl_Rose_85 posted...

Has anyone here beaten the Valkyrie Queen on GMGoW difficulty?

If so I give you serious props.

I beat her by the skin of my teeth on Challenge and cannot even imagine what she would be like in GoW. Her stomp attack is ridiculously hard to predict and dodge consistently. Not to mention it glitches and prevents you from using a resurrection stone.

Probably the toughest boss battle I had in an action game in a long time and I consider myself pretty good in the genre.

I managed to do it but man its fucking ridiculous. Not being able to interrupt or get out of range of the blind AOE is stupid unless I was doing it wrong the whole time

Having a massive HP Pool, having what? the entire arsenal of all the other Valkyries. Having to perfectly dodge and guard all her moves and then having to be on your toes for the hardest to predict and dodge move that ****ing glitches, stops your Rage and prevents you from resurrecting.

She seriously puts Orphan of Kos, Nameless King and all the other tough SOBs from Souls to shame.

I can confidently beat the toughest Souls bosses on a consistent basis after learning their moves but I still feel that the last 10% of the Valkyrie Queen fight really requires for things to absolutely go your way to win in the end.

I honestly think that I would require as many tries if not more to beat her if I ever face her again.

She is that ridiculous (or more specifically her one move is that ridiculous combined with the already dire situation) and I'm proud to have her beat once even if it is not on the highest difficulty.

I hope the sequel doesn't shy away from Super Bosses like this because the experience was fantastic.