Melorik's Progress Update

Hey all, 

Good to be back here after about a year off. I went by the name sam3790 back when I was doing my GoW1 NUR+, which I finished up until I got to the clones. I never tried to do that part without upgrading (although now that Taz and Shinobier have shown that it can be done, I might give it a try sometime).  

I'm now doing my first GoWII NUR+ run, and I've just gotten past the translator part. All I can say is, I hope to never have to do that again..... that has to be one of the most annoying fights in the entire game. THere's just nothing about it that mitigates the difficulty. Your own collisions hurt him, and the checkpoint starts you back at wave 1.. so it makes it not only difficult, but also tedious. I did ok overall though, since it took me about 4-5 hours of combined practice before I finally did it. I used a combination of AQ, Fleece Counters, and BH to take out the spawns first and then finished off the priests. I tried to copy the strat shown by Mr. Empirical in his video on youtube, so credit for that.

I've also gotten through the cerberus/juggernaut part in the arena, which was a heck of a lot easier since I just used the spawns for collisions. Overall though, I've found my playstyle to be kinda boring in the sense that I play safe alot. I rolled around the juggernauts alot until the seeder was dead, and then just whittled em down with the BH.

The next part was the cyclops fight, which I did with blades only (cause I didn't have any mana left so tricking wasn't an option). I just valor whored alot on this part and rolled away from the attacks. It took me a couple of tries, but I did it with relatively little difficulty. It just took alot of patience.

That's pretty much where I'm at now. I'm confident the rest of the run will be rather easy in comparison to the translator... although the hallway of clotho might be a bit of trouble.

So yeah, please feel free to update my progress in the relevant thread.. just replace 'Sam3790' with 'Melorik'.

Cheers,

Mel 

Bah. Another new person who's passed me (I'm still on the Translator). Well, good luck. You certainly are past the hardest of it- definitely don't underestimated the ER (Endurance Run if you're unfamiliar with GoWII lingo- the gauntlet of battles pre-Clotho). 

Although you've beaten something that I haven't, don't discount my advice entirely- even if I can't do it myself, I've been around the vets long enough to know the tricks, and I certainly have my own style and way to deal with things.

Good luck though! I suspect that with your experience it shouldn't be long before you move on. Do I see a GK:TM:NUR in your future? 

Melorick:

(Clones) Feel free to try, but I don't advise it. Shinobier got lucky with a glitch. Taz spent months getting it all down to beat it right. Manu perfected the glitch Shinobier happened upon and bested the fight from there. It's no joke. In the distant past I've only gotten as far as just Artemis Clones (pre-homestretch).

(GoWII NUR+) So you've told me and so I've once responded to at length. MrEmpirical is a fine gent. One I've not seen around for quite awhile. Not sure if I added his showing to the 'Translator' Playlist I have at YouTube or not.

(Pantheon of Atropos) Excellent news. It can be boring to play it safe if you don't REALLY know your foes well enough to do anything less...or the situation happens to force you to play it safe or rapidly get killed.

(Palace Courtyard B) I prefer luring them to their death whenever I don't need HP.

(Elevator) Will you be using MistryMan's SoD strat or perhaps another? For the PAIN runs, I've learned to apply Plume VERY well for this area. Ascension wasn't likely to cut it with collisions less than 50 damage >_____>.

(Endurance Run) It will be the last challenge you face of any real note.

(Update) I'll retitle your progress and move it (also update)

I thought you might use plumes to get past this area on HAPAIN+. I was a 75% s,t 25% plume though. I'll share a little oddity I noted at the beginning of this fight at alt.TUGOWU when I respond proper;y. Ascension does not cut it for the later parts of the fight. Too slow. Not to mention that you have to do it 4 times for each set if you target each one separately. 

Hey again, 

Just a quick update:

I've just completed the endurance run, so It's relatively smooth sailing from here. This took me a bit of practice but overall it was doable. I found the hardest part was the sirens and the gorgons. The satyrs and the minotaurs where handled relatively easily by rolling in between the barriers and then whittling them down with the shockwave from the BH.  As for the last wave, the cyclops' didn't pose much of a threat as I just rolled around them and grabbed the smaller guys for collisions. When those weren't an option, I just used the barriers and the hammer to whittle down their health. AQ I think was probably the biggest boon on most of these fights as it was a quick way to get em to slam right into each other. 

So yeah,

Now all that's left is to kill clotho and zeus, and that'll complete my NUR+. I think I'll do a GK:TM:NUR run afterwards, but I think it'll be easier than this. I know I'll have less attack strength, but having a greater health and mana bar will definately give me more options for causing collisions.  Maybe to boost the challenge I'll attempt to do the run without dying (though I might have to make an exception for the translator part). 

Cheers,

Mel 

Mel, care to share your tactics for each wave? You don't need to gave tactics for waves 2, 4 & 6, or the waves with the Legionnaires/Sentries only. All those waves require are fleece counters, and then OH's/tosses. Though if you did it differently (I'm expecting AQ whoring >__>), you can include it in your tactics. Then I'll let you know what you could have done differently, and what would have made those waves easier.

Zeus should not be a problem, though if you need help, just ask. I trust we don't need to worry about Clotho. Abuse the amulet and Hammer+Rage if need be. That's all I need to say for that fight.

GKTMNUR - The maxed out HP bar doesn't really make a difference. You have 200 HP and in a NUR+ you have 100 HP. Though due to GK's armor, it is technically 100 HP. GK takes double damage from any attack. Also, learn to love the BoO, or specifically, DR (L1+T). It'll help you, a first time runner. Leave out the no-dying part, that stuff doesn't make the run harder, as you can restart whore every time you think you are about to die.

Hey all, 

Just to update. I have now completed my TM: NUR+. Zeus wasn't all that hard.. he was a bit of a pain in the arse when he took the blade of olympus form you.. until I remembered that I could valor whore him on that part. I tried to use alot of L1+^ , however I found that attack is only safe to use when he slams the ground. When I try to use it on him after he does a charge (done after I throw a bolt back at him), he will often throw a bolt at me before I can recover from the attack.

Interestingly enough, I could get some extra hits in on him whenever he did a shockwave, by standing close to him and headtricking.

As for the endurance run:

The wave with the juggernauts and the skeletons (wave 1) where a bit of a pain at first. I got through it safely by rolling between the barriers and useing a lot of shockwaves from the hammer to soften them up. I also whored a lot of AQ to cause collisions, and when the oppertunity presented itself, I would use OH on the skellies. THe bounce animations would keep me immune almost the whole time, and it gave me an oppertunity to cause further collisions when they where softened up more. 

THe Gorgons and the Sirens where the worst of the bunch I think (wave 3). They're just a bit unpredictable in their movements so I oftened relied on fleece counters to bounce back their bolts... but especially to turn em all to stone when the gorgons used their gaze. That sped things up a bit. I got through wave 1 while saving some rage, so when I got to this wave, I used that as well to kill the Gorgons quickly.

Wave 5 wasn't as hard as I expected. Generally AQ whoring is the order of the day because it blasts the satyrs right into the minotaurs. Same thing as in wave 1, I rolled between the barriers and used the hammer for shockwaves. Often this was very effective because the minotaurs would be right next to the satyrs and they'd get smacked into each other. Once again, I had saved a bit of rage for this part so whenever I was in a bind (usually a minotaur was about to smack me), I'd use that + hammer and it would make short work of them.

Lastly, wave 7 was surprisingly easy... I did it on my first try. The fact that I had the guardians that I could throw was very helpful as they made effective weapons. I combined this with rolling between barriers and again using the hammer. Dodging the cyclops wasn't that hard because I generally had more room to maneuver here at the last area of the run (the part with the door and the chests). I also used AQ here somewhat, namely to slam the stronger skellies into the cyclops. Again, my play style was relatively safe in the sense that I didn't take too many chances, and opted to play with patience. This was because I don't quite have the skills of alot of guys on here, so I figured slowly but meticulously wearing the enemies down was the way to go. I'll try to be more aggresive in subsequent playthrough's though. 

So yeah, that's about it and now I'll get started on the GK: TM: NUR (although this might have to wait cause I'm going on vacation in a few days). Feel free to update my progress again in the thread if it's not too much trouble. (although it's 'Melorik', not MeloriCK :D).

Cheers,

Mel 

is it really that difficult to use the correct names?MistaTrick

Well I used the official names that I remember. Some names I just don't remember. I'm sure I'll get better with them as I go though. 

Cheers, 

Mel

juggernauts and skeletons? Cursed Legionnaires.

Other than that nice ER summary. Seems you don't know of the effects of false grabbing Gorgons?

When you have the fleece Gorgons are a breeze.

true dat.

A shame that the false grab shenanigans only really prove useful CB Gorgons and HM.

Sure you get a reaction out of CL but it ain't massively useful

False grabs are selective in usefulness indeed, but they serve their purpose. The highlights are indeed the Breeders, Gorgon variants and Hades Minotaurs. It can be cutesy if not risky elsewhere. (Ex: Theseus)

Mel:

Zeus - You could have just Spirit whored instead of Valor >___>. It's much more powerful, and it has better range. You can get him in a stun lock with DR (L1+T) if you time it correctly. Starting the lock isn't too hard. Keep your distance, pull out TB, and use DR. You should be able to get him. If not, try again.

You can keep your distance with DR, that is one great advantage that that move gives. Though if you want things to go quicker, get up-close to him, and get him in a DR lock. When you use DR, the sword actually can hit for extra damage, which is why if you are close to him, the sword will deal him damage along with the laser. 

ER:

Wave 1 - They aren't Skeletons. They're Cursed Legionnaires. Skeletons are known as Cursed Remains in this game (they first appear near the entrance to the Temple of Euryale). Instead of using AQ to get collisions, you could have used OH's on the Legionnaires (takes a little bit of skill to get the OH's to hit the Juggernauts, work on it, it will benefit you in the future), or you could have used the Legionnaire grab (specifically the S throw, though the X throw can also be used if the Juggernauts are in your face like they are at times). I would not recommend using magic in this wave, since it is actually easier to use OH's, rather than hope for AQ to hit them into the Juggernauts.

Another reason I recommend using OH's and throws, is that they deal actual collision damage (50 on Titan with the Kratos costume). Whereas AQ, if it caused a collision, would cause what we call a knockback collision. That deals 25 damage. Clearly OH/throw collisions are better. You could always use the (in)famous Hammer+Rage combo. Combined with tricking, it makes short work of the Juggernauts.

Wave 3 - This wave can be a pain if you don't use the fleece properly. I don't think you knew of the false grab effect on Gorgons.

Basically, you grab a gorgon, Kratos will get repelled, and it will respond by using its Stare (Gorgon-Green), Flash (Gorgon Assasin-Blue), or Blasts (Gorgon Queen-Red). You face Gorgon Queens in this wave, so their Blasts can be a little hard to reverse. Though with enough practice, you should be able to get the hang of it. Once you reverse it, nearly every, if not every, enemy will be stoned. You should always target he Sirens first. They are pesky annoyances, and easier to deal with. 

Wave 5 - You could use AQ here, though you could always try for Satyr OH's as well. Or even Valor (takes skill and guts to pull off due to the inherent danger of this wave). They all deal knockback collision damage, so it's your choice. I recommend the last two though.

Another method would be to stay behind a barrier, and spam L1+T attacks from the Hammer. Or you could even use EH, though you'd probably waste it all on one enemy seeing as they all have good resistance, never mind the fact that there could be other enemies close to you. Once you are down to only the minotaurs, it would be easier to use the false grab approach, or even barrier abuse.

The false grab approach involves grabbing the fool (Kratos again gets repelled; basically, any enemy that gets an 'O' above its head can be false grabbed when the 'O' is not present). The minotaur will always respond by using a downward stab of sorts, followed by an anti-clockwise (towards its left) swing. You trick the first stab, then move around it in an anti-clockwise direction and attack it with plume (whiff/miss the first s attack at least). Since my explanation might be hard to understand (don't rub it in >__>), MT should be able to provide a video where the false grab approach is shown.

Though Hammer+Rage works well enough. I don't recommend it for the Satyrs though. Just launch them and OH or air grab them if you want them out of the picture. 

Wave 7 - This wave is generally the easiest of the major waves (1, 3, 5, 7). There are enemies that are generous with HP orbs (this should not matter much for you now), they are huge targets, and grabbeable sentries (not Guardians; Guardians are of the false-grab/dizzy type) are around for collision damage if done correctly.  

You do not need extraordinary amounts of skill to pull off some of the tactics we use. Just practice enough, and you should be able to pull if off. srsly. 

Hey guys, 

Thanks for all your advice.

Just to clarify, when I said valor I meant spirit. This is once again a testament to my rustiness in terms of remembering all the names. No.. against Zeus I used the move where Kratos leaps up into the air and does the super plume. As for false grabbing, yes I did do that on occasion against the gorgons.. but these gorgon queens, like you mentioned, have a weird blast so it was a bit hit or miss. In the end I opted to just  abuse the barriers. I'll definately work on perfecting this. I never knew about false grabbing minotaurs however...I'll definately attempt to use that tactic on my GK run. Nor did I ever know about using an X throw on the cursed legionaires, so I will try that too. 

I think my next project will be a GK:TM:NUR, and then when I complete that... I'm gonna relax... take a very stiff drink, and attempt the PAIN conditions. (*Cringes at the thought of the translator on that*).

Cheers,

Mel 

melorik: false grab handling of HM

also this aotf version

Mel:

Valor/Spirit - Noted. Spirit is the super plume where he leaps up.

false grab - Practice enough, and it should become easy. That's what the aotf is for. MT has been kind enough to provide a link which will help. Also, the X throw is a close range one, so take into account how far your target is from you. You'll probably miss the collision unless the target is next to you. 

Mr SK - I'd recommend a Titan PAIN+ instead of the GKPAIN+ if he decides to do a PAIN+ run after his GKTMNUR. He'll only have to worry about the translator on the former, but the latter is filled with tedious fights. Besides, I did the Titan PAIN+ after the GKTMNUR, and got through it.

Heck, he should do a Titan PAIN, though he might come to rely too much on the relics, which would hurt on PAIN+ runs.

Though having a runner do a PAIN before a PAIN+ run might prove interesting. 

Kuro - GoW or GoW2?

GoW - Don't remember. Though it probably has no effect (false grab)

GoW2 - Two things. One, it gets knocked back a little, and then it'll retaliate, most likely with a punch. Two, the one that benefits us; they'll pull off a rather amusing move and hurt themselves. A good way to do damage to them in runs where we are weak (HAPAIN+, GKPAIN+) or where collisions are weak (HAPAIN+, GoWPAIN+)