Then why did you reply in the first place? I said in that initial post that the character wastes time by not holding their weapon ready for a strike or party, then Hansel asked what weapon I'm using, then I told him that it doesn't matter (because they hold almost all weapons stupidly, even while locked on). If you don't understand what my pics have to do with this, you didn't pay attention. Meanwhile, enemy animations get faster and ever more sophisticated. They often hit as soon as I attack.
I replied because someone is bemoaning some presumed-if-trivial flaws in the fundamental mechanics of a game that millions have beaten using the same mechanics. I'm not one of those "GIT GUD" bros, but I AM someone who has struggled very much in this game, and has found paths to success by learning the game's rules. Has it been easy? No. But teachable moments abound, and I've progressed by being open to them, and adjusting my strategies.
I'm simply saying that if what you've tried is not working, i.e.: visual cues from how your character is holding the weapon, and how it behaves on input, then perhaps stop expecting the game to behave as
you'd expect, and learn to play it as
it behaves. If I hit R1, and the strike misses by a half second, I learn to hit R1 a half second earlier than I'd expect I should.
I'm a fast driver; I prefer to push the limits of the speed limit, and I've a dozen speeding tickets to prove it. But what I DON'T do is driver 55 mph in a school zone because I THINK everyone else should be driving faster. Imagine my dozen speeding tickets are deaths to an
Elden Ring boss; now, imagine my beating that boss are case in point concessions to the rules of the road and my admittance that
doing what I want won't necessarily net me
what I want.
If your attacks aren't connecting, and the boss replies with an attack of their own, learn from that mistake. Adjust your timing. Anticipate. Hell, one of the most generous concessions I feel FROM gave us this time is the guard counter, where those of us who use shields can block an attack and respond with a counter attack for
critical damage.
I want you to enjoy the game, especially if you insist on playing it. But if you're going to post here every time you hit a roadblock and blame
the game? As someone who's in it with you, I can only offer the advice that you should look around: your complaints are extremely siloed to your experience, and as long as you're unwilling to adjust, or even TRY to adjust, your experience will not change.