I'm at the final boss of Shadow of the Erdtree, and holy fuuuuuuuuuuuck it blows. Like actual, fetid dogshit. Worst boss I've faced since the end of Doom Eternal's DLC, and quite possibly the single worst boss Fromsoft have ever created. Yes, including Bed of Chaos. I'm legitimately wondering if they playtested this properly, because it's so terrible it might actually be broken. I literally have no idea what the game plan is supposed to be in the fight.
But then we get to the second phase, where I don't even know if I've seen all the bullshit they've pulled. Let's start with the giant explosion that's so big that if the boss rushes next to you and then decides to use it, you literally can't escape its radius in time unless you start running the nanosecond the buildup starts. Then there's the instant kill attack, which might actually be one of the least of this boss's offenses. There's more lingering hitboxes, framerate-destroying clone attacks, an excess of flashy effects covering the screen... it literally does almost everything wrong. This classic youtube clip summarizes my thoughts perfectly:
- Dodging's out of the question, because the boss literally attacks faster than you can dodge and there are lingering hitboxes.
- Blocking's out, because the boss attacks so relentlessly with both physical and elemental damage that even if your guard doesn't break, the sizable chip damage still rips you apart.
- Summoning's only half reliable, because even with an NPC summon and a Mimic Tear the boss aggros to me like 70% of the time.
- Cheesing with status effects is out, because the boss rushes half the battlefield in like a second.
- And I don't even want to think what trying to play through this with a magic build might be like.
But then we get to the second phase, where I don't even know if I've seen all the bullshit they've pulled. Let's start with the giant explosion that's so big that if the boss rushes next to you and then decides to use it, you literally can't escape its radius in time unless you start running the nanosecond the buildup starts. Then there's the instant kill attack, which might actually be one of the least of this boss's offenses. There's more lingering hitboxes, framerate-destroying clone attacks, an excess of flashy effects covering the screen... it literally does almost everything wrong. This classic youtube clip summarizes my thoughts perfectly: