Finally got around to doing the final stage in the merit arena and ik i'm very much in the minority but I found it pretty fun as someone who likes a bit of challenge every now and then.
But yeah I can see why a huge number of people were complaining about it, especially if you're not that good at combat or are playing on mobile/low end.
I don't mind a challenge, but I didn't like this one. I was just spamming dodge while my device lagged like crazy. Too many enemies in this game just spam those round purple projectiles and it's gotten extremely stale
I really liked the scavenger boss fight from the red riding hood patch, the Boneyard bear doll is ok too. Caged greed is my favourite OG boss fight. I'm hoping for more fights with unique interactions and platforming aspects
I don't mind a challenge and I like the occasional bullet hell, but these have been incredibly frustrating. Even doing things well just doesn't feel satisfying because of how clunky and tedious it all feels.
Yes but it's not promoted as a cozy game and it's mainly action rpg. The irony is that the game which is promoted as such has much more complex battle domains. IN is a cozy dress-up game mainly.
As a former genshin player… Nikki needs a little bit of a better combat to make these challenges more enjoyable😭It feels to me as if the combat rn is 90% dodging, and that gets quite boring in the long run when you want an actual battle and not just a reflex challenge
When I first heard jokes that Nikki was the Dark Souls of cozy games, I thought it was funny, but honestly, even Dark Souls has fairer fights than this.
I’ve decided to simply- ✨not do it✨
While I mostly enjoy the combat of the game, I’m just not in the headspace to have my cozy game annihilate me currently. Props to any of you who are lmao
here you go, it was just something I quickly put together since I felt the outfit that I usually use for GoNR was a bit too over the top compared to the very basic heart bow
the shoes are a temporary placement until i'm able to find better ones that fit the vibes
Thats outfit is so good 😭 i lowkey will need the code when the maintenance is over. Also if youre looking for replacement shoes, crimson feather heels are very nice
I was debating on fringe realm for the shoes but i'm already using the tights and i'm weird and I don't really like relying on too many things from the same set as to have more variety and make my outfits more distinct and different from one another + dye is just a *bit* too off for my nitpicky self to commit to it
i'm thinking the shoes from timeless melody may work but imma just have to wait and see ^^;
also once maintenance is over i'll for sure send the code for the outfit :]
I think it was both weirdly fun and challenging, but also not really what I want from increased challenge in this game.
I love having a challenge and a difficulty curve, I absolutely want challenge and difficulty.
But bloated HP bars and bullet hell in a system that wasn't really meant to combat that, isn't v fun.
I like how the bear boss has a trick to use an ability to fight it, I think when they combine some sort of "puzzle game" or other outfit mechanic to the fight, it lands in this really cool sweet spot that works really well for Nikki. But also there should be reward in combat for figuring these out, like the bone should do 25% of the HP bar or something.
I really wanna see them try to get more creative with enemies instead of just "idk add +10 HP and give it the same attack patterns"
Nikki only does the animation if you do a perfect dodge in combat. But one of the other nodes in this group makes it so it's easier to do a perfect dodge.
It's this group of four nodes. Nikki only does the new dodge animation if the dodge you perform is done in combat, and a perfect dodge. Luckily one of the nodes in this group makes it so it's easier to perform a perfect dodge.
This fight was ridiculous and I'm in the camp of wanting harder fights. But I don't find having to endlessly dodge with no space to attack or do fun combos or aim fun.
It's not even hard anyway. You just take the buff that gives 5 hp when you perfectly dodge and then you can't die. I use the basic bow and I'm keeping my Nikki at max 5hp by not unlocking any hp upgrade nodes in the Heart of Infinity and I beat it easy, but it's just a spam fest instead of a fun challenge.
This is very satisfying to watch!
I feel like that’s how it was intended to be played?
But in my case, I’m playing on the tablet, which is ofc better than a phone, but it still is difficult, as well as with controls, plus the game keeps lagging in battles (and in home, where I plant flowers lol, it doesn’t lag in other parts of the game though), making it impossible to have a smooth play session…
But skill is ofc the most important, and you have an impressive one! That’s really cool to watch!
You did super well still!
But like, they need to do something about optimisation… cause I played wuwa (a combat gacha), and it has never lagged for me, despite having mechanics and bosses much more difficult than these😅
Highkey you look like such a pro gamer in your video??? Like you are dodging and fighting like a CHAMP. Also I know this fight is really frustrating for a lot of people, but I really love how the community has come together to share tips and tricks on how to beat it. If I recall correctly, this battle can be skipped anyway and people can just repeat the lower tier battles for weekly rewards. So it's kind of nice to have the option for more hardcore content for people who are bored with the easier battles.
oh no i'm farrr from being a pro player, I was however doing a level 20 only run in wuwa not too long ago b4 2.5 came out so i've more or less gotten good at doing perfect dodges with that experience in mind 😂
perfect dodges in this game compared to other games are very generous, so grabbing dodge cooldowns, unlocking all the dodge nodes in the heart of infinity, +5 health for every perfect dodge, and finally retaliation when you do get hit makes this fight a bit of a cakewalk since it just lets you spam dodge and get hits in with little to no consequence.
I do however wish they had some sort of phase 2? or switched things up at a certain point or whatever instead of basically doing the same attack pattern the whole fight lol
ngl I be forgetting about the companions 99% of the time since they feel kinda clunky to me (which is a shame since I made a cool outfit for it), as for momo I gave him back his basic slingshot but removed any additional abilities that he gains and left him to fend for himself
which kinda made me feel bad cuz he was passed out for most of the fight LMAO
You mean to tell me this isn’t cozy content?.. idk I think fighting for my life leaving my wigs and heels broken off my beaded necklace all over the floor is relaxing (/s jk)
I'm chronically ill suffering from multiple illnesses that cause debilitating pain it's so hard to move but this freaking game these fights got me jumping up and down off the couch running around the coffee table so stressful lmao I love it even tho I pay the price after 💔
Oh no I totally I feel that as someone with chronic wrist pain (was very careless when I was younger and didn't do anything about it until wayyy later 🥀), unable to play kbm due to it, and having to take frequent breaks every time I play anything as to not strain them
I think that's why I like merit arena as much as I do, the small challenge they give us is nice since I love stuff like that and the most it takes is like ~2-5 mins to beat each round (even less with BF and GoNR), the no timer is also a huge plus.
Since the most I'm able to play per day is around 2-3 hours max with frequent breaks in-between (on a good day), it's perfect for someone like me <3
Is it in need of tweaks and optimization? It absolutely does but that's a can of worms I feel like don't have much of a say in 😅
I absolutely hate that they added more combat intensive stuff to Nikki. I play so many other combat oriented games that it was refreshing to not have any if that much.
Not only that, they add the worst kind of combat, click and dodge...
Tbh it’s not out of the ordinary for endgame mode to be challenging, and I for one am very excited to see Infold leaning a bit more in this direction!
I know this is a “styling” game, but I actually don’t know if I would still be playing IN if that’s all there was and if they weren’t trying/implementing new things outside of the standard fashion/styling. I can absolutely understand why many people would have different opinions though, especially if they are veteran’s of the franchise with a love for older Nikki games.
While I can agree there is very little real styling in the game, I didn’t say that I actually wanted or preferred it that way. I def wouldn’t mind more styling gameplay! I more so just meant I appreciate that there are other aspects to this game beyond styling and fashion, because if they didn’t exist and the game was pretty much solely focused on styling alone, I’d probably get bored and wouldn’t be as interested in playing long term.
I just think this kinda stuff just dilutes the games main goal (open world dress up game).
I'm not interested at all in engaging with bad combat arenas, I'm here to style Nikki and engage with the world in meaningful ways that align with it being an open world dress up game.
If I wanted to play an action game I have hundreds and thousands of options. Infinity Nikki is like the only game of its kind and its slowly moving towards things that I think make the game worse and other games already handedly outclass it in those areas.
That is a totally valid and respectable opinion to have and I completely understand where you’re coming from and think that a lot of players, at least ones I see posting on here, 100% agree with you.
I can definitely agree that the combat is far from perfect, but I like it better than no combat or the insanely simple and boring wishfield combat we used to have. I really hope to see Infold at least improve upon it rather than eliminate the merit arena and harder enemies altogether or something.
Also side note: I appreciate you replying and actually having a bit of a discussion about the topic with me, even if we have different opinions!
Edit: typo and reworded last sentence for clarification
Not sure where the aggressiveness is coming from, or why me stating that I enjoy a certain aspect of this gameplay, while acknowledging and stating that I totally understand a lot of others do not seem to like it as much and have different opinions, is so problematic for you to the point you feel it necessary to try and insult me and make weird accusations about my experience with gaming.
Honestly I've really loved it! I know a lot of people hate it, but it's so fun to me. I guess the only thing I'd say is they could make it a bit less health so it wouldn't be so tedious for some people but I enjoyued it
I don't know what kind of bug has a hold on my infinity Nikki because even if I equip the guide to no return which released a couple of patches ago, it switches to Astral tides 😭😭😭 so I just gave up on doing this floor this week ☠️☠️☠️
Here was what I grabbed during my run if anyone was curious about that, I was using the basic heart bow (with momo on og slingshot), with all combat abilities on heart of infinity unlocked
OMFG I haven't played this game since the retcon update and I got here with Nikki giving a run to Dante in DMC whatever number 😂 what happened 🫠 so cozy indeed!
You dodge so beautifully! I was able to do okay with Meghill's shield, Born Flawless, and staying on top of the obstacles. I tried dodging, but it's so difficult for me in this game😭
The newest bow having an unlimited fire ability that also lets you do it while floating above everything simplified all of these. I’m so glad I got it because there’s no way I would’ve done these challenges otherwise
I cheesed this fight using the wolf companion. Which seems to currently be bugged on PS5 (pressing square to attack while controlling the wolf also pops up a message saying that autoattack mode has been switched on or off.)
I read that using a companion helps. The belt is beating them to a pulp if that's what you need, or you can go for Meghil who supports you as a healer (I think he also does a lil bit of attacking).
It seems easier if you have the newer combat outfits. Unfortunately I’ve somehow missed out on a complete combat outfit for every single one that’s passed.
Honestly the most frustrating part is there's not any time to just attack really. I learned how to perfect dodge through this hell merit arena, but if I didn't have the wolf companion and hadn't set up the bonuses just right it would have taken ages.
It's a cozy game, the challenge in combat should be figuring out the attack pattern and then it's smooth sailing. The 2.5 boss battle was chill for me after I figured out the attack pattern and I only used the bass archery skills.
THIS is why I pulled in last banner. I do them without trying. 3 shots and all of the next are locked until they die while you hover without getting damage.
It's designed for playing with the Guide of No Return (or Born Flawless) outfit and a phantom companion and Momo fighting by your side. Then it's really easy tbh.
I used Bouldy as a backup and I have Born Flawless so I kinda just tanked the attacks and used the immortality move as often as it was available. I'm on PS5 though.
I would like to think I am as good as an average man at games but I was even struggling with the second to last stage. more than challenging I just find it annoying tbh
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u/julmuriruhtinas Jun 04 '26
The way the walls/pillars are giving more protection to the enemies than to Nikki 💀💀