Arbiter of Ash is a master class in bad boss/game design
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Any game design course should have a mandatory lesson using Arbiter of Ash as the prime example of bad boss design.
It's like they tried to hit all the hallmarks of bad design 1) Multiple multi-step one-shots that can be chained back to back 2) "Safe zones" they present you with being overlaid with damage still 3) Being body bodyblocked by the boss or blocked by one of his skills to reach "safe zones" with tight timing windows. 4) Using what they tought you was a "safe zone" in phase one to bait you into yet another one-shot mechanic in phase 2 5) Making you unlearn what the game has tought you so far: Defenses matter 6) Making you try to engage as little as possible with the boss, respeccing into glass cannon builds to dispose of him as quickly as possible. 7) unavoidable status effects, i.e., the two balls in phase two depending on which you choose to dispose first will either ignite you or chill you. I just did him first time this season. And they have improved the visibility of the corridor firestorm a lot. Now you can actually see where it's coming. That's great. Yet... The fight is still absolute dogshit. Sorry to say. This boss needs a redesign. Can't believe that the same people who made the other pinnacle bosses - all being pretty great fights - came up with this and said "yep, this chaep one-shot machine should be our final boss". Anytime I face any of the other pinnacle bosses I look forward to the challenge of besting them. If I enter Arbiter I just want to get it over with for the points. Last edited by Slart1bartfast#0332 on May 31, 2025, 6:43:54 PM Last bumped on Jun 4, 2025, 7:29:48 AM
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" King of the Mist's P2 Rat Tornado would like to have a word with your melee toons. |
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" Playing a warrior myself. With 10k+ armor you can pretty much stand straight in it for like 10 seconds without it doing any dmg to you, then you need to back of and stay outside of it for like 3-4 seconds. Then it resets and you can go in again. |
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I can agree on arbiter, it is the worst boss ever and top notch bad design, but the ritual king boss is lol... Just climb the ladders to destroy the effigies on the hills and it does not spawn more mechanics in the center arena, but, hey, you gotta know the mechanics to do the boss properly, you know... Arbiter does not really let you learn the mechanics on difficulty 0 unless you farm 2-3 months to get crazy defenses and it may not even happen. The only option to not die being evade on time is pure bs and has to change. Defenses should matter. Also... Phasing should be a thing in this game, Hope phase run comes with the shadow class or the vision will keep on being doomed.
HC SSF. What else? Last edited by vestolevs#5239 on May 31, 2025, 9:37:35 PM
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In his second phase, the tornado doesn't go away. All of his effigy mechanics are in play and those balcony areas are walled off. The boss pretty much stays right on top of the tornado for the rest of the fight. Melee would have to bait the tornado to the far side of the arena for a clear shot at the King. But yeah, it's a lot less hectic since they distinguished Armour Break on monsters vs. on players. Last edited by LeFlesh#9979 on May 31, 2025, 9:43:46 PM
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Yeah it's not ARPG boss at all
It's a rhythm game boss |
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it is Souls ARPG game :) what you expect
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" It's funny that you would say that, because I can't recall many boss fights in Soulsborne games that have dedicated one-shot mechanics. Hard hitting? Sure. One-shots? nope. |
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Just wanted to add some more feedback. The flameblast hallways are really bad from an accessibility standpoint. I have a difficult time seeing them. I guess the designers have perfect eyesight.
Also, it seems like the hallways spawn near one of the players. If you play with multiple people, you need to stand ontop of each other otherwise there's no way everyone can make it there in time. Timing is tight for single player and impossible for multiplayer otherwise. |
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What are you on about? It’s a great boss
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