Ninja gaiden 2 general discussion.

>KG
Favorite weapon on my first run due to the grappling hooks(pull). Would spam that shit a fuck ton.

Recently finished my Kusari-gama only run on Monday. It was MN NG+ so I used plenty of items to relax for a few missions (I'm still very bad at the game lol).

Overall it was pretty fun. The KG struggles against Volf I found since he parries it's in-air Y X Y move which is of course the crutch to lean on for bosses. And it's fast moves tend to have short range making it easy to misjudge distance and miss a punish opportunity.
I also struggled against Zedonius (fucking trash boss). While most of his moveset isn't hard to deal with, I could not find a way to deal with a volley of fireballs at close range. With the DS, using a flying swallow will cancel the fireballs. But with the KG I could not find a move that had the same effect and was fast enough to be used reliably (at least for me I have slow reactions). Tips or strat suggestions welcome.
Surprisingly good against Liz. Y X Y ftw.
Also surprisingly good against Gajas. I always found that the scariest part about fighting these bitches is trying to approach one for an OT as shurikens don't stun them and other moves can leave you open. But the KG's in air Y move seems to have launch properties which will pretty consistently and safely stun and set one up not just for OT's, but for on-landing de-limb strings as well.

This was my first single weapon run and I guess my first NGII challenge run, though with it being NG+ and my using items and all it barely qualifies as a challenge run lol.

Hey, a run's a run! For Zedonius, there is a dodge pattern that works against him. IIRC it's left, right, autoaim jump, shuriken - but it's been ages since I've done that so don't quote me.

> air Y launcher
Saw some setups with this too few weeks back, from Dino I think on Twitter. He used airY to setup a juggle, then canceled into a running grab for an instant OHKO (since they count as lying when hit).

> using items to skip the bad parts
The best way to enjoy this game imo.

Question, is there any REALLY in depth combat guide for this game? Many tend to be pretty basic.

Using the windmill shuriken in the air is a great way to approach Gajas and open them up for OTs or other attacks. I always swap to it for Gajas since it stuns them pretty much like a shuriken would on a normal enemy and it does a fantastic job of stuffing attacks like their tail whip in a lot of cases. Tons of fun to use in conjunction with aerial weapons like the dual katanas too.

It also works on other heavy enemy types like the Lycans and Vangelfs too, but it's more risky since they can armor through it sometimes.

Omar73874928271728 wrote:Question, is there any REALLY in depth combat guide for this game? Many tend to be pretty basic.

I doubt it, but there is a very in-depth one for NGB on GameFaqs: https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/xbox/928401-ninja-gaiden-black/faqs/39056

Not very comfortable to read, unfortunately. Someone should make a guide like the one Zesty made for GoW. That would be great, and I bet it would be something like 2 hours long.

> guide
I made a basic starter guide for every game on the site, but it's nothing super in-depth. Best you can do if you want to go ham is watch legacy footage from players like Dino, Nxspace, ShowR etc.

>KG against Gaja
I struggle quite a bit with this matchup since the Kusari lacks a fast delimb move against non-ninjas and doesn't have a proper Izuna Drop. Have to experiment more but I've noticed that the YYYY string delimbs lots of them and they don't tend to interrupt it despite being very long and with quite a long startup.

>OT setup
Tbh I just use Wind Run most of the time, but the Y air is also great, same goes for the Windmill Shuriken.

Ok, apparently the KS grapple has a nice delimb chance against ungrabbable enemies (even though it's not even close to the Talons/Flails ->Y).

I always wondered if that was the case or just my mind fucking with me, good to hear another has that idea haha

Honestly, what NG2 players would you guys say play the game the most varied? I mean not just using UTs and such.

Never mind, finally found ShowR. By the way, who would be the best guy other than zapan(just so that I’ll have more than 1 guy to ask for help) to ask for help on a ninja gaiden 2 NUR+? I know sbk did one and he tends to play games as efficiently as possible.

-Windmill Shuriken
Really need to mess around with this.

-OT setups for gajas
Windpath is dangerous on gajas I found as they can suddenly stand up on their tail at anytime and fuck you up. KG's in-air Y move can interrupt their tail-stand and leaves them with less recovery time than a windpath anyways.

-Freestyle players
I can't read Japanese so this player's name is a mystery to me, but he's one of my favorites.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A9eCjOFalNs

That double decap at 0:50 is gorgeous!

Also Miduki is an easy recommend.

https://youtu.be/PfK67qwrHW8?list=PLA3CEF20C6C6F6D76

> NG players
NxSpace is another classic. Same with Miduki and Iconoclast.

> NUR
Fahraam (? I always fuck up his name) is probably the best challenge runner in NGII.

Is it just me or does the skeleton boss in chapter 6 have GODAWFUL hit boxes? I literally get hit in the air by nothing at times.

It's not you. Trash boss made by incompetent drunkards. Itagaki did the mo cap I believe. His move where he sticks his arm into the ground and spins has a hit-box the size of an average Texan's breakfast plate. Seriously, I can be standing on one side of him, and he'll put his arm down on the opposite side, dealing full damage before he even begins to spin. Fucking garbage.

How useful is regularly tripping a enemy is in this game?

Tripping as in delimbing? If it's that then it's very, very, very useful, the crux of the entire combat system. Otherwise I don't know what you're referring to.

Meant tripping enemy’s without them losing their legs.

Not much more useful than other forms of hitstun (maybe even worse since it doesn't last as long as a shuriken hit and leaves you near the enemy).

Could maybe use a buff if it keeping them in that stage longer, no? Small nitpick of course especially considering we already have something like that, but that could be welcomed.

Anybody have tips for mecha soldiers? My god they are kicking my ass. Hardest enemy in the game by far.

Omar73874928271728 wrote:Anybody have tips for mecha soldiers? My god they are kicking my ass. Hardest enemy in the game by far.

I bet you're having trouble with their stomp attack, which can't be blocked and deals massive damage.

IIrc, you can use a Tonfa ET/UT, or the Scythe's UT and then go for a delimb. You can also spam your Piercing Void Ninpo, especially if you manage to line them up in order to hit two or more of them (which should be especially useful in CH8).

Actually no, main issue I’m having is how to deal with them in groups/the best dps against them.

Omar73874928271728 wrote:Actually no, main issue I’m having is how to deal with them in groups/the best dps against them.

Then try the PV Ninpo, seems the safest way to me, at least provided you have already upgraded it. Btw, are you still playing on Mentor?

Note that unless they do their pound or ranged projectile, you can guard-reset them and they won't be able to do a thing against you. They have no way of dealing with that option. So in fights with them and allies, kill the allies first asap with optimal tools i.e. >Y with the claws.

Then get in close and guard-reset against them with a small quick punish afterwards. You can also Piercing Void them, which honestly is a surefire way to nuke them.

Tonfa UT works wonders against them too, and has a long enough lingering hitbox that you can legit punish their pound on reaction.

Thanks raeng. Also it does seem like that bird flip Y with the scythe staggers them consistently.

By the way need help with genshin fiend in chapter 7 on mentor.

Anybody have tips for the church encounter with eclipse scythe?

> church
You can quickly delimb the group with windblades or another setup, and then kit the only remaining guy behind the pillars. Scythe's jumping XY is absolutely brutal, same with the scythe-throw off the wall. Whatever you do in this fight don't stick around the center piece unless you want to spam UTs (or take massive hits). Out in the open you'll risk getting slaughtered.

> genshin chapter 7
The IS spawns aren't unlimited. You have two options, either delimb them on one side of the map and kill genshin on the other, or kill them all ASAP and use their essence for tonfa-UTfuel. With luck Genshin takes some bonus hits from it.

Just so that I won’t feel alone, most people when they played this game like me their first couple times was awful, no? Especially against IS ninjas.

Am mainly talking about first play throughs and such ofc, not overall quality/later play throughs. Mainly asking since I’m fuming right now lol.

Dude my first Master Ninja run was so disgusting I had to replay it just not to feel ashamed. It was basically living item to item, ninpo to ninpo. I didn't use a single normal attack. Again, don't stress yourself by comparing your playstyle to those with 20+ playthroughs.

Does river styx function the same as a izuna drop in terms of orbs you can get? Correct me if I’m wrong but izuna drop ONLY gives yellow orbs, no? I’ve gotten blue orbs from River Styx drop before. Really love river styx drops honestly.

You only get yellow orbs from UTs, ETs, OTs and any kill done after reaching a 20 hit combo, so if you are under that and do an ID there is no guarantee you're getting yellow.

>River Styx drop
Luv the Scythe.

Ah, thanks for the clarification again. Also how useful is the splash damage of river styx for let’s say, a raetsu? IIRC ID splash does a good chunk of damage against them.

It's decent as a bonus, but nothing to plan around imo. If it happens, just chalk it up as bonus damage.

Always felt like it was better against mini bosses than regular foes though. Could be due to their hit box no?

Finally got to the gear encounter. The encounter with the mecha soldiers and mini boss troll was honestly fun. Very heavy on target prioritization. Of course for the troll I used kurisgama air Y to X. Honestly, the weapons in this game are so layered and complex it’s to the point I don’t even know how to use 2 at a time(combining them together if that makes sense).

The golden dragons are the worst boss if you don’t have that black fireball ninpo fully upgraded. They are torture for me.

The dual-version you gotta plan ahead for, either level3 inferno or level3 void helps a ton. Otherwise it's arrow-city for you. I think I have a video of that fight on my channel where I do it arrow only, might have some tips.

For the second solo one in chapter 10 you can nuke him as he flies away with the scythe or kusarigama. He's still within melee range. IIRC headshots do double damage so don't forget about that.

Actually, when I started the mentor run I remembered telling myself to upgrade inferno right away for that fight, due to the mobs. But luckily I finished the fight.

I always go for Void first and then WindBlades. Inferno is fun, but outside of a select few encounters it doesn't come up much imo. WindBlades is insanely powerful, but can become a clutch since you can just skip encounters with it. Void at least requires some setup but helps skip the more boring bosses.

How good is getting up the towers and singling out IS ninjas is in chapter 11? Seems pretty good on mentor but not sure in master ninja.

It's a small, condenced space where only 1-2 enemies at once can reach you. What do you think? ;p

Well, the 4th encounter in chapter 1 is killing me, mainly since DS doesn’t have good crowd control especially at lvl1.

Fourth is the archers at the door, or the ones in the hallway? Which do you mean?

Doesn’t matter, got done with that part and a few encounters after it. Honestly white ninjas got the biggest buff I feel, used to be sort of fodder in mentor but now they are even dangerous by themselves, they seem to function pretty similarly like tac ninjas so that could be why.

Watched fanhrams vid on them, and it seems like it would help a lot mainly the fact that if they backflip they use shurikens, although I’m not sure if that is going to be too useful in groups since you are not going ti be paying attention to one at a time but it’s something.