Vaal Oversoul. still the best boss in the game

my Standard Main Ranger recently failed an Atziri run, but I learned a lot from that and improved both the character and the way I play her, thanks to some tips from some great guys here.

and so I took on Maze Vaal Oversoul. a boss I never managed to defeat solo, without dying.
well now I did, and this fight, is truly great.
the way he tracks you, and switches attacks according to what you are doing.
the variety of attacks he uses, in a sequence designed to put you into a bad spot, then slam or laser you out of your misery...
the only thing missing really, was the music.
I love the fight music from the normal content, and wish it could be imported into the map version of the fight.

best boss in the game, pure and simple.

One could say hes "smashing"


I'll see myself out.

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goetzjam wrote:

One could say hes "smashing"

"

goetzjam wrote:

One could say hes "smashing"


I'll see myself out.

+1

please stay

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VictorDoom wrote:

"

goetzjam wrote:

One could say hes "smashing"


I'll see myself out.

+1

please stay

Ok.

I'm a sucker for the Piety fight.

You first see her way back in act 1 and spend virtually the entire game hunting her down through all the crazy scenery of the game.

Epic music and pacing leading up to it as you descend into the madness of Lunaris Temple. Finally you climb the steps and meet her after dealing with some really tough enemies (and enemy combinations in the form of Vuln + Tentacles/Burning).

Starts off simple with the same lightning spells that you saw her use back in Crematorium. Seems like it's going to be a snorefest until she runs or teleports over to a magic circle. Fire form is tough to deal with if your character is ranged and doesn't have great defenses, Ice form is tough to deal with if your character is melee and doesn't have enough mobility.

Once she's dead, you gain the key to the ominous tower that you walked past earlier in the journey and get a huge +2 skill point reward.

It's a great end to the game, imo.
(And let's just all agree that act 3.x never happened.)

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pneuma wrote:

It's a great end to the game, imo.
(And let's just all agree that act 3.x never happened.)

But people praised the dominus fight for it's complexity and unique challenges, same for atziri when she was added, maybe everyone has the memory of a rock.

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goetzjam wrote:

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pneuma wrote:

It's a great end to the game, imo.
(And let's just all agree that act 3.x never happened.)

But people praised the dominus fight for it's complexity and unique challenges, same for atziri when she was added, maybe everyone has the memory of a rock.

Dominus could have happened without A3X, which was mostly tedious.

Mostly.

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goetzjam wrote:

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pneuma wrote:

It's a great end to the game, imo.
(And let's just all agree that act 3.x never happened.)

But people praised the dominus fight for it's complexity and unique challenges, same for atziri when she was added, maybe everyone has the memory of a rock.

What those have in mechanical challenge and interesting effects they completely lack in story. Piety is low-medium difficulty (about the same as VOversoul -- pretty easy to understand after you fight her once and pretty low gear and skill requirements once you do), but has story in spades. Like I said, for most of the game you're chasing her down. Getting the opportunity to beat her face in is extremely rewarding.

Dominus could and should have been positioned as the BBEG way earlier in the story. I mean, if you read character backstories, they all have a common thread to Dominus. He (or at least the system that he controls) was the asshole that exiled everyone in the first place. Before 3.x, everyone assumed that there would be an epic return to Oriath to sneak up on him and take him out in his own home and exact vengeance. Instead he's just... already in Wraeclast... at the top of an otherwise abandoned creepy tower... waiting for you.

Piety was supposed to be managing the whole "experimenting with gems" thing ala Malachai (and others) before her. To have Dominus show up here is like having the 4-star general show up at the site of a training facility. It's unexpected and totally out of place.

Worse than Dominus, Atziri has no story lead in at all. She's just monster of the week. The Vaal Letters in the CZs are a decent story pump, but there could have been a lot more visual stuff earlier on. At the very least, she should've been positioned as a BBEG when the character was "accidentally" going through all the Vaal Ruins stuff down in act 2. If GGG had, say, put statues of Atziri (6 boobs and all) in random places in the ruins or the Pyramid, or if the player had gotten sight of her only in passing, it would have been much more impactful to actually go fight her.

A fight with no reason just isn't that enjoyable. I get enough of those fights farming for items to be able to fight the BBEGs. If the BBEG is just yet another trashmob, what's the point?