Horizon Zero Dawn - Fighting the biggest game (vids) (Off-Topic)
If anyone doubts the awesome action of HZD, here are a couple of vids I took while playing over the last few days. Minor spoilers in terms of fight mechanics here, since I feel like fighting each enemy type for the first time is really interesting in terms of figuring out what works, so if you want that pure experience for yourself, I wouldn't watch these. All fights are on Hard difficulty.
First: A Stormbird. This is my first time ever fighting one, so you can see I'm playing it very safe. It also locks on to some roving guards just after my initial assault, so I get a few cheap shots as a result that really help me out. I'm using some fairly strong weapons, and I'm level 40-something, so keep in mind that this is a nearly max skilled character fighting this guy for the first time.
This second video is a set fight in Cauldron Zeta, so if you don't want (minor) fight spoilers about what a staged battle in that zone is, you probably shouldn't watch. That being said, this was a goddamn awesome fight. I left in a bunch of set-up where I try to lay traps and set my strategy for engagement, and then, of course, you can see how pretty much all of that goes to shit right away.
Minor spoilers follow:
While this is my first attempt at this specific fight, I'm a pretty well versed in how to fight a thunderjaw, so unlike the stormbird fight, I know exactly how I'm going to approach this. That being said, Thunderjaws are badass, and there is no magic bullet to killing them (at least, not that I've found yet). LOVE this fight.
If anyone wants to talk hunting strategy or has questions about what and why I'm doing in either of these fights (or how I take down any other enemy in the game), feel free to ask here.
This game is so great!
Not enough Fire/Ice arrows
by CyberKN 
, Oh no, Destiny 2 is bad, Tuesday, March 21, 2017, 23:01 (2586 days ago) @ Kahzgul
My effectiveness against flying enemies went way up after learning how they react to different forms of elemental damage. Specifically, once I upgraded my hunter bow with enough bonus fire damage, I could knock glinthawks out the sky with one shot, then move on to the next target while they were incapacitated and taking DoT. With stormbirds, I favour ice for it's ability to ground/weaken, allowing me to chew through their hit-points much quicker.
Re-playing through the game on the hardest difficulty as we speak, which is really forcing me to optimize how I fight. It's good stuff.
Not enough Fire/Ice arrows
My effectiveness against flying enemies went way up after learning how they react to different forms of elemental damage. Specifically, once I upgraded my hunter bow with enough bonus fire damage, I could knock glinthawks out the sky with one shot, then move on to the next target while they were incapacitated and taking DoT. With stormbirds, I favour ice for it's ability to ground/weaken, allowing me to chew through their hit-points much quicker.
Re-playing through the game on the hardest difficulty as we speak, which is really forcing me to optimize how I fight. It's good stuff.
Good to know. I've got my hunting bow spec'd for maximum impact, which means it actually does more damage than my sniping bow right now and has very high tear (it takes one shot to clear a glinthawk's chest armor and a 2nd shot blows the chillwater sac). I have yet to buy a war bow for actual freeze arrows, and I usually use the shadow sling if I need to freeze something (like a ravager).
I'm still revising my fighting for most of the enemies. I've got stalkers down to a science, and glinthawks die quickly too (2 shots, not 1 like you, though!) I can three-shot a trampler as well (just aim for the udders).
I've got the mods for very, very high fire damage (I have 3 +44% or higher mods) so I'll check out your strat tonight. Thanks!
Speaking of HZD videos, they just released an Honest Trailer
by Korny , Dalton, Ga. US. Earth, Sol System, Wednesday, March 22, 2017, 02:55 (2586 days ago) @ Kahzgul
edited by Korny, Wednesday, March 22, 2017, 03:04
This second video is a set fight in Cauldron Zeta, so if you don't want (minor) fight spoilers about what a staged battle in that zone is, you probably shouldn't watch. That being said, this was a goddamn awesome fight. I left in a bunch of set-up where I try to lay traps and set my strategy for engagement, and then, of course, you can see how pretty much all of that goes to shit right away.
Minor spoilers follow:
While this is my first attempt at this specific fight, I'm a pretty well versed in how to fight a thunderjaw, so unlike the stormbird fight, I know exactly how I'm going to approach this. That being said, Thunderjaws are badass, and there is no magic bullet to killing them (at least, not that I've found yet). LOVE this fight.
Good stuff. Funny that you posted this fight. My very first fight against a Thunderjaw was in the Cauldron (at level 21, and he's a 27). I had no idea what to expect, so I played it safe by littering the area with as many traps as I could... And that only seemed to put small pauses between the constant beatdown that the guy was laying on me. When I wasn't being tossed around like a ragdoll, I was dropping as many traps as I could, despite the fact that he was only getting angrier and angrier.
Watching that Thunderjaw go down was such a satisfying feeling. GREAT fight.
This game is so great!
"Could have been game of the year material, if it hadn't come out three days before Zelda."
Well, since I won't ever play Breath of the Wild... :P
I love that he touches up on what you said about the best laid plans...
Speaking of HZD videos, they just released an Honest Trailer
that. was. great!
Sci-fi tomb raider indeed, and both games are well worth playing. The difference here is it's tomb raider gameplay on a skyrim map with genuinely unique combat.
Horizon Zero Dawn - Fighting the biggest game (vids)
by cheapLEY , Wednesday, March 22, 2017, 21:38 (2585 days ago) @ Kahzgul
I'm surprised you don't use the Ropecaster. It's one of my go-tos. It's great for taking an enemy out of the fight so you don't have to deal with it while you tackle another machine. It can also just give you some room to breath when battling a big machine. Machines break free faster if you deal damage to them, but it's good for pinning them down so you can hit a weak spot while they're not moving.
I'm also surprised you don't use Conentration much. It's great for quick-firing arrows at an exposed weak spot, especially the weak area behind the Thunderjaw's neck armor. They usually face the player head on, so any time I get that profile view I use Concentration to get in a quick flurry of shots at that weak spot for good damage.
Also Corruption arrows are my new favorite. I went for a metal flower last night that was surrounded by five Snapmaws. I just hit a bunch of them with Corruption arrows and let them beat on each other and sat back and watched. It's easier than sneaking to overrride one, as long as you have a good supply of Corruption arrows.
Speaking of Corruption, I also did the Corrupted Zone with a pair of Corrupted Rockbreakers last night. Holy hell, that might actually be the hardest fight I've done so far. Really fun stuff.
I'm trying to finish off the Platinum trophy tonight so I can start a new game on Very Hard (I played on Hard the first time through).
Horizon Zero Dawn - Fighting the biggest game (vids)
I haven't unlocked corruption arrows yet, though I have seen enough tooltips about them that I know what they do ;)
I'm really excited to see how my gameplay expands once I can get other weapons.
That being said, these two fights were (a) my first fight ever with a stormbird, so obviously I didn't really know what I was doing, and (b) a fight against a lone thundermaw, which I was pretty confident I could handle (though it did get a little hairy there for a bit when I couldn't find the second disc launcher and had to play "toro" with him in the middle).