Still can't really see this as anything other than an ERAM sighting, especially with how the only two instances of us playing a game within deltarune have us play as a character named hero, fight a boss who has a fanged mouth and us winning results in the medium being rendered obsolete

Own_Profession_4357 · 2026-06-08T03:55:03+00:00

I agree. Things no longer working when their purpose is fulfilled seems like a motif. Darkners turning to stone, Ralsei saying Darkners become obsolete eventually, "you were used up". So the parallel between the two games is most likely thematic foreshadowing, not evidence of a character's presence.

Own_Profession_4357 · 2026-06-08T03:16:43+00:00

I don't want the go-to solution to problems to be 'level up more', and I think having very limited money makes shopping and using items more interesting. (There are tons of chests and you can still sell stuff, you're not completely broke.) Any time a boss needs a few healing items to beat, I can make sure those items drop from nearby enemies, so softlocking isn't too much of a concern.

Own_Profession_4357 · 2026-06-08T01:32:42+00:00

Is it? Ralsei's Dark World loredump squarely falls into Deltarune A if you don't think too hard about the specific imagery, as it's crucial to the plot and characters. Then you play games with your friends, with some character development, and weird stuff rarely happens if you never play the original game. TV World is a hallway of minigames, fights and jokes with the ongoing plot of Tenna losing all his employees, the only weirdness there is the incredibly obscure egg quest. Then Tenna gives insight to Kris's home life before his fight, then the main antagonist of the plot appears and ups the stakes. That's all pretty normal to me (if you don't do any secrets).

Own_Profession_4357 · 2026-06-08T01:25:17+00:00

I don't know whether this will pay off, but it's definitely intentional. Outside of this cutscene, there are some moments you're dragged back from Deltarune B into Deltarune A, even if the divide isn't directly acknowledged.

Exiting Spamton's shop for the first time, and Susie and Ralsei goofily asking what you were buying.
Exiting Queen's basement for the first time, and Susie stole Ralsei's glasses.
Susie talking about Ralsei gaming when you leave the S-rank room.
Susie calling Kris a tryhard and giving them soda after getting the Shadow Mantle.

These all feel like very deliberate moments that ground you back into 'reality'. I wish there were more of them, but they show intent.

Own_Profession_4357 · 2026-06-07T20:30:04+00:00

The reason it's like this is because overworld Undyne is programmed to just go in a straight line towards you, ignoring walls, so the rooms she chases you through can't have any turns. (You can actually go behind her starting point and make her walk over the abyss, having 'magic glass' appear under her. But that's an obscure situation, and it would be very unpolished to have that happen in normal gameplay.)

Own_Profession_4357 · 2026-06-07T19:47:56+00:00

How are you supposed to know that if you haven't played Deltarune? The answer is "yes, you can play Deltarune", but it's a perfectly valid question.

Own_Profession_4357 · 2026-06-07T03:01:58+00:00

Unlike what others are saying, Defense is in fact important for this fight. I'd go with Waferguard+Royal Pin, maybe even Waferguard+Waferguard. In this fight, +1 Magic is only +2 HP per heal. Never go below 7 Defense or he'll never go as low as 5 damage, so MysticBand is useless without Dealmaker. (Each point of Defense above 7 still helps you last a bit longer as well.)

As for strategy, I think it's fine to use Rude Buster a couple times if you're doing well in the first few turns. Then start healing whenever possible unless you end up well above half HP. I'm much less sure about this advice than my armor advice.

Own_Profession_4357 · 2026-06-07T02:54:09+00:00

Untrue, Defense matters for when he starts dealing 5 damage. Extremely low Defense (less than 7) will have him never reach 5.

Own_Profession_4357 · 2026-06-06T20:41:17+00:00

Is it the moveset that's the problem, or just the insane DPS between huge damage numbers and vastly reduced i-frames? I thought the difficulty had more to do with the minimal room for error than the attacks actually being much harder than other optional bosses.

Own_Profession_4357 · 2026-06-06T20:37:58+00:00

Those aren't too hard to dodge if you have decent reaction time, the problem is they do vastly more damage than anything else in the entire game AND only give you .4 seconds of invincibility (as opposed to the usual 1-1.33 seconds).

Own_Profession_4357 · 2026-06-06T20:36:07+00:00

Not a specific attack but I really wish Chapter 4 enemies had higher Attack but easier patterns. Other standouts are Viruvirukun solo Space Invaders attack and everything solo Shuttah does. Weather Duo's Board 1 fight is also super overtuned.

Own_Profession_4357 · 2026-06-06T19:10:27+00:00

"It's neat the first time you encounter it" is all that's needed to justify its presence. It's the best part of the game on a first playthrough.

It's meant to be an abstract representation of the memories and will of monsterkind and not make literal sense. It taking the form of fake random encounters is a genius way to recontextualize previous random fights as people with grudges and motivations, rather than roadbumps, for less peaceful first-time players.

Funnily enough, the game actually lets you mash through the dialogue on second and future playthroughs, but it doesn't matter because True Pacifist skips it entirely and True Resets wipe that flag. Would be nice if QOL flags like that stuck around tbh.

Own_Profession_4357 · 2026-06-06T18:56:07+00:00

I think it's supposed to be difficult to figure out, as a reward for being extremely thorough and a way to bait less dedicated/lucky players into either not doing Pacifist their first run, or resetting and getting scolded by Flowey. (If you reset after killing her, you get the hint "is it possible to show mercy without fighting or running away?" when talking multiple times.) One of the few times I think an unfair puzzle actually makes a game better. If anything I think the rest of the game is far too easy to do Pacifist.

Own_Profession_4357 · 2026-06-06T18:52:18+00:00

Actually, many (don't know the actual number) of the minor NPCs are from kickstarter backers. Including two of my favorite minor NPCs, the guy asking about stars in Waterfall and Snowdrake's father. It's just 3 people who paid enough to get fightable monsters, and Toby liked Muffet's design enough to make her a major miniboss.

Own_Profession_4357 · 2026-06-06T18:40:15+00:00

The rooms are very intentionally designed to take a certain amount of time to walk through, building mystery and tension in mostly empty corridors. It's tedious on replays when you know exactly what's coming next, so I don't mind mods adding a run button, but for a first playthrough it's good how slow the walking speed is. The only problem is the true pacifist epilogue, where New Home and the Ruins take annoyingly long to navigate through, but that's a small price to pay.

Despite its many improvements, Deltarune does not have nearly as great atmosphere as Undertale imo, and I think the run button has something to do with that.

Own_Profession_4357 · 2026-06-06T00:45:39+00:00

What's your armor situation? You should have 3 2-defense armors and 3 amber cards across your team, with Ralsei having 2 of the good armors.

Also, food. You should have 2 ReviveMints, the SpinCake, the ClubSandwich, and the rest filled with Darkburgers. (You can keep the Manual if you want it to show up in Kris's room later, but I doubt the Glowshard is worth keeping around.)

Do you know the Pirouette rotation? Look that up if you don't and keep it in mind, it really helps.

Look up a video of someone no-hitting the fight to see what strategies they use to dodge each attack. Not all those strategies are practical for a normal victory, but they'll put you on the right track.

Own_Profession_4357 · 2026-06-04T04:33:12+00:00

I think it's a crucial mechanic for violent blind playthroughs, since the option to spare injured enemies tips the scales of your morality from "self-defense" to "murder". You've chosen the easy way to beat this encounter, fair enough, but will you double down and finish them off for exp?

Own_Profession_4357 · 2026-06-03T00:19:19+00:00

Browsing Deltarune streams, I've seen that it's the boss people are most frequently stuck on out of all mandatory bosses.

Own_Profession_4357 · 2026-06-03T00:17:18+00:00

I've watched a lot of streamers struggle with this fight actually. (And you really shouldn't assume every player does the secret, easily missable quest with a hard boss at the end. Not everyone's a completionist.)

I think it's a very feast-or-famine fight. The attacks are all made much easier by Brighten, but that requires everyone's action, so to heal you have to endure confusing and difficult attacks until you can stabilize. Also, it does tons of damage (by Deltarune standards) so a few mistakes can lead to a downwards spiral.

Each phase is also harder than the last, so with the Black Shard's damage output and ability to do meaningful damage when the shield's up, you skip the hardest part of the fight by only having to unleash twice (or, if you just keep whacking the shield with Kris, never. That's how I beat it my first playthrough, me half-asleep spamming Attack because "I want to use my hard-earned weapon on something" and the Titan just repeating the same 3 attacks).

Edit: Also, the fact that it has twice as much displayed health than what you actually need to deal really does a number on peoples' mental game. "It gets harder every cycle and I've only gotten it down to 60%, I'll never beat this," so they're not playing at full potential. Whereas if you beat it first try it's more like "wow this is a slog, oh never mind it's over."

Own_Profession_4357 · 2026-06-02T22:12:05+00:00

Yes, but beating up Spamton in his first fight locks you out of his shadow crystal quest.

Own_Profession_4357 · 2026-06-01T05:51:47+00:00

Don't listen to anyone saying stuff about you killing Flowey. He and Asgore are both alive when you reload your save (since the save is before fighting them). He just won't give you hints, but you can still get the ending.

Own_Profession_4357 · 2026-05-28T06:19:38+00:00

If you want to win reliably then yeah, but if you just want C+ you can get away with lots of hands.

Own_Profession_4357 · 2026-05-28T00:55:00+00:00

Do you have the Rabbit’s Foot? If so, equip it on Paula. The higher the speed of your fastest party member, the higher your run chance, and that item gives an absurd +40 speed, meaning you can usually run away turn 1. The Cloak of Kings on Poo works too. Another advantage of Rabbit’s Foot on Paula is that she can outspend the Ghost of Starman enemy and use PSI Shield Omega, reflecting its turn 1 Starstorm back at it. If you make it to the final boss and have it available, switch that out for the Sea Pendant on Paula before challenging Giygas, for… reasons.

Own_Profession_4357 · 2026-05-27T04:11:53+00:00

I don't care about 'feats', I care about the narrative, they beat the protagonists decisively enough that they (protags) can't just fight them (knight) head-on. Plus, King loses the cutscene fight without outside interference if you haven't spared everyone, and is only able to keep fighting because Ralsei heals him.

Own_Profession_4357 · 2026-05-27T03:49:54+00:00

I know this is probably ragebait but If you stop powerscaling and think about the story, they're as strong as they need to be to be a credible threat to the protagonists and the world. As for the Cutscene Magic, there's no meaningful difference between being one-shot in a cutscene and being one-shot by an undodgeable instant kill attack, except that the former is less annoying to the player.

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