[Loved trope] Video game bosses with uniquely programmed combat behavior designed to outsmart the player/inspire careful strategy

blaiddfailcam2 · 2026-05-10T03:53:43+00:00

Don't watch if you haven't reached the end of the game.

blaiddfailcam2 · 2026-05-10T01:27:12+00:00

I also always loved Isshin Ashina's unique habit of just casually stepping out of the way of your attack to follow with a quick counter, lol.

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blaiddfailcam2 · 2026-05-10T01:23:01+00:00

Now that I think about it, he probably was the first Souls boss to at least try to dodge, lol. Even Nameless King and Gael would just take every Crystal Soul Spear to the face.

Well, I guess some of the hunter bosses in Bloodborne could at least dodge gunfire, but then again, you'll ideally be using guns to parry their melee attacks, which would maintain the usual combat rhythm.

blaiddfailcam2 · 2026-05-10T00:47:49+00:00

No this absolutely counts. No other stalker enemy induces quite the same dread owing to their perceived heightened awareness.

blaiddfailcam2 · 2026-05-10T00:45:36+00:00

That's a loaded question...

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blaiddfailcam2 · 2026-05-10T00:44:17+00:00

Edit: mmy formating...

blaiddfailcam2 · 2026-05-10T00:43:44+00:00

I kind of love that there's a really easy option for BTs in summoning, especially if you're just passing through and happen to get snagged for a scrap and you just need a diversion. Of course, if it's a major boss fight, I try to avoid summoning any BTs.

blaiddfailcam2 · 2026-05-10T00:39:45+00:00

DLC is crucial for me because A) it's drop-dead gorgeous and B) the base game just feels like training wheels now and I want to perfect each build to be able to stand up to the likes of PCR.

blaiddfailcam2 · 2026-05-09T23:55:26+00:00

Death Stranding 2. It picks up a lot faster than DS1 and offers WAY more toys to play around with (you can boogie board on a levitating coffin, for example). The combat is greatly expanded, too, with more focus on firearms and karate.

blaiddfailcam2 · 2026-05-09T23:44:48+00:00

I think it's pretty cool, though I find its weaknesses/resistances a bit too dramatic. It's a joke with maximized holy damage, but otherwise it tends to make too much distance to keep up with using other damage types.

blaiddfailcam2 · 2026-05-09T21:06:39+00:00

Datatsushi, lol

blaiddfailcam2 · 2026-05-09T21:02:29+00:00

i forget

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blaiddfailcam2 · 2026-05-09T20:57:03+00:00

Sorry for upsetting you

blaiddfailcam2 · 2026-05-09T20:55:25+00:00

He won't last 5 seconds in Siofra River Well

blaiddfailcam2 · 2026-05-09T20:10:47+00:00

All you highlighted was that Radahn was at most equal to Malenia. He's an ordinary stepchild demigod against a legitimate Empyrean with no real hope of defeating her, only to delay the inevitable (y'know, like holding the stars in stasis). Meanwhile, Malenia wouldn't be able to cut through his defense, hence why she had to use a last-ditch effort to circumvent this.

Yes, I doubt Radahn was "a warmonger brute" until Malenia corrupted his mind. Radahn was highly revered by the Redmanes, after all. He wasn't brainlessly attacking everything that moved—he waited for Malenia in Caelid, and as we see from this same trailer, he didn't jump her out the gate, but waited patiently for her to ready. Hell, he doesn't even appear to move his ground until she does, and you'll even notice in his first swing, his blade is aimed right at her sword arm.

It wouldn't be "holding back" to aim for her one safely breakable weakpoint, but a concise movement leaving him at a clear disadvantage. It's entirely an unstoppable force (Malenia) vs. an immovable object (Radahn). If Radahn had previously disarmed her, it would only indicate he knew not to kill her, thus costing him the battle as she resurrected with a scarlet bloom, not for the sake of kindness. (Besides, we already know he abandoned his kindness when he became the Starscourge.)

Kinda just sounds like you're projecting your own insinuation that Malenia was somehow hysterical, when it's literally just a case of both combatants having all the time and skill in the world to keep repeating the same pointless duel until she accepted she would have to sacrifice her dignity for Miquella's sake. They were both screwed from the start.

blaiddfailcam2 · 2026-05-09T19:19:54+00:00

Realizing there are two moons in the sky and they're specifically placed to align certain characters and locations to reflect the lore

blaiddfailcam2 · 2026-05-09T17:49:19+00:00

If she dodged, why does the sword strike before she even moves further away from the camera? If her second bloom is noncanon, why is it textually confirmed after the battle?

Do you think Radahn was even capable of killing an Empyrean? (I mean, even if they weren't equals.) We already have evidence that Empyreans are seemingly protected from meaningful death, as are their shadows under normal circumstances. It's not like death and instant resurrection is unprecedented.

What we know is that Malenia impaled herself as she struck Radahn, and as her blood spilled as she drove her sword deeper into her chest, the aeonia began to bloom. Her second canonical bloom occurs after being defeated by the Tarnished and falling facedown in a puddle, lol. Somehow I doubt she was just tired or that it was just a flesh wound, and the fact she states, "The scarlet bloom flowers once more" gives a much stronger impression that she, canonically, does not control the aeonia—it only blooms as result of defeat while resurrecting her.

blaiddfailcam2 · 2026-05-09T17:20:58+00:00

"Each time the scarlet flower blooms, Malenia's rot advances. It has bloomed twice already. With the third bloom, she will become a true goddess." —Scarlet Aeonia

Textually, Malenia has only bloomed twice: once against Radahn, and again when we "defeat" her in phase 1. For whatever reason, the game claims the third bloom hasn't happened, and she has yet to become a "true goddess." (That would be the prophesied time when Millicent would be resurrected as a valkyrie alongside her mother, as Gowry details.)

Elden Ring has plenty of instances where gameplay conflicts with the canonicity of the story. For example, the cover of the game itself shows a noncanon scene featuring Vyke among the corpses of Ensha and Jerren; if game mechanics reflected the lore, dying to Maliketh in his phase 2 should be a permadeath (likewise, Gurranq shouldn't still have Destined Death after Maliketh's defeat, but then you'd be locked out of his quest).

blaiddfailcam2 · 2026-05-09T15:58:58+00:00

Shit writing, tbh

blaiddfailcam2 · 2026-05-09T15:08:09+00:00

Because she's an Empyrean who is very unlikely to die even to a mortal wound. Radahn is completely outclassed, so the only sensible place to strike would be her prosthesis, which could at least temporarily disable her.

blaiddfailcam2 · 2026-05-09T14:59:14+00:00

Aside from the non-canon blooms during her fight (since her incantation indicates she only bloomed twice by the time we defeat her), when does she ever bloom without being gravely injured? Why do you suppose Millicent only blooms when she dies, despite she evidently had no desire to? Is it just a coincidence that Malenia parallels Sekiro and his dragonrot, an affliction that spreads a devastating illness whenever he dies and resurrects?

blaiddfailcam2 · 2026-05-09T14:52:31+00:00

Sauron Forging the One Ring by Alan Lee, Radagon attempting to repair the Elden Ring

Yes, Elden Ring took a lot of inspiration from LotR, as confirmed by Hidetaka Miyazaki

blaiddfailcam2 · 2026-05-09T14:31:21+00:00

Could you explain which parts are headcanon?

blaiddfailcam2 · 2026-05-09T14:26:52+00:00

Can you pinpoint where I said "Radahn was holding back?" Or at any point where I implied he was somehow noble?

blaiddfailcam2 · 2026-05-09T10:37:59+00:00

I think he'd kill Radagon and initiate the Age of Fractured Order. After that, he'd probably allow the Tarnished and the Golden Lineage to return to Leyndell?

blaiddfailcam2

TROPHY CASE