NieR: Automata - For the Glory of Mankind - The Something Awful Forums

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McDragon: Sep 11, 2007

Hegel can gently caress off. None of the bosses are amazing but at least most of them aren't also tedious and story things happen in them. Hegel is just some round things that don't even talk when all you really want to do is cut loose and trash some robots with A2 for a bit.

B Mode can be fun though. Never found a good tactical use for it, but I had some good times in the side-scrolly castle bits just junking machines. I think I was trying to grind the machine weapons actually. Anyway, as I remember, in B Mode A2's dash thingy does damage when you ram a fucker, and there are many fuckers to ram in there, all in big dumb lines. Well I got the trophy and promptly died so it wasn't even useful for grinding. Fun though. Just not very useful.

# ? Oct 29, 2017 18:20

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# ? Apr 28, 2024 06:47

Lord_Magmar: Feb 24, 2015; "Welcome to pound town, Slifer slacker!"

B Mode for me mostly amounted to cheating certain side-quests way earlier than should normally be allowed and just in general having fun smashing some machines as I ran around.

Mostly you really need healing chips etc. of particular note is that the automatic heal item use Chips won't activate in B-Mode but will immediately heal you once it ends, which makes the entire thing extremely safe.

# ? Oct 29, 2017 18:38

Sindai: Jan 24, 2007; i want to achieve immortality through not dying

I burned through like half my healing items using B mode in this fight because I assumed it would wear off on its own eventually, then forgot about it for the rest of the game.

# ? Oct 29, 2017 18:41

apocalypticCritic: Mar 19, 2014

Nohman posted:

Just caught up with the thread from like mid-Route B.

*just about every says a thing is bad listing a number of reasons why*
"ACTUALLY "

Oh my god that's a nerd with glasses. I just got that.

# ? Oct 29, 2017 20:38

Magil of Shadow: Dec 28, 2009; Proposal: Form a friendly relationship immediately.

"You have GOT to be kidding me"

Like many, I tried out B-Mode during this fight, got wasted, and set the game down for a bit. Going back, I ignored the prompt, and tried out B-Mode on less important mooks, and it's FAR more useful in that aspect. Granted, it's also part of why I like A2 over the others, if simply from a gameplay standpoint, as I'm a sucker for 'Devil Trigger' type setups, even if A2's requires the player to actually learn and use the Chip System in order to get proper use out of it, which I doubt is the point.

Of course, during that first time, I didn't get though enough of the fight to know that B-Mode was replaced in newer androids, so until I picked the fight up a few days later, I went on thinking that A2 was more badass because she cobbled together something actually useful from her Self Destruct functions once going AWOL, so that might lend itself to more of my bias as well.

# ? Oct 29, 2017 20:41

Josuke Higashikata: Mar 7, 2013

Those big rear end lasers it shoots at you from off screen happily clip through the terrain to hit you.

Hegel is objectively poo poo.

# ? Oct 29, 2017 21:51

Fabulousvillain: May 2, 2015

I honestly only remember the lovely B-mode introduction part and that I thought fighting a big rear end boss in the desert was cool. Other wise I thought it just a boring fight that took too long especially since I died due to possibly the worst tutorial for new mechanic I've ever experienced, but I really can't think of a worse boss fight in this game so I guess this one wins in two categories.

# ? Oct 29, 2017 22:21

FrankZP: Nov 11, 2015; AIGHT SHITBIRDS, IT'S EXPLOSION TIME!

I wonder how much of an improvement it would have been to have the ground-to-ground portions of this fight be in bird's-eye view, dynamically zoomed out just enough to see every active sphere at once. It seems that a lot of the aggravation comes from having zero information on what's going on with the parts you're not actively engaging at any given time, and we know that shifting to a top-down camera during specific boss phases is absolutely something the game has done in other circumstances.

# ? Oct 29, 2017 22:57

SatansBestBuddy: Sep 26, 2010; by FactsAreUseless

FrankZP posted:

I wonder how much of an improvement it would have been to have the ground-to-ground portions of this fight be in bird's-eye view, dynamically zoomed out just enough to see every active sphere at once. It seems that a lot of the aggravation comes from having zero information on what's going on with the parts you're not actively engaging at any given time, and we know that shifting to a top-down camera during specific boss phases is absolutely something the game has done in other circumstances.

Problem is Hegel is huge, and the arena is basically the entire desert so he can fly pretty far away from you, so an overhead view would be so zoomed out that you couldn't see A2 at all.

# ? Oct 29, 2017 23:11

Billzasilver: Nov 8, 2016; I lift my drink and sing a song

for who knows if life is short or long?

Man's life is like the morning dew

past days many, future days few

I thought most games, including Nier automata, we're supposed to make offscreen enemies stop attacking you

# ? Oct 29, 2017 23:28

Know Such Peace: Dec 30, 2008

I assumed B-mode was on a short timer and never used it the rest of the game. It being health-based makes it much more useful than I thought it was.

# ? Oct 30, 2017 00:35

Qrr: Aug 14, 2015

Know Such Peace posted:

I assumed B-mode was on a short timer and never used it the rest of the game. It being health-based makes it much more useful than I thought it was.

Yep. Chugging health potions can make it last quite a while. Also, if you take a health thing after B mode expires I believe you uncripple yourself, which is also nice.

# ? Oct 30, 2017 01:15

i am tim!: Jan 5, 2005; God damn it, where are my ant keys?! I'm gonna miss my flight!

It also stacks with taunt, so as long as you don't get hit (which is doable with how dodging works in this game) it's pretty much Super Murder Mode.

# ? Oct 30, 2017 01:21

Neddy Seagoon: Oct 12, 2012; "Hi Everybody!"

Qrr posted:

Yep. Chugging health potions can make it last quite a while. Also, if you take a health thing after B mode expires I believe you uncripple yourself, which is also nice.

Just use an auto-heal chip and it'll proc once B-Mode ends.

# ? Oct 30, 2017 01:46

Goatse James Bond: Mar 28, 2010; If you see me posting please remind me that I have Charlie Work in the reports forum to do instead

apocalypticCritic posted:

Oh my god that's a nerd with glasses. I just got that.

Lies, it's four fat goons in a chorus.

# ? Oct 30, 2017 01:47

Supremezero: Apr 28, 2013; hay gurl

GreyjoyBastard posted:

Lies, it's four fat goons in a chorus.

That third goon has a weird shaped head.

# ? Oct 30, 2017 02:25

The Vosgian Beast: Aug 13, 2011; Business is slow

This boss guest designed by German philosopher Arthur Schopenhauer

quote:

"Hegel, installed from above, by the powers that be, as the certified Great Philosopher, was a flat-headed, insipid, nauseating, illiterate charlatan who reached the pinnacle of audacity in scribbling together and dishing up the craziest mystifying nonsense. This nonsense has been noisily proclaimed as immortal wisdom by mercenary followers and readily accepted as such by all fools, who thus joined into as perfect a chorus of admiration as had ever been heard before. The extensive field of spiritual influence with which Hegel was furnished by those in power has enabled him to achieve the intellectual corruption of an whole generation."
- The World as Will and Representation, vol. 2 (1844)

(Schopenhauer once scheduled a series of lectures at the same time as Hegel, and his lectures got attended by like, two people and Hegel's were packed. Think about that as you read the quote, because it's hilarious and amazing)

# ? Oct 30, 2017 02:25

Fangz: Jul 5, 2007; Oh I see! This must be the Bad Opinion Zone!

Lol

Wikipedia posted:

Schopenhauer had a notably strained relationship with his mother Johanna. He wrote his first book, On the Fourfold Root of the Principle of Sufficient Reason, while at university. His mother informed him that the book was incomprehensible and it was unlikely that anyone would ever buy a copy.

...

In Schopenhauer's 1851 essay On Women, he expressed his opposition to what he called "Teutonico-Christian stupidity" of reflexive unexamined reverence ("abgeschmackten Weiberveneration")[79] for the female. Schopenhauer wrote that "Women are directly fitted for acting as the nurses and teachers of our early childhood by the fact that they are themselves childish, frivolous and short-sighted." He opined that women are deficient in artistic faculties and sense of justice, and expressed opposition to monogamy. Indeed, Rodgers and Thompson in Philosophers Behaving Badly call Schopenhauer "a misogynist without rival in....Western philosophy". He claimed that "woman is by nature meant to obey".

# ? Oct 30, 2017 02:41

Annointed: Mar 2, 2013

Supremezero posted:

That third goon has a weird shaped head.

Imagine four goons in a desert.

# ? Oct 30, 2017 02:50

Deep Dish Fuckfest: Sep 6, 2006; Advanced
Computer Touching; Toilet Rascal

The Vosgian Beast posted:

This boss guest designed by German philosopher Arthur Schopenhauer

(Schopenhauer once scheduled a series of lectures at the same time as Hegel, and his lectures got attended by like, two people and Hegel's were packed. Think about that as you read the quote, because it's hilarious and amazing)

It's sobering to think that in our modern era of internet forums and twitters, anyone can engage in the sort of wall-of-text slapfights and weak burns that were once exclusively the domain of great philosophers. What a time to be alive!

# ? Oct 30, 2017 03:19

Aeolius: Jul 16, 2003; Simon Templeman Fanclub

Torquemadras posted:

I ran head-first into the B mode trap when I encountered Hegel for the first time. I'm the one who got trolled.

Next attempt I actually pulled out Wire and during ground phase got lucky enough to only get attacked by orbs I had on screen, so I actually had fun! I thought the fight was hectic in a good way, with a novel concept.

Oooooooooh boy, what a cliff of bullshit I sailed around purely due to dumb luck

Same here. I saw the potential for shenanigans in the roller-derby stuff but it all worked out fairly well. On reflection, it's not hard to see how it might be a disaster for most playthroughs.

(I'm also one of those weirdos who liked Wire enough to keep it in the main-three rotation.)

# ? Oct 30, 2017 14:28

Ryas: Dec 28, 2012

Hegel is a fun boss guys why you gotta hate

# ? Oct 30, 2017 16:09

U-DO Burger: Nov 12, 2007

Deep Dish Fuckfest posted:

It's sobering to think that in our modern era of internet forums and twitters, anyone can engage in the sort of wall-of-text slapfights and weak burns that were once exclusively the domain of great philosophers. What a time to be alive!

it really is amazing to read what the great (and no-so-great) theorists have written about each other because a lot of the time it reads like a flame war

# ? Oct 30, 2017 16:50

FrankZP: Nov 11, 2015; AIGHT SHITBIRDS, IT'S EXPLOSION TIME!

SatansBestBuddy posted:

Problem is Hegel is huge, and the arena is basically the entire desert so he can fly pretty far away from you, so an overhead view would be so zoomed out that you couldn't see A2 at all.

The game already does ludicrous zoom-outs, and there's already an indicator mechanic in place to help you keep track of yourself in top-down segments. And the arena's big, but the sandstorm walls keep it more a lot more constrained than might be immediately apparent.

The Dark Id posted:

Tweak the size/color/opacity of the circular marker (heck, give A2 a custom one for flavor), and I think it could have been made to work. If not perfectly, then at least better than what we ended up getting.

FrankZP fucked around with this message at 16:57 on Oct 30, 2017

# ? Oct 30, 2017 16:50

The Dark Id: Aug 13, 2005; Why
you
know
I
LOVE
THIS SHIT !!!!
[citation needed]

Episode CVIII: The Tower

Affirmative. Launching compressed conversation mode.

Affirmative. Awaiting report on the effects of unit 2B�s memory data on unit A2�s self-consciousness.

Understood. Updating as reference data for support activity.

We find ourselves back with the option to pick between A2 and 9S again. We�re going to go see how 9S is doing this time around. Apparently the intended path is to do it in this order since this is listed as Chapter 13. Don�t worry about that chapter title. I�m sure it�s nothing... Anyway, let�s see how 9S has been in the last two weeks after plummeting off that bridge.

9S was a little upset last time we saw him. What with the blood rage and all... Maybe he�s chilled out since then.

Looks like he�s awake, Devola.

Mornin�. Slept well, didn�t ya, 9S?

Gah! Put the blindfold back on, 9S! You look creepy!

Music: Peaceful Sleep

That�s right. You�ve been unconscious for nearly two weeks.

A little thank-you for saving your butt would be nice!

Where�s 2B?

......

You know that better than anyone, no? Her... black box signal... disappeared.

...Oh.

Devola and Popola are rare android models designed for medical treatment and maintenance. Without the Bunker, they are the only remaining way for unit 9S to initiate repairs. Proposal: A word of appreciation is appropriate.

......

...Thanks.

Yeah, there used to be lots of our models around. Apparently, we were put here to oversee some kind of large-scale system that was in place.

Apparently? What does that mean?

It means we don�t know. All the records from that era have been deleted. Our model kinda went nutso at some point in the past. It... ended badly.

Most of our kind were disposed of after that. But... we were spared. They used us as a sort of control group in order to ensure such a thing couldn�t happen again.

So yeah, we�re lab rats. But at least we get to be here helping out friends. I�d like to think that we�re atoning in some way for our past sins.

......

Try not to overdo it, 9S.

OK. Devola and Popola can fix up 9S if he gets owned... again. Good to know. Welcome back to the Resistance Camp. It�s a bit worse for wear. I wonder if 2B told him about the machines having teeth under their dome heads and eating a bunch of androids.

Pod mentioned we�ve gotten mail. Luckily, the Access Point and that crate with the terrible texture both survived the rampaging machines during Eve�s hissy fit back at the conclusion of Route A/B. Let�s see who the hell is contacting us now that the Bunker is toast.

Great. The dipshit androids pretending to be humans on the moon are still OK. Good to know. This is the last we ever hear from the Council of Humanity in the game. Not much point in sending out any more monthly emails or dry speeches for a while. We�ll try again in Machine War 15 in a couple hundred years.

The Resistance Camp is quite a bit emptier nowadays. All of the important NPCs like Anemone and all of the shop keepers made it. Everyone else? loving dead or otherwise missing! There is the one new fella with a side quest. But we�ll hold off a tad bit before speaking with him. Strange Resistance Woman, however, has something new to tell us.

Now we�ve got no Bunker, and we can�t replenish our bodies. So if we die, there�s no more recovery. If you die now, it�s the end, so I�d recommend saving as much as possible.

Just a healthy reminder that the whole body recovery respawn system is gone now so dead means dead in both gameplay and plot wise. Remember: There is no auto-save! But enough of that. We�ll come back here to sort out that side quest later. For now, let�s head out to the City Ruins proper to see...

Music: Rays of Light (Quiet)

Unlike A2, who was interested in the hulking superstructure taking up a huge chunk of the sky�s real estate for all of about ten seconds, 9S gets a full title card for The Tower and immediately wants to know what in the hell the deal is with that thing.

An enormous facility that appeared from an area beneath the ground. It would appear to be machine-related in origin. Further details unknown. Mobile transport platform detected in the section emerging from the facility�s center.

So... an elevator?

Might be worth checking ou�OH poo poo! WATCH OUT!

New Music: Emil�s Shop Theme (SPEED) (You should listen to this.)

So Emil is feeling super hyper today and is speeding across the general area doing sick jumps and singing his song at 3x speed. At least someone is having a good time in Route C.

As usual, the method of slowing down Emil is to just fire at him until he violently crashes to a stop. It�s fine. Emil survived being in ground zero for a tactical magic nuke. He�s a durable boy.

Music: Emil's Shop Theme (Instrumental)

Emil�s shop actually can _potentially sell different, much more desirable junk when he initially spawns near the Resistance Camp. Unfortunately, this was not one of those times. He�s still selling the same crappy plug-in chips A2 saw earlier. One version of Emil�s RNG dependent shop sells two of the remaining weapons for our collection. Alas, that will have to wait for another day.

To buffer the disappointment, we�ll just go ahead and sell 33 Machine Cores now that we�re here. Emil has no problem covering that transaction. Just how loaded are you these days...?

And what name should I put on the receipt?

Um, I don�t really think I need a receipt.

...YoRHa brain scan complete. �9S,� is it? Hope to see you again soon!

Oooo-kay?

Music: Rays of Light (Quiet)

Emil is a strange boy. We might see more of him during Route C. But that�s for another day. For now, let�s head down into the City Ruins� central crater and investigate that elevator into The Tower.

Well, it looks like it connects to the rest of The Tower anyway. The gate to the entrance is locked. So 9S does what he does best and...

...immediately gets owned by the door rejecting his hacking. Before we can do anything else, a pleasant female announcement voice emanates from The Tower. Just roll with it...

We apologize for the inconvenience... but locks on each sub-unit must be deactivated before accessing the main Tower. Have a GREAT day!

......

Query: What is the motive for a machine lifeform to provide such an announcement?

There�s no reason for anything they do.

OK. Well, the announcement said something about deactivating locks on sub-units and there�s three other nodes surrounding the gate...

Let�s try sliding up to one of these thingamajigs and seeing if 9S can wor�

Nope! Hackerman has met his hacking match. Nothing is going 9S�s way this month... Again, the Tower System Services announcement voice perks up.

Special authorization keys are required to access Tower sub-units. We apologize for the inconvenience, but access is not permitted at this time. However... Today, we have a special gift for first-time visitors to this Tower. A tour of our brand-new resource-recovery units! We look forward to serving you again!

9S gets zapped by something again as the announcement concludes.

A forced message from the enemy system. Said message relays the locations of objects known as resource-recovery units.

Now they�re just messing with us...

Music: Rays of Light (Medium)

Welp. There�s nothing more to be done down here. At least not until 9S ventures to three ~~temples~~ resource-recovery units and gathers three special keys hidden within. As we leave the area, 9S has some questions for his Pod.

Hey, Pod. Give me a rundown on what happened while I was resting.

Affirmative. Relevant data concerns the massive facility you just accessed. It appears to be machine-related in origin, though further details are unknown. Additionally, the large structural units launched from the facility have been detected in multiple areas.

Large structural units?

Said units were marked as goals earlier. They are believed to be the so-called �resource-recovery units�.

What do these units do?

Unknown.

Where�s A2?

Unit A2�s position and current status are unknown.

All right. Mark the positions of those units on my map, will you?

While we can actually go out in the world and find all three resource-recovery units out in the world right now, the game wants us to access them in a certain order. The first one is located in the Forest Zone. I guess we have a goal now... Though Pod 153 would like some clarification.

Proposal: Unit 9S should state his intentions.

I�m going to wipe out the machines.

With the Bunker destroyed, previous orders to YoRHa units would be suspended. Proposal: Rendezvous with Resistance forces and confirm chain of command.

I don�t care about chain of command. I have one goal now. I�m going to kill every last machine. And then... I�m going to kill A2.

And so begins 9S�s journey to go from a mild mannered Hackerman to CaimS. I�m sure it�ll work out for him...

Video: Episode 108 Highlight Reel (You should watch this.)

The Tower Concept Art � Didn�t know the machines were so into spirals.

# ? Oct 31, 2017 00:01

pospysyl: Nov 10, 2012

The Dark Id posted:

Query: What is the motive for a machine lifeform to provide such an announcement?
There�s no reason for anything they do.

Well, that assumption has borne out so far, so there's no reason to think otherwise now, is there?

quote:

Where�s A2?
Unit A2�s position and current status are unknown.

This is... not true, is it? Pod 042 would have filled 153 in, right? Hm.

# ? Oct 31, 2017 00:13

Jen X: Sep 29, 2014; To bring light to the darkness, whether that darkness be ignorance, injustice, apathy, or stagnation.

Top boy remains top boy.

# ? Oct 31, 2017 00:21

euphronius: Feb 18, 2009

9s is certainly mad in a video game.

# ? Oct 31, 2017 00:32

Kavak: Aug 23, 2009

pospysyl posted:

This is... not true, is it? Pod 042 would have filled 153 in, right? Hm.

Didn't A2 start right after the tower went up while 9S is waking up a fortnight later?

# ? Oct 31, 2017 00:45

euphronius: Feb 18, 2009

The pods say a2 was deactivated for two weeks too iirc

# ? Oct 31, 2017 00:47

ultrafilter: Aug 23, 2007; It's okay if you have any questions.

Kavak posted:

Didn't A2 start right after the tower went up while 9S is waking up a fortnight later?

No, her chapter also started two weeks later.

# ? Oct 31, 2017 00:47

Namnesor: Jun 29, 2005; Dante's allowance - $100

The Dark Id posted:

New Music: Emil�s Shop Theme (SPEED) (You should listen to this.)

This is the single most important thing to happen in this entire LP. Definitely watch the recap video, because actually hearing the audio along with this moving picture really sells its impact.

# ? Oct 31, 2017 00:50

FeyerbrandX: Oct 9, 2012

Coughing Hobo posted:

This is the single most important thing to happen in this entire LP. Definitely watch the recap video, because actually hearing the audio along with this moving picture really sells its impact.

Did they actually doppler shift his jingle too?

# ? Oct 31, 2017 00:58

Deep Dish Fuckfest: Sep 6, 2006; Advanced
Computer Touching; Toilet Rascal

Wow good job Devola/Popola Prime, you hosed up so bad that every one of your model was literally hunted down and executed despite being really useful to have around. The only exceptions being so they can figure out why you were so bad at your jobs. And they're still trying to do that 8,000 years later. Awesome work!

# ? Oct 31, 2017 01:13

Echo Cian: Jun 16, 2011

I'm an update late, but I tried playing the game on normal for a while, having started on easy to get used to it. It went okay until I had my only three real deaths (as in, not joke endings) in the playthrough on Hegel. I went back to easy for the rest of the game, even though I probably would have been fine staying on normal for everything else in the main story.

gently caress Hegel.

# ? Oct 31, 2017 01:16

Synthbuttrange: May 6, 2007

Its not like humanity can go extinct a second time. Why not have them around?!

# ? Oct 31, 2017 01:17

ultrafilter: Aug 23, 2007; It's okay if you have any questions.

Deep Dish Fuckfest posted:

Wow good job Devola/Popola Prime, you hosed up so bad that every one of your model was literally hunted down and executed despite being really useful to have around. The only exceptions being so they can figure out why you were so bad at your jobs. And they're still trying to do that 8,000 years later. Awesome work!

Glory to mankind!

# ? Oct 31, 2017 01:28