Video game lessons learned the hard way

War Thunder;

Ricochets and even near misses kill.

FTL again:
*Get some shield piercing weapons for The Torus as early as possible, so if you get stuck against some Rebels you can actually beat them and get the fuck away.
*Don't lollygag around in any sector, unless you have shield-piercing weapons to fight your way out.

After toughing it out and retrying many, many times throughout my playthrough of 3-D Fantasy Zone, I only just realized after accidentally hitting the R button while fighting the fifth level's boss that the game has a turbo button. Reeeeeally could've helped me in situations where I was dying a lot.

MORE monster hunting

Tremor Resistance turns Rajang from almost impossible to merely difficult. Diablos and Dah'ren Mohran armor give it, I believe, though you could also attempt to make the Uka-Uka-U set and gem it in if you're patient.

Teostra's legs are super weak. Breaking his horns is a hassle, but after about three-four area transitions they should be breakable. If they aren't broken by the time he goes to his nest, bomb his head as a last resort.

Kushala Daora is a cakewalk with the Chameleos armor, and Chameleos isn't that tough in this game. His armor takes a lot of materials to get, though.

Ukanlos' major damage output is from him merely moving his feet and bumping you. This gets old rapidly.

Bayonetta and Bayonetta2: Even if you never die during a major boss battle, you'll still get a stone trophy if your performance in combat is too poor. It sucks, yes, but that's what Kamiya loves adding in his games.

Sound-related:

• Do not activate 'Surround' sound in your Wii U System Settings if you don't have any Surround sound things. This just leads to certain sounds being either lower in volume or omitted entirely.

Buy a third party controller with a long cord.

Pokemon Red:

• Wrap is a bothersome move.
• Catching pokemon will not be easy at all with just pokeballs. Think twice before you consider a pokeball only run.
• Paralysis occurs on you? It'll keep you from using your moves of good efficiency. On the other hand, that one move that won't affect the enemy will hit and do zip.
• Enemy uses disable? It'll disable the move you are going to use.

Persona 3 FES

• NEVER rely on Mitsuru in battle (thanks for using Charm on the Intrepid Knight and missing, when one Ice move would have finished it off, allowing it to one-shot me...)

• Do not allow the Intrepid Knight to get a One More. He always follows up with a heal. (sorry Junpei, this means you can't join this fight)

• GET WIND RESISTANCE FOR THE INTREPID KNIGHT! At the very least, he will usually waste a turn removing the resist from you, giving you and your allies essentially a free turn to attack him. Also, those wind attacks hurt

Monster Hunter 4 Ultimate

• That 2nd 'Low-Rank' Gore Magala is not actually Low-Rank... enjoy the ass kicking if you go in thinking that it is (thanks to the game giving no warning that it isn't)

• I could be imagining it, but Seregios that are not the target for the quest have a habit of pursuing your Target monster. Pack Dung Bombs.

• Never forget to eat, unless you want to be eaten.

• Pole Vaulting is not the solution to every monster fight.

I know this one isn't a Videogame, but I doubt there is a 'Tabletop game lessons learned the hard way' thread

Buck Legacy

• Once they have revealed themselves, NEVER let the inevitable backstabber get a hold of Glitterbombs... or anything else that can force a reroll (our cleric lost a lot of mana cleaning up the mess that was once our Alchemist after one of our other party members threw one of those at her, causing her to completely screw up her retreat roll. Needless to say, the thrower was not given the opportunity to buy any more)

FTL, AGAIN.

• Look at the goddamn beacon pathing before screwing yourself over again and again and again.

Monna Honna: The Revenge

-Pole Vaulting is not the answer unless your name is Rathalos or Kushala Daora

-Gogmazios is fucking impossible without a full party, and not because it hits hard (though that is true)

Risk of Rain

-The Wandering/Young Vagrant projectiles are really, really glitchy when it comes to the Bandit's Smokescreen ability. Instead of timing out and detonating in place at the attack's usual time, they'll just wait until the cloaking wears off and then pursue from wherever they are. That means a "clean escape" can mean getting sniped by a barrage from five screens away after the cloaking drops. This can turn the final level, that just spams Young Vagrants, into a a Bullet Hell, when said monsters are normally laughably inaccurate.

edited 19th May '15 10:45:37 AM by KuroiTsubasaTenshi

Project CARS:

• High camber roads are a major pain in the rear.

Team Fortress 2:

• One sticky bomb really is enough for sticky jumping. Extra bombs will only hurt.
• Don't always impulsively detonate the sticky like it's a contact grenade! Your foe may be foolish enough to try to pass the sticky, leaving him open to getting popped into the air.
• Scouts will always be the bane of one's existence. Doubly so for demomen, and triply so if they have a force a nature.

Need for Speed: The Run:

• If you're catching air on those unpaved farm shortcuts, you really should back off the throttle some.
• Switching to third person view when being shot at can and will keep your car in one mostly functioning piece.
• Hitting those chain-link fences in farm or rural areas will kill your speed.

FTL Faster Than Light:
*Don't fuck with an ASB-equipped beacon. Just don't.

edited 22nd May '15 6:31:52 PM by The_Mattias

Dark Souls:

• You have better odds of getting invaded curbstomped by another player than you have of getting help from one when you need it. -_-
• Everybody but you has an interesting and unfamiliar weapon, and you'd have to spend hours on the wiki to figure out what one of them is. Also, everyone but you knows how to use those weapons effectively against another player.

Long story short, it's a PvP arena disguised as a PvE boss gauntlet, and if it weren't for the Sunk Cost fallacy and blind curiosity, nobody would touch it again after their first or second sitting.

edited 24th May '15 10:03:27 PM by Knowlessman

Fossil Fighters:

You will become addicted to cleaning fossils.

Hyperdimension Neptunia Re;Birth 1:

• Check the minimap before charging at any particular enemy in a dungeon. It not seeming to notice you might not be a result of you being "lucky".

• The hitboxes of enemy sprites in the dungeons are generally larger than they look. Don't get too close when attempting a Symbol Attack. Doubly important when the enemies in the current dungeon are a little too powerful to give the advantage of a Surprise Attack to.

• If you can't dispatch the mooks in the dungeon without breaking a sweat, you are not ready for the boss. Or the local Dangerous/Risky Enemy (which can range from Piñata Enemy to Boss in Mook Clothing).

edited 25th May '15 2:44:32 AM by HanabiraKage

Minecraft:

• You are too stupid to even bother playing Minecraft.

Final Fantasy VII:

The "Counter" prize in Chocobo Racing ain't the Command Counter Materia. It's a STUPID, INDEPENDENT, COUNTER ATTACK MATERIA! There goes my plans to level up a bunch of Counters at once.

Seabeard:

• If you accept a smuggling quest, you're gonna have a bad time.
  • Just because a police boat is parked in the middle of the target island doesn't mean it's safe to sneak on the side lanes.
• Don't accept any cooking quests if you know that some of the ingredients won't be available for the next two or so days.
• Council mandates don't work retroactively, e. g. "Patient Villagers" only works on sidequests accepted after it has been mandated.
• Breaking your daily streaks^note Yes, there's more than one. will hurt you. A lot.

edited 29th May '15 2:43:38 AM by TroperNo9001

FTL Faster Than Light:

• If you've only played on the old version, AE will kick your ass (and let you have kickass weapons yourself).

Dark Souls:

• Smough does only physical damage in his first form, but once Ornstein is dead, you'll want a shield that protects well against lightning damage; his Ground Pound AoE reaches far, and will probably hit you more often than his other attacks.
  • The Gargoyle Shield is a passable option for this, even though it doesn't block 100% physical damage.
• Solaire is not all that bright; if he starts attacking Smough while Ornstein's still up, you should go help your ally (which you do have if you want to have any chance at winning this) finish him off.

So... being that I'm still basically a noob:

1. I'm level 42 and finally got the Lordvessel and opened the yellow doors. Who do I go after first?
2. What the hell am I supposed to replace the Drake Sword with? People've told me over and over again to get a better weapon, but I don't know how to make or find a better one. At the moment, Andre can only make Raw or Holy weapons, and I haven't put much into Faith (although maybe I should?), and supposedly Raw doesn't stay good for very long (although I guess it's probably good enough for my shortbow, given that I only use it for cheesing anyway). If there's a stronger kind of weapon I should make that I need an item for, what and where's the item?

Have a list and have fun deciding.