Qurupeke Member Oct 25, 2017 1,322 Clair Obscur has been out for a few days now and is already receiving glowing reviews. It recently came to my attention that one of its first mods, Easier Dodge and Parry, has seen around 88K total downloads across its various difficulty levels, while the version that tightens the parry window has garnered around 500 downloads in comparison. The version that makes the parry window five times easier in particular is at 22K downloads. All of those were available just a few days after the game's release. It's also interesting to note that the game itself offers three difficulty levels, with normal and expert sharing the parry timing, and easy being a bit more lenient. Furthermore, while this is more of an endgame thing, the developers recently had to nerf one popular skill that has been performing way better than it should, though it's worth noting that this is basically still just one of the components of the insane damage people are doing in the endgame. It's a bit hard to speak for everyone of course, but while the game has its difficulty spikes, it offers more than enough tools to easily roll through its critical path and most of the post-game, which is why I'm surprised these mods are so popular. I definitely don't follow the mod scene closely, and maybe I'm just viewing this through a bubble, but one thing that stood out to me was how much the "I beat Sekiro's final boss with cheats and I feel fine" article was ridiculed a few years ago, but it definitely feels like such mods are quite popular, at least among those that play on PC. They definitely don't seem to be the norm, the game has over 2M sales with probably way more players because of GamePass, but still, 88K downloads doesn't seem like a small number. So, how do you feel about the game's difficulty and balance, and what do you think about such mods? Is it something you use or you would use?  Glio Member Oct 27, 2017 27,651 Spain Parrying and dodging are the worst parts of an otherwise very interesting combat system. With its AP system and having to choose six skills, it feels like a kind of card game where you're rewarded for synergizing, making interesting builds, and carefully considering your character rotations to maximize AP usage. And all of that can go to waste because the boss decides that this time it combo will have one more attack after a feint.  Lashley <<Tag Here>> Member Oct 25, 2017 65,215 Don't see the harm The people who ridiculed that article aren't the same people who download these mods. They're the people who whine about accessibility settings as if they're forced to use them.  Vicman Member Jan 29, 2024 623 Glio said: Parrying and dodging are the worst parts of an otherwise very interesting combat system. With its AP system and having to choose six skills, it feels like a kind of card game where you're rewarded for synergizing, making interesting builds, and carefully considering your character rotations to maximize AP usage. And all of that can go to waste because the boss decides that this time it combo will have one more attack after a feint. Click to expand... Click to shrink... And here I am thinking that parrying is the best part of the combat system.   tiebreaker "This guy are sick" Member Oct 25, 2017 14,470 They can take Stendahl from my cold, dead hands.   Uzzy Gabe’s little helper Member Oct 25, 2017 34,290 Hull, UK Look people can use whatever mods they want on their own PC, it's their choice and I'll support that ability to have that choice. However, if you use this cause it's too hard, you're weak, your bloodline is weak, and you will not survive the winter.  KD_2099 Member Oct 30, 2017 35 Glad I got the Simon trophy before the Stendahl nerf   oni-link tag reference no one gets Member Oct 25, 2017 17,326 UK Glio said: Parrying and dodging are the worst parts of an otherwise very interesting combat system. With its AP system and having to choose six skills, it feels like a kind of card game where you're rewarded for synergizing, making interesting builds, and carefully considering your character rotations to maximize AP usage. And all of that can go to waste because the boss decides that this time it combo will have one more attack after a feint. Click to expand... Click to shrink... They're the best parts of the combat system, it stops combat just being about strategy, you need a good strategy and then you need the skill to pull it off It also allows for amazing emergent moments where you're about to die and manage to pull off a parry that triggers a counter that breaks the boss that allows you to get back into the fight I get people have preferences though, but removing or making dodge/parry trivial would make the combat sterile and routine Though if people have more fun that way, then I'm glad the mods are available for them!  Greywaren Member Jul 16, 2019 12,963 Spain I'm gonna be honest here, I haven't had any issues with parrying, even less with dodging. There are sound cues everywhere and maybe an enemy will catch you off guard once or twice, but the attacks are more often than not very telegraphed and easy to remember. That being said, I'm glad the mod exists for people who think it's too hard, of course.  blueredandgold Member Oct 25, 2017 8,591 My character builds don't seem fun anymore, the difficulty doesn't necessarily compound this, but it's a factor that ends up making you second guess your chosen path(s) and decisions. Guides aren't all that helpful when you next catch a stray end boss spoiler because your search history decides that's a good idea for your recommendations.  Steven1090 Member May 5, 2024 304 I find expert perfectly fair to be honest and I've been killing the chroma enemies at low levels. Everytime i get hit feels like my fault. A big part of the fun for me is learning the attack patterns of all the enemies. I put it onto story just to see the difference and it feels like it's 3x more forgiving.   Glio Member Oct 27, 2017 27,651 Spain oni-link said: They're the best parts of the combat system, it stops combat just being about strategy, you need a good strategy and then you need the skill to pull it off It also allows for amazing emergent moments where you're about to die and manage to pull off a parry that triggers a counter that breaks the boss that allows you to get back into the fight I get people have preferences though, but removing or making dodge/parry trivial would make the combat sterile and routine Though if people have more fun that way, then I'm glad the mods are available for them! Click to expand... Click to shrink... But I like turn based games being just about strategy, if I want to use my skills, I play an action game.   texhnolyze Shinra Employee Member Oct 25, 2017 26,259 Indonesia It's the best part of PC modding, you can adjust it to your liking. All that matters is you having fun with the game. I thought we've way passed judging people for playing games on easy mode in here.  Raketenbohne Member Dec 14, 2024 391 I'm in Act 3 and have never used parry since the tutorial because it's way too hard to pull off. Playing on Normal btw. Would love to have the option on PS5 to make parry at least a little bit easier. Dodging and gradient guards are great though!  Kentsui Member Oct 26, 2017 1,789 The Parrymaxxing mindset as I call it around this game and the peer pressure to go glass canon or nothing, is dumb in the first place. But as someone who's notoriously bad with everything parry/dodge and let go of several playthroughs of Souls games very early because of that, I had very little issues adapting to this game, and allow myself some breathing room with a more tanky/defensive support character as a comeback safety net. The start of the game is a bit rough i'll give them that cause you go against mobs pretty much naked, but you start to find things to help you out pretty quickly. I ultimately have no issue with people downloading something like that, and especially when it comes to any form of disability, but most cases I've seen are people who aren't even trying a little bit and that's a bit of a shame really, so it definitely shouldn't be standard. We also see successful no dodge/parry runs arise focusing on the critical path of the story, so is it really an issue of the game ?  Exist 2 Inspire Powered by Friendship™ Member Apr 19, 2018 4,641 Germany I played on PS5 and i almost immediately put the game on easy and enabled auto QTEs. Easily the worst part of the game so i'm not surprised the mod is so popular.   moqz Member Jan 28, 2025 446 oni-link said: They're the best parts of the combat system, it stops combat just being about strategy, you need a good strategy and then you need the skill to pull it off It also allows for amazing emergent moments where you're about to die and manage to pull off a parry that triggers a counter that breaks the boss that allows you to get back into the fight I get people have preferences though, but removing or making dodge/parry trivial would make the combat sterile and routine Though if people have more fun that way, then I'm glad the mods are available for them! Click to expand... Click to shrink... You summed it up better than I ever could have. Clair Obscur has probably my favorite combat system in any turn based RPG because it is just so much more engaging with the parries (on top of an already amazing character builder).   defaltoption Plug in a controller and enter the Konami code The Fallen Oct 27, 2017 12,394 Austin tiebreaker said: They can take Stendahl from my cold, dead hands. Click to expand... Click to shrink... I think it got patched like an hour ago lol, I didn't get to use it but I remember seeing that name in the patch notes after I closed the game.   BassForever One Winged Slayer Member Oct 25, 2017 31,596 CT Steven1090 said: I find expert perfectly fair to be honest and I've been killing the chroma enemies at low levels. Everytime i get hit feels like my fault. A big part of the fun for me is learning the attack patterns of all the enemies. I put it onto story just to see the difference and it feels like it's 3x more forgiving. Click to expand... Click to shrink... I've yet to play the game, but the complaint I've seen from a lot of my friends who are playing it is that the story difficulty makes the everything too easy, but on normal the timing is ridiculously strict for dodge/parry.   oni-link tag reference no one gets Member Oct 25, 2017 17,326 UK Glio said: But I like turn based games being just about strategy, if I want to use my skills, I play an action game. Click to expand... Click to shrink... Yeah, and I get that, but the game is trying to do this, and there isn't much else out there that is doing it I don't think the game reviews as well as it does if the combat system is just standard turn based with you making choices, asking you to think for your turn and plan ahead, and then brace for the bosses turn is pretty unique. You also get more AP back for parrying, so even the amount of choices you have for your turn is impacted by your choices during the bosses turn. It's more engaging than a lot of turn based games where a lot of the time you're just watching yourself get hit  Robin64 One Winged Slayer Member Oct 25, 2017 6,664 England Glio said: But I like turn based games being just about strategy, if I want to use my skills, I play an action game. Click to expand... Click to shrink... This is where I am with the game. Initially loved it, but then I'd hit an enemy that would one-shot my character if I didn't know that their attack was a triple weirdly-timed set of swings and I wasn't able to dodge it. Not fun. I didn't like repeatedly dying to things just to learn their attacks before I could then fight them decently. And even then, when a fight is kinda long (like some oddly hard enemy I came across), just one slip-up and it's all over. Can't be doing with that level of tension.  tiebreaker "This guy are sick" Member Oct 25, 2017 14,470 defaltoption said: I think it got patched like an hour ago lol, I didn't get to use it but I remember seeing that name in the patch notes after I closed the game. Click to expand... Click to shrink... They can't patch my game if I'm offline!  Camisado Member Nov 3, 2017 1,565 I personally wish I could separate out the combat difficulty from the parry/dodge timing difficulty. I've really struggled with the timings on normal difficulty, everything comes later than I expect and it's just a huge bummer. Having to have easier combat in general just because I couldn't master those timings was super disappointing for me. Maybe a patch in the future?  Speedstersonic Queerness Shining Bright Member Mar 11, 2020 8,951 KD_2099 said: Glad I got the Simon trophy before the Stendahl nerf Click to expand... Click to shrink... Even on story difficulty, idk how you do that legit tbh. That fight is nuts, and one fuckup and you're done. That fight just isn't very forgiving of mistakes at all. I played through whole game on hard and i couldn't do it on story  moqz Member Jan 28, 2025 446 I don't think the windows are even particularly strict on normal and expert. I don't know what the exact amount of frames would be, but it's pretty generous and on top of that there are always audio cues. I think the thing the game really needs is a quick restart for battles. I think that would alleviate a lot of the fatigue in learning combos that people have.   Roytheone Member Oct 25, 2017 6,062 They should let you set timing Windows seperate from the overall difficulty imo. Like how the lost crown and doom The dark ages let's you do.   Hamchan The Fallen Oct 25, 2017 5,879 Normal has been great for me, even getting a bit easy in the second half of the game, and I'm loving the parry and dodge timing. But it's cool that PC gaming allows players this flexibility to mod games to how they prefer it.  Kentsui Member Oct 26, 2017 1,789 Speedstersonic said: Even on story difficulty, idk how you do that legit tbh. That fight is nuts, and one fuckup and you're done. That fight just isn't very forgiving of mistakes at all. I played through whole game on hard and i couldn't do it on story Click to expand... Click to shrink... It's supposed to be the ultimate challenge of the game, it's definitely intended to be completely unforgiving.   oni-link tag reference no one gets Member Oct 25, 2017 17,326 UK Camisado said: I personally wish I could separate out the combat difficulty from the parry/dodge timing difficulty. I've really struggled with the timings on normal difficulty, everything comes later than I expect and it's just a huge bummer. Having to have easier combat in general just because I couldn't master those timings was super disappointing for me. Maybe a patch in the future? Click to expand... Click to shrink... I struggled with parries at first but then I saw someone online say to hold the parry button for longer than you think you need to, and that actually helped me a lot Before that I was just tapping it quickly, now I just hold it down until the attack was either failed or parried successfully  Glio Member Oct 27, 2017 27,651 Spain oni-link said: Yeah, and I get that, but the game is trying to do this, and there isn't much else out there that is doing it I don't think the game reviews as well as it does if the combat system is just standard turn based with you making choices, asking you to think for your turn and plan ahead, and then brace for the bosses turn is pretty unique. You also get more AP back for parrying, so even the amount of choices you have for your turn is impacted by your choices during the bosses turn. It's more engaging that a lot of turn based games where a lot of the time you're just watching yourself get hit Click to expand... Click to shrink... Metaphor has a better reviews, and its combat system lacks real-time elements. This isn't a deal-breaker among critics,- it's a matter of preference. For you, this is better because it keeps you more engaged, for me, it's the equivalent of waving keys in front of me so I don't lose interest in something. There are combos in the endgame that are so long they're miserable. Or certain secret bosses that drastically penalize you for failing them. And I personally think that makes the experience worse.  dusan Member Aug 2, 2020 6,746 God damn it, I really, really want this for PS5 version.   Confused Cheeseburger Member Oct 27, 2017 3,299 I just beat chromatic ramasseur and frankly that raised the games score in my head lol   Speedstersonic Queerness Shining Bright Member Mar 11, 2020 8,951 Kentsui said: It's supposed to be the ultimate challenge of the game, it's definitely intended to be completely unforgiving. Click to expand... Click to shrink... Should still be more beatable on easiest difficulty for people just wanting to see the story scenes.   Krapaw_Enjoyer Member Aug 28, 2024 584 I think it should be there as an accessibility option but the fact that it's hard to dodge/parry is what make this game incredibly tense, meanwhile most turn by turn rpg can become quite the snoozefest   Brawly Likes to Brawl Member Oct 25, 2017 16,405 Ryohei Suzuki's bedroom I don't have a problem with this. I know someone that installed this because he loves turn based games but couldn't meet the timings because of a disability. Clair Obscur is not a Souls like outside of the save system so I'm not sure why that article is being brought up.  OP OP Qurupeke Member Oct 25, 2017 1,322 oni-link said: They're the best parts of the combat system, it stops combat just being about strategy, you need a good strategy and then you need the skill to pull it off It also allows for amazing emergent moments where you're about to die and manage to pull off a parry that triggers a counter that breaks the boss that allows you to get back into the fight I get people have preferences though, but removing or making dodge/parry trivial would make the combat sterile and routine Though if people have more fun that way, then I'm glad the mods are available for them! Click to expand... Click to shrink... This is where I'm at, I don't think I'd have the same enjoyment out of the various encounters without the satisfying beat of parrying enemies. Of course, it's just one part of it, and I wouldn't like every game to be like that. Still, the satisfaction you get is unmatched. That said, I feel that people not being willing to interact with every system in a game is not a Clair Obscur issue only, but it is what it is, everyone has their preferences.   NekoNeko Coward Oct 26, 2017 20,203 what i want is bigger fonts but i would like the story mode dodge timing for normal difficulty too.   leodrp Member Jan 23, 2025 122 Yep thats me, started the game and after I finished my first session, I went shopping for that easier parry mod. Have been using the twice easier version of it since then and it made the game feel just right for me. It went from being impossible to actually feeling good and rewarding. If you are some seasonal veteran in this type of timing stuff I can see it become too easy though.  Last edited: Yesterday at 6:14 AM Kill3r7 Member Oct 25, 2017 28,917 Trial and error, learning patterns, trying different strategies is as old as gaming and can be a very satisfying and rewarding experience. You can dodge everything more or less without much effort. Countering is more of a pain as it requires perfection but boy can it change the tide of battle quick. Enjoy the mods folks but know that the game is pretty forgiving.  Lotus One Winged Slayer Member Oct 25, 2017 123,672 The TTYD and Sekiro fan in me loves this shit personally, though I'll save Expert mode for a future playthrough I guess. It's pushing my shit in, but it's so much fun But yea, always neat that mods can provide options like that  Roytheone Member Oct 25, 2017 6,062 As an aside, when I play this game I will probably end up using the x1.3 mod. I suck at Parry timings and that seems like a good middle ground between making it easier but not trivializing it.   Jurec84 Member Oct 27, 2017 353 The game absolutely thrives and lives on moments when you do a parry and finish off a boss and the devs know it. Also the sound and visual effects make your heart beat faster as well. So I would say they are essential :) but yeah they should make them even more easy or add an auto option. But then again, souls games also don't have this.   Temperance "This guy are sick" Member Oct 25, 2017 6,956 [NO 2FA] moqz said: I don't think the windows are even particularly strict on normal and expert. I don't know what the exact amount of frames would be, but it's pretty generous and on top of that there are always audio cues. I think the thing the game really needs is a quick restart for battles. I think that would alleviate a lot of the fatigue in learning combos that people have. Click to expand... Click to shrink... Those really help. Quick restart would be nice.  Siri Member Nov 7, 2017 1,351 I used the 1.3x dodge mod along with the default difficulty as the parry windows just felt weird, and didn't look back. It provides enough of a window where an attack tracks just before/on contact visually, I still have to learn patterns and get punished for full damage if I fuck up the parry, and the dodge is still an option if I want a larger evasion window. Felt spot on.  Diogo Arez One Winged Slayer Member Oct 20, 2020 20,285 Not surprising tbh, wished there was an accessibility slider for it tbh   Kain-Nosgoth Member Oct 25, 2017 17,590 Switzerland i love parry, did the whole game with it without using dodge but also i don't care if people want to bypass it, anyone should enjoy the way they want  oni-link tag reference no one gets Member Oct 25, 2017 17,326 UK Qurupeke said: This is where I'm at, I don't think I'd have the same enjoyment out of the various encounters without the satisfying beat of parrying enemies. Of course, it's just one part of it, and I wouldn't like every game to be like that. Still, the satisfaction you get is unmatched. That said, I feel that people not being willing to interact with every system in a game is not a Clair Obscur issue only, but it is what it is, everyone has their preferences. Click to expand... Click to shrink... I think there is def a subset of people that just don't want to ever die/lose progress/need to try anything twice/engage with systems they don't like in games etc, and I think that's fine actually, not everyone has the will or time to play games that push back more than they're willing to engage with, and games are already long as hell. There is def a difference between valid criticism of a game vs criticism of a game for not catering the the specific requirements of each player, and it's not always easy to tell which is which when talking to people. I think as a criticism of the game, parrying and dodging are essential to what this game wants to achieve, and it's a lesser product if they're removed or diminished, however I can also see why some players would personally prefer not to have to engage with them as they are in the game, and that's why it's great there are easier modes and mods etc (even if I think playing it that way would be a lesser experience, It will nevertheless be the preferred way to play it for some players) It's the same thing for people who want to play Souls games on easy mode. They want to still play the game, but in a way that diminishes the intended experience of the game, however they'd get a lot more from the experience doing that vs playing it the intended way.  Mr.Deadshot Member Oct 27, 2017 23,038 Glio said: Parrying and dodging are the worst parts of an otherwise very interesting combat system. With its AP system and having to choose six skills, it feels like a kind of card game where you're rewarded for synergizing, making interesting builds, and carefully considering your character rotations to maximize AP usage. And all of that can go to waste because the boss decides that this time it combo will have one more attack after a feint. Click to expand... Click to shrink... Agree, it would have been better without the dodge and parry stuff. It also adds trial and error to the experience that feels unnecessary.   Agni Kai Member Nov 2, 2017 9,926 I only see weak people in this thread. You cheated not only the game, but yourself. You didn't grow. You didn't improve. You took a shortcut and gained nothing. You experienced a hollow victory. Nothing was risked and nothing was gained. It's sad that you don't know the difference.  Gans Member Oct 27, 2017 847 You cheated not only the game but yourself yada yada jk, put the mod, don't put the mod, for all I care get auto-dodge and just enjoy the story. It's a game, play it however you want. I do believe the game is better with the satisfaction of learning patterns, etc. and it feels very well balanced to me at Normal, but who am I to tell someone how to enjoy the game they paid for. Agni Kai said: You cheated not only the game, but yourself. You didn't grow. You didn't improve. You took a shortcut and gained nothing. You experienced a hollow victory. Nothing was risked and nothing was gained. It's sad that you don't know the difference. Click to expand... Click to shrink... That timing lol!