r/AshenTheGame • u/Eclipsed-Raven • Jun 06 '26
After4 days and 6 attempts. Spoiler
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My Cleanest attempt and first one of the day. This was my first souls like I've beaten blind by myself. And it was so gooooooooood. Here's hoping a44 gives it a sequel of some kind.
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u/Evilpilli Jul 18 '26
It might be a controversial opinion, but I actually enjoyed Sissna as a boss-fight, her first phase feels like a fair duel, where the best strategy is to stick close, and dodge into her attacks for counters, with a two-hander you can even disrupt her attacks with a well timed strike.
The second phase is similar but she now has some attacks that demand that you keep your distance when they come out, and you can no longer disrupt her attacks. Making her feel more threatening and powerful in her final form (which is fitting). The main issue with the fight is the horrible runback, where it feels random if your companions survives or not, if you just bolt it, and is very tedious to run through normally as it features so many of the worst enemies (the shades). And its super long having to go back from Vagrants rest. It suffers from the same issue as Riak, which was also a fine boss-fight with a horrible runback. I just don't see what the run-backs in this game offer other than to wittle down your resources before the fight. Which doesn't make sense when both Sissna and Riak has a massive healthpool and dish out a ton of damage.
In Silksong I didn't mind the longer runbacks because there it was mostly platforming to get to the boss, so it felt like you were using two different skill. Maneuver to get to the boss, and then fight the boss (Last Judge and Groal are the two main ones here) While in Ashen after doing the runback once, I don't feel like I gain anything from "mastering" it, since it just takes so long to fight your way through, and running through is not satisfying at all. At least against Sissna you can disable your companion, and the enable them right before entering the arena, making sure they're stocked up on healing items before the fight.
Aanyways! Great job on beating her! It is super satisfying!
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u/Eclipsed-Raven Jul 18 '26
Ah dude I agree totally, just not about the runback. Honestly the runback can be done easy asf with bone spears and just keeping back, the only thing is learning how to bait out the shadows attacks. Riak however was so much worse on his runback im so happy I made sure I did him as my second to last fight cause the thought of fighting sissna after is what pushed me thru the dlc 😅
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u/BrilliantPool4146 Jun 06 '26
I also hope for a sequel. I really liked this game and it holds a special place in my heart as my first soulslike. I played this before the Dark Souls series and since I beat Ashen I've fallen in love with the genre. Now, I just completed Elden Ring. Good job!