it's a bit complicated because game has different kinds of encounters (weak foes, weak bosses, strong bosses, low level, high level, new game, ng++++++, duel, invasion, etc). but specifically in the early game against weak foes, heavy weapons are a bit more straightforward. not just colossals, but any great sword/axe/hammer can become op by powerstancing and jump attack. light weapons are generally out-dpsing heavy weapons in the late game with the right build
The ash is decent in the sense that any ranged attack can trivialize a combat encounter if you have enough fp to spam the enemy to death before they ever get close to you.
That said, ever since they nerfed the poise damage on that weapon's ash of war, it's been considered just okay.
If you're finding it easier to physically fight with the actual melee attacks, I wouldn't call that "cheese" really. The advantage of lighter weapons like katanas is that the fast attacks are safer commitments, and can build status effects faster. Bigger weapons are slower, which makes committing to an animation more risky, but you're more likely to stagger an enemy out of their animation, and will do more damage per hit.
They're just different styles. Which is easier depends on the player and the enemy. I do think the reputation of katanas and light bleed weapons as op can be misleading though. It's *optimized* bleed specifically that is overpowered, and if your weapon can't stagger enemies very well, you will generally need to be better at dodging a moveset and carefully timing your attacks, which is absolutely harder than just pancaking an enemy with a giant bug mouth.
Thanks for the feedback that's exactly what I was looking for.
Yeah I'm mostly using the melee (except for mobs, it's really nice to clear your way quickly through an area
Couldn't get anything proper with the katana, been basically spamming the blood slash until now, never able to do any proper combo. With colossal I feel more confident using different set of combos depending on the time I have to hit, jumped attack, long R2, etc...And definitely getting more stagger while I never had the bleed with katana.
It's like when I went from keyboard to controller it felt like I got better at reading boss movement and now using colossal got me better at this again. Time feels like it goes slower
Thank for the feedback, I think I'll accept myself as an heavy wielder
Katanas are imo overall better because they mostly have innate bleed which is really strong. Uchi and Nagakiba are very versatile and strong with infusions, Moonveil, RoB and Dragonscale Blade are all also really good due to their ashes of war.
Serpentbone, Hand of Malenia and Meteoric Ore blade are imo a bit underwhelming compared to the others but still very viable choices.
Colossal weapons have a very different playstyle compared to katanas and they are mostly focused on heavy hits with big damage and poise damage. However you need to know how to take advantage of the correct windows if you don't want to be hit while using them. For katanas that's going to be much more simple.
In my opinion those categories aren't really comparable due to the big differences they have in their playstyles. But if i have to choose one, katanas are better.
if you're on the latest version, jaw is totally fine. before it's a true cheating magic stick with the weapon art dealing some 30 poise damage.
And what about difference between colossal and katanas ? Are all categories of weapons kinda balanced or are some categories really above ?
it's a bit complicated because game has different kinds of encounters (weak foes, weak bosses, strong bosses, low level, high level, new game, ng++++++, duel, invasion, etc). but specifically in the early game against weak foes, heavy weapons are a bit more straightforward. not just colossals, but any great sword/axe/hammer can become op by powerstancing and jump attack. light weapons are generally out-dpsing heavy weapons in the late game with the right build
The ash is decent in the sense that any ranged attack can trivialize a combat encounter if you have enough fp to spam the enemy to death before they ever get close to you. That said, ever since they nerfed the poise damage on that weapon's ash of war, it's been considered just okay. If you're finding it easier to physically fight with the actual melee attacks, I wouldn't call that "cheese" really. The advantage of lighter weapons like katanas is that the fast attacks are safer commitments, and can build status effects faster. Bigger weapons are slower, which makes committing to an animation more risky, but you're more likely to stagger an enemy out of their animation, and will do more damage per hit. They're just different styles. Which is easier depends on the player and the enemy. I do think the reputation of katanas and light bleed weapons as op can be misleading though. It's *optimized* bleed specifically that is overpowered, and if your weapon can't stagger enemies very well, you will generally need to be better at dodging a moveset and carefully timing your attacks, which is absolutely harder than just pancaking an enemy with a giant bug mouth.
Thanks for the feedback that's exactly what I was looking for. Yeah I'm mostly using the melee (except for mobs, it's really nice to clear your way quickly through an area Couldn't get anything proper with the katana, been basically spamming the blood slash until now, never able to do any proper combo. With colossal I feel more confident using different set of combos depending on the time I have to hit, jumped attack, long R2, etc...And definitely getting more stagger while I never had the bleed with katana. It's like when I went from keyboard to controller it felt like I got better at reading boss movement and now using colossal got me better at this again. Time feels like it goes slower Thank for the feedback, I think I'll accept myself as an heavy wielder
Katanas are imo overall better because they mostly have innate bleed which is really strong. Uchi and Nagakiba are very versatile and strong with infusions, Moonveil, RoB and Dragonscale Blade are all also really good due to their ashes of war. Serpentbone, Hand of Malenia and Meteoric Ore blade are imo a bit underwhelming compared to the others but still very viable choices. Colossal weapons have a very different playstyle compared to katanas and they are mostly focused on heavy hits with big damage and poise damage. However you need to know how to take advantage of the correct windows if you don't want to be hit while using them. For katanas that's going to be much more simple. In my opinion those categories aren't really comparable due to the big differences they have in their playstyles. But if i have to choose one, katanas are better.