frustration

[loonylion]

I just bought lugaru today, and while its an enjoyable game, it could be significantly improved in some areas, namely combat, as I have identified the following issues:

the combat system ignores a lot of mouse clicks
the wolves move *FAR* too fast
the wolves stand over you and knock you back down the instant you try to get up.

I have had nearly 50 attempts at the level with 3 wolves in, and so far I have killed one wolf, once. Most of the time I get one hit in at the beginning of the fight and never get any more in, either because the combat system ignores my clicks or the wolves just kick me around so much I can't hit them. The countering system may as well not be there, I can't even think fast enough to use it, let alone hit the button in time, on the rare occassions I see them attacking.

[tokage]

Well, you could say, the level with the 3 wolves is the hardest level of Lugaru. At least, that is the level most people have mentioned problems with. There are harder ones in mods(Think 3 wolves attacking you at once).

First, what difficulty do you play in? If you play in normal or insane, maybe you should make a new user on easy difficulty and try that at first. Other than that, in these two threads there are some strategies for dealing with wolves.

[rudel_ic]

the combat system ignores a lot of mouse clicks

That's how it's supposed to work. You can hold the mouse button down instead of furiously clicking, that way you gain control over what you do. Once an animation plays, there's no cancelling though, just comboing, blocking, countering and so forth, so figure out which moves take what amount of time and use your knowledge to your advantage. Because it's mostly about timing.
So if a wolf makes a roundhouse, you can duck under it and connect with a punch, for example - simply because the roundhouse takes a lot of time, and ducking and punching don't.

the wolves move *FAR* too fast

You should only be in a situation where you run away from a wolf if you've already got some distance. Since wolves are faster than you, the only way to get away from one is jumping, preferably downhill.

the wolves stand over you and knock you back down the instant you try to get up.

You can backflip when you're getting up (away from enemy + click) - this is considered a block and only works well if you're attacked.

I have had nearly 50 attempts at the level with 3 wolves in, and so far I have killed one wolf, once. Most of the time I get one hit in at the beginning of the fight and never get any more in, either because the combat system ignores my clicks or the wolves just kick me around so much I can't hit them. The countering system may as well not be there, I can't even think fast enough to use it, let alone hit the button in time, on the rare occassions I see them attacking.

The trick to the counter system is that you're countering when you're getting up. So if you want to make countering easier for you, hold duck until an attack occurs; then let go while the enemy attacks.

A real simple method to deal with wolves is jump, then duck in the air - Turner makes a roll, and that confuses the wolves.
They react either with ducking, which lets them continue moving, or they aren't ducking and you can connect with an attack. If they duck, repeat the jump -> duck until they just stand there.

When I'm overwhelmed by a wolf, I do the jump -> duck routine, then leg-cannon into them.

Here's some wolf fighting where I'm desperate because I'm hurt already, so I'm trying to exploit the confusion mechanic: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r98rpiQx-O4#t=1m14s

I think that was on normal.

[loonylion]

the wolves move *FAR* too fast

You should only be in a situation where you run away from a wolf if you've already got some distance. Since wolves are faster than you, the only way to get away from one is jumping, preferably downhill.

I'm not running away from them, this is in close combat. they are running circles around me and coming in to attack so fast I cant react. I'm on 'easier' difficulty.

I'll try your other suggestions, thanks

[Armored Wolf]

Well, you could say, the level with the 3 wolves is the hardest level of Lugaru. At least, that is the level most people have mentioned problems with. There are harder ones in mods(Think 3 wolves attacking you at once).

Yes, there is in fact a harder level. Several, in fact. For example, Tokage mentioned the level in Temple where you have to fight three wolves simultaneously. Hit and run tactics are a must. Reluctant Assassin has a level where you have to fight FIVE wolves total. Empire also has a three wolf level.

All I can suggest is keep trying and use leg sweep and leg cannons as much as possible.

[Lotus Wolf]

I don't mean to be an elitist, but it's not as hard as a lot of people make it out to be. For starters, you MUST prioritize enemy, and you MUST keep the highest priority enemy(s) in your field of vision. Secondly, you must master ALL of the moves and be able to apply them in succession, the tutorial level is a good way to introduce yourself to the moves. Blocks and reversals are mandatory for survival, especially against multiple enemies. Wolves do not attack in the manner you described unless you are on insane PERIOD -->. Start on easy and work your way up.

Lugaru could not be improved in any way for the simple reason that the source is not open, and the devs have no intention of returning to it. Another reason would be that it's a great game as it is, and that if it was any easier, it wouldn't be as good.

[rudel_ic]

Lugaru could not be improved in any way for the simple reason that the source is not open, and the devs have no intention of returning to it. Another reason would be that it's a great game as it is, and that if it was any easier, it wouldn't be as good.

Well, there are some models that could be improved, heh

[Lotus Wolf]

Alright, I can agree with that.

[loonylion]

I don't mean to be an elitist, but it's not as hard as a lot of people make it out to be. For starters, you MUST prioritize enemy, and you MUST keep the highest priority enemy(s) in your field of vision. Secondly, you must master ALL of the moves and be able to apply them in succession, the tutorial level is a good way to introduce yourself to the moves. Blocks and reversals are mandatory for survival, especially against multiple enemies. Wolves do not attack in the manner you described unless you are on insane PERIOD -->. Start on easy and work your way up.

Unless 'insane' is labelled 'easier', I'm on 'easier'. Prioritising isn't necessary since I'm only engaging single enemies. I intentionally draw them away from the others to avoid having to deal with multiple targets. After another 20 attempts I have killed the first wolf once more and got killed after about two hits from the second wolf.

[Sandurz]

My fav way to kill them is jump flip and throw a knife at them, then knock them down and pull out the knife. (Thanks Lotus for telling me about that one!!)

[whitney]

maybe thats when you go to lotus wolfs weopon shop

[h2ostra]

One technique I adopted is to just tap the crouch key after every attack I perform. This generally will not hurt you, as a successful attack will, at the very least, stun your enemy, and if they do reverse your attack, you will then already be performing a counter-reversal (you have to make sure you get the timing right). As was previously stated, Jump-flipping can be very helpful, so long as you flip before they get close enough to pull you down.

Here is a video of me on challenge 14 (three wolves, no weapon), in which I heavily used the jump-flip to gain an advantage over wolves:

(Note that, in the higher difficulty levels, this can only really be done 2-3 times per enemy, before they wise up to it, and you receive a round-house kick to the face mid-air. If they crouch when you're in the air, it's time to stop. Also note that this was a points run, so the attacks are much less efficient than you would want.)

You should also learn to roll as you are getting up, to avoid them pulling you down. This shouldn't take too much practice, and can aid you greatly. Another thing to learn to do while rolling is to pick up weapons. This will allow much more efficient weaponized combat.

On a similar note, you should learn to throw the knife while flipping. This is less accurate, but you're actually more likely to hit them, because they are confused when you throw it. You may have noticed that wolves will not die with a single knife, but if you can trip them, then pull it out (see rolling, above), it will kill them.

[kehaar]

Yeah, you'll get it. Those two threads in the 2nd post will really help. The wolves are kind of mini-bosses, so they're really hard, but beating them is SOOOO Awesome!

Another trick that works on the two easy settings, but not so well on Insane, is to kill one enemy and then use his corpse to launch at the other-- it takes practice to get the aim and timing, but it delivers a huge amount of damage and is really fun.
This guy, Creaothceann, is a total ninja master, but if you watch into the 5th or 6th level and on, you get some good tactical tips and see the use of the short range "corpse cannon", as well as the "confuzzle them by flipping in mid air" trick.

Something else he does that I just noticed is instead of coming directly at an enemy, he runs a little to the side of them... this works great if you give them a quick punch and then step in a bit to the side to kick them, too.

Edit: wow, great vid, h2Ostra! I'll have to try that on wolves more. I've been wearing them down by sweeping them and kicking them when they're down, but the flipping works great. I've noticed in Empire when you're fighting 3 wolves unarmed in that SkyPalace chamber that if you get airborne it alerts the 3rd wolf on the platform and you have to fight 'em 2 or even 3 at a once. Too much for me...

[Untadaike]

this is just in response to the first post:

the combat system recieves your mouse click, but instead of having Turner punch the air, he does nothing until there's something strike at. I think it's was an excellent choice to make it that way.

Wolves are extremely fast runners in real life, and if they were any slower, the game wouldn't be as challenging, and it would get boring if you didn't have enemies with superior abilites than your own. Once you play Lugaru more, they wont seem so tough anymore.

And as for your last point, part of the fun is that the enemies are brutal and the AI is evil. Get used to it.

[Wilbefast]

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