Children of Sissna Difficulty Tips

[IntrepidHunter]

Just got the plat tonight - and wow, I may be the first - or am at least one of the first in the world to get plat on this game - that'll never happen again!

CoS mode is unlocked after you beat the 3rd boss. You start out at lower health & stamina, but you also only get 1 stam or 1 health per feather, and (so far) only 5 stamina/health per quest - this may or may not raise up with further quests. I'm not sure if initially I was getting 10 stam/health per quest early game or not, but in late game I was getting 15 each.

I suggest doing a full run on normal mode first to get familiar with the layout of areas and where to expect enemies. The enemies like to jump out at you from around corners, or jump out at you from unseen nooks & crannies. This is especially helpful in the two main dungeons in the game. This will help you so you know when to expect what.

Either find a co-op partner you know or through a Gaming Session here, or turn multiplayer off. In normal mode it can be fun, sure. But in CoS mode if you suddenly get a co-op partner b/c you have multiplayer on and you're in a fight and your companion is suddenly gone, you're either going to die or have one hell of a time. Unless you are one of those sadist gamers who likes to do no hit runs, etc... you'll want a companion with you for your journey as you can easily get ganked by squads of enemies. Also after the third boss you unlock potions and after doing a few of the NPCs quests you unlock a potion called 'Dwale', which reduces damage you take to 50% and makes the latter boss fights winnable if you're like me and are good but not quite good enough do those no-hit runs.

Get all the feathers you can in the first few zones. This may seem obvious, but in the normal mode while I grabbed a few feathers as I saw them I didn't really hunt them down - there wasn't a huge need for it as my stamina and health pools seemed just fine. However, in CoS every single point counts. 

 

Explore. Get loot. Get scoria. You're going to need a lot of scoria. It's far more valuable than in your first run. You want to equip Ukkoto's relic ASAP, as well as your choice of runes. Additionally, things like broken spear heads & craven remains are very, very valuable especially early on. Spears are your friends for the wraiths so they don't bait you as well as doing some initial damage before they try and attack. They are good for a few boss fights too. So, really, as you explore and get feathers, collect gear and consumables, your scoria should be going up just fine for those valuable weapon upgrades, consumables, relic and runes. 

You will probably be solo'ing the majority of your boss fights, however with some lucky rng they might stay. Your best option would be to try and find someone here through a Gaming Session that's on the same boss as you, but that might not be so easy. Know and plan on your companion going down likely no further than when the boss has 1/3 (or less) of their health chipped away leaving the burden on you to finish the boss off by yourself. Some bosses move slower or keep distances so they can do a ranged attacks. Some do prolonged AOE attacks. These moments can be exploited with spears.
 

The two hardest parts of the game, the Seat of the Matriarch and Palace of Lathyrus are dungeons and they're fairly long and without any ritual stones/save points until the end of the dungeon. However, in Seat of the Matriarch there is a shortcut you can use and in Palace of Lathyrus you can do some smart exploiting of the shadow-travel system & run past most enemies.

 

Of the bosses, the hardest boss is the 2nd to last, Shadow of Ashen at the end of the Palace of Lathyrus dungeon. He'll usually kill your companion (or they'll kill themselves) fairly early, at half health he gets really aggressive and at 20% he starts mad-spawning enemies. Your choices are to either DPS him down so quick he can't do that, or kite him. For me, this was the hardest part of the entire game on CoS mode.

The first 4-5 zones can be challenging, but not so much as to really aggrevate - that all changes once you go to the Loom - which in itself isn't so bad, but there are a few chokepoints that are really easy in Normal Mode, but any number of the multiple enemies here can 1 shot you. 

I ended up getting more than a little frustrated & searching, I wound up finding a speed run online and checked it out as I had a heap of trouble in the Loom in CoS mode and in Normal I thought it was a cakewalk. After the Loom, I highly recommend following this speed runners guide as he manipulates the obviously intended shadow-travel system with some insane spear throws - all of which I was able to more or less easily duplicate, save one. They make the last 4 zones far easier than they otherwise would have been. 

 

Speedrun Link:
https://youtu.be/V_H2HdPb110

 

Edited December 19, 2019 by IntrepidHunter
Update

[L0rdAceX]

Not sure if you will ever read this, but thanks for these, they helped a lot! I just achieved my platinum today! 

[IntrepidHunter]

On 4/5/2020 at 9:14 PM, L0rdAceX said:

Not sure if you will ever read this, but thanks for these, they helped a lot! I just achieved my platinum today! 

Glad it helped you!

[dieselmanchild]

I like Soulslikes and I’m fairly confident I could earn this trophy but I’ve been reading a lot about it and people make it sound like hell on earth. Are they exaggerating or is it really that frustrating?

 

Can CoS mode be made easier if you can find a dedicated co-op partner to run through the game with you?

[MikeCheck--]

On 7/28/2022 at 0:42 PM, dieselmanchild said:

I like Soulslikes and I’m fairly confident I could earn this trophy but I’ve been reading a lot about it and people make it sound like hell on earth. Are they exaggerating or is it really that frustrating?

 

Can CoS mode be made easier if you can find a dedicated co-op partner to run through the game with you?

 

Ever figure this one out? 

[dieselmanchild]

On 2022-08-12 at 0:55 PM, MikeCheck-- said:

 

Ever figure this one out? 

Not yet. I’ve been asking around a bit amongst friends and the various trophy groups I’m in but haven’t yet managed to speak to anybody who has played this game and can elaborate on the Children of Sissna difficulty. There is still time though. Ashen is one of many games I’ve downloaded from the PSExtra catalog and I haven’t got around to starting it.

[MikeCheck--]

22 hours ago, dieselmanchild said:

Not yet. I’ve been asking around a bit amongst friends and the various trophy groups I’m in but haven’t yet managed to speak to anybody who has played this game and can elaborate on the Children of Sissna difficulty. There is still time though. Ashen is one of many games I’ve downloaded from the PSExtra catalog and I haven’t got around to starting it.

 

I've got it downloaded, and was planning to start it soon . . . I'm just a bit cautious to do so knowing how frustrating this difficulty is. 

[Aviditas90]

31 minutes ago, MikeCheck-- said:

 

I've got it downloaded, and was planning to start it soon . . . I'm just a bit cautious to do so knowing how frustrating this difficulty is. 

 

With a solid coop partner it's very doable. 

After doing the normal run you should know the game well enough to not struggle that much. Also Javelins are your best friend. 

 

My partner and me only kinda struggled at the last boss but you can join your mate with your normal Charakter and tank the Boss for him. 

 

Also you could do 2 full playtroughs were 1 person plays at normal and the other at the cos mode. You can still join each other. But i dont think thats really necessary 

[dieselmanchild]

50 minutes ago, Aviditas90 said:

 

With a solid coop partner it's very doable. 

After doing the normal run you should know the game well enough to not struggle that much. Also Javelins are your best friend. 

 

My partner and me only kinda struggled at the last boss but you can join your mate with your normal Charakter and tank the Boss for him. 

 

Also you could do 2 full playtroughs were 1 person plays at normal and the other at the cos mode. You can still join each other. But i dont think thats really necessary 

How does the multiplayer work with a partner? From what I read before, it sounded like Ashen has more of a drop in/drop out style of multiplayer. Some people were saying it’s not always clear when your partner is even controlled by an AI vs a human as they just sort of “appear” in your game periodically. The PSNP guide even says this can actually hamper your run if you’re constantly swapping between human and AI partners and suggests possibly turning off the multiplayer.
 

But you’re saying it is possible to have a dedicated partner to play through the game with? This would certainly make things a lot easier! ?

[proud2bNs]

33 minutes ago, dieselmanchild said:

How does the multiplayer work with a partner? From what I read before, it sounded like Ashen has more of a drop in/drop out style of multiplayer. Some people were saying it’s not always clear when your partner is even controlled by an AI vs a human as they just sort of “appear” in your game periodically. The PSNP guide even says this can actually hamper your run if you’re constantly swapping between human and AI partners and suggests possibly turning off the multiplayer.
 

But you’re saying it is possible to have a dedicated partner to play through the game with? This would certainly make things a lot easier!

 

https://www.ashen-game.com/post/ashen-multiplayer-faq

[MikeCheck--]

54 minutes ago, dieselmanchild said:

How does the multiplayer work with a partner? 

 

You can make a password for your friend to use and join. Apparently both need to be around the same story area? I'd be down to play with you! We'd have to do two runs, or at least until we unlock CoS mode.

[Aviditas90]

3 hours ago, dieselmanchild said:

How does the multiplayer work with a partner? From what I read before, it sounded like Ashen has more of a drop in/drop out style of multiplayer. Some people were saying it’s not always clear when your partner is even controlled by an AI vs a human as they just sort of “appear” in your game periodically. The PSNP guide even says this can actually hamper your run if you’re constantly swapping between human and AI partners and suggests possibly turning off the multiplayer.
 

But you’re saying it is possible to have a dedicated partner to play through the game with? This would certainly make things a lot easier!

 

You can set a password so at least no random can join. You have to be at the same story progress and stand at the same spot to find each other. Also you lose connection to the other player when going back to town which makes the start pretty annoying. 

It can take some minutes to find your partner and it's really not the best solution but eventually you will find your partner after some time. 

 

Kinda would suggest doing the first area solo since it's a lot going back to town and finding each other again and again would probably take longer as doing the quests solo

[dieselmanchild]

5 hours ago, Aviditas90 said:

 

You can set a password so at least no random can join. You have to be at the same story progress and stand at the same spot to find each other. Also you lose connection to the other player when going back to town which makes the start pretty annoying. 

It can take some minutes to find your partner and it's really not the best solution but eventually you will find your partner after some time. 

 

Kinda would suggest doing the first area solo since it's a lot going back to town and finding each other again and again would probably take longer as doing the quests solo

Thank you for the info! What is the first area exactly? Up until the first boss?

 

Sorry for all the questions but I like to know these things before I start games usually. ?

 

7 hours ago, MikeCheck-- said:

 

You can make a password for your friend to use and join. Apparently both need to be around the same story area? I'd be down to play with you! We'd have to do two runs, or at least until we unlock CoS mode.

That would be cool man. When were you thinking of starting? I’ve got a few games in the works right now so I didn’t really have a start planned, I just knew I was gonna hop in soon.

[Aviditas90]

1 hour ago, dieselmanchild said:

Thank you for the info! What is the first area exactly? Up until the first boss?

 

Sorry for all the questions but I like to know these things before I start games usually.

 

That would be cool man. When were you thinking of starting? I’ve got a few games in the works right now so I didn’t really have a start planned, I just knew I was gonna hop in soon.

 

The areas are seperated pretty clearly so once you see the map you'll definitly know. 

 

I'm not sure if the first area had a boss / dungeon if so that should definitly be done coop but the rest in that area is not really worth it. 

 

 

[MikeCheck--]

14 hours ago, dieselmanchild said:

That would be cool man. When were you thinking of starting? I’ve got a few games in the works right now so I didn’t really have a start planned, I just knew I was gonna hop in soon.

 

I convinced my IRL buddy to join me, we played last night but had lots of issues connecting (even with a private code) - - - partly because we linked after the first quest and kept returning to the village and losing connection. He got frustrated. I just told him this morning we should clear the first area so we aren't frequenting the village and disconnecting as much, but I don't know if he will join. Hopefully, you can start soon and I can tell you which mission I'm on (I'm not far into it).

 

If you'd like to start it sooner, please add me! I don't want to convince my pal to trudge through a game he doesn't enjoy - plus he isn't a trophy hunter.

Edited August 16, 2022 by MikeCheck--

[starcrunch061]

So, I’m suffering through this solo. A couple of early points:

 

• Before the Ukkoto boss, go into the next area and finish the quests. Bataran tells you not to, but hunting the dogs and running to get Jokell’s thing gives you more health (a LOT more relative to what you have), and makes the fight much easier.
• You have access to the final dungeon from the beginning of the game. While you can’t just go there and win, you can clear out Sapient Roots and even a few Twin Sapient Roots. Remember that when you upgrade your weapons, so too do your AI companions, so the sooner you get to level 10, the better.
• Feathers are useful, but don’t think they change the world or anything. A few extra points of stamina are always welcome, and the health boost is actually quite large relative to your feeble base, but you’ll still get one-shotted by large enemies and bosses (and a few smaller ones).
• You can use spears to great effect. For example, the twins that guard the Cunning pestle give a whopping 7500 scoria, and they are trivial if you run and stand on the walls of the nearby house. The non-glowing hound in the side quest line only gives 830 scoria, but sometimes drops a large scoria sack, which is worth 10,000.
• Unless I’m missing something, the shortcut in Amiren’s lair doesn’t work, so don’t bother. You just don’t have the health to survive the fall.
• the iron club is a great weapon. You get it early, and it makes mince meat out of shield bearing enemies. Moreover, the sprint and spin attack knocks over small enemies 100% of the time. While I’m not there yet, this seems very useful in the Shadow of the Ashen battle.
• I don’t much use 1-handed weapons, but the shovel seems to stand over all of them. You just swing it so much faster than other weapons.

But yeah - the AI leaves much to be desired in this mode. Poor design choice not to give some player control over AI nature - I would have much preferred something like, “Attack the enemy I’m attacking!” or “Play cautiously!”.

Edited September 4, 2022 by starcrunch061

[starcrunch061]

I give up. This game sucks in SP mode. 

[jonesey46]

On 9/6/2022 at 8:02 PM, starcrunch061 said:

I give up. This game sucks in SP mode. 

Don't give up! You can do it!

 

I'm starting this mode tonight and being honest I found the game very frustrating on normal so I'm dreading it haha! But with determination we both can do it.

[Shiggidy_DoZa]

On 9/8/2022 at 1:54 AM, jonesey46 said:

Don't give up! You can do it!

 

I'm starting this mode tonight and being honest I found the game very frustrating on normal so I'm dreading it haha! But with determination we both can do it.

Seriously, this mode sucks. Little issues that could be looked past in the regular mode are game breaking in this garbage mode. It was annoying but not a huge problem when you would swing completely through enemies but when the killing blow completely whiffs for no reason then they one shot you, that’s so shitty.

 

I’m not quite ready to throw in the towel but I’m not even to the second boss yet and I’m

about fed up with super cheap deaths. I can’t even imagine how awful it must get in the dungeons that are too long with zero checkpoints and a boss at the end.

[jonesey46]

I did it!!

 

I played the whole thing in single player, I actually turned off multiplayer in the menu cause I didn't want to lose my partner mid fight due to connection issues or whatever.

 

You don't need feathers. It certainly can't hurt to collect a few but I never went out of my way to get any.

 

I completed all quests, obviously, to get max health and stamina.

 

I used the cleaving axe for the whole game and upgraded it as fast as possible.

 

Once you can trade for medium scoria stashes, do it. I lost so much scoria trying to get back to where I died and then got one shotted by a random spear or enemy. So yeah, invest in scoria stashes. You pay 500 over to get them but compared to losing thousands from dying, its a no brainer.

 

You CAN use the amiren dungeon skip on this mode, someone above says you can't cause you don't have enough health to survive the fall but you absolutely can. Just make sure you've done all the available quests before going in.

 

Amirens fight is easy. Keep your distance and bait the lantern throw, destroy the lantern asap and then in phase two keep your distance to bait the run and swing, hit once then repeat.

 

Once I got the spear throw teleport ability I had a speedrun video by my side and copied the runners insane spear throws to skip massive areas.

 

The temple is a nightmare but you can use a speedrun video like I did to skip most of it with spear throws. Shadow of ashen boss fight is a doozy but someone discovered a great cheese strat on here recently, so check that out, it's a life saver.

 

And finally Sissna. She's fucking awful. I hate her so goddamn much. For the first phase just bully her, stay close, learn to dodge her attacks and hopefully your AI partner distracts her enough for you to take her down quickly. Make sure to use Dwale potions, these are a must. And make sure to have the relic on that shoots the head orb things.

 

For the second phase use spears. Craft as many high damage ones as you can and then fill the rest of your inventory with the bone ones. Kite her round the lava pool and fire away, never let her be right in front of you, always be on the next side of the pool when she moves round. It took around 4 or 5 stacks of bone spears to do it. When she does her running round the arena thing, move away from where shes going and when she eventually catches up, roll into her as she lifts her legs to attack, then roll roll roll to get away from her follow up attack. It takes a while and she can kill you in one hit with any of her attacks so you do need to be careful, and there is some luck involved.

 

Back up your save too! Right before sissna, that way you can get any potions and spears back without having to spend more.

 

Good luck!

 

 

[dieselmanchild]

@jonesey46 Huge congrats man! Well done!

 

I’ve still got this game queued up and was planning to get around to it sometime, but man the new replies in this thread make it sound so awful! I keep pushing it further down the backlog lol. Your tips are super helpful though, especially the speed run skips and other little tricks that sound like this could actually be doable without too much frustration. Appreciate the post dude and once again, big congrats!!

[Kittens Are Awesome]

I had this crazy glitch happen the other day. I wasn't quite sure what to do when it happened, so I was hesitant to get too close at first. If you've ever run through Seat of the Matriarch on CoS mode, you'll understand. 

 

 

I'm just going to edit in any videos here that I'll make for Ashen.

 

Here's Riak. Holy hell, he is so fast and unpredictable. Also, the ai always commits sepukku on the way to him, so don't ever expect to have your ai for this fight.

 

 

Edited August 20, 2023 by Kittens Are Awesome

[Kittens Are Awesome]

I found a glitch for Shadow of Ashen while looking for something else.  Although this video is done on normal difficulty, it works perfectly fine for CoS mode.

 

 

 

[Kittens Are Awesome]

@starcrunch061 if you want to give it another go, I can coach you on Discord. I made videos for the hardest parts, and we can even coop Sissna. Unfortunately, I can't coop Riak with you, but I can coach you. Just 100% this today.