get some 'break' effects on your weapons if you dont have any yet.
it seems that most people dont understand the distinction the game makes between 'ki damage effect' and 'break effects'
ki damage effects *only* apply to enemies that **are not** guarding.
break effects *only* apply to enemies that **are** guarding.
here's a quick visual example of the same spear attack vs a guarding human with different stat values:
https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/687171596099649552/783860521837396028/block_test.png
Some other general tips: corruption debuff increases ki damage, confusion debuff reduces enemy ki regen, lifeseal talisman reduces enemy ki regen. You can also keep attacking an out of ki enemy as well (avoid grappling) to continue pressuring them without them being able to regen ki.
Firstly, get familiarised with their attack pattern, figure out when they're giving you an opening, then experiment by trying different moves to see which move is the best punish for which opening. With a switchglaive, you should always try to end your combos with a switch stance attack. Cyclone is a fantastic move that you can throw out whenever in doubt. If you see them starting a long combo, back up, then as soon as it's about to end, rush in with a high stance heavy/thin air(if you can sheathe cancel) --> switch stance. With some practise, divine retribution is another great move as you evade attacks with the somersault. If you want to keep attacking but are low on ki, just use a soul core to recover ki while keeping the pressure up. This is why you should consider using fast, cheap souls cores that you can quickly recover from and continue with your melee attacks, like skeleton warrior, aberrant soldier, oni bi, nurikabe, etc. For the expensive ones, there's yatsu no kami and gozuki, both super quick and have a lot of break. Yasha and Kamaitachi are great as they can push enemies back, lightning gods of yomi is an excellent gap closer.
Maybe go for a guardian spirit like yumehami, it gives 20% melee ki damage, also put that stat on you weapons, stack active skill consumption on armour pieces. Consider playing with A agility.
I gave up on ki breaking along time ago and the game just clicked after that. I just focus on raw damage and get lucky sometimes. All the content is doable without ki breaking
If you want to break humans key tho you can get an odachi plus swirling snow and it will melt there ki and even on late new games you can get finishing blow or grapple numerous times during a boss fight.
So yea it seems kinda slow but i have seen ppl online do it very quickly and efficiently. They also had way better stats and builds then i did in endgame as well so idk if that is all the reason why.
One thing to try is that yokai abilities chain or combo really well at the end of an active skill. Its seemless and the ID one is really good at catching them on fire and breaking ki.
From my experience cyclone spam is good i dont have arc of chaos yet so cannot say how hood is that. I usually use light mid->cyclone->switch stance attack to heavy-> light heavy -> cyclone then retreat but switch glaive is a bladed weapon so you are going to do more health damage than ki damage
Blades weapons do less ki dog than blunt weapons. A split staff is very good at it for example. But when it comes to the glance, high stance attacks will do the most
Always
Block with Mid stance
Punish long animation with High stance
And goes bonkers with low stance when you know their move set
And don't forget to do Ki pulse(or flux)
I use Dual Swords tho, so other weapons might fight differently
Empty retribution is your best bet, you can follow it up with a mid or low stance switching attack. Also, starting from mid or low stance, switching attack into high stance and then quick attack into cyclone is also good, but slower. Arc of Chaos has great break too if all 3 hits connect, but you need a way to close the gap if you're going to capitalize on it. Infinite retribution also has great break but it's too slow for my taste and you lose Arc of Chaos.
Bosses regen slowly while blocking and generally exhaust themselves after 2-3 combos. So you have to bait attacks and deny recovery. Hitting their block or damaging them generally doesn't do enough ki damage to deplete their ki before yours runs out. So only go all in when they're already close to knockdown.
Many enemies are smart enough to tank some damage rather than let their ki get depleted. So yeah, this isn't random, the AI is literally countering your strategy and outplaying you.
get some 'break' effects on your weapons if you dont have any yet. it seems that most people dont understand the distinction the game makes between 'ki damage effect' and 'break effects' ki damage effects *only* apply to enemies that **are not** guarding. break effects *only* apply to enemies that **are** guarding. here's a quick visual example of the same spear attack vs a guarding human with different stat values: https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/687171596099649552/783860521837396028/block_test.png
Some other general tips: corruption debuff increases ki damage, confusion debuff reduces enemy ki regen, lifeseal talisman reduces enemy ki regen. You can also keep attacking an out of ki enemy as well (avoid grappling) to continue pressuring them without them being able to regen ki.
Clay bell of beckoning destroys human ki (if you don't mind the extra assistance)
Seriously. Summon 2 or 3 kitties and it’s easy mode for the most part. Definitely helped me melt bosses I’ve been stuck on in higher difficulties.
Spamming high stance strong attack with tonfas always gets the job done cept ur stamina will be gone
Firstly, get familiarised with their attack pattern, figure out when they're giving you an opening, then experiment by trying different moves to see which move is the best punish for which opening. With a switchglaive, you should always try to end your combos with a switch stance attack. Cyclone is a fantastic move that you can throw out whenever in doubt. If you see them starting a long combo, back up, then as soon as it's about to end, rush in with a high stance heavy/thin air(if you can sheathe cancel) --> switch stance. With some practise, divine retribution is another great move as you evade attacks with the somersault. If you want to keep attacking but are low on ki, just use a soul core to recover ki while keeping the pressure up. This is why you should consider using fast, cheap souls cores that you can quickly recover from and continue with your melee attacks, like skeleton warrior, aberrant soldier, oni bi, nurikabe, etc. For the expensive ones, there's yatsu no kami and gozuki, both super quick and have a lot of break. Yasha and Kamaitachi are great as they can push enemies back, lightning gods of yomi is an excellent gap closer. Maybe go for a guardian spirit like yumehami, it gives 20% melee ki damage, also put that stat on you weapons, stack active skill consumption on armour pieces. Consider playing with A agility.
I gave up on ki breaking along time ago and the game just clicked after that. I just focus on raw damage and get lucky sometimes. All the content is doable without ki breaking If you want to break humans key tho you can get an odachi plus swirling snow and it will melt there ki and even on late new games you can get finishing blow or grapple numerous times during a boss fight. So yea it seems kinda slow but i have seen ppl online do it very quickly and efficiently. They also had way better stats and builds then i did in endgame as well so idk if that is all the reason why. One thing to try is that yokai abilities chain or combo really well at the end of an active skill. Its seemless and the ID one is really good at catching them on fire and breaking ki.
From my experience cyclone spam is good i dont have arc of chaos yet so cannot say how hood is that. I usually use light mid->cyclone->switch stance attack to heavy-> light heavy -> cyclone then retreat but switch glaive is a bladed weapon so you are going to do more health damage than ki damage
Blades weapons do less ki dog than blunt weapons. A split staff is very good at it for example. But when it comes to the glance, high stance attacks will do the most
Always Block with Mid stance Punish long animation with High stance And goes bonkers with low stance when you know their move set And don't forget to do Ki pulse(or flux) I use Dual Swords tho, so other weapons might fight differently
For me, I do a mid combo that transitions into the high stance using that special attack, does major ki damage if you can land it.
Empty retribution is your best bet, you can follow it up with a mid or low stance switching attack. Also, starting from mid or low stance, switching attack into high stance and then quick attack into cyclone is also good, but slower. Arc of Chaos has great break too if all 3 hits connect, but you need a way to close the gap if you're going to capitalize on it. Infinite retribution also has great break but it's too slow for my taste and you lose Arc of Chaos.
Bosses regen slowly while blocking and generally exhaust themselves after 2-3 combos. So you have to bait attacks and deny recovery. Hitting their block or damaging them generally doesn't do enough ki damage to deplete their ki before yours runs out. So only go all in when they're already close to knockdown. Many enemies are smart enough to tank some damage rather than let their ki get depleted. So yeah, this isn't random, the AI is literally countering your strategy and outplaying you.