The RESONANCE ARCHIVE blows massive PPs and i hate it.

[Danny97]

The RESONANCE ARCHIVE,pretty as it was,is probably one of the worst experiences i've had in VS,actually the only one,which is why it stands out so much to me when compared to the song and dance that is the rest of this game.

Not being able to use any of the containers (aka put items back where you took them from so you can haha maybe idk come back and take them later) while simultaneously being showered with items is just bad game design.

You can make the argument that i shouldn't be picking up every article of clothing i come across,and you'd be right,but the enemies drop jonas pieces which are important and there's like 10000 of them which can quickly fill up your inventory regadless of bag tier and this could have been easily avoided IF YOU JUST LET ME PUT SOME OF THE STUFF I PICKED UP BACK WHERE I TOOK THEM FROM!

I understand why they made it so that you can't destroy any of the blocks inside but not even the rubble that gets in your way,makes some rooms really difficult to enter or outright bugs you into a wall if you so much as stand close to them longer than you should? WHY? Just let me get rid of the rocks on the ground at least! PS: No,i don't mean "let me mine a hole straight down to the boss room or around the library door so i can get in" I mean the small stones that get in your way every 2 steps.

I was really enjoying myself,the atmosphere was amazing,the dread i felt when i saw the reservoir and realised i had to swim in it to progress was nothing short of pants sh1ttingly scary,that and i took my sweet time exploring every nook and cranny of every room in search of lore and shiny goods (which i couldn't pick up haha) until i made it to the boss just in time to get my day ruined.

Now,I'll say something people are tired to death of hearing,but i stand by it and unlike some people with the reflexes of an old,paraplegic lady,i can actually dominate just about anything in this prancy lala magic land  with nothing but 2 flint spears and the S key so you better believe me when i tell you the combat sucks.

I'm sorry,it just does and i feel like i should be allowed to say it as i have enough time played.

That combined with the subpar hit detection,which i have grown to tolerate over the past 300 hours,and the horrible AI of the boss made me not have a good time.

I walked in that place with a full set of m.iron plate armor,shield and the sword with the funny name,10 spears and enough pies to stock a bakery for a month and i still almost died because the boss kept spamming ground slams which sent me flying,dealing fall damage every time my shins made contact with the ground.

I understand it's supposed to do that if you get in it's face as a way to prevent players from just shield crouching infront of it and spam left click (which is in and by itself is a horrible design choise and i'll fight anyone who disagrees) but the damn thing kept doing it even when i was keeping my distance and using my spears,not to mention the glichy rocks that fall from the ceiling or whatever it was...it's all just a big mess pretending to have mechanics when in reality both me and the boss are time traveling with our hits either landing instantly or 15 game ticks later.

It's a horrible,unfinished mess and maybe instead of getting 50 new blocks,12 new apple pie recipes and a couple of new shades of wallpaper in the next update the devs can focus on making it fun and not just an endurance match since it's technically a big part of the game's lore?

I've never had issues with wolves and bears,even the ranged drifters everyone complains about are a cake walk,but that boss is just a cool idea with horrible execution.

Edited May 11, 2025 by Danny97

[Zane Mordien]

If you wear plate armor then the RA and the boss fight will suck. Short term fights plate is great, but long fights you will struggle bus to heal yourself. . I love the RA personally,  but that's my opinion.  I've done it over and over in nothing but cloth armor and copper spears for the boss and a sword and shield as back up for the other trash if it gets close.

 

[LadyWYT]

Interesting. I can't say that I've seen a thread hating on the Resonance Archive before, but you learn something new each day. To each their own.

7 hours ago, Danny97 said:

Not being able to use any of the containers (aka put items back where you took them from so you can haha maybe idk come back and take them later) while simultaneously being showered with items is just bad game design.

For what it's worth, you can use the Library's storage vessels, though they won't hold everything you can find there. There's a couple of other chests and storage vessels elsewhere that can be used as well, but for the most part the Archive is wreck due to years upon years of falling into disrepair. It's a good idea to bring a couple of trunks with you in order to store everything at the surface later to make the process of carting everything back home easier. Bear in mind though that the more loot you decide to clean out, the more trips you'll end up needing to make in order to cart everything back home--it's a lot of stuff.

[Thorfinn]

FWIW, if you are good at moving, regular old stone  spears and no armor is an easier fight, not the least of which is that healing  gives max. As @Zane Mordien says, plate is a death sentence eventually. Since you are good at movement, this battle should be pretty easy if you don't let people psyche you out. Particularly if you prep with bronze spears and gambeson.

What probably isn't obvious enough is that you are free to bring as many storage containers as you like and build a shelter just outside of the entrance, Doesn't really matter whether they let you put stuff back where you got it because you can haul anything  you want back to your own storage bins. Worst case, you might "burn" through a few more of the resource you won't use up, anyway.

Don't think of it as rubble that you can't smash. Rather think of it as anything in and around the trader wagons. The solution to the puzzle is not just breaking things, but rather in working within the constraints of the puzzle. I agree the solution is linear The RA could have been improved if it were much larger, with many more "side quests." Though you would not know which were "side quests" until after the fact. I'm not sure the linearity could have been avoided, though there could have been multiple paths to the IE. But lore-wise, I think it still needs to be gated through the battle with the IE.

Sorry you didn't have much fun. My first few tries were similarly frustrating because it was the absolute first time in the game that I'd encountered restrictions like this in "required" gameplay. I'd never been required to expand beyond my comfort zone of tactics that worked in the rest of the game.

[Zane Mordien]

18 hours ago, LadyWYT said:

Interesting. I can't say that I've seen a thread hating on the Resonance Archive before...

There was at least one, and the poor person was wearing plate as well trying to heal themselves with horsetail poultices. 

 

[HalfAxd]

I really love VS, but have to agree that the boss fight in the RA is extremely frustrating...  I was constantly being thrown all over the room... reloading a dozen times to try and figure out what works was not fun... in the end I used god mode and was done with it.  Really love the design of the rest of the RA.

 

[LadyWYT]

10 hours ago, HalfAxd said:

I really love VS, but have to agree that the boss fight in the RA is extremely frustrating...  I was constantly being thrown all over the room...

For some reason, jumping right before he does the ground slam prevents you from getting tossed into the air. Thanks to @ifoz for that tip!