Talk:Pure Vessel/@comment-37700444-20181203022422

I was having trouble with strategies involving a lot of jumping. I could see the potential, but for whatever reason it was hard for me to consistently dodge while trying them. Here's what I ended up doing, which had a reliable, consistent, and enjoyable rhythm to it. (Note, I only beat him for the Pantheon of the Knight with no bindings. Can't say how effective this strategy is for any other scenario).

Loadout: Sharp Shadow, Unbreakable Strength, Quick Focus, Longnail, Grubsong. The last two are probably swappable based on preference, though I don't recommend anything that may accidentally break PV's stagger.

Strategy:

Shining Daggers: Shadow Dash towards PV on the ground soon after the attack begins. Get 2 strikes in. You should dash fairly quickly but ensure you are passing through any low daggers. You should almost always have Shadow Dash up again before his next attack.

Triple Slash / Lunge: Shadow Dash through PV as he attacks. Then immediately dash back (chase him) and try to get another strike in (won't always happen).

Parry: Either pause and get a strike in after it ends, or trigger it and Shadow Dash through PV and get a strike in. I usually pause to ensure I will have Shadow Dash up for the next attack.

Diving Light Lances: Dash away, then quickly jump and move slightly if necessary to dodge lances. This is the attack I struggled with against the most, but this approach let me dodge with good enough consistency. The dash lets to consistently dodge the dive, and the jump gives you a little more time and a LOT more space to dodge the lances (they taper a lot). You're mostly focused on dodging here, but if you are close enough you can get a strike in while in the air.

Stagger: Heal twice. Do keep track of when he is about to stagger so you can react quickly.

Focus: Dash out of the main circle. Then, if you are doing well, get some Shade Soul damage in (I only fired 1, but I think you can probably get at least 2 in). If you are not doing well, you can gamble and try to get a double heal in (hoping the smaller circles don't hit you). You can sometimes get 1 heal in as another option.

The reason why this strategy feels like it has a good consistent rhythm to it is because your first reaction to almost every attack is to dash, which makes it easier to react and makes it very forgiving in that you're not really doing these narrow dodges. Also most attacks you are getting in some strikes (in addition to Sharp Shadow), so you are constantly making progress. Lastly, if you are timing your dashes well, you will pretty much always have shadow dash up right before you need it for the next attack. So now we talk about Void Tendrils.

Void Tendrils: This is the only attack that doesn't play well with the strategy. Most of the time, you will probably not be able to shadow dash through PV here simply due to the distance. Fortunately, PV is pretty low when he starts using this, so you can try to face tank it and race him (this is what I did). Being able to tank 2 of these is usually enough. Otherwise, you'll probably want to try switching your approach to something that doesn't involve having your trigger finger on the dash button.

If you are struggling with dodging in the air like I was, try this out. Hope it helps!