Learning to get better at Bayonetta [INCOMPLETE]

Overview

A detailed walkthrough created to teach players how to get the most out of Bayonetta’s combat to ensure they can properly take on even the most toughest enemies in this game. This walkthrough covers some of the basic details of the game along with MANY advanced tactics worth learning.*IMPORTANT NOTE: I started working on this guide a long time ago, but due to my own schedule (work, weight loss, life), I’ve had very little time to work on this. I’ve decided to publish this for the public which I know is probably a bad idea to do since this guide doesn’t actually touch up on how to fight Grace and Glory (just yet), but it does have some explanations of the combat that I hope new players can pick up on. I will try to fill out the rest of the guide. Give me a year (I guess). No promises/taksies backsies though.I’ve also decided to put this up publicly in the hopes that someone would be willing to help me write along this guide if they come across it, although considering not much people are active around the Bayonetta Steam Community, I assume it’s not stinking likely. Still, it wouldn’t hurt to try.

Introduction

Having a tough time dealing with tough enemies in the game? Want to try and net a Pure Platinum with relative ease? Want to learn how to do those sick air combos you see in those combo MADs on Youtube? Good news! I’m doing my best to make a simple beginner’s guide for new Bayonetta players out there to help get you started.

I will do my best to keep things simple and understanding. As such, this guide will assume you’re using the default settings for Bayonetta along with her default weapon of choice, the Scarborough Fair. I will be covering most of the other weapons as well, but there will be some things I will omit purely because if you can understand how Scarborough Fair works, you’ll easily be able to segue into all the other weapons the game offers. This guide will also assume you’re playing the game on Normal difficulty, although the same strategy will apply to Hard and NSIC as well. And also, I will assume you are using a controller but I will try my best and cover the button commands on KB+M controls as well. So with that said, LET’S DANCE BOYS!

What to expect from this guide

Basically, I want to try and breakdown all of the elements Bayonetta has to offer into small, simple sections so that players can get a better understanding of the game’s system mechanics. Everything must start from the beginning so before we can start learning about how to kick ass, we must first learn about the behavior behind Bayonetta. I find it very important that players get a more complete understanding about this game’s quirks, because while I could just simply tell people to dodge an attack and mash Y, the results would be pretty unsatisfying. There’s definitely way more to this game’s mechanics than most people realize, and by simply having a more in-depth knowledge about the combat, it will make fighting the toughest enemies a breeze. Be aware, there’s a lot to take in but hopefully your determination is as strong as my own skills.

The Early Phases of Bayonetta

When it comes to combat, the simple breakdown is that Bayonetta is all about the Punch and Kicks, which I will refer to as “P” and “K” from here on out respectively. First time players new to this game will no doubt start button mashing like mad and start executing crazy attacks, most likely not knowing what triggers what, and that is perfectly fine. You’re welcome to button mash at your own pleasure, but as you may have guessed (or not), that isn’t going to get you very far with this game. While many basic angels can easily get stuck in hitstuns right from the first punch, enemies like Grace and Glory will either block, counter or just straight up ignore your attacks altogether, which will no doubt leave players frustrated and confused when up to this point it felt pretty darn easy just to beat up every enemy along the way without having to think much at all.

It is very important that players break out of the button mashing phase early on, so what I’ll be covering in the first few sections are general offense strategies that will ensure that players get the most out of Bayonetta”s combat. I’ll also be touching up on some advanced tricks and why it’s useful to master. You can learn all of this at your own pace in practice mode, so let’s go over quickly how to access that.

Practice Mode

“You want to touch me?”

Unless you’re using an SSD drive, you might have noticed the loading screen where you are able to control Bayonetta for a little while. Press the back button on the 360 controller (or Tab if you’re using a keyboard) in order to pause the loading screen so that you can practice Bayonetta’s movesets for as long as you want.

Aside from Bayonetta’s good looks, you might have also noticed a fairly long list of combos you’re able to do. It’s indeed a pretty long list, and may feel a little daunting at first, but it’s actually not as overwhelming as you may think. Players have made the mistake of believing you have to memorize every move individually in this game in order to get good (I’m looking at you, Previously Recorded). I can safely say that’s not the case, although a proper explanation is in order.

The Combo Structure

The best way to view how the combat works in this game is to view the combo structure as a branching movelist. Plenty of basic hack n’ slash games follow this formula, and Bayonetta is no exception.

This is just a small sample of Bayonetta’s moveset. A large majority of Bayonetta’s combos all begin with the first punch*, and from there, you are free to start mixing it up with additional P’s and K’s. Rather than trying to remember all of the combos Bayonetta is able to perform, focus more on trying to get a feel of the flow when performing each sequential attack. Short combos, like PKP, allow Bayonetta to dish out a fast yet somewhat weak combo, while the longer ones, like PPKKK will not only allow her to damage foes with stronger, fancier hits, but also dish out 2 wicked weaves in the last 2 kicks.

I’m not going to cover every move that Bayonetta is able to do, otherwise this guide would get extremely bloated with too much information. Instead, I’ll focus more on whats more important to do when you’re busy performing one combo. I will say, however, that the example flowchart above is my go-to bread n’ butter, so if you’re still feeling overwhelmed, feel free to practice this flowchart until you start to feel more comfortable with branching out. I’ll be pointing out a few additional combos that are worthy of performing against Grace and Glory.

*Note: It’s advisable that you start all your combos with P, as there are only 3 combos that are branched out from the first K.

You can view all of Bayonetta’s movesets with all possible weapon combinations in the select menu. Just select “File”, highlight “Tome of Umbrans Arts” and select “Techniques”.

Extending the Damage Output

The first real step towards learning not to button mash is to learn how to extend your damage output. To do that, simply hold down your P and K when attacking. Bayonetta will not only execute her respective punches and kicks, but will also remain in place and shoot off the bullets from her guns for a short while. This sounds extremely simple to do (and it is), but after watching countless let’s plays from many new players, especially now that the Steam version is available, I realize that many players tend to forget you are able to do this because it’s so easy to just go back to button mashing. It’s gotten so bad, in fact, that some players end up thinking the only way to shoot projectiles is with the X button, which has Bayonetta shoot off fairly weak bullets from her pistol regardless of what weapons you have equipped.

It’s easy to spot scrubs like this

There are MANY advantages to extending your damage output from the bullets you shoot off. For one, you can attack every enemy in the game from a safe distance. The bullets will also keep all small and a few mid-sized enemies held in place for as long as you keep shooting, even in mid-air. Flaming enemies will also not be able to easily rush you down, and you’ll even put their flames out so you can be able to physically attack back without worry. You’ll also be able to properly finish your combos with a wicked weave. More on this later.

It’s amazing how people forget Bayonetta has guns on her HANDS and FEET and yet think you have to be up close to any enemy to deal damage. This technique will ensure you can hurt anyone no matter where you are positioned in the field. Constant damage and firepower is the name of the game.

But the best thing about extending your combos is that it does an insanely high amount of damage. Don’t believe me? Check this out. Let’s examine Bayonetta’s shortest and easiest combo to perform in this game, her PKP.

She starts off with a basic punch, a basic kick and then finishes it with a final punch that has her thrusting forward with both her hands while one giant wicked weave is summoned above her.

Let’s view this combo in 3 different scenarios. The first scenario is Bayonetta doing a regular PKP combo from a distance, without any damage extension. The first 2 hits miss, but the wicked weave in the last attack connects against the enemy.

Notice the bar in the bottom right corner of the game? That is the enemy health bar. You may notice a red bar as you attack the enemy. This indicates the damage an enemy is receiving.

The second scenario has Bayonetta performing her PKP right up close to the enemy. Again, no damage extension, but this time all 3 attacks plus the wicked weave connects.

Not bad, not bad. If you notice, Bayonetta did a tad bit more damage against Grace, but we can do BETTER.

For the last scenario, we have Bayonetta extending her damage output by holding down the button for all 3 attack commands. All 3 attacks plus her wicked weave plus the bullets land a direct hit. Pay close attenton to the enemy health bar now.

Look at that red bar! The same exact combo that we did for all 3 scenarios, and this one brought Grace’s health down to its halfway point. And this was just her PKP combo(!).

A quick look at the comparison between all 3 scenarios showcases just why it’s extremely important to extend your damage output.

Crazy, I know.

Every single one of Bayonetta’s attacks can be extended, not just her PKP. Take the time to learn Bayonetta’s branching combo moveset, and apply the extension to each and every single one of them. You don’t have to extend every attack all the time, as there will be situations where you have to be constantly moving about or may need to finish your combo quickly, but if you spot an opening for gunfire, take the shot, and you’ll be one step closer to getting the upperhand on even the toughest villans out there, including Grace and Glory of course.

Some weapons have different damage extension behaviors. For example, the fire version of the Durga Claws create flaming skulls which explodes on contact, Odette lets Bayonetta throw out a fury of barrage kicks and sweeps which can potentially freeze enemies and Shuraba has Bayonetta charging her sword, and the longer you charge it, the more damage it will inflict on enemies when unleashed. More weapon specific strategies further down.

Wicked Weaves

You might have noticed me mentioning wicked weaves but not actually going into details about it, and that’s because it deserves its own section. So what exactly is a wicked weave? A wicked weave is an attack where Bayonetta summons Madama Butterfly to come and help her perform punch and kicks, but to put it more simply it’s whenever you see those giant fists and kicks appear out of nowhere as Bayonetta goes about attacking. They are powerful attacks that do a great amount of damage and in many cases, can actually push enemies around based on how the wicked weaves are summoned.

There are several ways one can summon wicked weaves. The most basic yet important way to summon one is to complete a combo. Almost every combo in this game will always end with a wicked weave. So the idea is to make sure you not only just attack enemies, you also need to make sure complete a combo sequence in order to summon a wicked weave. A completed combo with wicked weaves do a ton of damage on enemies, making it a much more beneficial strategy compared to simply attacking enemies with the same weak hits over and over. That’s why it’s important to avoid button mashing mindlessly, because you run the risk of restarting a combo sequence due to pressing an attack that doesn’t follow along with the branching combo path, thus rarely ever dishing out wicked weaves. Look to my flowchart for a little practice guidance.

This one, in case you needed a reminder. And now you know why I marked each attack at the end of each branching sequence with “wicked weave” 🙂

Aside from finishing combos, there’s also a handful of other ways to force a wicked weave out, but these involve spending magic orbs to perform.

You see that blue round stuff under your health bar? That’s your magic orbs.

There are 2 particularly worthy techniques worthy purchasing over at the Gates of Hell: Tetsuzanko and Heel Stomp. Both attacks require the same stick input to perform. It only varies when you press either P or K.
[Insert Gates of Hell shop pic here]

Bayonetta Guide