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Maxing stances doesn't help outside of avoiding getting hit (Auto parry on spear guys is pretty useful). It just keeps you on an even playing field. Now that you're in Act II you'll start to notice it. Shield and Spears, and eventually sword guys will start staggering you before you can fully break their guard to land strikes, by Act III they'll parry too. Even with a broken guard they'll recover faster. I was heavy on the smoke bombs like you at your point, but after a while I did a lot of Bow and Blowguns to thin out crowds. Kunai are always handy as well as you've noted. The blowgun is the single best weapon in the game. In act 2 there is a middle grassland and an area in the northwest to farm the darts, by Act III they're everywhere. The hallucination darts are what I was talking bout earlier. Pop a spear guy and he'll single handedly take out 3-4 other guys. I recorded this after a few runs of this happening. The real ease comes from the mythic abilities being able to be performed in duels. Once you get Heavenly Strike and Dance of Wrath, you can basically just go easy mode and open up with a lot of damage, pocket a few resolve in case you need to heal and when they're low enough pop them again and finish it. Things become even easier when you get Way of the Flame and the final stance of the game half way through Act II. If you go into a showdown fully loaded, its over in seconds... mechanics need not apply. Way of the Flame can't be blocked like the others and it uses ammo instead of resolve. So you can just mercilessly brutalize the opponent. I'd pop one, get regular strikes in, and pop the next when their guard returned. It's extremely busted tbh, but it does make you feel super powerful. It doesn't bother me like it will probably some people that like challenge. Edit: Yeah I felt the same way as you did and picked that ending. You're feelings will be even more validated after you take the second castle.

I would assume if you actually max out your stance trees you'd probably have no to little trouble taking on Mongols in Act III (I'm just assuming, I'm basic bitch on all 4 of the trees). It pretty much seems if you want to be honorable you need to max out both Samurai trees and all 4 Stance trees. Then again it seems pretty set in stone that Jin isn't an honorable Samurai anymore no matter how you play him based on his actions (as I said I know how it ends I just haven't seen it yet). Well that and maxing out your stand off kill streak and making use of the fully upgraded Sakai Clan Armor (5 max kills in stand off with it on when it's fully upgraded). Meh, I've pretty much resorted to smoke bombing now anytime spear guys are around if I'm out of kunai (my favorite ghost weapons, so cheap and instant stagger) so I can just chain assassinate three people at a time (had to use this very liberally when taking Castle Kaneda). That or I thin out there numbers with my bow but if they're fully armored in Act III I will have to adjust my strategy. I finally made it into Act II yesterday but did nothing more then the beginning quest. Must say I really am liking the story but I can already tell which choice I'm going to make at the end when it comes to a certain duel (I'm sorry but I really don't like how Jin is being treated just because he's doing what he must just to save his people and his home). I love how I spent and hour yesterday looking for the last 6 points to liberate in the first part only to have them highlight and become available after I beat Act I, pissed me the fuck off knowing I didn't have to go through all that if they were going for a story/reason to go back tie in. Next time I get on I'll probably focus on finishing those before I continue forward (mostly because I know there are a few secrets I missed, I must find all those hot springs and fox dens).

I beat this today. This is hands down the best game Sucker Punch has made, and falls just below God of War and Breath of the Wild on my favorite first party games this gen. I will say it did get incredibly easy at the end once I had all the skills maxed out and the best charms. Rarely did I ever have to fight head on. By the time you get to Act III spear guys are annoying AF even more so. The only way to hit them is to parry, ghost weapon or do the shoulder ram and kill them. You'll never hit them straight up, and if they hit you it'll take 95% of your HP at the maximum. I'm sure its possible, to fight 100% honorably outside of the few times the game makes you otherwise in main quest lines.. but fuck that. Anyone that's not a masochist will resort to some sort of tactics... especially when the Act III Mongols are all fully armored, including the head. Headshots will the bow require a smaller window and they have to be facing towards you. Act II was my favorite. It has all the watershed moments and turning points. The ending was satisfying, even if the final two showdowns were the easiest. In the end I'd say my favorite NPCs were Kenji and Norio. My favorite side quest lines were Ryuzo's, Norio's, and Sensei Ishikawa's.