Seeking advice for avoiding bullets

[kur0na_]

I've been playing Touhou games for a while now and I'm struggling with my vision and avoiding bullets effectively. I usually find it hard to focus on my character and the bullets at the same time. Is there any advice for improving this skill or is it just memorizing the bullet patterns after every play? Thanks.

- !

[Suspicious person]

-When the bullets are far, mentally project their direction in relation to where your hitbox should be

-When the bullets are close, don't look at them, look out for gaps instead

-Have a vague awareness of where your hitbox is at any given time (only look at it when micrododging is unavoidable)

-Avoid bottom hugging, it restrict the space you can move around and forces risky dodges upwards when cornered

-Familiarize yourself with alternating between focused and unfocused movement : slow down when there is a bullet somewhere in the direction you dodge to ; accelerate when you aim for a gap

-Prioritize positionning yourself in the 4 cardinal direction in relation to gaps between bullets (diagonal dodges should be last resort)

-Better time out bosses than die to bosses

-Better lose bombs than lives

-Don't chase for ressources or point of collection when there are bullets on the way

Grasp the basics first, considerations pertaining to strategies come later & practice makes perfect

[kur0na_]

Most of the things in the list are my mistakes, lol. Thank you for the advice, I'll try that to my gameplay!

- !

[CyberAngel]

Don't expect quick results though. This is a genre that requires a unique set of skills, not to mention familiarity and confidence. It all comes with experience, but might take years to build up. You can still have lots of fun along the way, just don't set unrealistic goals too early. (And punch anyone saying Easy mode is not a valid way to play.)

[Funbil]

Yeah, Suspicious pretty much covered everything, and quite eloquently as well. Just wanted to mention:

(And punch anyone saying Easy mode is not a valid way to play.)

When I was at Touhoufest a few weeks ago, tons of players in the game hall were playing on Easy mode. It's easy to feel inadequate when so much footage online is showcasing the extreme difficulty of Touhou games, so it was refreshing to see so many people recognize what skill level they were at and have no shame about where they find joy with these games.

[High-Tension Yuuritsu]

I agree about the resources point.
Getting Full Power Mode as fast as possible may be tempting, but don't get too greedy collecting items or bullets will catch you off guard.

[williewillus]

Suspicious covered most of it. If you're looking for something a bit simpler, I have an intro panel I gave at Touhoufest 2023 with some basic tips https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NWM4C7fBSq8

The gist of it is 1) learn how to stream and restream; 2) Use practice tools

[degradingwindow]

I agree about the resources point.
Getting Full Power Mode as fast as possible may be tempting, but don't get too greedy collecting items or bullets will catch you off guard.

I've had so many runs end prematurely because I'm always trying to get to point of collection. I don't even play to get a high score, I just have this instinctual desire to catch as many items as possible.

[kur0na_]

I've had so many runs end prematurely because I'm always trying to get to point of collection. I don't even play to get a high score, I just have this instinctual desire to catch as many items as possible.

]

This is what i also do, i want to get the power points as fast as possible to complete it faster. x)

[WitheringFlowerCrown]

Suspicious Person already covered almost everything possible, very eloquently as well.
I want to make mention of a Technique calls "Streaming".
Some bullet patterns are simply a lot of bullets being shot at your current position. You can dodge them easily by "Streaming", that is, moving slightly in one direction when the current flow of bullets gets near. This can free up a lot of focus and energy for truly difficult patterns.
For Example: Touhou 6: Embodiment of Scarlet Devil starts Stage 1 with Fairies shooting directly at you. Just Stream and you're fine.
For a more interesting example: Stage 4 in EoSD looks very complicated and intense... Until you notice that multiple patterns are just enemies shooting bullets at your position from different angles than normal (Below and from left and right. Rather than above). When you notice that, it becomes a cinch. ZUN like to disguise these kinds of patterns to make them look more intimidating, but they exist.

I'm also going to link This general guide with extra advice from the old version of MoTK and This Scoring Guide from our current Boss, Karisa.

EDIT: Pfft, Williewillus already made mention of it. You should watch his Touhoufest Panel in addition

[Suspicious person]

Very late on the continuation, but basics and good habits aside, there are some good practices that are worth taking into consideration if you want to get consistent at clearing (these all go under the assumption that it's not the first playthrough :)

- Play the game in a similar fashion every single time & set a routine to follow : modify your routine at the parts where you make mistakes, and keep playing exactly the same way for the parts where your approach works to get consistency ( it's a technique called routing)

- Identify in which part of the route you struggle the most and plan your bomb usage for them

- Don't make unnecessary movements, let patterns unfold to have an easier time deciphering them (helpful when some patterns have aimed components)

- Understand the game's ressource system and try to incorporate acquiring the ressources into your routes

There's unfortunately no universal advice for ressources ( bombs and lives especially) as they tend to differ per game ... so a bit of studying and matching your playstyle to such or such game's ressource system is unavoidable.