

Probably, though also arguably dodging skill didn’t matter, because the comparison case was not dodging at all. It was my first time playing, but I can’t imagine scaling up the experience from there to some of the bosses I’ve fought since, all without dodge/parry.
Dude absolutely. I accidently got cornered by it so I couldn’t progress till I beat trumpet dude due to how it would reload (assuming i’m thinking of the same guy). I probably fought that bastard 15 times before I beat it. I’ll say I REALLY like the game. It’s absolutely beautiful and i’m loving the slow release of the lore. Even the battles (that can be really frustrating) are great because you can get absolutely wrecked 10 times, but then get the timings down and absolutely dominate the bastard. It’s really simple, but also real rewarding, I find.