darkSpyro

Is Zou Lou a good character? I'm just wondering because I bought him today.

I'd say he's alright. He's not my cup of tea, but he is pretty good. He has moves that mainly have animals fight for him and I always thought it's weird that such a strong looking character would never just hit enemies himself. Anyways he's still good just takes some getting used to.

I don't have him but he looks like he is powerful

Underpowered in my opinion, relatively speaking of course. Having the wolf dig up food is nice sometimes.

Yes. He's a little difficult to master, though.

The birds are very rapid-firing, the wolf is helpful, and the hog is great for knocking medium and large sized enemies all over the place.

You'll be wearing out your hand quickly, because you can combine all of the attacks to go ballistic on groups of enemies.

He looks good, and he was a fan fav before the game came out, now he's like the fright rider of swap force

My only other nitpick on is that he only has summoning attacks. Like I said you think such a big bulky looking guy would be a physical fighter would actually hit enemies himself, but no he just summons creatures. Why couldn't he have an ability to change the animal he summons and have some physical move of his own. When you think about it it's like if had only potion attacks and only can attack with the acid, fire and minion potions and nothing else.

I go on the boar then send out a wolf and shoots loads of birds.

He fun to play with but not the most powerful. He's eclipse by the other life element character, Bumbleblast.

Quote: SkylandCitizen

He fun to play with but not the most powerful. He's eclipse by the other life element character, Bumbleblast.

This. Definitely. Though I do like , takes the win in who is stronger.

He's fun to play, and very effective in the field. The wolf is a great detraction while you fire your main attack... and the boar is goofy, but amusing.

He's one of my favorite new cores...second to smolderdash.

I went with the hog path on my regular and wolf path on my legendary.

Go Hog path. So much funner. He's essentially great at two scenerios - lots of bad guys at once or one tough bad guy. He doesn't do well against shields either - his strength is organized and well timed chaos...charge up 5 birds, let them fly, call out wolf, hop on hog, start charging up again, and then mash birds till everything is dead.

Now it is super hard after a while to tell what exactly is going on truth be told - due to the birds attacking twice, and filling up the screen with green lantern'd creatures...but it's fun.

In terms of overall strength, of the new cores he's is 'meh'. His movement is slow, slower on the hog, he gets out damaged and by bumbleblast who functions similar but his 'hog' while not as damaging, is easier to use and is spam-able. He dosn't have the raw DPS of say a Smolderdash or the sheer effectiveness of Pop thorn. He's not as 'invulnerable' as Star Strike, yet you control both kind of similar - that organized chaos so to speak. I'll take him over Slobbertooth any day of the week - easily the worst new character. I'd wager he's more effective than both Grim Creeper and *the rollerblade chick...name is eluding me*.

so with the released cores he's pretty much middle of the pack in terms of effectiveness (though the early years are HARD for him, his damage without upgrades is HORRIBLE). enjoying him is more a playstyle and theme thing.
- Unreall

I probably would've liked Zoo Lou no matter what, as he looks like a Usagi Yojimbo character with a Green Lantern ring. But yeah, he's great for causing visual chaos. I went with the boar path, curious to try the wolf path once I get the Legendary.

I'm actually very undecided on which path to pick first, obviously Boar path is better at raw damage, but I do have a few reasons that make me consider the Wolf path too. I haven't actually played with him yet (I'm planning to today) but I have made some observations based on some gameplay of a fully-upgraded Wild Wolf Zoo Lou.

Though, digging up food would be utterly useless in Nightmare mode- if your HP is low, it's unlikely a 100-something ration (does this amount get higher on higher difficulties?) would save you from taking another hit. When enemies deal hundreds of damage in single shots, that simply isn't a very good ability.

Sadly, looks like you end up with one attack (Wolf or Boar) that's just "kinda there" on the other path, you can use it, but it won't be nearly as effective as the other... Now... I think Zoo Lou is a Camo kind of situation where which path you have more fun with just depends on which play style you prefer. Melon Master was more powerful on Camo but Vine Virtuoso gave him options MM couldn't wholly emulate, and I'm getting the same vibes from Zoo Lou.

It looks like the Bucking Boar path is better at going right into battle but Wild Wolf is a little better at playing keep away and getting a bit of a defensive bonus useful for the lower difficulties. I think I might go with Bucking Boar as the benefits Lou gets from it just seem to have a greater effect- Wild Wolf looks nice, but just seems like it makes him a bit better, I mean, he can still play keep away (if not as well) using the birds- and a supporting non-upgraded wolf... But on the other hand, keep away tactics are more my kind of thing, and he seems like he's more of a challenge to use down that path... But Bucking Boar also seems like it would be less underpowered on a higher difficulty. It's so hard to pick.

I find zoo lou a lot of fun in the 3ds version this is how I have been finding it if they r crappy in the console then they usually are amazing on the handheld version and vise versa that's my opinion has ne1 else found that to be the case aswell?

The Bucking Boar path really helps with medium sided enemies, like Greebles. They can be tossed around, non-stop, but when it comes to K-Bot Mineminers, Evilized creatures, and larger enemies, it isn't too good.

I've upgraded my Zoo Lous down both paths. I like The Wild Wolf better. Actually both paths play surprisingly similar- though both are very subtly better at different things. It's very hard to say either path is "better"- I was right in guessing this is a Camo situation, it just comes down to which play style you prefer, both are arguably just as good.

I don't feel like typing a long post, basically, I feel like Bucking Boar was too focused on close-up for my tastes.
Wild Wolf is simply much better at being able to avoid enemy attacks- the wolf sucks outside of being a support move down Bucking Boar, and you need to face your enemies for the birds to hit. Down Wild Wolf, the wolf can be a real threat to your enemies.
Because of this, if you feel like it or are low on health and need it, you can avoid enemies and let your pet take care of them much more easily than Bucking Boar. Zoo Lou is still slow, but if you can judge the enemy AI right, it shouldn't be too difficult to avoid attacks that aren't really wide-spread, and let the canine bite them. And Bucking Boar is still a nice attack on its own here thanks to the knockback(seriously the knockback is stunning down either path), and if it's combined with a wolf pet the damage is amazing!

To be fair, though, Wild Wolf is worse at using AoE attacks, but I actually agree with the guide in that the birds make up for that somewhat. You can spam them all over if you need to attack a crowd of enemies. Not as easy as Bucking Boar's knocking up dust, not quite as effective, but still able to cover it when you need it.

Wild Wolf is not a replacement for Bucking Boar, Bucking Boar's AOE damage add up is just unbelieveable and really fast, and he deals with enemies that are surrounding him much more easily, but I like Wild Wolf's larger range of effective options. You can go up close to enemies with a boar/wolf combo, you can summon a wolf that will just attack them while dodging their shots, or spam the eagles to cover AoE. Bucking Boar can cover different options in severe emegencies, just not nearly as well. Wild Wolf is more balanced, as opposed to the more raw power that Bucking Boar has.

To sum up, I feel that Bucking Boar is stronger but has less versatility, and Wild Wolf is weaker but has more versatility. Either way, Zoo Lou is a case where button mashing his attacks as much as possible actually becomes fun. He's an amazing, heavily underrated character. A bit confusing to use, but that's kinda part of the fun. I don't understand why there isn't more hype for him.

Tip for anyone who does go down Wild Wolf: for your pet to dig up food, you have to be standing still. If you walk around it just follows you and won't dig for anything.

Quote: Arc of Archives

I don't feel like typing a long post

Sorry, can you elaborate on this?

for the most part after some more PT I'm pretty much in line with AoA. Mind you this is all playing on hard/nightmare. I find in general that things that help you heal up have minimal 'use' right now, just because when things get hot and heavy, it won't help enough.

The only thing I'll disagree with though is at range - Boar Path is still super effective, you can call it and immediately hop off - creating a high damage, rampaging, damage absorbing tank that goes off in the direction you were facing with a little bit of auto correction. I mean typically against larger foes, I just run laps around them, but if I am nervous about their damage output, then I simply let the hog fly while charging up birds.
- Unreall

@ShaneK Just because I didn't feel like it, doesn't mean I wasn't going to If you think my post was long there though you obviously haven't been on a certain other thread... Think of it this way: I just posted my thought about why I like one path more than the other, that could have been waaay longer if I had posted all my thoughts on BB

@Unreal That sounds like a good tactic. I'll admit I didn't really play Bucking Boar much before making the switch. I really think this is just a question of wether you want the boar or the wolf... Both paths are very good.

By the way, I usually clear the room of enemies, then let my wolf dig up food for me. Sometimes it will dig up food while we're fighting. Its a lot more helpful if you use it as an "after battle healer", though it's too bad that it doesn't seem to work everywhere. There were a few times I summoned my wolf just to use it, but it wouldn't dig up anything(thankfully, there was usually food just after those areas anyway). Really, the main reason to go down Wild Wolf is actually the damage upgrades to the wolf itself- won't seem like much from just reading what they do but it makes it a ton more powerful.

I found that the wolf was also good for distracting enemies, I don't know if this works down Bucking Boar but I'll sometimes summon one to fight another enemy and it'll keep knocking it back so it can't attack at all. That is very effective against ranged enemies. That's why the boar is still useful down Wild Wolf as well, it pretty much prevents enemies from attacking if you can just keep an eye on them and knock down whatever's standing(also really helpful against shielded enemies sometimes, when they drop their shields, keep knocking anything on screen down and keep a wolf up to deter a ranged enemy that is giving you trouble).

My pet peeve with BB was how the wolf was made into an attack just to deal some extra damage. Maybe it's just because I tried WW first- it was a huuuge step down from that. I feel like on WW all of Zoo Lou's attack have their own uses. Another pro is since the boar isn't really his main attack, you can move faster on the field more easily, he's sooo slow on the boar(even though boar kicking up dirt makes up for that by attacking enemies all around you, I just don't like being that slow all the time). I still need to try BB more, though. I just think it isn't my cup of tea.

Zou Lou is fun but not the best

he is good but not the best

@AoA - because of the 'homing' nature of the birds, and him essentially being a pet user, he doesn't really need to be mobile. If you are in the thick of it, call the hog, and the PBAoE affect pretty much keeps you safe from everything but long range weaponary. I can sympathize with speed in general, but I find it to nod hinder him.

@Pennyman - that pretty much is the sum of it, I really enjoy playing as him, but I won't pull him out for a tough fight or a speed run (I got my Drobot for that)
- Unreall

I like him, but he moves slow.

I picked the boar path, and he just plows through groups of enemies. He does have issues with shielded enemies, but proper planning takes care of that.

For life I still prefer stealth elf or bumble blast, but that's me.

So to recap
Pros: high damage to groups
Fire and forget attacks.
Diversion tactics with the wolf.

Cons: slow, especially on the boar.
Slight struggle on shielded enemies.

He is a good overall character that is fun to play. The Wolf path is way I went since the Pig path has a cool down between uses.

I do kind of feel a little ripped off regarding the Legendary version though. His package and card art depict his summoned animals as being blue to match the new Legendary color scheme, but they are in fact the usual green. That really suck. Having blue animals would really sell the Legendary status and not cheapen the experience by feeling like he's just a repainted figure.

Keep in mind though, I'm not really looking at this from a "which is stronger" view. (Sorry if I made it seem that way.) I'm looking at more it from a "which is more fun" view, and IMO in that respect they both have equal potential.

Also, I've played Bucking Boar more today, and even if he is good or not at range, IMO he's not as fun (or able) at it. Tossing a boar to enemies could cost you your HP if you are surrounded (plus, it's very unwieldy to release it compared to the wolf and doesn't last that long after it finally stomps its way to an enemy) and using the birds alone isn't really fun for a ranged-move coverage. Also, the birds don't distract enemies, unlike a wolf would, they just damage them.

But either way, don't get me wrong, I like both but I like Wild Wolf way better. I thought he was more interesting to use. He doesn't have the raw power Bucking Boar has and that is something I'm gonna visit sometimes but with a character like Zoo Lou I find the way he uses the WW tactics are very unique. I also find due to his ability to move around faster, I could survive with him better, I found it too difficult to stop any ranged attacks on BB. In the heat of battle will you really jump off your boar, your arguably most useful attack, just to distract an enemy, and with his slowness would you even be able to go up and cast and maintain a wolf to stop them and attack the other ranged attacker firing shots from the other side?

(Depending on how you use WW that may sound contradictory but if I were able to upload a video showcasing him I could just post that and let you observe how I use him. LOL.)

In the end, I never judge how good a character is by their power, because strong =/= fun. Plus, no matter which way you go Zoo Lou is nothing compared to the true powerhouses of the game- why use him if I want to kill enemies as fast as humanely possible when I can use Bumble Blast or S2 Hex, characters with truly cheap moves? I say, if you aren't as good at doing something as someone else and it ain't just for fun, then do something different.

Not saying you can't get fun out of Bucking Boar since I can see why, it is pretty fun to have the whole screen filled. Just saying, each path can cover something different better. I feel like BB is about covering the screen with attacks... WW is about keeping all your enemies occupied.

Boo, I'm making this thread too opinionated, so I won't really be posting any more, but yeah if you want the "stronger" path Bucking Boar is easier but if you wanted a "strong" character out of him in the first place then you picked Zoo Lou for the wrong reason...