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[Deleted member 325805]

Apart of what has been already said, I consider leveling up your weapon of choice first more important than leveling your character.

I have one level into my axe ATM, 2 in health and 1 in strength.

 

[KittenMaster]

Upgrading your weapon is really cheap in blood echoes, so it's not a big deal which you spend it on. But yes, you definitely want ways to make your weapon stronger the most.

 

[iRAWRasaurus]

Was this posted? Someone did a Micolash PVP komtage thought a few kills were pretty funny

 

[Fancy Clown]

Ok which one of you just killed me in nightmare frontier

 

[Soulhouf]

Pthumerian Elder boss in Cursed + Fetid + Rotted Isz Chalice is cheap as hell.
I never had any problem with even the Defiled Chalice but now I'm really struggling.
By far the hardest boss...

 

[Itchy//Tasty]

After three consecutive nights and over forty attempts, I finally finished off the Defiled Chalice Watchdog. Feels damn good man.

Spoiler

'Course it was mainly because I got REALLY lucky with his moveset towards the end. He kept regenerating and lava vomiting, leaving him wide open.

 

[Fancy Clown]

That spider dude pushed me off a cliff into the poison river in the frontier! What a dick.

Made it past some freaky singing brain people and now I'm on Amylgada. Fun fight! The third phase is super cool haha. Not super difficult either, especially with my Ludwig's with bolt damage.

 

[Marty-esque]

If you want to make a Bloodtinge build for Chikage you'll have to avoid raising Skill depending on what level you want to cap your character.
I would choose the Axe as a starter weapon, it's R2 is viable for bosses even if you don't level any offensive stat.

You can enter Cainhurst as soon as you get to the Forbidden Woods, if you can beat Logarius...

You shouldnt't have less than 40 Bloodtinge for it, and I would recommend bring it all the way to 50 depending on your level cap.

It's up to you if you want to use Chikage as a Skill weapon or Bloodtinge weapon. At +10 scaling is B for SKL and S for BT.

Thanks guys. Where are people usually capping at? I just got the platinum and am on ng+++ I think but I'm over level 200. I never put thought into a specific style I was just trying to progress. And for awhile I didn't even understand the different builds.

 

[JadedWriter]

Went to Lower Pthumerian level 88...killed one of the Merciless Watcher bosses with 2 viscerals, laughed my ass off. 42 points in skill with the Clawmark Rune is no joke, did over 2300 with one visceral. Man fuck that Undead Giant in Layer 2, thing has too much range in the third phase. Sweet merciful Jesus, I did it, fucking bastard, dude requires patience. He's pretty much a hit once and get the fuck out of dodge boss in his third phase. Don't get greedy and look for distance because you'll need the space. I'm still shaking from that one.

 

[Laughing Banana]

Changed my mind.

Decided to main the Threaded Cane and will upgrade it along with Repeating Pistol and Evelyn.

Sorry Reiterpallasch, but that whip is just simply too irresistible.

 

[Fimbulvetr]

Then you should not be making direct claims.

What would an indirect claim be? I don't see how I can say anything without making some kind of assumption about how the game was made.

Except your argument for why parrying is poor is personal preference. Dark Souls 3 is coming.

If you think the detailed arguments I laid out in my big post are nothing but personal preference, I don't know what to tell you. If your argument is going to come down to "everything is subjective" then you might as well say nothing at all.

You are now saying that the trading mechanic is by happenstance? There are multiple mechanisms with how trades work. It doesn't matter if it is byproduct of other designs. The system is not broken, it just operates a specific way.

Yes, my hypothesis is that trading is a phenomenon that's in the game pretty much by accident. It is, as you say, a byproduct of the system. The system as a whole isn't broken, but trades bring significant downsides with no benefits, so in my opinion trades themselves are an element of the system that is broken, making the system notably dysfunctional.

You have not provided nearly enough evidence to prove that.

This again. I've given this example multiple times before, but I'll say it again: Gascoigne's first hit in his basic 3 hit combo in his first form is unparryable on reaction unless you make a lucky guess or have reflexes far beyond the great majority of people. It has a 4 frame window for reaction, at best. That's impossible for all intents and purposes. I can give you other examples. If you want to debate that reacting to that attack properly is indeed possible, please provide video proof.

That's a logical contradiction. Prediction encompasses odds.

I don't know what this means. If you're saying that prediction is good enough to beat a random number generator consistently, you're simply wrong, that's plain fact.

Well, everything comes to a crossroads eventually.

You are talking to one individual right now in this community OT. If you really want to have further discussion, I advise bringing it to action-gaf. I'll say upfront that they will most likely agree with me, but you are free to feel out the feedback. I am not going to continue this discussion because I honestly find little merit in your analysis. It's all over the place but that's just me, you have a lot of other action game junkies to ping on this forum. This one is saying good day.

Does action-gaf discuss Bloodborne in the manner we are? It would be nice to talk to more like-minded people. Actually, what is action-gaf? I can't find a thread by that name. However, I am indeed talking to you specifically, and you have yet to reply to anything I've posted with anything of substance (btw, KittenMaster, you have replied with substance, and for that I thank you, though you didn't reply to my last post that I can see, do you intend to reply?). I'm disappointed with how little you've given me, though if you really are done I'd appreciate if you'd point me to where I can find others to discuss this with in depth, like the action-gaf you mentioned.

 

[NEO0MJ]

Made it past some freaky singing brain people and now I'm on Amylgada. Fun fight! The third phase is super cool haha. Not super difficult either, especially with my Ludwig's with bolt damage.

Ludwig is so good for some boss fights. That L2 attack is super useful.

 

[KittenMaster]

(btw, KittenMaster, you have replied with substance, and for that I thank you, though you didn't reply to my last post that I can see, do you intend to reply?).

Not really no, I'm dropping it because I feel like the argument has gone on too long and I don't want to keep at it forever. Sorry.

Ludwig is so good for some boss fights. That L2 attack is super useful.

Yeah. Always look out for if a weapon has an L2. Ludwig's L2 is way more useful than its R1 for a lot of situations (since it has farther reach) and Kirkhammer's L2 swings in a massive arc.

 

[JadedWriter]

Changed my mind.

Decided to main the Threaded Cane and will upgrade it along with Repeating Pistol and Evelyn.

Sorry Reiterpallasch, but that whip is just simply too irresistible.

Threaded Cane with either bolt or fire paper slapped on it is the coolest looking thing. Yeah it's super versatile. It's kind of the early game equivalent of "git gud" but once you get used to it it never stops being viable. I'm honestly still shocked I'm still using it because I originally thought I'd roll with the LHB forever, but I ended up dropping it seemingly half way through the game, probably haven't really used it since Forbidden Woods. It's been Cane and BoM since and it's a weapon that I'm going to hate not using if I ever try a strength/arcane character.

 

[Ghost Slayer]

Got Platinum finally :')
I got the game day 1 but chalice dungeon is fucking boring so i delay completing it until now. Disappointed

Spoiler

Yhrnam Queen

boss, shit is so week, not epic enough
Bring on DLC

 

[Melchiah]

That spider dude pushed me off a cliff into the poison river in the frontier! What a dick.

Made it past some freaky singing brain people and now I'm on Amylgada. Fun fight! The third phase is super cool haha. Not super difficult either, especially with my Ludwig's with bolt damage.

Unfortunately, I was overleveled for the fight, and it went so fast that I missed the third phase.

Speaking of Amygdala, I thought the word was kinda fitting for the game.

Long wall of text ahead...

Amygdala is a ganglion of the limbic system adjoining the temporal lobe of the brain and involved in emotions of fear and aggression.

...

Aggression
Animal studies have shown that stimulating the amygdala appears to increase both sexual and aggressive behavior. Likewise, studies using brain lesions have shown that harm to the amygdala may produce the opposite effect. Thus, it appears that this part of the brain may play a role in the display and modulation of aggression.

Fear
There are cases of human patients with focal bilateral amygdala lesions, due to the rare genetic condition Urbach-Wiethe disease. Such patients fail to exhibit fear-related behaviors, leading one, Patient S.M., to be dubbed the "woman with no fear". This finding reinforces the conclusion that the amygdala "plays a pivotal role in triggering a state of fear".

Anxiety
The amygdala is directly associated with conditioned fear. Conditioned fear is the framework used to explain the behavior produced when an originally neutral stimulus is consistently paired with a stimulus that evokes fear. The amygdala represents a core fear system in the human body, which is involved in the expression of conditioned fear. Fear is measured by changes in autonomic activity including increased heart rate, increased blood pressure, as well as in simple reflexes such as flinching or blinking.

The central nucleus of the amygdala has direct correlations to the hypothalamus and brainstem – areas directly related to fear and anxiety. This connection is evident from studies of animals that have undergone amygdalae removal. Such studies suggest that animals lacking an amygdala have less fear expression and indulge in non-species-like behavior. Many projection areas of the amygdala are critically involved in specific signs that are used to measure fear and anxiety.

Mammals have very similar ways of processing and responding to danger. Scientists have observed similar areas in the brain – specifically in the amygdala – lighting up or becoming more active when a mammal is threatened or beginning to experience anxiety. Similar parts of the brain are activated when rodents and when humans observe a dangerous situation, the amygdala playing a crucial role in this assessment. By observing the amygdala’s functions, people can determine why one rodent may be much more anxious than another. There is a direct relationship between the activation of the amygdala and the level of anxiety the subject feels.

...

In a 2003 study, subjects with borderline personality disorder showed significantly greater left amygdala activity than normal control subjects. Some borderline patients even had difficulties classifying neutral faces or saw them as threatening. Individuals with psychopathy show reduced autonomic responses, relative to comparison individuals, to instructed fear cues. In 2006, researchers observed hyperactivity in the amygdala when patients were shown threatening faces or confronted with frightening situations. Patients with more severe social phobia showed a correlation with increased response in the amygdala. Similarly, depressed patients showed exaggerated left amygdala activity when interpreting emotions for all faces, and especially for fearful faces. ...

Studies in 2004 and 2006 showed that normal subjects exposed to images of frightened faces or faces of people from another race will show increased activity of the amygdala, even if that exposure is subliminal. However, the amygdala is not necessary for the processing of fear-related stimuli, since persons in whom it is bilaterally damaged show rapid reactions to fearful faces, even in the absence of a functional amygdala.

Recent research suggests that parasites, in particular toxoplasma, form cysts in the brain of rats, often taking up residence in the amygdala. This may provide clues as to how specific parasites may contribute to the development of disorders, including paranoia.

The part about faces reminded me of the statues in the Cathedral Ward, that cover their faces. The text also goes pretty well with the effect the Amygdalas have

Spoiler

on NPCs when they become visible.

 

[Fancy Clown]

Ludwig is so good for some boss fights. That L2 attack is super useful.

Wait...L2 does a different attack? This changes everything

Unfortunately, I was overleveled for the fight, and it went so fast that I missed the third phase.

Speaking of Amygdala, I thought the word was kinda fitting for the game.

Long wall of text ahead...


The part about faces reminded me of the statues in the Cathedral Ward, that cover their faces. The text also goes pretty well with the effect the Amygdalas have

Spoiler

on NPCs when they become visible.

nice, that's pretty cool. I can't wait to really start diving into the lore and analyses once I beat this game.

 

[Melchiah]

nice, that's pretty cool. I can't wait to really start diving into the lore and analyses once I beat this game.

The Paleblood Hunt is a pretty good (and lengthy) analysis to read when you've beaten the game, although I think some of the things in it are a bit far-fetched. I also found the enemy information interesting. Shame those can't be seen in the game. I really should buy the official guide just for the lore.

 

[Fancy Clown]

The Paleblood Hunt is a pretty good (and lengthy) analysis to read when you've beaten the game, although I think some of the things in it are a bit far-fetched. I also found the enemy information interesting. Shame those can't be seen in the game. I really should buy the official guide just for the lore.

Fantastic, thank you. I will definitely give these a read.

 

[NEO0MJ]

Beat the final boss today. So good. I think it might even beat the final boss of Dark Souls for me.

Now to decide where to put my blood for NG+. When does skill start getting diminishing returns?

Wait...L2 does a different attack? This changes everything

That vertical slice is super useful for hitting the heads of some bosses.

 

[Orochinagis]

Went to Lower Pthumerian level 88...killed one of the Merciless Watcher bosses with 2 viscerals, laughed my ass off. 42 points in skill with the Clawmark Rune is no joke, did over 2300 with one visceral. Man fuck that Undead Giant in Layer 2, thing has too much range in the third phase. Sweet merciful Jesus, I did it, fucking bastard, dude requires patience. He's pretty much a hit once and get the fuck out of dodge boss in his third phase. Don't get greedy and look for distance because you'll need the space. I'm still shaking from that one.

That boss with the Iron balls? (no pun intended) I hate that boss, its like hit and run for your life

Wait...L2 does a different attack? This changes everything

Most of the two handed weapons have three forms of attack in its transformed form

 

[gunbo13]

I'm disappointed with how little you've given me, though if you really are done I'd appreciate if you'd point me to where I can find others to discuss this with in depth, like the action-gaf you mentioned.

Action-gaf is currently hanging around below. If you address the action game fans in an organized thread, they will respond. But I wouldn't expect much interest in BB combat design.
http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=1015723

If you are disappointed with what I have told you, then I would be prepared for that to continue. You have criticisms but they are mostly subjective (yes, that's correct). Byproducts of combat systems have been around forever. SF2 combos were exactly that and are now essential. And lacking the ability to parry everything in the title with easy windows is not going to garner much sympathy. If it is possible, it is possible. That's how complex action games work. If it isn't possible, then you must prove it. And even if it isn't possible, BB is never looked on as a game that needs to match such specific critera.

I think most people are happy with the mechanics you have strong feelings against and action game fans don't hold BB up to high standards when it comes to mechanics. It's quite a slow and simplified game. And nothing can be categorized as outright broken, so nobody really cares to the degree you expect. I don't spend hours and hours analyzing inefficiency in Mario jump physics either.

 

[spliced]

I love the L2 attacks.

Axe: for quicker than charged crowd control.
LHB: for bosses and low enemies like crows.
Hammer: I love the extra range when I need to make sure I land a hit.

 

[Deleted member 325805]

I just got to Old Yharnam and the frame rate is really horrible, it feels like it's dipping massively, even more so than usual. I also hate the place, died like 5x to the watch tower guy, finally get past him and then die when I get into the room and lose 7k echoes. It really feels like a big jump in difficulty. I know I suck at these games but damn, just give me a lamp every now and again

EDIT: Just looked at a video and I was right next to a shortcut when I died

 

[Melchiah]

I just got to Old Yharnam and the frame rate is really horrible, it feels like it's dipping massively, even more so than usual. I also hate the place, died like 5x to the watch tower guy, finally get past him and then die when I get into the room and lose 7k echoes. It really feels like a big jump in difficulty. I know I suck at these games but damn, just give me a lamp every now and again

EDIT: Just looked at a video and I was right next to a shortcut when I died

Yeah, the framerate takes a hit there, especially in the beginning section of the area, where there's fire and smoke. Losing 7k echoes is not a big deal though. You'll get a plenty more of them quickly. Hell, you can get more than that on a short farming run in Central Yharnam. I've lost +300k echoes in the chalice dungeons, and that stung.

 

[Rich Uncle Skeleton]

Yeah, the framerate takes a hit there, especially in the beginning section of the area, where there's fire and smoke. Losing 7k echoes is not a big deal though. You'll get a plenty more of them quickly. Hell, you can get more than that on a short farming run in Central Yharnam. I've lost +300k echoes in the chalice dungeons, and that stung.

Eh, early on, 7K is kind of a big deal, especially if he hasn't bought the

Spoiler

Hunter Chief Emblem

yet and plans to. It's pretty tedious to amass

Spoiler

10,000

echoes that early in the game. Not the end of the world or anything, but definitely annoying.

 

[JadedWriter]

That boss with the Iron balls? (no pun intended) I hate that boss, its like hit and run for your life

Yeah that thing. I have Rom and blood letting beast next. I have a feeling that I'll be in a fuck ton of trouble with those.

 

[Melchiah]

Eh, early on, 7K is kind of a big deal, especially if he hasn't bought the

Spoiler

Hunter Chief Emblem

yet and plans to. It's pretty tedious to amass

Spoiler

10,000

echoes that early in the game. Not the end of the world or anything, but definitely annoying.

Annoying yes, but I don't think it's that big of a deal. Although it might seem so at the time. Once I learned to parry the brutes, and used

Spoiler

the doorway

to cheese the werewolves, Central Yharnam became a quick and easy farming route. It didnt take long to gather enough souls for that item.

 

[JadedWriter]

Annoying yes, but I don't think it's that big of a deal. Although it might seem so at the time. Once I learned to parry the brutes, and used

Spoiler

the doorway

to cheese the werewolves, Central Yharnam became a quick and easy farming route. It didnt take long to gather enough souls for that item.

I don't even know what a good late game farming area is. I can one hit most of the shit in central Yharnam but I get very little in the way of blood echoes.

 

[Melchiah]

I don't even know what a good late game farming area is. I can one hit most of the shit in central Yharnam but I get very little in the way of blood echoes.

I think the amount of echoes you get from the early areas goes down when you level up/move ahead. After Central Yharnam started giving diminishing returns I began to farm in

Spoiler

Hemwick Charnel Lane

, and from there I moved to

Spoiler

Forbidden Woods

. In the end the best, but not the easiest, way to collect echoes is in the chalice dungeons. I haven't farmed there myself though, as I could get 200-300k echoes per layer by proceeding forward.

 

[Morrigan Stark]

Annoying yes, but I don't think it's that big of a deal. Although it might seem so at the time. Once I learned to parry the brutes, and used

Spoiler

the doorway

to cheese the werewolves, Central Yharnam became a quick and easy farming route. It didnt take long to gather enough souls for that item.

Moreover, you don't ever need to farm. The emblem becomes useless once you beat Blood-starved beast, and any echoes spent on other things can simply be obtained later. Better to spend time gitting gud than spending time farming, it's just a crutch really.

I mean it doesn't really matter if you face a boss at level 22 or level 25, you can still do it just fine. Becoming overly attached to your echoes/souls is a surefire way to become miserable and stressed out while playing. I think I lost a 600k bloodstain in a depth 5 chalice dungeon once. I groaned in dismay, then I just laughed and shrugged.

 

[Melchiah]

Moreover, you don't ever need to farm. The emblem becomes useless once you beat Blood-starved beast, and any echoes spent on other things can simply be obtained later. Better to spend time gitting gud than spending time farming, it's just a crutch really.

I mean it doesn't really matter if you face a boss at level 22 or level 25, you can still do it just fine. Becoming overly attached to your echoes/souls is a surefire way to become miserable and stressed out while playing. I think I lost a 600k bloodstain in a depth 5 chalice dungeon once. I groaned in dismay, then I just laughed and shrugged.

I had to buy it on NG+, because I'm going to Old Yharnam via a different route this time, to

Spoiler

meet Djura on different terms.

The cost of the item was nothing on NG+ though.

Yeah, I learned it the hard way on the first playthrough, that you shouldn't get too attached to the echoes. It still stings to lose 6-digit amount of them, eventhough I have no reason to level up anymore.

 

[Morrigan Stark]

It still stings to lose 6-digit amount of them, eventhough I have no reason to level up anymore.

Haha, true. We humans get so strangely attached to arbitrary numbers.

I remember losing 100 million souls on one of my PvP characters in Demon's Souls, once. I suicided in the Nexus to be a phantom for some PvP event, then later needed to get neutral world tendency and suicided in the level to black the WT and forgot to pick up my stain from the nexus... I didn't need those souls at all, but they were kind of PvP trophies in a way so I grew attached to them somewhat. XD Of course I lost my whole character and every other I had made a few weeks later to YLOD anyway, so it was moot.

 

[Rich Uncle Skeleton]

Moreover, you don't ever need to farm. The emblem becomes useless once you beat Blood-starved beast, and any echoes spent on other things can simply be obtained later. Better to spend time gitting gud than spending time farming, it's just a crutch really.

I mean it doesn't really matter if you face a boss at level 22 or level 25, you can still do it just fine. Becoming overly attached to your echoes/souls is a surefire way to become miserable and stressed out while playing. I think I lost a 600k bloodstain in a depth 5 chalice dungeon once. I groaned in dismay, then I just laughed and shrugged.

I completely agree about not worrying about leveling up (I apparently finished my first playthrough "underleveled" without realizing it), but the bold is just not true. It saves you the hassle of going the roundabout way to the grand cathedral. In repeat playthroughs I've tended to fight BSB just for fun but then use the emblem.

 

[Deleted member 325805]

Yeah, the framerate takes a hit there, especially in the beginning section of the area, where there's fire and smoke. Losing 7k echoes is not a big deal though. You'll get a plenty more of them quickly. Hell, you can get more than that on a short farming run in Central Yharnam. I've lost +300k echoes in the chalice dungeons, and that stung.

I'm a noob remember, 7k is by far the most I've ever lost. It's crazy to me that at some point you'll be carrying 300k. Are the devs still working on performance, or is this as good as it's going to get?

 

[Morrigan Stark]

I'm a noob remember, 7k is by far the most I've ever lost. It's crazy to me that at some point you'll be carrying 300k. Are the devs still working on performance, or is this as good as it's going to get?

I doubt it'll get better. Having recently replayed Dark Souls I and II on PS3, honestly Bloodborne performs much, much better overall.

 

[Melchiah]

Haha, true. We humans get so strangely attached to arbitrary numbers.

I remember losing 100 million souls on one of my PvP characters in Demon's Souls, once. I suicided in the Nexus to be a phantom for some PvP event, then later needed to get neutral world tendency and suicided in the level to black the WT and forgot to pick up my stain from the nexus... I didn't need those souls at all, but they were kind of PvP trophies in a way so I grew attached to them somewhat. XD Of course I lost my whole character and every other I had made a few weeks later to YLOD anyway, so it was moot.

My condolences. I faced the dreaded YLOD as well, but luckily the old fatty could be repaired. Thank whatever for the PS+ server saves though.


EDIT:

I'm a noob remember, 7k is by far the most I've ever lost. It's crazy to me that at some point you'll be carrying 300k. Are the devs still working on performance, or is this as good as it's going to get?

I tried to cheer with the thought, that you could gather more easily, but I guess the tone of the post didn't convey it.

 

[Deleted member 325805]

I tried to cheer with the thought, that you could gather more easily, but I guess the tone of the post didn't convey it.

Nah I knew what you meant, but I'm just nowhere near the point where I can easily regain that many echoes due to the fact I'm so newb at the genre. I like to get something out of my sessions, even if it's just a couple of levels or something so it feels like time well spent. If I had gotten the shortcut I would have been more OK with dying. I think my mindset is just wrong for Bloodborne, but I'm trying to adapt.

 

[Melchiah]

Nah I knew what you meant, but I'm just nowhere near the point where I can easily regain that many echoes due to the fact I'm so newb at the genre. I like to get something out of my sessions, even if it's just a couple of levels or something so it feels like time well spent. If I had gotten the shortcut I would have been more OK with dying. I think my mindset is just wrong for Bloodborne, but I'm trying to adapt.

I know the feeling. Many times I wondered if I'll ever reach the end, but eventually it happened after 1½ months. If I can do it, anyone can. That is, if there's will to do so, and be entertained by the challenge. A buddy of mine had enough and quit in the same area you're in now, when he felt like he didn't make any progress. So, it can go either way, depending on the person.

 

[JadedWriter]

Nah I knew what you meant, but I'm just nowhere near the point where I can easily regain that many echoes due to the fact I'm so newb at the genre. I like to get something out of my sessions, even if it's just a couple of levels or something so it feels like time well spent. If I had gotten the shortcut I would have been more OK with dying. I think my mindset is just wrong for Bloodborne, but I'm trying to adapt.

The best part of progress is going back to Central Yharnam with a level 80 something character and killing everything there with one hit.

 

[Deleted member 325805]

I know the feeling. Many times I wondered if I'll ever reach the end, but eventually it happened after 1½ months. If I can do it, anyone can. That is, if there's will to do so, and be entertained by the challenge. A buddy of mine had enough and quit in the same area you're in now, when he felt like he didn't make any progress. So, it can go either way, depending on the person.

Yeah, I'm definitely the type of guy who needs to feel like they accomplished something, if I play for an hour and literally gain nothing that's when I start to question why I'm playing. I watched a video of someone doing the area I did and it took them like 10 minutes, but for me it took about 40 and I still died at the end. I will say I'm in a love/hate relationship with the game ATM, but I will admit my heart was pounding when I killed Father and it felt great, so that's a good sign.

 

[Essay]

Why didn't Fimbulvetr link to the post he was referring to? I had to hunt back almost 1000 posts in this thread to reread it: http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showpost.php?p=165599906&postcount=7904

Spoiler

Does this mean I get to forego typing individualized quote tags in my reply to return the favour? *cheeky grin*

I agree that there was a lot of subjectivity in the thesis and value-judgment-flavoured presumptions, so, to weigh in with my own....

"Judging the timing of your actions is critical [to this sort of game, but Bloodborne gets it wrong.]" The emphasis here seems to bank on the idea that control of timing in a bubble is sacred, but, imo, this discredits the experience that is to be had with judging timing and spacing together at once. It's like a rhythm game enthusiast telling a fighting game player (or, more absurdly, a golfer or pool player) that the latter games are inferior because having to employ spatial sense is unnatural.

"Parrying is slower than it should be [...]" I'm a little sadden by the limited and arbitrary example that was chosen as a typical startup for an attack. There is a wide variety of attacks in the game---some with more than 0.67 seconds of startup animation, some with less. Some will have more subtle cues of animation, some won't. "Parrying to guns was a catastrophic mistake" because reacting in 0.3-of-a-second is unrealistic? I can give a list of fighting game scenarios in which I've reacted successfully for quite pleasurable and hype-enducing results that happened to require 0.3-of-a-second reactions if we're really fixated on that particular number.

The real complaint there seems to be that some parries will rely on reactions, and some on predictive reads, so approaching the game with an "I must parry everything" mindset gets rough. I get that Fimbulvetr is approaching this without PVP in mind, but I don't get how being able to react to everything makes for a more enjoyable experience. (Dreams of a parries-only DkS run?) I, for one, personally like the feeling I get when I make gambles that pay off against the quasi-conditionable AI, especially given that I love the feeling of doing it against a real person in PVP, and Bloodborne PVP does this better than previous Souls games for me.

"Parrying at range isn't parrying [...]" I mostly agree with the points in that section, especially given Fimbulvetr's PVE-focus. In PVP, at least the fact that bullets + vials (and, as such, bloodbullets) are limited helps balance this out, but in PVE, it's an issue precisely because resources can be less of an issue.

"Trading is a bad thing [because] it's confusing." Coming from my gaming background, there's nothing objectively confusing about it all. Different moves have different risk-reward ratios when you attempt to parry them as trades are likely. Some trades will produce enough hitstun and distance against the parry-er to prevent the him/her from dashing up and regaining all the lost health via visceral, and some won't. Some threaten to produce enough damage that parrying becomes ballsier at lower healths than others. I loved parrying in Dark Souls, but this element only makes it more interesting to me, as it starts to boil down to more than just reaction and timing; strategic reads, positioning and resource management factor in too.

That's about all I remember from my reactions last month when Fimbulvetr's post was made, but I do want to say that I appreciate the thought that went into it, even if it got a bit prescriptive.

 

[Copenap]

Finally finished the game. Didn't really get around to playing much and then I got shortly stuck.

Overall I'm not sure what to think. The first half was great but I didn't like the second half as much. I think that's partly due to my playstyle. In Souls games I am used to being able to slowly inch forward and making steady progress. Some areas like the ones with bell maidens made this impossible as I had to rush. Pretty sure I will not play through it again but it's still a very good game.

 

[Morrigan Stark]

My condolences. I faced the dreaded YLOD as well, but luckily the old fatty could be repaired. Thank whatever for the PS+ server saves though.

Yeah, I didn't have PS+ back then. Losing all my carefully crafted characters kind of stung, especially since I actually had a backup on an external HDD but the stupid save files are locked for those games and couldn't be restored. -_- Oh well, I remade even better looking characters after that. xD

 

[KittenMaster]

For those doing Chalice Dungeons (for their first time or all over again, doesn't matter): put a Shaman Bone Blade in your quick inventory

Spoiler

use them on Bell Maidens that summon

Spoiler

spiders

.

 

[Orochinagis]

I don't even know what a good late game farming area is. I can one hit most of the shit in central Yharnam but I get very little in the way of blood echoes.

Early game - The Sewers killing the mud mobs and the big dudes, not the giants.
Mid game - F

Spoiler

orgotten Woods

killling the snake mobs
Late game - M

Spoiler

ensis nightmare

after defeating M

Spoiler

icolash

killing the S

Spoiler

hadow of Yharman

mobs and the three big pigs.

 

[Fancy Clown]

If I'm at Amygdala now (I got it down to like 5% health last time before dying. Infuriating) about how much more game do I have left? I've unlocked Cainhurst but havent explored it yet, and I'm on the three hunters in the Unseen village.

That vertical slice is super useful for hitting the heads of some bosses.

Most of the two handed weapons have three forms of attack in its transformed form

Well now I know! It is super useful indeed.

 

[GreyOcelot]

If I'm at Amygdala now (I got it down to like 5% health last time before dying. Infuriating) about how much more game do I have left? I've unlocked Cainhurst but havent explored it yet, and I'm on the three hunters in the Unseen village.





Well now I know! It is super useful indeed.

you're like 80-90% through the game if we're not talking about options areas.

 

[Deleted member 325805]

Took a break after my last harrowing defeat and came back refreshed, plugged in the headphones and went full tryhard mode. Managed to kill the bellend in the tower (he fell to his death after an MLG dodge by me) and I also unlocked the shortcut. I then cleaned out the area with those two massive mobs but I didn't find anything apart from a gate that needed a special emblem to open. I guess now I need to face my fears and go for the 3rd boss near the shortcut, I haven't seen him yet. I also managed to level my axe to +3 and I gained a few levels as well. I learned that the torch is amazing against those dog men as they get scared and you can just free hit them. I hadn't used it up until that point. Oh and while I'm rambling should I just keep putting points into strength and vitally? Is there a point where skill outweighs strength for the axe? And is stamina worth getting for the resistance?

 

[JadedWriter]

Took a break after my last harrowing defeat and came back refreshed, plugged in the headphones and went full tryhard mode. Managed to kill the bellend in the tower (he fell to his death after an MLG dodge by me) and I also unlocked the shortcut. I then cleaned out the area with those two massive mobs but I didn't find anything apart from a gate that needed a special emblem to open. I guess now I need to face my fears and go for the 3rd boss near the shortcut, I haven't seen him yet. I also managed to level my axe to +3 and I gained a few levels as well. I learned that the torch is amazing against those dog men as they get scared and you can just free hit them. I hadn't used it up until that point. Oh and while I'm rambling should I just keep putting points into strength and vitally? Is there a point where skill outweighs strength for the axe? And is stamina worth getting for the resistance?

Upgrading stamina does help because it allows you to swing your weapon more and dodge more. Skill is good because it increases your visceral damage, but since you're not really running skill build you probably shouldn't waste the points. Granted I have like 42 points in visceral, I've one shotted every enemy I've parried lately.