• Hey, guest user. Hope you're enjoying NeoGAF! Have you considered registering for an account? Come join us and add your take to the daily discourse.

Bloodborne |OT++++| Now with Trusty Patches

B

B-Genius

Unconfirmed Member
Veelk said:
Oh, I forgot another bit that pissed me off, but I'm not sure if I should be mad at the game or myself. The Young Girl side quest, the one at the window. Apparently, she was gonna die no matter what I did. Either she'd die to the pig in 2 of my 3 options, or an eldritch monstrosity if I send her to Iosefka's.

Normally, I'm not an advocate of saying there needs to be a win possibility in a game, but given that it concerns a frikken kid, I can make an exception in this case and say there should have been a way to save her. Whats worse is that in knowing the future details of the quest that I should not know, I knew she'd die regardless. So given an inevitability of it all, I decided to profit off the situation as much as I could and sent her off to Iosefka's, to pick up that thingamajig later. Which made me feel like a complete piece of shit, exploiting a girls death to my advantage. But the fuck was I suppose to do, since she was going to die as a result of my actions anyway?

If there was any way I could have ensured her survival, I would have whatever the cost to me. But there wasn't, so now I just feel like a piece of shit opportunist. The situation just became a mathematical equation of what is most profitable for all parties. It made no sense, because each action was going to equally consign her to her death. Since she wasn't going to profit regardless, I might as well. But that didn't make me feel any better when she happily thanked me for what I did and said she loved me. I don't know how I'd feel if I didn't know about the quest results until after I completed it. I'd probably still not like the inevitability of it, but atleast then I could have legitimately said I did everything I reasonably could to ensure her safety. Maybe I'd even take solace in the fact that her death wasn't really a failure on my part. But now...ugh.

Look, I get that merciless cruelty in worlds like bloodborne is a good atmosphere for the game. It's importance is not lost on me. I also don't think children should never die or anything like that. By all means, slaughter an orphanage if you must, but do it with a purpose. Do it well. There ought to be something to killing off a child character beyond "Oh, isn't it so sad that a child died". It's not skillful or creative storytelling to manipulate the most basic humane tendencies, it's just an bludgeoning abuse of people's empathy to get a clumsy emotional response. If you're not going to get mad about the pointless child death itself, then get mad about this sloppy excuse of getting an audience reaction that any storyteller worth their salt is above. FromSoft are better storytellers than that, and we deserve better than that. Because this? This is cheap.

And, in any case, this puts me at odds with the world. I the player knew what was going to happen in future events because I read about it, but my character had no idea and was just operating with the intentions of getting this kid to safety, because he can't know what I know. This just creates a dissonance between my character and myself that I don't really like in my gaming experiences.

So, for those reasons, once I'm done with the Eileen side quest, I'm not gonna look at side quest info and just take it as it comes. I just didn't like at all the position I was put in as a result of knowing that little girl was going to die regardless of what I did. I'll lose whatever I need to for it to not happen again, atleast not this playthrough. All this fiddling to make sure I'm play right is getting in the way of me enjoying the game.
Click to expand...

Can I first just say, I'm enjoying reading your analyses and accounts of your experiences. There's a lot to analyse in these games, and going in with an inquisitive mind can be a real treat as well as a surefire way to darken your day ;)

I do feel obliged to point out that it's not your character's fault that you read up on the quest details beforehand. I think that's you creating the dissonance yourself there, and not the fault of the game.

I can understand your dissatisfaction with the fact that it's impossible to save the girl. It makes your actions seem worthless (or worse, selfish) and makes the world seem more bleak. However, I think this is intentional (and I also think you know this).

For me personally, the sadness of that sidequest is not "the girl dies". It's everything that you, as both player and protagonist, discover leading up to the fact. The inscription in the music box; the brooch; the thought of the girl (and her sister apparently) being left alone on such a night; the way she describes her father "remembering" his own daughters, and the way he writhes in agony when you witness this yourself; the way she recognises you by your scent... It's all the implications tied to the story, that only you as the active agent can progress.

This is an important point: you say that the death of a little girl is "bludgeoned" into us, and that we deserve better. Well, maybe we do deserve better, but one could argue that it's our very nature as an inquisitive player that potentially leads to the demise of two sisters. That window, like much in the world of Bloodborne, is quite easy to bypass entirely, leaving the player none the wiser. This reinforces my belief that the death of this girl is not simply a tool that From are using to "get a reaction". It isn't shoved in your face; it isn't heralded by a cutscene or some other dialogue; it isn't hammed up at all. It's simply stumbled across in multiple, nuanced stages by the perceptive player.

That's my opinion on the subject. I hope it makes some sense.
Also just as an FYI, people sent to Iosefka's are not attacked and killed by Eldritch monstrosities...
they are experimented on and turned into Eldritch monstrosities by Iosefka.
I doubt that'll make you feel better about things, but I find it a rather gruesome and fascinating detail!
 
E

ezekial45

Banned
Can anyone help me out with Ebriatus in the Upper Cathedral Ward? This is my first time through the game, and I'm having a hard time taking her down. And finding a partner to fight with is a pain.

Would anyone be down to come down and assist with the fight? I know they have the new AI partners to help, but they end up dying when she has about half or so of her health left.

Edit: nevermind, I got it. I just got better at it and played more patient like. Felt fucking great.
 
F

Fancy Clown

Member
Veelk said:
Oh, I forgot another bit that pissed me off, but I'm not sure if I should be mad at the game or myself. The Young Girl side quest, the one at the window. Apparently, she was gonna die no matter what I did. Either she'd die to the pig in 2 of my 3 options, or an eldritch monstrosity if I send her to Iosefka's.

Normally, I'm not an advocate of saying there needs to be a win possibility in a game, but given that it concerns a frikken kid, I can make an exception in this case and say there should have been a way to save her. Whats worse is that in knowing the future details of the quest that I should not know, I knew she'd die regardless. So given an inevitability of it all, I decided to profit off the situation as much as I could and sent her off to Iosefka's, to pick up that thingamajig later. Which made me feel like a complete piece of shit, exploiting a girls death to my advantage. But the fuck was I suppose to do, since she was going to die as a result of my actions anyway?

If there was any way I could have ensured her survival, I would have whatever the cost to me. But there wasn't, so now I just feel like a piece of shit opportunist. The situation just became a mathematical equation of what is most profitable for all parties. It made no sense, because each action was going to equally consign her to her death. Since she wasn't going to profit regardless, I might as well. But that didn't make me feel any better when she happily thanked me for what I did and said she loved me. I don't know how I'd feel if I didn't know about the quest results until after I completed it. I'd probably still not like the inevitability of it, but atleast then I could have legitimately said I did everything I reasonably could to ensure her safety. Maybe I'd even take solace in the fact that her death wasn't really a failure on my part. But now...ugh.

Look, I get that merciless cruelty in worlds like bloodborne is a good atmosphere for the game. It's importance is not lost on me. I also don't think children should never die or anything like that. By all means, slaughter an orphanage if you must, but do it with a purpose. Do it well. There ought to be something to killing off a child character beyond "Oh, isn't it so sad that a child died". It's not skillful or creative storytelling to manipulate the most basic humane tendencies, it's just an bludgeoning abuse of people's empathy to get a clumsy emotional response. If you're not going to get mad about the pointless child death itself, then get mad about this sloppy excuse of getting an audience reaction that any storyteller worth their salt is above. FromSoft are better storytellers than that, and we deserve better than that. Because this? This is cheap.

And, in any case, this puts me at odds with the world. I the player knew what was going to happen in future events because I read about it, but my character had no idea and was just operating with the intentions of getting this kid to safety, because he can't know what I know. This just creates a dissonance between my character and myself that I don't really like in my gaming experiences.
Click to expand...

There is a purpose to the girl's death, and it's wonderfully and terrifyingly ironic. By telling her about a safe place to try and save her, you consign her to death. Why? She's a little girl you send out by herself totally unprotected so of course she dies along the way. If you don't tell her about the shelter she will stay in her house and not be harmed. It's tragic, but it's also logical and rewards the player for thinking like this. Many of the side quests function like this, because From puts subtle details in the characters/situations that you may not think about since other games aren't made like that.

But yeah, definitely don't try to spoil yourself too much with this game (although some things can be quite esoteric so I'd advise looking up things you may have missed before the final boss unless you plan on jumping straight on to NG+).
 
T

toastyToast

Member
Doing some league coop on Rom and I'm getting maybe 1 kill per 5 summons. People keep running in and getting mobbed by spiders despite having 2 meat shields smh

Surprised at how fast I get summoned though. Longest I've waited was 30s.
 
R

Randomizer123454444

Member
So, I cleared Old Yarnham, Hemwick Charnel Lane and bagman village before killing Vicar Amelia, and holy crap it was easier than on my first playthrough. Even Darkbeast felt less of a struggle than on my first playthrough. I guess it was the combination of having upgraded weapon (+6 vs +3 first time) and having whip instead of saw cleaver (I could hit her face). On my first playthrough I had to resort to summons to kill VA, this time I managed it solo. I guess she is the first real gear check in game, you can't kill her if you can't outdamage her heals (or I'm doing it wrong).

I really love the whip mode of threaded cane. You can kill a LOT of dangerous enemies by simply dodge -> R2 --> dodge --> R2. Sure the cane-mode does more damage, but it is also close range which is risky when dealing with bagmen, black-armored axe-men and similar dangerous foes.
 
D

Dahbomb

Member
I guess she is the first real gear check in game, you can't kill her if you can't outdamage her heals (or I'm doing it wrong).
Click to expand...
There's no gear check in the game, you can beat the game without even leveling up.

You handle her regeneration by using an item called Numbing Mist. It negates her regeneration.
 
M

myco666

Member
What even triggers Amelias healing? Few last times I've fought her she didn't use healing at all. I remember her being much more constant with it when first playing the game.
 
R

RiggyRob

Member
myco666 said:
What even triggers Amelias healing? Few last times I've fought her she didn't use healing at all. I remember her being much more constant with it when first playing the game.
Click to expand...

Being far away from her when she has less than 50% health I believe, so you have to charge right back in.
 
R

Randomizer123454444

Member
To continue on subject of numbing mist, now that I think of it I should use it on NPC hunters I encounter. They have a nasty habit of chugging healing potions when I fight them.
 
R

Red Liquorice

Member
Does anyone have a use for Lead Elixirs? I've never used them and usually end up selling a few when I need a few more souls to top up for a purchase or level up, I just never know what situation I'd use them in.

Also some of the items I think are too expensive in the shop - poison knives for one. /mini-rant.
 
M

myco666

Member
Red Liquorice said:
Does anyone have a use for Lead Elixirs? I've never used them and usually end up selling a few when I need a few more souls to top up for a purchase or level up, I just never know what situation I'd use them in.

Also some of the items I think are too expensive in the shop - poison knives for one. /mini-rant.
Click to expand...

Mostly for PVP with Str weapons. Lead Elixir + Logarius' Wheel is pretty great since you can just smack away while invader/host tries to stagger you with low damage. For PVE it feels pretty useless though. Don't really know any boss or enemy that you could need it for. Maybe NPC Hunters?

Yeah endgame costs are pretty expensive but if you hop into NG+ and beyond you get maxed out for everything very fast. I can't even pick most of the items laying on the ground on my NG++ character.
 
R

Red Liquorice

Member
myco666 said:
Mostly for PVP with Str weapons. Lead Elixir + Logarius' Wheel is pretty great since you can just smack away while invader/host tries to stagger you with low damage. For PVE it feels pretty useless though. Don't really know any boss or enemy that you could need it for. Maybe NPC Hunters?
Click to expand...
Never thought about that, makes sense though.


Completely unrelated - I just came across a shop in a Chalice Dungeon selling all the DLC weapons in Lost and Uncanny variants, I've come across shops before in CD's but wondered if this particular shop was patched in or it was a lucky find?
 
J

Jabronium

Member
Greenpaint said:
This guy:

http://bloodborne.wikia.com/wiki/Bloody_Crow_of_Cainhurst

hits like a truck. Never fought him before, I failed the quest line in my first playthrough before I got to this point. I'm not skilled enough to beat him while he can 2-hit-kill me (!!), looks like I need to level up vitality a bit / level up in general.
Click to expand...

Oh yeah, I spent the better part of an afternoon beating my head against that fight before I gave up and cheesed him. He's definitely one of the things I'm fearing most as I make my way through NG+.
 
J

JadedWriter

Member
Greenpaint said:
This guy:

http://bloodborne.wikia.com/wiki/Bloody_Crow_of_Cainhurst

hits like a truck. Never fought him before, I failed the quest line in my first playthrough before I got to this point. I'm not skilled enough to beat him while he can 2-hit-kill me (!!), looks like I need to level up vitality a bit / level up in general.
Click to expand...
He's manageable if you can out range him. I usually beat him with the threaded cane. He's still a pain in the ass though.
 
J

JadedWriter

Member
Just discovered Celestial Emissary does not like Tiny Tonitrus. Once he revealed himself I took out about half his remaining health with one shot, after that he was three or four hits away from death.
 
S

sikkinixx

Member
I fired this up after months (I only got past Father G the first go around) and promptly got fucked up. I feel like I should start over and take the cleaver instead of the axe and re-roll my character. I need to hit that right feel to grab me into continuing to play. With Dark Souls I had to fuck around for many hours before I finally found the build that clicked with me (Miracles, claymore, light armour)
 
R

RiggyRob

Member
JadedWriter said:
Just discovered Celestial Emissary does not like Tiny Tonitrus. Once he revealed himself I took out about half his remaining health with one shot, after that he was three or four hits away from death.
Click to expand...

Thrusts and lightning serve you well against the kin, and I'm sure there must be a story-related reason for it similar to 'beasts have a deathly fear of flame'.
 
S

Screaming Meat

Unconfirmed Member
myco666 said:
What boss you did last? Tips vary depending on what point of the game you arrive there.
Click to expand...

I've just got there.

Killed R
om
last.
Staircase of death. Amygdala everywhere. Enemies respawning from the ground after a few seconds. Terrifying red moon thing.

I keep getting swamped.
 
M

myco666

Member
Screaming Meat said:
I've just got there.

Killed R
om
last.
Staircase of death. Amygdala everywhere. Enemies respawning from the ground after a few seconds. Terrifying red moon thing.

I keep getting swamped.
Click to expand...

You need to find the maidens that keep spawning the enemies. They also buff them so if you kill the maidens the area becomes way easier. Some of them are very hidden though so you might want to just run through the area. That is how I did it the first time. Are you still at the first lamp?
 
S

Screaming Meat

Unconfirmed Member
myco666 said:
You need to find the maidens that keep spawning the enemies. They also buff them so if you kill the maidens the area becomes way easier. Some of them are very hidden though so you might want to just run through the area. That is how I did it the first time. Are you still at the first lamp?
Click to expand...

Cheers!

Yeah, I am. I'm avoiding the staircase for now and trying the other route but the pigs keep coming.

Edit: Dead end. Buggery.

Edit edit: I just ran down the stairs! :D

Edit edit edit: oh god... why does this game hate me!
 
M

myco666

Member
Screaming Meat said:
Cheers!

Yeah, I am. I'm avoiding the staircase for now and trying the other route but the pigs keep coming.

Edit: Dead end. Buggery.

Edit edit: I just ran down the stairs! :D

Edit edit edit: oh god... why does this game hate me!
Click to expand...

Haha! Did you get hit by lasers? There is a lamp right after those stairs.
 
B

BumRush

Member
Screaming Meat said:
Okay. The Unseen Village is terrifying and kicking my arse. Any advice?
Click to expand...

This is the one area in the game I'd advocate running from (for now). There's a ridiculous farming location a little later that can get you precious levels in no time. You can come back here and destroy everything later
 
D

dan2026

Member
Vicar Amelia is desyroying my ass on NG+.
So freaking difficult.

That and I keep running out of health potions.
The one thing I absolutely hate in this game is how you dont get them back like the flasks.
Really screws you.
 
R

Randomizer123454444

Member
dan2026 said:
Vicar Amelia is desyroying my ass on NG+.
So freaking difficult.

That and I keep running out of health potions.
The one thing I absolutely hate in this game is how you dont get them back like the flasks.
Really screws you.
Click to expand...

Whenever I don't have enough blood to level up, I buy potions with everything I have left. That way I have a decent buffer when I ram my head against something. Has worked thus far, I'm lvl 70 or so, so I don't have any idea if that's still viable in NG+.
 
D

dan2026

Member
Greenpaint said:
Whenever I don't have enough blood to level up, I buy potions with everything I have left. That way I have a decent buffer when I ram my head against something. Has worked thus far, I'm lvl 70 or so, so I don't have any idea if that's still viable in NG+.
Click to expand...
That is a good strategy.

Also does anyone know a good place to farm potions of enemies in tbe early game?
 
M

myco666

Member
dan2026 said:
That is a good strategy.

Also does anyone know a good place to farm potions of enemies in tbe early game?
Click to expand...

Central Yharnam and Hemwick. Almost all enemies in those areas can drop vials. But if you are on NG+ fastest way to get vials is to farm echoes. Do you have Moon runes?
 
J

JadedWriter

Member
RiggyRob said:
Thrusts and lightning serve you well against the kin, and I'm sure there must be a story-related reason for it similar to 'beasts have a deathly fear of flame'.
Click to expand...
Well it's not new information to me, just never had a character capable of using Hunter Tools before. They're not bad at all actually, especially Tiny Tonitrus, just eats a lot of bullets.
 
S

Screaming Meat

Unconfirmed Member
BumRush said:
This is the one area in the game I'd advocate running from (for now). There's a ridiculous farming location a little later that can get you precious levels in no time. You can come back here and destroy everything later
Click to expand...

Thanks, man. My general tactic is to walk slowly into each area so I don't get surprised... this place really changes the rules up.
 
J

JadedWriter

Member
Unseen Village is probably only really hard if you're under leveled and don't know where all the bell maidens are. Once you know that it's easy. Level layout is quite simple too. It's nowhere near the disaster zone that Nightmare Frontier is.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

Diablo IV |OT| Blessed Mother... Save Us
|OT| 76 77 78 79 80
4K
182K
Miyazaki’s Slave replied
PlayStation Plus Game Catalog lineup for May: Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart, Humanity, Watch Dogs: Legion
2 3 4
198
13K
bender replied
AI: THE SOMNIUM FILES – nirvanA Initiative |OT| Exploring Uchikoshi's Somnium
|OT| 2 3
123
12K
reksveks replied
PS Blog |OT| Your full guide to the all-new PlayStation Plus
|OT| Hype 2 3 4
155
16K
Nitty_Grimes replied
Code Vein |OT| Dark Souls, Anime and Waifus
|OT| 2 3 4
154
18K
TeamGizzyy replied
Top Bottom