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

I've leveled up. I didn't know upgrading weapons was a thing. Thanks game! You're a real fucking dick, Bloodborne. In fact yesterday my weapon just said some cryptic fucking message and had to google search it to see where the hell to take it to repair.
The description on the bloodshards you pick up does give you a clue about weapon fortification, but the game also expects the player to do some of the work themselves, like explore the Hunter's Dream (the hub) and find all things to do there that help you. That's kind of how these games are, like you want a big story and dialogue-heavy cutscenes as a reward, you're just not going to get them.

The story in Bloodborne is amazing, probably by favourite in the series it's so MUCH more than the "warewolves and monsters are taking over a Victorian town" that the game appears when you start, much more - But it's not given to you on a plate, you get out of it what you put in. It's told in NPC dialogue, item descriptions, enemy design, level design and architecture - you piece it together and go as deep as you want to, but it's not slapped in your face, that's just not how Miyazaki tells these stories.

About saving - the game constantly saves so you never lose any progress. You never lose items, you can lose blood echoes sure if you don't retrieve your bloodstain but again you can get those back the same way you got them. You're going to lose blood echoes, that's how it is. Don't go in to new areas with a ton of them on you. When you kill a boss, warp back to the Hunter's Dream and level up, spend them on blood vials and upgrading etc. Then you're free to explore the next area and die as many times as it takes without risk of 'losing' anything.
 

RDreamer

Member
The description on the bloodshards you pick up does give you a clue about weapon fortification, but the game also expects the player to do some of the work themselves, like explore the Hunter's Dream (the hub) and find all things to do there that help you. That's kind of how these games are, like you want a big story and dialogue-heavy cutscenes as a reward, you're just not going to get them.

I went in not expecting dialogue or story stuff. I knew it was almost nonexistent here, for what that's worth. It's just without story stuff for a reward there should be something. There's no reward in this game, it seems. Like I can repeat a lot of content in Diablo or something because there's a reward there. Your character is getting more powerful and you find some awesome things. There's excitement. From what I understand you don't get anything from bosses. You don't get anything from normal enemies but blood money... and it's blood money you have to talk yourself into not getting excited about because the game could take it away at any second. So it all feels really pointless.


About saving - the game constantly saves so you never lose any progress. You never lose items, you can lose blood echoes sure if you don't retrieve your bloodstain but again you can get those back the same way you got them. You're going to lose blood echoes, that's how it is. Don't go in to new areas with a ton of them on you. When you kill a boss, warp back to the Hunter's Dream and level up, spend them on blood vials and upgrading etc. Then you're free to explore the next area and die as many times as it takes without risk of 'losing' anything.

This might be a more semantics sort of thing, but you absolutely lose progress. My last rant was about having to farm blood vials because I used them in a losing attempt against a boss. That's losing progress right there. All the enemies respawning in the same spot and the level basically "resetting" is losing progress. Yes it's kind of built into the gameplay here, but my brain doesn't like repeating things more than I have to and this doesn't really cut it.
 
I went in not expecting dialogue or story stuff. I knew it was almost nonexistent here, for what that's worth. It's just without story stuff for a reward there should be something. There's no reward in this game, it seems. Like I can repeat a lot of content in Diablo or something because there's a reward there. Your character is getting more powerful and you find some awesome things. There's excitement. From what I understand you don't get anything from bosses. You don't get anything from normal enemies but blood money... and it's blood money you have to talk yourself into not getting excited about because the game could take it away at any second. So it all feels really pointless.




This might be a more semantics sort of thing, but you absolutely lose progress. My last rant was about having to farm blood vials because I used them in a losing attempt against a boss. That's losing progress right there. All the enemies respawning in the same spot and the level basically "resetting" is losing progress. Yes it's kind of built into the gameplay here, but my brain doesn't like repeating things more than I have to and this doesn't really cut it.
You'll have to accept these things if you're going to enjoy the game. The reward is the satisfaction of defeating an enemy you were having trouble with and progressing to the next area. And you will get rewards as you progress.
 
It's definately a perception thing. If I beat a boss first try in a Souls game I feel like I, or the game, did something wrong - they're meant to surprise and challenge you. I usually go in the first tew times not even trying to hit the boss - I just want to see what its attacks are and how to dodge them.

The reward is your progress in the game - your character does get more powerful as you level up and upgrade your weapon and you do find new items, but Souls aren't really about loot it's about the journey not the destination. You beat a hard as nails boss that kicked your ass a dozen times and it feels great when it finally bites the dust. That's like a drug to Souls fans.
 

AyanFaust

Banned
Aw man, I just finished he game today.
Killed Gehrman. At some point I'll likely new game plus it and fight the Moon Presence, but I didn't want to for this run.

I'm not entirely sure what to say about this game now that I finished it. It was my first SoulBorne game, and at a point, I was very ready to give up and say the game is just not for me. I'm still not sure if the game is for me, but damn, did it give me some of the biggest highs in gaming. I spent about a good 1~2 hours on the final boss, and when I finally killed him, I could barely believe it. I then watched my video of it, and it really felt like I've come a long way from nearly giving up at the cleric beast.

Bloodborne isn't my favorite game, but I'll be damned if it isn't the most satisfying game I've ever played, and it may have made a souls fan of me. Definitely glad I stuck with it and played this masterpiece ^^

Can't wait to try out the scythe in a ng+ *^*
 
I'm only partway through the game but it seems like you get plenty of stuff from bosses, killing the very first one allows you to buy a new weapon, and plenty of others have dropped badges, workshop tools or lore hints, which helps flesh out the story, not to mention progression to new areas, a load of blood echoes and satisfaction.

Speaking of which, was struggling with Amygdala last night when something clicked and I realized it was way easier to just keep my distance instead of constantly being under her, chopping with Ludwig's, once I adjusted I beat her on the next try, it's an amazing thing to physically see yourself getting better.
 
I do agree with disliking limited blood vials and ammo. I wish you just spawned with 20/20, but it was never really a problem for me aside from the last boss. Farming for vials and ammo is not a fun mechanic and I could see it turning a lot of newcomers off.
 
I do agree with disliking limited blood vials and ammo. I wish you just spawned with 20/20, but it was never really a problem for me aside from the last boss. Farming for vials and ammo is not a fun mechanic and I could see it turning a lot of newcomers off.
 

Wiggy

Member
anyone got any tips for defiled chalice dungeon amygdala or willing to co-op (though im not sure how that works tbh)? Really stuck for the first time :/
 
anyone got any tips for defiled chalice dungeon amygdala or willing to co-op (though im not sure how that works tbh)? Really stuck for the first time :/
Easy kill Amygdala is to stay on her tail. It doesn't take much damage but it makes her jump, when she does - stay completely still, she will always miss you as she lands if you stay still so charge up an R2 and as she lands direct it towards her head which should be right next to you, so you will want to be locked off for this. A few of those will get you a visceral attack, after which go through her legs or around back to her tail - rinse and repeat.
 
I was in your exact situation with Bloodborne, about to give up on it in Central Yarnham and I rank Dark Souls in my top 5 of all time. Then I pulled out a guide, found out how to avoid the werewolves, how to get to the cleric beast and then summoned a couple of players to fight Father Gasciogne.

I literally can't wrap my head around how someone could possibly love Dark Souls and feel the need to use a guide for Central Yharnam. Unless you played all of Dark Souls with a guide and summons as well, of course.

Also, RDreamer, the game is obviously not for you. I see no reason to keep playing when you're not going to enjoy it, especially since you didn't buy it yourself and therefore aren't missing on any kind of investment.
 

RDreamer

Member
Just a quick update: I did beat the Cleric Beast (on the first try, no less) and Father Gascoigne (3rd try in total, though the first wasn't much of anything since I didn't know what the fuck was going on and that was before Cleric, etc)

I was getting really annoyed that my "lock on" kept getting lost without me clicking. I really hate almost every lock on system I've ever encountered in any game, really. I never end up using it, but I suppose since throwing shit is completely useless here without that I'm really going to have to get used to it...
 
I literally can't wrap my head around how someone could possibly love Dark Souls and feel the need to use a guide for Central Yharnam. Unless you played all of Dark Souls with a guide and summons as well, of course.

Also, RDreamer, the game is obviously not for you. I see no reason to keep playing when you're not going to enjoy it, especially since you didn't buy it yourself and therefore aren't missing on any kind of investment.
Yea that is hard to imagine. I had to use a guide a few times in DS, but did BB blind aside from someone telling me to use
the music box on Father Gascoigne
. Other than that the game seemed a lot more straight forward than DS.
 

Wiggy

Member
Easy kill Amygdala is to stay on her tail. It doesn't take much damage but it makes her jump, when she does - stay completely still, she will always miss you as she lands if you stay still so charge up an R2 and as she lands direct it towards her head which should be right next to you, so you will want to be locked off for this. A few of those will get you a visceral attack, after which go through her legs or around back to her tail - rinse and repeat.

OMG THANK YOU! I just beat it first time after reading this! The 'dont move when it jumps' tip was a god send!
 
This fucking DLC.

Took me 15 hours to beat Ludwig.

Great. The FUCKER is down.

Time to enjoy some exploration again. Next FUCKING ROOM, two fuckings hunters : Ludwig blade wielding flash gordon, with his fucking magic missile nun for cover. WTF am I supposed to do ? The fucker is so fast and so slim, he goes under or just dodge my bullets when I want to interrupt, the nun just burns half my life in a single missile I have to keep my eyes on both and turn around, I need to farm bullets now again, for fuck SAKE I haven't had to farm a single time in the game and in this DLC I keep farming for blood to stock and vial and now on bullets What the shit

I spend 2 full days on Ludwig and now next room is much more of a challenge and 100x more random.

Fucking fuck
 
This fucking DLC.

Took me 15 hours to beat Ludwig.

Great. The FUCKER is down.

Time to enjoy some exploration again. Next FUCKING ROOM, two fuckings hunters : Ludwig blade wielding flash gordon, with his fucking magic missile nun for cover. WTF am I supposed to do ? The fucker is so fast and so slim, he goes under or just dodge my bullets when I want to interrupt, the nun just burns half my life in a single missile I have to keep my eyes on both and turn around, I need to farm bullets now again, for fuck SAKE I haven't had to farm a single time in the game and in this DLC I keep farming for blood to stock and vial and now on bullets What the shit

I spend 2 full days on Ludwig and now next room is much more of a challenge and 100x more random.

Fucking fuck

Yeah, those two are bastards. You can just skip them and run for the elevator, it has a lamp on top as well.

What I did with my second character was to split them up. I attracted the melee guy into the elevator, then I activated it and brought him up with me. By himself he was much more manageable, especially with parries. After that, the ranged caster is a joke.
 
Yeah, those two are bastards. You can just skip them and run for the elevator, it has a lamp on top as well.

What I did with my second character was to split them up. I attracted the melee guy into the elevator, then I activated it and brought him up with me. By himself he was much more manageable, especially with parries. After that, the ranged caster is a joke.

no you can't run past, the elevator doesn't work.

I pull back the sword guy in the tunnel I stun lock him but for some miracle reasons, sometimes, a hit doesn't register and he get priority on me, same weapon, and he chains me because of course he's faster
 
This fucking DLC.

Took me 15 hours to beat Ludwig.

Great. The FUCKER is down.

Time to enjoy some exploration again. Next FUCKING ROOM, two fuckings hunters : Ludwig blade wielding flash gordon, with his fucking magic missile nun for cover. WTF am I supposed to do ? The fucker is so fast and so slim, he goes under or just dodge my bullets when I want to interrupt, the nun just burns half my life in a single missile I have to keep my eyes on both and turn around, I need to farm bullets now again, for fuck SAKE I haven't had to farm a single time in the game and in this DLC I keep farming for blood to stock and vial and now on bullets What the shit

I spend 2 full days on Ludwig and now next room is much more of a challenge and 100x more random.

Fucking fuck

Use the bedrooms to separate them and kill the white one then the black one.
 
Just a quick update: I did beat the Cleric Beast (on the first try, no less) and Father Gascoigne (3rd try in total, though the first wasn't much of anything since I didn't know what the fuck was going on and that was before Cleric, etc)

I was getting really annoyed that my "lock on" kept getting lost without me clicking. I really hate almost every lock on system I've ever encountered in any game, really. I never end up using it, but I suppose since throwing shit is completely useless here without that I'm really going to have to get used to it...
You might be good at the game then if it only took a few tries for those bosses. If you already have the skill then you just need to play how the game wants you to play. Keep that in mind
 
Geeze, this game is way harder when your DS4 has a dead spot on the left analogue stick and won't let you walk forward, guess I'm taking a mandatory break until I get my paycheck on Friday. I did manage to make progress in Yahar'gul, managed to will my way towards opening the elevator shortcut and making it back to the first lamp with some echoes.
 
Geeze, this game is way harder when your DS4 has a dead spot on the left analogue stick and won't let you walk forward, guess I'm taking a mandatory break until I get my paycheck on Friday. I did manage to make progress in Yahar'gul, managed to will my way towards opening the elevator shortcut and making it back to the first lamp with some echoes.
You need a new controller? That sucks. Is it just Bloodborne that has this issue?
 
You need a new controller? That sucks. Is it just Bloodborne that has this issue?

Nope, it's been acting weird on me for awhile now but I think me playing Bloodborne non-stop has pushed it over the edge. From what I gather a lot of day 1 DS4's developed the issue, almost directly 12 'oclock either doesn't register at all, or will give me nothing more than a walk, you can see how that might be an issue.
 

RDreamer

Member
You might be good at the game then if it only took a few tries for those bosses. If you already have the skill then you just need to play how the game wants you to play. Keep that in mind

Probably more that I grinded a bit. I leveled up like 3 or 4 times and fortified my weapon to +2 before going in... plus bought a bunch of molotovs.
 

Melchiah

Member
The description on the bloodshards you pick up does give you a clue about weapon fortification, but the game also expects the player to do some of the work themselves, like explore the Hunter's Dream (the hub) and find all things to do there that help you. That's kind of how these games are, like you want a big story and dialogue-heavy cutscenes as a reward, you're just not going to get them.

The story in Bloodborne is amazing, probably by favourite in the series it's so MUCH more than the "warewolves and monsters are taking over a Victorian town" that the game appears when you start, much more - But it's not given to you on a plate, you get out of it what you put in. It's told in NPC dialogue, item descriptions, enemy design, level design and architecture - you piece it together and go as deep as you want to, but it's not slapped in your face, that's just not how Miyazaki tells these stories.

About saving - the game constantly saves so you never lose any progress. You never lose items, you can lose blood echoes sure if you don't retrieve your bloodstain but again you can get those back the same way you got them. You're going to lose blood echoes, that's how it is. Don't go in to new areas with a ton of them on you. When you kill a boss, warp back to the Hunter's Dream and level up, spend them on blood vials and upgrading etc. Then you're free to explore the next area and die as many times as it takes without risk of 'losing' anything.

I find it amusing, that people complain about things like that. The workshop desk is right there for all to see. If you don't want to bother exploring even that small of an area, you shouldn't complain about not knowing what to do. It's hilarious, that some players even continued playing the game without any weapons, because they were in such a hurry they didn't see them laid on the stairs, right in front of the spawning point. =D

As for finding your way in Central Yharnam, I think it was pretty easy to navigate, even for a newcomer like me, and I certainly had no need for a map to do so. In fact, I found it refreshing to explore without constantly looking at a map. I explored the areas methodically, broke all the barrels, and found all the shortcuts, which is something Souls veterans in particular should know to do. I didn't even need a guide to find the shortcut, that lets you bypass the werewolf bridge, and the mob in case of untimely demise.

It's both amusing and annoying, that people continue complaining about things they would have found out on their own, if they just had bothered to do so. That's why I love it, that the game punishes the TL;DR folk.


EDIT:
Time to enjoy some exploration again. Next FUCKING ROOM, two fuckings hunters : Ludwig blade wielding flash gordon, with his fucking magic missile nun for cover. WTF am I supposed to do ? The fucker is so fast and so slim, he goes under or just dodge my bullets when I want to interrupt, the nun just burns half my life in a single missile I have to keep my eyes on both and turn around, I need to farm bullets now again, for fuck SAKE I haven't had to farm a single time in the game and in this DLC I keep farming for blood to stock and vial and now on bullets What the shit

I think those two were pretty easy to beat. I just lured the black one closer, and parried him to death. After that, the white one went down without that much of an effort. The Cane's whip form works really well against enemy hunters, like the one in the preceding area. He was a bit of a pain in the ass, as I couldn't parry him, and for some reason (too little light perhaps?) the lock-on just wouldn't hold.
 
Game completed

What a ride i just need to do the chalice dungeons and mop some stuff up for the plat now

Same here.

Tried co-op for the first time yesterday. Fun but it took a little while to figure out how it worked, which was kind of annoying. Also had my first PVP -- luckily the invader wasn't very good (we were running through the forbidden woods) so it wasn't a problem.
 
So, I just bought this today.

I've never played a Souls game and just glanced over RDreamer's posts.

On a scale of 1-10, how much pain and suffering am I in for?
 

-Horizon-

Member
So I'm playing a new character today and I wanna know: how do I get Djura's gesture?

I'm reading online and it says I'm gonna need to kill Blood starved beast and at least get the encounter insight from paarl. I'll also need to approach Djura from behind.

So the only way to BSB is to run through the front of his tower. That's fine right? Is there some trigger while running through this that might keep me from getting the gesture? Should I not fight anything and just run through it?
 
So I'm playing a new character today and I wanna know: how do I get Djura's gesture?

I'm reading online and it says I'm gonna need to kill Blood starved beast and at least get the encounter insight from paarl. I'll also need to approach Djura from behind.

So the only way to BSB is to run through the front of his tower. That's fine right? Is there some trigger while running through this that might keep me from getting the gesture? Should I not fight anything and just run through it?
Don't kill him. Beat Paarl and go back to djura from his location to get it. He can't see you enter old yharnam.
 
So Ludwig was a fucking bitch, by a mile the hardest in the game, so hard it felt like the dev never wanted anyone to see anything further, but also one of the best boss fight. It's super hard, but the boss has an insane design and holy fucking shit that phase 2.

Next, Living Failure was super easy. Just take your time, focus the isolated casters.

Didn't expect Lady M. right after. Amazing fight. Super easy though. Parry parry parry. Love how insane her attacks get with each phase. And the clockwork behind is just too beautiful, and the music. These hunter vs hunter boss fight, like Father G and the final boss, are trully my favorite in the game.

Now, that fucking Orphan of K... Ah well, that's 10 hours of bloodborne today, time for sleep and some Tales of Borderlands to change my mind
 
So I'm playing a new character today and I wanna know: how do I get Djura's gesture?

I'm reading online and it says I'm gonna need to kill Blood starved beast and at least get the encounter insight from paarl. I'll also need to approach Djura from behind.

So the only way to BSB is to run through the front of his tower. That's fine right? Is there some trigger while running through this that might keep me from getting the gesture? Should I not fight anything and just run through it?

It's fine if he shoots at you while you go through in general. But when you are gonna try to get the gesture you have to come from the BSB place and you can't let him see you till you get to the tower.
 

NinjaBoiX

Member
How do I get past the brick wall in Yarah'gul up the ramp? There are notes saying "hidden path" but I can't work out how to get through!
 

myco666

Member
How do I get past the brick wall in Yarah'gul up the ramp? There are notes saying "hidden path" but I can't work out how to get through!

You could be little bit more specific about what brick wall you are talking about although I guess those messages are attempts at trolling since I really don't remember having to get past a brick wall.
 
So, I just bought this today.

I've never played a Souls game and just glanced over RDreamer's posts.

On a scale of 1-10, how much pain and suffering am I in for?

10, if you aren't patient and don't learn from your mistakes, but if you do, then.... a low 4. The game IS fair in that it will give you all the tools to defeat a particular boss or a difficult mob before you reach them, but there are some enemies who can hit you through walls and some who can stunlock or poison you. On the flipside, you can do to the enemies what they can do to you, with the exception of one status effect which only some enemies can inflict on you and not the other way around.

Bloodborne was my first souls game too and the bosses which took the most amount of time for me were the first 2,
Gascoigne and Cleric Beast
, only because I thought leveling up and trying to hit 'em with a harder hitting weapon was the solution, when it was trying to learn attack patterns and dodging according to counterattack on their recovery.

How do I get past the brick wall in Yarah'gul up the ramp? There are notes saying "hidden path" but I can't work out how to get through!

Are you talking the area outside the chapel where you have the Hypogean Gaol lamp where there's a ramp in the open area with dogs, two huge maneater pigs and bagmen and Tonitrus at the top of the said ramp? If so, then there's no hidden path there, it's just some guy trying to fool first-time players.
 

Sulik2

Member
GAHHHH. Screw From Software. A second Rom fight in the chalice dungeon? In a tiny space and the stupid crystal attack does even more damage? This fight was already a slog when there was space to maneuver just doing hit and runs over and over. Gonna just leave this area and come back in ten levels with better stats and weapons. Cause screw this.
 
GAHHHH. Screw From Software. A second Rom fight in the chalice dungeon? In a tiny space and the stupid crystal attack does even more damage? This fight was already a slog when there was space to maneuver just doing hit and runs over and over. Gonna just leave this area and come back in ten levels with better stats and weapons. Cause screw this.

I personally found the Chalice Rom much much easier, as you can just hide behind the pillars when she tries to bomb you with those Arcane shots. It takes a bit of time, but you keep killing one or two spiders and then run behind a pillar as Rom winds up for her Arcane attack, then come out of hiding and repeat the process till no more spiders are left. Then you use Bolt Paper and hit her hard and fast till she teleports away. Rinse repeat for the second wave of spiders and you're done.
 
So I beat this game Saturday night. Holy crap, what a game. The combat is incredibly fluid and fun to play, I've always played Souls games offensively and this one rewards me for it! I didn't find the final boss very difficult after struggling through the DLC for a week. Seriously, Lady Maria and Orphan of Kos are way quicker than the final boss and really made me git gud.

Sunday morning I immediately started NG+. Already almost done with it! The game is way easier when you have a +10 weapon and can take more than two hits. I have so many other games to play but I might get sucked into NG++ too....
 

BumRush

Member
So I beat this game Saturday night. Holy crap, what a game. The combat is incredibly fluid and fun to play, I've always played Souls games offensively and this one rewards me for it! I didn't find the final boss very difficult after struggling through the DLC for a week. Seriously, Lady Maria and Orphan of Kos are way quicker than the final boss and really made me git gud.

Sunday morning I immediately started NG+. Already almost done with it! The game is way easier when you have a +10 weapon and can take more than two hits. I have so many other games to play but I might get sucked into NG++ too....

The DLC is soooooo much harder in NG+ though.

Great post, by the way!
 
I'm enjoying the chalice dungeons but farming is kind of a pain. I need 2 more Red Jelly so I need to go to Isz or Lower Loran, but I need to get the materials first to make them, doh.

Also next up is defiled Amygdala. I'm looking forward to it, Watchdog was fun and exciting.
 
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