With that mindset, every game is a rpg, which I guess is true in a sense. But please let's keep to the rpg elements actually in the game, such as stats. They define and limit your character, you choose how.
I don't agree. You can do that for every game, technically, but if it's not designed for it, it's not happening. Specifically speaking, you can't really project much of anything onto Joel from last of us. He has his own character, voice, opinions, etc. While you can make some inferences, and maybe influence his character in very minor ways through gameplay by making choices whether to sneak by when possible or focusing on particular weapons to the exclusion of others. But that's not the same thing as, say, pokemon, wherein the protagonist keeps complete silence and allows you to make your own interpretations of who your character is by leaving you to your own devices (Though, admittedly, it does strongly imply various narrative elements via dialogue with others). Bloodborne is much like pokemon in this regard, and the roleplay, atleast the narrative aspect of it, which is the part I care about, is the true essence of roleplaying. The only reason to have classes, as far as I can see, is so you can make your character with a narrative background of why he has emphasis in one thing vs another. Classes in relation to gameplay aren't roles, they're just functions, which can inform roles, but they're different from what I think of roleplaying.
It sounds like you want to really minmax while at the same time do everything, or at least try everything at max potential. It's like the definition of having it all. You could easily have made your character less defined and open to more experimentation but you chose to be very specific (from the sound of it). It sounds like you are doing mainly (only?) PVE in which case you don't really need to max out ANY stat but can easily focus on getting at least four-five stats up to a decent level with no grinding at all.
You could also have made several different characters instead of grinding away. You'd be surprised at how fast you'd be able to progress. It could also be potentially fun to try different weapons, routes, tactics and what not on the way to your destination. You could summon some peeps and maybe get invaded, maybe it would be a different experience compared to last time? Or you could just make up a different attitude for your character.
As I said before, I'd be fine if there was an option to respec. I kinda wish there was in Bloodborne as farming for gems in chalice dungeons is something you'd never want to repeat. But I fail to see the problem with leaving content untouched if your time is limited. Not doing so seems like it could cause discomfort.
I have pretty much zero interest in PVP. I don't think I want to min-max at all, unless you mean I want the system to be accessible so that I can max everything with less hassle.
Anyway, the complaint I am making is hypothetical in nature. Me, personally, I was willing to put in the time to do everything. That's why I have so many hours in my playthrough. That's why I have the stats I have and I'm happy to have them.
I am objecting to the playstyle on a conceptual level. It's a "What if" scenerio. What if I had been blocked out of the weapon I want because I made the different choice early in the game where I couldn't have known about it? For me, that would put an incredibly sour taste on the whole experience. I probably wouldn't forgive Bloodborne for that if I actually couldn't put in the hours, even though I really enjoy the game otherwise. So I think it's a bad game design philosophy to fully lock out your players like that (or atleast make it impractical to allow for effective weapon choosing). And telling people to just play the whole game again, this incredibly long and difficult game that, as good as it may be, you might not want to play again for hours on end just to get the one weapon you were locked out of the first time, is kinda bullshit to me.
People keep mentioning that you go faster through subsequent playthroughs. People here seem to mostly stay if they know the game really well, but what about noobs like me who aren't as good? They're going to, on average, have to take more time. So lets say that I just want to fight Gehrman, and only Gehrman, with Chikage, which I can't do in my present build? With what I've done, I can pretty much pull out any weapon against him, and do as well as I'd do with my skill build. So how fast is the playthrough? 20 hours? 12? I could tolerate maybe 1 hour to get to where I am now, but anything beyond that is unreasonable to me. I also don't think it's reasonable to grind for many hours either, granted, but I'd prefer that than starting the game over. Because the third alternative is just leave the game feeling pissed you missed out on a bunch of content.
I don't mean to be argumentative or dismissive or close-minded, but have you considered getting checked for OCD?
No, and I doubt I would. It's been a while since I've studied it, but obsessive compulsive disorder is a repeated behavior tic of some kind that results in anxiety if it's not repeated. I don't get anxious about the idea of not having all stats viable, just frustrated. It's also not a compulsion in the true sense since I don't NEED to have every weapon available. Like, I'm probably not going to be able to level up in Arcane. That's fine, I'm thing I feel I'm missing out on the Holy Moonlight Sword, if i'm understanding the scaling properly. But if I do an exclusive stat build like many here, my options would be limited to 7 of the the 26 weapons. Missing out on a couple weapons is okay, but missing out on nearly 75% of them is just stupid. If I went to a resturant and they told me I am only allowed to order 25% of their menu on second visit based on what I pick today, I don't think it's psychologically unusual to be upset about that. People like having options.
This also doesn't really bother me or doesn't bother me as much in other videogames either, meaning it isn't a daily, generalized habit. I basically consider this an action game with RPG elements than a RPG with action elements. People gave that one guy tons of shit over his comparison to DMC, but I agree with him, since this is a game that primarily focus' on combat between enemies where the movesets take more precedence over stats or story or anything else in the game. It's not as fast paced or crazy as DMC, or NG, or Bayonetta, but they are cut from the same cloth in terms of gameplay as I see it. So in other games or game genres (like Mass Effect, for instance), where this is less important, I don't care about it or don't care about it nearly as much, meaning it's context dependent, which means it's not an automatic or unanimous response from me regardless of context. This feeling is has very specific context, and that context is action games, and OCD is typically a generalized response.
This also isn't really causing my any amount of distress. One significant feature of any disorder is that it has to fuck with your life or the lives of those around you. Hence the term 'disorder'. Not the case here. I don't feel this is out of control or anything. It's not harming my life in any way, other than maybe being a timesink that you could argue is unnecessary, but you could say that a new playthrough is the same thing. But I don't find any of this stressful, it's just something I don't like. If it's not causing distress or else if you're rich enough to have people avoid saying you have a disorder (which I most certainly am not), it's an eccentricity.
Lastly, even if you disagree, I feel I'm explaining my rationale for these opinions very well. OCD people don't really have a reason for their compulsions, or else they're very flawed ones, and they typically realize the weakness of any defense they try to put forth. That's why it's a compulsion, because reason implies that you are choosing this behavior rather than it being forced upon you via some poorly understood psychological quirk. You could say this is post hoc rationalization, I suppose, but I really I just really disagree.
But like I said, it's been a long time since I've studied it, and I can't dig up my notes right now, and even if I could, I'm not certified to make a diagnosis, let alone on myself. But for all of that, I am pretty sure I don't have any kind of compulsion regarding the game, just strong opinions on game design that I can back up with reasons.
At that point in time your level isn't that high where it's prohibitive to put points into BT. Plus getting to Cainhurst without a guide is very difficult. If you aren't using a guide and you don't even know about Cainhurst, then why would you be worried about using a Chikage?
"Hey guys, complete noob here, but I'm almost finished with the game. I just hit level 90, almost done with the game, I put pretty much all my points into strength, skill, vitality, and endurance. For some reason, I've only gotten one extra point in endurance, even since I've hit 40, even though I put 10 points into it since, can you tell me why?
Anyway, what's your favorite weapon? I really like LHB, but I wish there had been a katana in the game. I love good Katanas and- Wait, what do you mean there was one?! Where do I get it?! What's cainhurst castle. Well, no problem, I'm almost done with the game, I can still use it for the last stretch and...oh, I can't use it? I couldn't find the one weapon I wanted more than anything, and I can't use it now? I just have to play through the whole game again?!"
If this was me, it would sour my whole experience. I'd be thinking of how much fun I could have had playing the way I wanted to if only I had known vs what I got, and reality inevitably loses out to imagination.
You can use a wide variety of weapons in the game within a reasonable amount of time. The issue is that you wouldn't be doing optimum damage with many of them. And that's fine.
Depends on what you mean by suboptimal. It doesn't really matter if I have my favoritest weapon of all time if all I can do is tickle monsters to death with it.
If you think this is bad you should see him post in the Korra/Avatar thread, or about anything when it comes to a narrative standpoint.
Yeah, that's probably a better case for OCD than my bloodborne playstyle. It's hard to resist having discussions on story or art for me, even if I most definitlely should be studying for my two tests tomorrow. Like right now!
