Current Events > Just started playing Bloodborne. *rolling spoilers*

(+) Yeah! (+)

I've had this game for years, but I was never in the mind state to take on another Souls game since playing the first Dark Souls years ago. So I went with Hunter Axe and a pistol, and am probably going to go with a STR heavy build and using strength/quality weapons.

Anyway, I just beat Father Glascoigne the last time I played. Tbh, he was a bitch and a half. It probably took 7-8 tries, and I saw clearly that I didn't quite understand the combat mechanics in the game. After getting my booty licked a few times I found out that I can parry with the gun. I didn't really use it on his human form since some moves seemed unparryable and those seemed to be the ones I could actually recognize the animation in time, so I just double handed the axe and took potshots when I dodged him. For his wolf form I just hit him with two pistol shots for two parries and moved on. One thing I will say is that I liked that the runup to him had so many enemies with blood vials so it was extremely easy to farm them as I made attempted. But I was surprised I had so much trouble with Cleric Beast was a one try boss for me. I guess it's because Cleric Beast fought more like a DS boss, and this one is more of a BB boss.

Next play session I'll be leaving the Cathedral Ward. Feel free to give me tips about specific NPCs and quests. I don't really care about minor spoilers (and tbh, know tons of big spoilers already), as I'm more in it for the gameplay experience than anything else.

---

A few tips

The axe's r2 spin to win can carry you through some tough times

Dont neglect the blood gems you pick up; at first, you'll only see small boosts to damage, but eventually they become quite substantial

If you see a reddish lantern by a door, you can usually talk to an NPC there. You can send them to safety in the next area

And finally...leave the hunting of hunters to me
---

Man Dark Souls really conditioned me to be extremely wary of my surroundings in this game.

---

Did you talk to Eilleen & Alfred? Cathedral Ward is kind of where you really start the quests - which are easy to fuck up.

---

I talked to Alfred. Is Eileen below the tomb? I opened it but was too scared to go in yet last time I played. That's next on the agenda.

---

Jabodie posted...

I talked to Alfred. Is Eileen below the tomb? I opened it but was too scared to go in yet last time I played. That's next on the agenda.

Eileen is back in Yharnam. I'll let you find her unless you specifically ask.

Also the clothes you wear will elicit different responses from the NPCs. I recommend wearing Church garb in Cathedral Ward and a few other places. You can swicth clothes easiy during gameplay.

---

Is Eileen the old lady that goes to the church or the girl at the window? And I'll keep an eye out for church garb, don't have it yet.

Found her, thanks

---

Jabodie posted...

Is Eileen the old lady that goes to the church or the girl at the window? And I'll keep an eye out for church garb, don't have it yet.

Found her, thanks

Gascoigne's gear is church garb. Looks cool too.

---

Wtf a portal sent me to be carried by an invisible hand and take a bunch of damage

---

Youre gonna die a ton....
bit it all pays off when you finally beat it.
i was stuck on the cathedral boss and put the game down, but when I came back and finally beat that fucker, it was so worth it.
godspeed hunter

---

Jabodie posted...

Wtf a portal sent me to be carried by an invisible hand and take a bunch of damage

Yeah that thing is kind of bullshit. If you have the DLC it takes you there, it you don't you just take damage.

---

Go0d tip I always give is to pump VIT early. Get it to 30ish. Then a damage stat (Strength or Skill). Endurance no more than 10 or so (you'll find runes to help endurance. Arcane no more than 15 (can use some spells if you're into that).

Arcane is kind of all or nothing though. There's no real cap but a little doesn't help much. Either go all in or leave it alone. I've seen people with 99 ARC destroy Amygdala in the dungeons in 20 seconds or so.

---

Huh, I do have the dlc though. Weird.

---

Your exactly where I left off TC. It's been over a tear since i put it down i was planning on playing this again in January.

---

Jabodie posted...

Huh, I do have the dlc though. Weird.

I think it only works after you beat a certain boss. I can't remember. At some point it takes you to the DLC though.

---

ssjevot posted...

I think it only works after you beat a certain boss. I can't remember. At some point it takes you to the DLC though.

This. I can't remember which boss either but it's soon from where TC is right now.

---

You guys think I should be mostly investing in Vit right now? I'm tempted to pump points into it but idk if I should get my strength up first.

---

Jabodie posted...

You guys think I should be mostly investing in Vit right now? I'm tempted to pump points into it but idk if I should get my strength up first.

I honestly put almost nothing into it until everything else was soft capped. Just isn't very useful in Bloodborne, especially since every level up, regardless of where points go, your defense increases.

---

Forget everything you think you know about souls combat. Be aggressive. Stay close. Get greedy. The rally mechanic is there to restore health the more you attack.

---

Good to know. I'll put a couple points into endurance then pump strength to 25.

---

My man surprise attacked me with a damn machine gun smh

---

Jabodie posted...

You guys think I should be mostly investing in Vit right now? I'm tempted to pump points into it but idk if I should get my strength up first.

I say VIT but it's ultimately your choice. Levels are cheaper and smaller now, though.

---

Well that guy on the gun pounded me pretty bad.

---

I second using that spin to win with the axe. Master the exact range on it and you can beat most enemies with it pretty easily because it knocks them down. You can also clip it through a lot of the surroundings to cheat too.

The dlc is hard af but if you just go in and run away and pick up items you'll wind up with a lot of useful stuff. You dont have to be good enough to actually kill much. You can come back later and give it a proper run once you level up some.

---

I'll just leave the dlc for the end game.

Also, should I use the hunter chief emblem soon or just keep going in old Yhanarm?

---

Jabodie posted...

I'll just leave the dlc for the end game.

Be careful about that. There is a point of no return where you need to start a NG+ to do anything.

---

Just fight the blood starved beast. Almost killed him but he hit me with some eating move that basically one shot me at the end.

---

So question: are all moves parryable? I can't tell if I'm missing a timing or if certain moves can't be parried

---

As soon as you beat the blood starved beast, go to the waypoint prior to him, around the building there is a mob that will capture you and take you to I believe its called Old yarnham? at the end of the street there, there is a fairly decent weapon for the time. Also a good area to get some xp. Just don't fight the boss unless your confident.

Well, Vicar Amelia was one and done. Easiest boss so far, but maybe that's because I have 25 strength. But her attacks were ridiculously slow so I could basically wail on her between moves.

---

Went down some witch forest area and killed a witch boss there. Probably going to go to that area a previous poster mentioned before going back to the password door.

Edit: My thoughts so far (compared to Dark Souls):

Run backs are way less tedious in this game. Mostly due to the plethora of boss shortcuts and faster combat. So it's a lot less discouraging to die in this game, and easier to play in longer seasons which is nice.
I'm having an easier time than DS so far. I think this is mostly because 1) I've played DS first to learn the basic rules of the flow/ structure and 2) I relied much more on dodging than blocking, preferring to 2H bigger weapons.
My biggest gripe is the lock on dodge. It's pretty counter intuitive to have to get out of lock on to get the good dodge. Really wish quick step was one tap and the bigger dodge a double tap or something.
I like the more straightforward weapon upgrading for a first playthrough. Less to worry about

Overall, I'm having fun. A more streamlined experience and just easier to play than DS1.

---

The witches are easy af

Bloodstarved Beast was one of the ones I struggled with the most my first time through, such a pain in the ass

DarthAragorn posted...

The witches are easy af

Bloodstarved Beast was one of the ones I struggled with the most my first time through, such a pain in the ass

So far Father Glascoigne has been my biggest struggle by far. I think with big beast bosses, my instincts from other games (dodge into attacks with I- frames, verify stub before follow up attacks, fairly lengthy times between attacks) game helped a lot. But with humanoid enemies I usually like to back up and punish a whiff, which doesn't really work in this game.

---

Used up all my blood vials fighting Darkbeast Paarl. Probably going to summon for this one tbh.

---

Get in under his legs and Paarl is a lot easier

Jabodie posted...

Used up all my blood vials fighting Darkbeast Paarl. Probably going to summon for this one tbh.

You can also go back and co-op bosses you've already beaten. Nothing for you to possibly lose (echoes, etc.). With the echoes you earn, max out your inventory. I usually have everything full by Hemwick. You can use the rest to level up, but don't overlevel for the area.

Or you can run dungeons for echoes and get some good gems in the process.

---

DarthAragorn posted...

Get in under his legs and Paarl is a lot easier

I like to go for the back left leg. You can "break" it and make him crawl.

---

Jabodie posted...

So question: are all moves parryable? I can't tell if I'm missing a timing or if certain moves can't be parried

No, not all moves are parryable. For example, the church giants in Cathedral Ward cant be parried

You'll get a feel for what can and cant be parried
---

Killed Paarl. It was a lot easier when I found out you can stun him out of that electric explosion. I don't think I really need to grind tbh. I think I'm like level 46 with Hunters Axe +6, enough seems to be getting the job done.

I've been exploring the woods a bit now. This area feels huge but I just found the shortcut at least. I'll probably call that a good session.

Can't say I expected to be ambushed by a cannon.

---

brestugo posted...

You can also go back and co-op bosses you've already beaten. Nothing for you to possibly lose (echoes, etc.). With the echoes you earn, max out your inventory. I usually have everything full by Hemwick. You can use the rest to level up, but don't overlevel for the area.

Or you can run dungeons for echoes and get some good gems in the process.

I actually don't have PS+, so I can only summon NPCs.

---

Jabodie posted...

I actually don't have PS+, so I can only summon NPCs.

Ah ok. You can still run the dungeons, though.

---

Axe spin2win imotbh

But also if you're going str, saw spear (I think that's the str based one?) is great too for fast attacks.

---

So when there isn't a hunt, is this like a relatively normal place but with a bunch of blood addicted people worshipping the church? Or are there always coffins everywhere, and all the locals are still pretty crazy?

---

Jabodie posted...

So when there isn't a hunt, is this like a relatively normal place but with a bunch of blood addicted people worshipping the church? Or are there always coffins everywhere, and all the locals are still pretty crazy?

I think the latter.

---

I believe the latter. It's explained later on a bit

---

Since you have beaten Amelia, you can enter the DLC now. Even though mobs there will be likely to mess you up, don't be afraid of making suicide runs for shinies. Gems, weapons, new armors and upgrade materials. There is even a guy right before the first boss who makes great blood vial farming. One hit to kill him, drops 4(?) vials every time.

---

These woods are a bitch to navigate. And so many damn snakes.

---

Beat the shadow guys. I had white church garb for the poison which seems to also have good fire res. I just kited them one at a time and poked with the 2H axe. I'm sure I could've killed them faster but I'm sure this was the easiest way.

---

Showed up at Cainhurst and got my ass POUNDED by the first enemy I saw

---

Well, I killed Rom. I just ignored the spiders and spammed on the slug. Serious feeling of "wtf was that?" Based on its design it doesn't seem like it was supposed to be challenging, more of a weird story pivot moment.

Question: is there any good reason to save insight? I'm thinking about dumping some into upgrade materials to try Ludwig's holy blade.

---