Board 8 > So I am about to start Bloodborne

(+) Yeah! (+)

Some people really like the holy blade moveset, and the stopping power it has in its transformed state.
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MrSmartGuy posted...

Man, I just replayed this game for the 3rd time less than a year ago, and now I want to start it up again. Get out of my comfort zone and try something other than the Spear/Axe/Holy Blade/Kirkhammer/Moonlight Greatsword for a change.

You haven't lived until you've played with the blades of mercy with eileen's rune equipped
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I've beaten the game 6 times now. I think my next run is going to be an 'arcane damage only' challenge run which should be pretty difficult at the start but then become normal later on. might need to think of a way to make it become more challenging in the later half of the game... like maybe restrict myself to a certain level or something.
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Ludwig's is definitely higher in both base stats and scaling than the Saw Cleaver, but there are caveats.

-Every attack has a hidden multiplier to that attack number you see, and for weapons with obvious differences in strength between modes like Ludwig's the number tends to apply more to one mode than the other and the game doesn't really tell you. If fextralife is to be believed, in Ludwig's, the number corresponds to the tricked R1 with a supposedly a 0.7x multiplier for the first hit in the untricked R1 combo, whereas with the Kirkhammer it corresponds to the untricked R1 with a 1.4x multiplier to the tricked R1. Saw Cleaver is a weapon that doesn't heavily change numbers, though many tricked hits are actually mildly weaker.

-If you're testing against beasts, Saw Cleaver will get a 20% serrated bonus. Fantastic in many places, but it'll get less useful. Ludwig's actually has a 50% righteous bonus in both forms, which sounds amazing but the number of enemies it applies to are comically low.

-Whereas all Saw Cleaver attacks are are Standard physical damage, Ludwig has attacks that are Standard, Thrust, or Blunt. This doesn't change strength on its own (though some Bloodgems do this), but enemy defenses will not be the same for each. For a blatant example of this, fight a Brainsucker and compare the untricked R2's.

MariaTaylor posted...

Boomhammer, Amygdalan Arm, Blades of Mercy also fall into the first category yeah. Maybe a few others I'm forgetting. if I was looking at the full weapon list I could tell you which is which.

Simply put, it's if the weapon has a fire/bolt/arcane stat (ie number) listed when completely unslotted. And when they do, they can't be "converted" via Blood Gems like Ludwig's or other normally pure physical weapons, even when they have attacks that don't use the stat at all.
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MariaTaylor posted...

I've beaten the game 6 times now. I think my next run is going to be an 'arcane damage only' challenge run which should be pretty difficult at the start but then become normal later on. might need to think of a way to make it become more challenging in the later half of the game... like maybe restrict myself to a certain level or something.

Are you counting fire/bolt and thus Molotovs? Because I'm pretty sure the beginning of the game has no way to otherwise accomplish this before Gascoigne.
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so basically, the onehanded Ludwig Blade isnt as damaging as the 2handed one?
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You can get the basic torch pretty early, right?
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kevwaffles posted...

Are you counting fire/bolt and thus Molotovs? Because I'm pretty sure the beginning of the game has no way to otherwise accomplish this before Gascoigne.

I can beat gascoigne with just oil, molotovs, and the basic torch

well, I haven't done it before but I feel pretty confident I could do it
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and yes fire damage is classified as arcane damage

molotovs even scale with the arcane stat
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Peace___Frog posted...

You can get the basic torch pretty early, right?

True, but if you're counting fire I don't see why you would do that when Molotovs are purchaseable immediately, outside of grinding echoes if necessary, which ugh if you have to do that.
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htaeD posted...

so basically, the onehanded Ludwig Blade isnt as damaging as the 2handed one?

Yeah, the 2handed is where it shines.

Anyway, my thoughts in Ludwig's and why it's arguably the most popular PvE weapon:

- It scales very well with STR and DEX, meaning you can pump points in both to make it beastly

- You can switch between a very quick one-handed sword and a lumbering greatsword with huge stopping power

- Can be infused with both fire and bolt paper (not all weapons can)

- Both forms have a hidden "holy" or "righteous" bonus that's like serration but even less mentioned in the game. It's not nearly as useful as serration, but it does do 50% bonus damage to enemies in one optional area that you'll definitely explore later on.

- The greatsword moveset has attacks that hit very wide along with an overhead L2 that hits high and comes crashing down (great for certain enemies/bosses)

- The greatsword charged R2 attack is a lunging stab with enormous damage and stun output. If you trade hits with it, it will often overpower the enemy and give you all your orange HP back.

It's that charged R2 that really puts it over the age. Bloodborne is a souls game in spirit - you have to be careful because you know that any enemy has the potential to kill you, but once I got Ludwig's, I just felt like it gave me the power to play with more freedom and carefree aggressiveness. It's the closest thing you get to Easy Mode in the PvE, imo.
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my favorite charged R2 is the hunter axe spin to win
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Gascoigne's bane

Death, you have the DLC right? You'll be able to do it right after the chapel boss. I recommend at least checking it out because it has a pretty significant difficulty spike. It's fun for players just to see if they can handle the first few minutes at a low level.

Also, the very first enemy you see has a chance of dropping a gem that's probably better than anything you have right now. You can farm him to really get your weapons beefier.
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Amygdalan arm charged r2 with the multiple hits is really cool
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Your match against BSB ended like mine did yesterday. I was poisoned, and I didn't realize I was about to die, so I hit BSB and panicked trying to get off a blood vial but I was too late! Luckily my last attack managed to kill the beast, so I still won.

I always found parrying him to be pretty easy. If that doesn't work though, just stay behind him. He's got nothing to really defend himself from the back.
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did a little chalicing
beat the first boss, Undead Giant not that scary, just had a long arm

also got the Tonitrus from the unseen village, was worth it to go back there (even if the bagmen killed like 6 times)
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Unseen village has a lot of goodies for you to find, as well as plenty of upgrade materials.
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The unseen village is a good way to rack up early echoes if you need them. Bagmen aren't hard to kill, just get behind them and charge R2 (preferably with a faster weapon) and then riposte them. Then immediately repeat the process because they'll give you a wide window. They give blood stones and lotsa echoes.

Also the chalice dungeon bosses are pretty easy at first, there's a few notable ones much deeper down that will cause issues (including a couple cheap ass mother fuckers).
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yeah got the new outfit too

also that boar straight up glitched into invisibility at one point
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You should try to riposte the pig from behind, it's quite a treat
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oh I already witnessed that marvelous spectacle back in the sewers
(rip poor fatherless/motherless girl :( )
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Every time I go down there in a new game, I leave a note where the pig was about being repugnant and that we need to cleanse the foul streets.
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I should leave more notes, but I dont know how many'd read them
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Hurry and beat the chapel boss already, I'm way ahead of you
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sorry
thats on today's todo list
having too much fun exploring (and 'fun' working)
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thank goodness my copy of this game is with a friend or i would have gone back to it because of this topic
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definitely should have done Vicar Amalia sooner
she posed no challenge at all compared to Bloodstarved Beast

granted I have a certain someone to thank for the firepaper trick, but basically the Clericbeast tactics worked the same on her, close quarter hack and slash while continuously strafing
she tried to heal, but the damage output was simply too much for her
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forbidden woods
a tricky place
not sure whether or not these pitfalls are actually trapholes or just shoddy maintenance
I luckily avoided the spiked log trap,. but then fell for the oilbath and burned to death
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Some people hate the woods.
I love them. So creepy.
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oh
there was another spiked log trap at the bridge


(btw is it worth it to keep upgrading the cleaver, just so I have a good fast hack/slash weapon?)(I do like Ludwig Blade's stopping power though)
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Every weapon is viable for beating the game. It's how you feel about movesets that is the determining factor.
Note that you can find "duplicate" weapons in the chalice dungeons that have a different third blood gem slot, should you desire.
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Fire paper makes Vicar Amelia a joke no matter what level you're at, especially with saw cleaver or holy blade. She's actually really fucking tough otherwise. I remember dying to her like 20 times in a row because I was using a different weapon with no fire paper.
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I've posted this in like the last 3 Bloodborne related topics here, but now that you've passed it, you can see how my "fight" with Vicar Amelia in NG+ went:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hIMjEV5E2w4
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Soooo all I see is a black screen for four minutes in that video

Is that why you couldn't call it a real fight
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Do you have the volume turned up? I think my copy is haunted (more than usual).
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whyd-it-have-to-be-snakes.jpg
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Now you're getting it
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Ooh, is Byrgenworth next?
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There are a couple of places he could go before that!
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had to quit for now, but I think I opened every shortcut in there

also I accidentally attacked the 'confederate' hunter, but he seemed pretty chill about it and still gave me his league invitation
*shrug*

and no I didnt send the obvious cannibal to the cathedral
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There's a shortcut in the woods (pretty early on) that leads to maybe the biggest optional stretch of stuff outside the DLC.

Speaking of which... you can now check out the DLC!
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Vague hints ahead for optional areas, if you care for them.


It can be really difficult to find, but hugging the left wall after crossing the initial bridge will eventually get you to the best area in the game.

There's another area you can go if you talk to an npc in the forest and follow the item's description.

The dlc can be accessed by obtaining an item in the dream and going near the graves outside of Oedon Chapel.
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CaptainOfCrush posted...

There's a shortcut in the woods (pretty early on) that leads to maybe the biggest optional stretch of stuff outside the DLC.

I mean, biggest stretch of optional stuff that isn't an entirely new area, maybe. It's relatively short otherwise.
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it leads to an entirely new area, however
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I mean named area by the game. The cave is technically still part of the forest and the clinic is clearly part of Central Yharnam.

Edit: OH, I'm an idiot. I was thinking just of the immediate path, forgetting about the key item you get there.

More Edit: And I apparently didn't read your response properly in the first place, somehow. I'm on fire right now!
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Yep! And that is what I'm referring to as my favorite area because snowy castles that are mostly abandoned are my #aesthetic.
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There's definitely a lot to like about that area.

That said, I really do like Iosefka's Clinic for what it is as well.
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htaeD posted...

and no I didnt send the obvious cannibal to the cathedral

Yeah but did you attack him
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Did you ever get the option to send people to the clinic?
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yeah
that was one of the things I got spoiled about in advance (to not do it, I mean, but to open the option just so I can save whiny guy)

CassandraCain posted...

htaeD posted...

and no I didnt send the obvious cannibal to the cathedral

Yeah but did you attack him

should I have?
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