Bloodborne (From Software / Sony)

Penn

gimli2112 wrote: »

You're making good progress. Parl slaughtered me on my first playthrough and I just left him but I made bits of it in subsequent runs.
I did find in subsequent runs I'd often get stuck in certain spots that I had no trouble with previously.
- a random hunter in Cairnhurst Castle
- Amygadela who I crushed more often than not
- Micolash a really easy boss who sometimes just isn't
- Rom, sigh .........Rom

It's ludicrous I beat Ludwig. The Crow of Cairnhurst and Lady Maria first attempts and yet from time to time can't get past relatively easy sections

Yeah there's definitely minor enemies who can be a pain no matter what. There was one hunter to the right of the Cathedral with a blunderbuss who wrecked me a few times. Not because his blunderbuss did any huge damage, but it had such a wide spread that I could barely get near the f*cker. And I've lost about 15 insight points to those brainsucking pricks.

I found the same on Sekiro, some apparantly tough bosses I didn't find too bad at all, but one basic d*ckhead with a spear killed me or took most of my health refills nearly every time I had to go past him.

gimli2112

Penn wrote: »

And I've lost about 15 insight points to those brainsucking pricks.

lol

the ones I can never figure out are those big brain ones that sing to you. I think the higher your insight the more damage they do. First time I encountered one it looked at me and I died

Penn

gimli2112 wrote: »

lol

the ones I can never figure out are those big brain ones that sing to you. I think the higher your insight the more damage they do. First time I encountered one it looked at me and I died

Not sure I've met them yet, something to look forward to. There were two big-headed blue lads in the Clinic before the boss fight, but they both had their backs to me so they never got a chance to do any attacks. Not sure if that's who you're talking about or if there's more of them later.

I'd been sending everyone to the Odeon chapel for safety because it never gave me the option to send them to the clinic. I read after that I was supposed to go up the stairs and speak to her through the door early in the game but I guess I hadn't done it.

Penn

Ah, just reading on the wiki that I should have waited until after defeating Rom the Spider so she'd drop part of an umbilical cord that's needed for the full ending. So I may have f*cked that now. Ah well, might still end up doing a NG+ playthrough like with Sekiro.

Edit: Yeah, reading there are 4 "third of umbilical cord" and you only need three of them, but I see I already sent another NPC to the cathedral who'll prevent me from getting another third so that's two gone.

Retr0gamer

The brain guys are later on

And you will hate them

nix

Yeah the brain guys are assholes, they are lethal no matter how good at the game you are, i think their damage output is linked to frenzy resistance. The insight level only effects how far away you can hear their singing i think, so only useful if knowing one is nearby..

And dont worry bout feckin up side quest progression stuff, you will miss a lot on your first play through and if yer really loving the game, you will likely do a few play throughs..

I restarted loads of times, picking a cool weapon i like the look of and doing a build specifically for that weapon type.. Even though a lot of them are end game obtained, there other weapons that benefit from the same stats along the way..

Plus i did do some summons on some bosses on my first play through, so felt i had to go back atleast one more time and do the bosses without any summons. As they do make a lot of the fights too easy.. But that one more time turned into countless more times :P

Penn

nix wrote: »

I restarted loads of times, picking a cool weapon i like the look of and doing a build specifically for that weapon type.. Even though a lot of them are end game obtained, there other weapons that benefit from the same stats along the way..

Have been relying on the Saw Cleaver for weaker enemies/mobs and Hunter's Axe for larger enemies, but really like the look of Ludwig's sword. It's fairly expensive, but I presume that means it's good. I'm reaching the point now where I'm starting to get diminishing returns from levelling up (need to check what the soft caps are, I know I've hit it for Strength, need to check Vitality and Endurance) and levelling up costs more than the sword, so might treat myself. Might try one of the Chalice Dungeons tonight, see what the craic is there.

gimli2112

The dungeons were not popular. I loved them but I don't mind the grind when there's a pay off and you could get some powerful gear to upgrade your character. Maybe not essential stuff but certainly very nice. Plus you needed to do a few things in them to get the platinum. They're very samey but I probably spent more time in the dungeons than in the game proper.

The game is definitely better

nix

I loved the dungeons, more unique enemies in them and excellent for making your character stronger. They will likely be very easy starting off as you might be over leveled for the first few of them, but they can get very tough. But defo worth jumping into if you're loving the game.

With regards to the weapons you're using, the saw cleaver is probably the best weapon in the game, its the earliest weapon, its quick and does great damage. Alot of people praise the hunter axe but i never warmed to it, didnt like its speed or move set, although you might find its spin attack very useful on the likes of Paarl.

Ludwig's Holy Blade is meh, a lot praise it but again, never liked its move set, id go with Holy Moonlight Sword over it, it just looks so much cooler and is a lot more fun, but its harder to get, DLC weapon. I would recommend the Kirk hammer for an early game alternative to the Holy blade, doesnt have the same reach but it flattens pretty much anything..

eyeball kid

I think I'm at a similar area to you Penn, have beaten the Blood starved beast, the Hemlick witch one and think the only thing I can do now is Vicar Amelia. Haven't been to the prison yet. Is that somewhere I should have been by now?

Apollinaris

I got this game in a bundle when I bought my PS. Never got into it, might give it another try.

nix

eyeball kid wrote: »

I think I'm at a similar area to you Penn, have beaten the Blood starved beast, the Hemlick witch one and think the only thing I can do now is Vicar Amelia. Haven't been to the prison yet. Is that somewhere I should have been by now?

To trigger getting locked up in the cell,

i think after you kill Blood starved beast, a big tall lad in a hood with a bag on his back spawns just outside the NPC ward hub, fight him and die and you will be transported to the cell, when you awake, be careful not to die until you activate the lantern up the stairs from the cell or you wont be able to get back until later in the game.

Penn

Apollinaris wrote: »

I got this game in a bundle when I bought my PS. Never got into it, might give it another try.

I'm far from a Soulsborne guy. Never played any of the Souls games, and I'm experiencing the games backwards having started with Sekiro and now Bloodborne.

Sekiro and Bloodborne, they're great games. A lot of frustrating elements in both and still don't think the 'Soulsborne' formula or Bloodborne are the greatest things ever (I'd be surprised if Bloodborne did anything in the rest of the game to make it suddenly become one of the best games ever), but once you persevere through some of the early frustrations and get used to the combat and game mechanics, they're incredibly satisfying games to play (bar the aforementioned frustrations which pop up throughout). Very easy games to sink a few hours into and both feel like you've made a lot of progress, and actually have made very little at the same time, such is the depth and complexity of the game and maps.

If you have Bloodborne already, it's worth giving it a lash. I bought and played it to a point maybe about two years ago before giving up. Started afresh this time and pushed through, now will definitely finish it at the very least.

gimli2112

Another Hunter converted.
Strange noises are heard in the distance and somewhere a baby is crying.

eyeball kid

nix wrote: »

To trigger getting locked up in the cell..

Thanks, I killed one of them already, wasn't sure what he was. Do I need to go there at this stage or it it worth avoiding?

gimli2112

they only reason you'd want to go there early is to get the Tonitrus, as someone mentioned earlier, that and if you like dying over and over again

nix

eyeball kid wrote: »

Thanks, I killed one of them already, wasn't sure what he was. Do I need to go there at this stage or it it worth avoiding?

Its a great place for getting the next tier blood stone upgrades for your weapon and farming souls, killing the two giant pigs. Just take your time exploring it and its nothing to fear, its not that big of an area, opens up more later but it also changes a good bit mob wise.

Penn

Jebus the 2nd part of the Forbidden Woods is pure nightmare fuel.

Is there a summons before every boss? Took Henryk in to fight the Shadows and beat them first time. Kinda makes some fights trivial. At the same time though, if the option is there, I'm taking it, especially since on this occasion I was carrying about 80k echoes and didn't want to have to go back to Hunter's Dream to bank them and then try run through that area again.

nix

Penn wrote: »

Jebus the 2nd part of the Forbidden Woods is pure nightmare fuel.

Is there a summons before every boss? Took Henryk in to fight the Shadows and beat them first time. Kinda makes some fights trivial. At the same time though, if the option is there, I'm taking it, especially since on this occasion I was carrying about 80k echoes and didn't want to have to go back to Hunter's Dream to bank them and then try run through that area again.

Yeah its a confusing area, takes multiple times of exploring to get it down and even then you can still get lost at times. And yeah, summoning can break most fights, you will come across the odd boss though where the summoned will get wreaked in no time and make the fight harder as the boss gets more hp.

brady12

Any advice for anyone starting this for the first time 😅

Penn

brady12 wrote: »

Any advice for anyone starting this for the first time 😅

You'll die a lot in the first proper section, and it'll be frustrating as hell. However, it's the game training you how/when to attack, baiting/splitting up enemies etc. After a bit, you'll start dying far less.

Also, don't bother levelling up Arcane or Bloodtinge (or picking a class which boosts those stats when creating your character). From what I've read they're more suited to second playthroughs when you're more experienced with the game.

And don't panic about which weapons you should start off with, you can easily buy the others afterwards anyway to try them out.

brady12

Any advice for anyone starting this for the first time 😅

Penn

Didn't get a lot of time with it last night, just did Bryegnworth (or however it's spelled) and Rom. Rom wasn't too bad, although I did waste an insight point bringing Henryk into the fight and I guess he decided not to take the leap of faith. Got Rom on third try, big ol' Hunter Axe swings when I realised you have to hit his body rather than head helped with the mobs too.

Retr0gamer

Penn wrote: »

Didn't get a lot of time with it last night, just did Bryegnworth (or however it's spelled) and Rom. Rom wasn't too bad, although I did waste an insight point bringing Henryk into the fight and I guess he decided not to take the leap of faith. Got Rom on third try, big ol' Hunter Axe swings when I realised you have to hit his body rather than head helped with the mobs too.

That's pretty good going on Rom. He usually frustrates the **** out of everyone!

Penn

Retr0gamer wrote: »

That's pretty good going on Rom. He usually frustrates the **** out of everyone!

It took almost all my blood vials trying to beat him second time as I was trying to deal with the mobs and kept getting smashed with those blue crystals he throws out. Third time I just tried to focus on him and roll in and out for heals.

Pretty much depleted my stash of heals though between the three attempts, so might do a bit of blood vial farming before tackling the next bit.

gimli2112

My battles with Rom usually entail careful planning, keep rotating and taking out the mobs, strike Rom at the opportune time rinse and repeat.
When this leads to multiple failures it usually ends up with my rushing at her whailing with my weapon crying please die please please please die.

Penn

gimli2112 wrote: »

When this leads to multiple failures it usually ends up with my rushing at her whailing with my weapon crying please die please please please die.

I thought that was my own psyche talking to me but maybe I was channelling you

Penn

Did a bit of the new part of Unseen Village (Y'arghul?) last night. Now that's f*cking brutal, and not in a "this will be challenging but fun" way. The area with the savage nuns especially and the thing that shoots lasers, and there's no real chance of finding the bell woman to stop the nuns respawning. In the end I just had to leg it. Then made it back to the church, and the two hunters and Wolverine smashed me a few times too.

After that I just took down Darkbeast Paarl and did another Chalice Dungeon. The dungeons are cool, but very repetitive, and some awful enemy placement in them. Got particularly destroyed by two firebreathing/throwing shamans right at the top of a ladder where you barely get a chance to get a hit in before you die, and there's barely any room to roll past them. Might do a few more dungeons and level up another bit before proceeding with the main areas.

Question, when a gem has something like extra bolt or fire damage, is that applied to the weapon regardless, or does it just increase bolt/fire damage when you've used bolt/fire paper? I've mostly just been going with gems that boost physical damage, but if it applied fire damage without using paper it might be something I look at.

gimli2112

I can't remember specifics around the gems but I researched it extensively at the time and farmed for the highest damage ones

nix

I didnt bother with those gems, i just went for highest physical gems and then used the papers if a boss was weak to a particular element.