BLOODBORNE given Feb '15 Euro/NA release date, deemed worthy of own thread by ilxor

have you gone through old yarnham and hemwick yet? they're optional but leveling up may help

I got some part of the way into Old Yarnham but the sniper annoyed me and I gave up. I know that BSB lives in OY but I didn't reach it. No Hemwick, either.

they’re fun as well!

i am v much looking forward to sekiro:shadows die twice. hoping activision hasn’t fucked with the magic.

"as well" doesn't apply as I don't think I've enjoyed the game so far.

ah yes. i meant more - as well as levelling up they are fun levels, but i can how if the general aesthetic isn’t serving you that’s not going to fly. AWAY! AWAY!

agreed, if it's a slog just drop it. ciderpress otm

I loved the atmosphere of Dark Souls, which is partly what kept me going. I look forward to this one, which looks even cooler, even if I admit at my rate I won't get to it until they remaster it or something.

Should I start a new game from scratch? (Lost all of my insight to an enemy without realizing it.)

Nah. What do you want insight for, buying things or summoning help? If you really want more before progressing, you can try to help players beat bosses (although idk how active the game is these days).

Don't you need Insight to level up? I also don't have PSN so summoning isn't in the picture.

Nope, you only need it to summon helpers and to buy things at that one messenger bath (up top, overlooking the main one). Souls/blood echoes are used to level up.

yeah, echoes are souls, insight is the humanity of bloodborne. it has... properties i won't spoil but i sure as hell wouldn't restart because of it

OK, I think I am closer to starting this than not (which means in the next couple of months, give or take a Batman and/or Ori). Apologies in advance, since I do tend to overthink these games, if only because they are pretty big commitments, but my first big question is if it's essentially (that is, more or less) like Dark Souls. And the other (related) is if I should go in more or less blind or keep a guide handy. Now, I like to be surprised as much as the next guy, but I can say with certainty that some of my favorite parts of Dark Souls 1 & 3 I would have totally missed had I not followed any sort of guide - and in turn likely never experienced, barring a replay - and similarly there were some parts I might have *hated* had a guide not given me a heads up. So Bloodborne, is it just as frustratingly rich and varied in secrets and secret levels/bosses/weapons/skills? Would it behoove me to follow some sort of a guide, as opposed to checking out walkthroughs only when I'm stuck? I don't really want to get in a situation where I find out, a few hours in, that I can't do the awesome thing with the thing because I didn't do the thing at the beginning, which Dark Souls is rife with. Oh, and I will be playing it offline as well again, too.

Am I ever going to feel like a failure when you inevitably beat this!

inevitably is a long way away

-gandhi

i could maybe replay this

The format is extremely Dark Souls. One the one hand there are some good surprises that I wouldn't want spoiled, but on the other there are some secrets and quests that affect the ending (including a boss fight) that I never would have known about if I hadn't looked them up.

Maybe a good compromise is playing the first couple hours blind (unless you get stuck), and then looking up guides without shame. Nothing early affects the end.

Still hovering in pre-game research mode here (and i'm sorry, but these games do benefit from at least some basic spoiler-free research). I saw a nice guide that more or less translated each starting class into its Dark Souls equivalent, so I'm leaning toward Military Veteran (warrior) or Lone Survivor (tank knight). The problem (which is a good problem to have) is that what you pick at the start potentially plays a big role in *how* you play, and once you start allocating stats it's pretty hard to change direction mid-course. Of course, that's a good thing for replay, as there are so many variables, and, as fans of DS and this one seem prone to say, pretty much any build with any weapon can get you to the end. But some builds are definitely more forgiving at the start than others. Starting Knight in DS3 was a big help, for example, because you begin with a good weapon. In this case, it seems the way to go in the beginning is butcher saw or axe.

bloodborne was my first souls game and used a dex build with the cane whip. dex much more viable as a starter build in bloodborne than DS i’d say (though strength builds also v good obv).

So that would be more Warrior/Lone Survivor, right?

It's been awhile but I want to say that builds/stats are more forgiving in BB that in other Souls games. For one thing, stamina costs in general are low since the game is faster paced, so that's not a big concern.

I'd say try out the different weapons and see what you like before comitting to str or dex. And everyone's fave weapon (Ludwig's Holy Blade) can be used by either iirc.

Anyway here's everything you need to know about builds:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uyeUcfQI2MY

I saw that one, actually. He says ... Military Veteran plus axe, right? I also watched most of the one he did a couple of years before that, but it was a lot more complex and involved and from what I could tell focused a lot more on PVP and subsequent play-throughs, I want to say. So it seems that the game is maybe sliiiiiightly less arcade and unforgiving than Dark Souls, which allows for the learning curve of unfamiliar pacing, story, settings, enemies, names for things, and so on.

Yeah, you shouldn't have to worry about optimizing your build much at all. I also didn't do any chalice dungeons until after I finished the game for the first time.

There is a specific point in the game where there are a number of branching paths, and while it may feel like you're underpowered, it's really the case that a couple of them are meant for later in the game. So, classic Dark Souls.

i didn't do any chalice dungeons because they suck

i found BB harder than dark souls but still doable because of co-op. no such luck with sekiro, which is much harder than bb

you'll want an faq if you intend on seeing most of everything in a single run, josh. the obscurantism i love hasn't gone anywhere, if anything it's even more opaque than it was on DkS

probably gotg for me

Thanks for the heads up. I'll be playing this offline, btw. Can you still summon npcs?

yes there are a few. can't tell you if they're worth it or if they just make the fights harder, though

And I have begun! Nice to see this keeping with the Dark Souls tradition of kicking your ass first thing, in this case with a big werewolf monster that you have to fight barehanded. Of course I died. Now into the game proper and it's going to be a steep curve at first after a few very forgiving games (like the Batmans and Ratchet and Crank and God of War and even Last of Us, all of which I think I played after DS3 and none of which were particularly challenging). I've been dying to this very early armored enemy a bunch of times already, mostly because I can't quite pin down the mechanics just yet, but I'm sure it'll click soon enough.

i didn't do any chalice dungeons because they suck

There are some cool unique bosses, but I only did them to get some decent gems for pvp, which is dumb. You don't need to worry about them unless you want some additional gameplay.

Oof, OK, so this from the start is like Dark Souls 3 around the point of Spooky Town. Which is to say, pretty unforgiving. But I think I've already learned my lesson that the first big guy I have the option to fight I also have the option not to fight.

Don't forget that you can regen hp by attacking right after you get hit! It rewards aggression.

Also I think the big guys are basically there to teach you gun parry timing (and that you can run past them, obv).

Yeah, the gun timing thing will take me time. In the meantime, I'll trying to figure out the regen mechanic. So do I have to hit the person that hit me? And that gets me ... a portion of the health lost back?

When you take damage, your health bar goes down (duh), but you'll see a white, vertical bar that indicates how much health you can recover if you hit your attacker quickly enough. Once that line disappears, that means you can't recover that damage.

the game calls it rally and some weapons are better at it (regain more health) than others

it doesn't have to be the same enemy that drained the health, you just have to deal damage to something

Man, this game is tough. I was doing OK (for, like, the first five feet), but kept getting killed by that first big mob, so figured I would just run past them. I eventually got to another area, killed a few more dogs and creatures and hunters and ... an ogre? And then I got to a bridge with two werewolf monsters, who kicked my ass. Testing my luck, I sprinted past them (since they kept killing me) and ran right into the first boss fight, which I was not prepared for. Needless to say, I'm pretty rusty, but I'll get there.

lol I think maybe my problem was not actually equipping the molotov cocktails.

OK, this game is cool as shit. What a help it is to actually be able to equip and use the molotov cocktails. I just learned how to upgrade my weapon, too, and what to use pebbles for as well. Neat! Now I need to explore some more before facing that boss. I know there are some other nooks and crannies I saw before I got destroyed by that Cleric Beast, so I assume there is more to find in this early area before I advance.

Cleric Beast down on first (intentional) try! Needless to say, I'm getting the hang of things, but clearly I'm missing things, too, since I literally have no idea where to go next. Sewer area? There may be more of that to explore.

I think that's the right track. Fun fact, the Cleric Beast is optional!

Huh. I guess that makes sense, since it doesn't seem to open up any new routes. Funny how this game subverts a few Dark Souls trademarks. For example, leaning in to the idea that some enemies are just meant to be skipped. Like the werewolves on the bridge, or that first giant guy with the axe, or I guess ... the first boss? Even the mobs of baddies seem to encourage if not stealth then ... strategic avoidance? I've been pumping my (not) souls into vitality, though, and that seems to be a smart strategy. Upgraded saw blade seems to help a bit, too, at least at this early stage.

Oof, just fought the first real boss (I guess?) in the graveyard, and I thought I was doing OK until it turned into a monster beast and ... actually, even then I was doing OK for a minute, but I panicked because it was so fast and it killed me. I think I can pull it off now that I know what I'm expecting, though.

And indeed, Father Guidosarduci is down! That was pretty cool, though, and lots of stuff seems to be changing. Is it getting darker outside? Also, got some new clothes, told some villagers to go to the chapel, got a flamethrower or something. Things are afoot!

I actually find exploring new areas to be kind of anxiety inducing, which I know is intentional on the designer's part. This game in particular is pretty dark, or at least it is in this cathedral area, so there are all sorts of places for baddies to hide. I think I found my first dungeon, or basement or ... something, but I went back to trade in my souls before I went any further. I'd rather fight an enemy I know with no souls than die to some nasty surprise with a few thousand on me.

Nice! I love that boss. Did you use the music box?

Yeah! Well, sort of. I think I had read about it years ago, but I actually read the description for once and recognized the boss name. The first time I fought him I kept using it when he was man-like, but then he turned into a beast and killed me. The second time I didn't use it *until* he turned into a beast, or maybe I tried to, but I think I had better luck just swinging and dodging than I did getting the music box to actually chime. Now I'm exploring the cathedral area, which seems to be netting more souls and goodies, but introducing bigger baddies. Still working out the weapon upgrade system.

The thing I love about these games, and find annoying in equal measure, is that they really are so steeped in secrets and lore that they need multiple playthroughs (and builds) to truly explore and appreciate, but I generally don't have the patience for that. This one ... it feels a bit like there are more important choices to make early on than there were in Dark Souls (I), though I don't know how important the decisions I make are in the end. Certainly weapons and armor and that kind of stuff seems a little less important, and my stat upgrade path already seems a bit difference. Per that YouTube dude, I've been putting a lot of souls into vitality, with a bit in strength, but endurance for once seems a little less important, at least for now. All I know is that everyone that thought Dark Souls was gloomy must have really been shocked at how dark this gets. I can tell, having played DS3 first, that this game had a big influence on that game.

Took me a few tries to figure out the run and a strategy, but I eventually took out the machine gunner in Old Yarnham, and also the aggro human NPC. Then I unlocked a shortcut, which was a sign I was ready for a break, since this level is long and there don't seem to be any lanterns anywhere. Felt a little bad, since I had wiped out so many enemies, but the shortcut should make it easy to avoid most of them again. Oh, and keep finding new things, though as usual I have no idea what anything does. Ash, or blood rituals, and stuff like that. I do think I understand the gems, I guess, which seem to be a confusing take on the upgrade system.

Or sort of like weapon-adorned rings a la Dark Souls, I suppose.

fwiw i don’t think there are important choices to make early on. the game retains quite a large amount of reversible flexibility into quite late game. there are a couple of irreversible things iirc around (can’t remember spoiler tags so i’ll just use initials) SA.

what a wonderful game bloodborne is tho. josh, your anxiety inducing exploration of new areas leads to one of my favourite bloodborne experiences which is stepping *really* slowly through a courtyard or what have you, tense af, and realising there is nothing there.

Hah, I'm a big fan of coming across a room with 50 urns and chests in it, all empty.

The ritual blood stuff is just used to create chalice dungeons, which are totally optional (only do it if you want more content, or want to grind for better gems for your weapons).