Be Excellent To Each Other

Lost just under 40,000 blood tonight, most in one go so far. But I made very good progress including another weapon find!

And I'm still going round the basic areas to gain souls and consumables but i still cant take down Vicar Amelia - had her down to only a fraction of health left but she managed to take me down :-(



I have this as my secondary weapon and it does a lot of damage and seems to 'stun' a lot of the big characters - its just a little too high on the stamina requirements for me (only 2 or 3 swipes for my full meter) - I think i need to level that stat up a little to give me more full swipes :-)

My normal action here would be to ring the bell and call someone in - but because of the area i'm in it doesnt work - i cant have a friend help me to take her down - given that the next two options for me are open (left or right at the church) I may just bypass her just now and then come back

I rang for help for the Vicar, think I did it on the steps rather than in the church.

Hmmm - I will try around the area - i know you cant do it at spawn , or just before you go in but i may just clear out the steps and then try up and down there.

I did go to the bottom of the steps - kill the big creatures there - and go all around the outside of that part of town which just loops back to the church area

All four area headstones 'opened' now.

A mate at work has nearly finished it three times

Fucking hell! I wonder who that is?

Just met the new in the Forbidden Forrest

I love the forest - It's fucking terrifying.

I've packing my +8 (or is it +9) axe and, apparently, I need one Blood Rock to level it up further. I haven't come across any such thing. Obv.

I found another boss in that secret area yesterday who bested me good and proper. I was sat there stunned after getting a good walloping considering getting some help but, apparently, at 11PM no fucker wants to play with me.

I'm still nonplussed by the multiplayer angle at the moment. 9 times out of 10 the sodding thing doesn't work. It's just not as straightforward as the Souls summoning system. See something on the floor? That means someone is standing there waiting for YOU. Here it's ring the bell and someone may, but more often than not, may not be standing about waiting to help. You could be standing in a server wasteland but you'd have absolutely no way of knowing.

I did try a bit of PvP last night too which was fun but, again, the frame rates are shonky and too many times you hit someone who isn't standing where you thought he was or you get hit in an area where you were seconds earlier. It's a laggy lag festival of lag. Probably. I don't even know if "lag" is the issue. It was always an issue in the other Souls games and it remains so here even though I've got ultra fast broadband, a wired connection, and a fancy new PS4.

Still it was fun and I got beat (natch) but someone who had equipment that I'd never seen before. Mind you, I managed to R2 him. He must have felt like a div when he got axe to his grill. Good times.

Haven't had any issues with the multiplayer. Could be time of day / how busy server is? Loads of things I want to blart out but don't want to spoil anything for others. Bloody lovely this game.

One other thing for the multiplayer is check your 'region' setting - mine defaulted to Europe but you can change it to 'world' which gave me more chances to work with others to take down bosses (and I assume makes it easier for others to join me)

If you want to know how busy your 'shard' is, go to the lamp, more messengers,the more people are about.The other thing I've found is that because it is proximity based, the worst thing to do is stand by the fog gate. Set the bell ringing at the lamp, and head to the boss. YOur ringing bell is more likely to intersect client ringing bells if you're moving.

I did an uncool thing but after this guy invaded my session I wasn't going to undo all my hard work especially when I had a load of blood vials sat further up waiting for me.

So yeah, I did pretend to get freaked out and run back to the lamp, yes I did lure him into doing a wave just so I could start my attack and wail on him. Fuck that guy.

I felt guilty afterwards though.

http://youtu.be/HFJtW6KAs-M

Ding dong the witch is dead!

Not too bad a boss really, easily done solo.

Witch done, Darkbeast Paarl done, on to the Forbidden Woods.

I've finished it!

It's been massive fun, intriguing, glorious combat, maddening bosses, fantastic areas and graphics, loads of pots to break, ace weapons, etc etc etc.

I'll write more later.

It's the best game on PS4. It's also one of the best games I've played in ages.

Is it as good as Dark Souls though?

It's still a Dark Souls game to me. So many things have been carried over. Including sound effects

Made lots of progress in the Forbidden Woods. Opened up the shortcuts, got lots of stuff, just had a few goes at the boss and... ouch.

I'm just behind you - done the witch last night

I loves Ludwig's Holy-Big-Fucking-Sword... the extra reach and the way it staggers enemies is so useful. L2 is a great opener, a quick overhead swing. Charged R2 followed by R2 is good against slow enemies, especially as it pancakes humanold enemies.

I'm switching back and forward between them - the sword for big enemies (and bosses) and my normal cleaver for the rest (the speed and handling of that make it so easy to take down everything else).

I'm loving my Electro mace at the moment. Still go back to the hammer though for some lovely 'one hit wonders'

No.

Or maybe yes.

Christ, it's hard to be objective here as to which is the better game. There's virtually no filler in Bloodborne. Dark Souls was a massive tightly woven labyrinth masterpiece. Bloodborne's is slightly smaller but equally enthralling yet without 'some' of the mystique. But the only reason that it's lacking is that we've had Dark Souls so we know the types of tricks and games that FROM have in store. We know we have to take our time, we know there's giant bosses, we know there's maze-like structures with hidden items, we know there's a lot of junk items, we know all of these things because of Dark Souls. If I'd never played Dark Souls I might think this was the greatest thing since sliced bread but since I've played Dark Souls I know that this is the greatest thing since Dark Souls.

It's kinda a natural evolution from Demons Souls to Dark Souls to Bloodborne where the fat is trimmed with each passing. The ridiculous weight limits were removed and now the weight limits are absent entirely. Who cares what you're welding cause you'll still be as fast as you started out at the beginning. The magic (which I relied on some much in Demons; loved in Dark Souls and, personally, HATED with a passion in Dark Souls 2) is restricted to tiny items picked up in the later third of the game. They're fun to muck around with (as magic should be) without spoiling the game for everyone else (remember the massive magic effects that nailed bosses in DS2 while you stood glibly by and made PvP a nuisance). The shooting is reet good fun (even though I barely used it at all). The weapons are great and varied. The two handed moveset is cool as fuck. The edition of a third (and sometimes fourth) attack button can change up the combos (personally I love when you start with a one handed attack and combine your weapon mid-way through for some uber cool looking combos).

The graphics are sublime. There's only noticeable slowdown and some pop up of effects (like fire on torches) when you're speed running around. You'll find none of it when you're just negotiating the areas normally no matter how many things are onscreen. The pots and barrels that you break are many. The enemies are first class. I can't think of any boss or enemy that I thought "meh" to, unlike DS2 which were a little deary. The backgrounds are a little "too" detailed for my liking as you see places where you've been but they're difficult in the city to pick out amongst the buildings. When you get out into the forest and see Byrgenworth (however its spelt) you'll love it. The windmill thing at the top of the cliff is a "high point" (AHAHAHAHAH). The Nightmare worlds are "insanely" (AHAHAH) (I'll stop that now) detailed. The big brain thing thing at the start of one world is a tricky area (and a secret I initially missed). Level layouts are great: shortcuts galore in some of the best designs since Dark Souls. None of this linear Dark Souls 2 stuff or the terrible volcano on a windmill crap. Plus there's areas where you actually find having a torch helps (or a lantern on your pocket), which Dark Souls 2 on the last gen couldn't handle.

The sound is fantastic; like, really fantastic. The voice acting is terrible of course, but better than ever before. It's suitably eerie throughout. The enemies attack sounds range from standard grunts and shouts to THOSE FUCKING CROWS. Terrifying is an understatement.

Story: It's nonsense. Natch.

Cut scenes: There's a few more. I actually liked how muted they were.

Endings: There's some and they are not universally terrible but if you've not been paying attention to story details (and it's a Dark Souls game so why would you even 'get' it first time round without reading up) then you might just think "Wha?"

Anyway, I managed to reach the last boss and thought "Fuck it, off to the wikis I go, so I don't miss anything". And I missed a fair bit. I also thought, I'm going to kill all the NPCs; so I did. Got some natty slippers.

Insofar as the world is concerned, it's actually quite astonishing how many of the worlds and bosses are entirely optional. There's hidden bosses for no reason other than, hey, here's another fucker for you to have a go at. Hey, as far as I know you never even have to kill the first boss you meet and proved such a test for some of us on here. Two world's are entirely hidden unless you read the item descriptions (they are a dead give away as to the location however) of two items. One of these secret worlds is actually the best level by a county mile (HINT: It's the castle).

And it's all these secrets and the obviously genuine love that's clearly gone into creating the game that keeps you coming back until the bitter end.

Fortunately, cause I knew I was at the end I was able to go back and try out some of the wiki suggestions. I missed the big brain altogether. I knew I should have rinsed that area more thoroughly but it was a reet shitter of a level. In a good way. I was however surprised how much stuff I had actually found all by myself but there were some character quest lines that I didn't have a handle on but I was able to complete with a nudge here and there. I did experience some ace stuff though like the mental guy who I sent back to the cathedral or that twat in the window I sent to the clinic. I almost forgot about the clinic. And so on... I did however accidentally stumble upon the special items needed for the true ending but I didn't figure I had to use them to get the ending but the wiki sorted that out and that's the ending I got. FYI: It's the worst ending. I spotted the door to the abandoned area but I could never figure out how to get to it. The wiki sorted that out. There was stuff I couldn't do on my first playthrough like tame the chaingun guy but I would like to do on my NG+. And so on and so on and so on. So much stuff in there, so much seen, so much to see. I found myself over the weekend playing NG+. I defeated everyone up to the Vicar and then the Witch just cause, well, it's fucking ace.

Problems: it's the shortest Souls game. 39 hours to complete (by contrast I did Demon's in 50, Dark Souls 70 hours + for the first run and 100 hours in total, Dark Souls 2 I spent 69 hours with all the DLC in there).

Seriously, it's ace. 10/10. Best game on PS4. Better than Dark Souls? Maybe not.

It's the sequel that isn't a sequel to Dark Souls that we actually deserved.

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How to sell the game :-)

I like that it's more compact.

I always think that whoever the level designer is is a genius, how all the shortcuts work... I wonder if you took all the maps and fitted them together whether they'd all fit together properly.

I love the sense of place each area has. Even when everything is crazy, they still feel logical.

I bet the map does connect properly. It certainly did with Dark Souls (see this 3D map viewer thing http://youtu.be/tyTB5vhKGSI ).

I wouldn't be surprised.

2 more bosses down, and everythin...holy shit! That was there all this time!?

No more bosses for me yet - however I spent a long time last night being blown up by a cannon (and being overwhelmed by poison snakes)

Ah yes, the snakes. Those little ones sneak up on you. Have you met the guy on top of the windmill?

Nope - but i'm in that general area right now

In the forest - two paths open - one is to the cannon the other is through the poison cave with the snakes and big dudes

I had a week off on holiday and now I can't bring myself to put this back in the drive. Oh well.

You should put it in and walk round the very first area and see if it either all comes back to you or if you've lost it.

If I'm really struggling with a boss going back a level or two and just wandering around ripping every enemy into tiny pieces without even trying makes you see just how powerful you are.

I never had it in the first place. That's as far as I got!

I think that, as with the other souls games, some time is needed to get into Bloodborne. If you're willing to keep plugging away until the fighting clicks then you'll reap dividends of a game that's as wide as it is deep. I know you've got the capacity as you're insanely good at learning games that require endless practice like Olli Olli and even that BLOODY DAYTONA GAME. Bloodborne is no different or as punishing. There's a patch coming this month which'll (apparently) sort out the loading times and co-op so it might be worth heading back into Yarnham for a smooch about.

Yeah, I have no problem with difficult games normally. Just this isn't grabbing me at all. Plus I don't feel like I'm getting any better.

How many minutes/hours have you actually played it?

Did you find the leveling up doll?

You know you can ignore that first cunty boss if you like and just go roaming deeper through the sewers? You eventually come to another boss which you will need to defeat but by then you might be enjoying exploring a bit more, found some secrets, found some NPC's leveled up a bit, maybe even found a weapon or two and once you're a bit stronger and more familiar with the systems you can have a go at either boss. Hey, even call in some kindly help. I'll do some co-op with you if you like (and we can find each other).

To co-op you need to be within 10 levels (+ - 10%) so you'd probably need to start up a new character

Fucking game.

Details of the patch later this month

http://blog.eu.playstation.com/2015/04/ ... r=36969785

Was kinda stuck for a bit but had an ace sesh earlier. Dash through a previously hnnnngn area opened up a new lantern.

Still a great feeling each time you get a little further or find something new.

Last night I rolled through Central Yharnham and the Cathedral Ward to stock up on vials. Also levelled up a couple of times, then attempted to complete Eileen's quest. Only about twenty attempts later... anyway, Hunter of Hunters, bitches!

Also levelled up again from accumulated blood echoes. Hmm, where next, Nightmare Frontier or Cainhurst Castle? Choices, choices.

And last night for me was Snakes

And Snakes with Snakes
And people with Snakes
And snakes with snakes of snakes

They are not specifically a problem (and at one point i turned back to go to the last lantern as I was carrying enough echos to go up 2 levels and did not want to lose them) but it does mean I need to go snaking again tonight

So I'm on NG+ and after getting my ass handed to me trying to find a way to make chain-gun guy passive (Seriously, how'd I get in behind him? I thought I had to be kidnapped and make my way by Paarl but I can't figure out a way to get kidnapped since that area doesn't open until after the Bloodstained Beast) I had a go at my second Chalice Dungeon.

It was pretty similar to the one I did before except now I am overpowered NG+ guy and the Chalice Dungeon's don't level up with the game. It was pretty unexciting to be fair, except I came across a boss fight with 3 guys. THREE FUCKING GUYS. And they were carrying some massive tools.

Amusingly though, I was able to kill them with a single charged R2. One shot apiece and they were dead.

The final guy needed two charged R2's.

My suggestion to anyone doing Bloodborne would be to have a go at these Chalice Dungeon's early on. There's a couple of reasons:

1) You get a load of tat from inside them.
2) The tat is helpful but only at the level your character should be entering them.
3) If you, like me, go in much later in the game then the tat you pick up is worthless until (presumably) you reach a dungeon more suited to your character level.

So there you go: Go early, get tat, help yourself in the main game.

I love that area. I was carrying enough echos to level up 10 times and it was the most frightening experience of the game: you get a bit farther, a bit farther, ok, you'll just keep going cause there's bound to be a lamp sooner or later, oh jesus, where's the lamp, SNAKE ORGY, I've fell down a hole, ARGH I CAN'T GET BACK, ALIENS, oh that wasn't too bad, DUFUQ IS STREAMING OUT YOUR HEAD, phew, DOUBLE SNAKE ORGY.

It was too much. Eventually I ran back like a pussy after I found the boss area.

I gave up before i got to the boss but i did have my 'mask' thing readied to go in case i stumbled into it by accident



The kidnappers do not appear until after you've done the BSB *but* you can just run past the chaingun guy and do the BSB then go back for him.

easy place to find a kidnapper after you've unlocked them

I'm sure I read somewhere that if you appear in front of chain gun guy he'll get aggro and you can't tame him.

Perhaps if you go back to hunters dream and return he will revert ?

Only way I can think of getting to him without him seeing you is to open up the other path and go 'round the back' to get there (so down to the town area / back up past the gunk squad2 and then up that little ladder)