Board 8 > Bloodborne Playthrough Topic (Won't last, cause I'm not good at the video games)

(+) Yeah! (+)

Dirty little secret: I'm not particularly good at video games! So I've always been wary to try the Soulsborne Series. But this year I'm going to give it a go! And I'll keep track of how many times I die. (Which will probably be a bajillion. Cause I'm not very good at video games.) I mean I got it for free, so why not?

Going in I know the following things:
Bloodborne is Souls with Blood replacing Souls. What that means, I don't really know.
It's super hard.

That's it. I'm going in pretty blind. And I kind of want to keep it that way. So please keep advice to a minimum. I doubt I finish this. But I'm going to give it a try!

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hype tag

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Good luck! Fear the old blood

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I start by forming a contract (What is this? A persona game?! IGOR?! Is that you?) and character creation. Which I'm fairly underwhelmed by. Normally I can spend HOURS trying to sculpt the perfect character. But here, I'm not sure I could ever design a character I'm happy with.

I pick the Violent Past origin story cause it has a high strength stat and I want to murder things fast. The Blood Echoes number is low, but I'm guessing that number can go up fast because Waste of Skin starts with like 10. Hopefully, I didn't just screw myself.

Looking around to see if I can find anything, just a few notes. When I find my first enemy (looks like a werewolf) I manage to damage it a little before being murdered.
Death Count: 1!

I'm guessing I was supposed to lose because I end up in a weird place with a tutorial. Well I say tutorial, but it's not my kind of tutorial. They just tell you how to do things, rather than making you do them. I will forget most of these within 5 minutes! Eventually, I find something that offers me a weapon. The choice seems pretty obvious, though. I mean the Cleaver is weaker with lower durability. And the Cane's only advantage seems to be Attribute Bonus. So I take the Hunter's Axe. I'm also offered a gun. I choose the Hunter Pistol cause the Blood ATK is a lot higher (though at the cost of durability).

After looking at a TON of tombstones and getting the hang of the controls a little (also equipping the weapons I was given) I find something that lets me 'awaken'. Apparently, this brings me back to the Clinic. I make my way back to the first enemy I faced and take it down in like two hits.

The first enemy I encounter looks like an Amish Zombie. I thought it was someone you could talk to at first, but no. Just an enemy. That appears to be mostly what the enemies around here are. After easily dispatching of them, I make my way up a ladder and find a lamp that's apparently a checkpoint? Noice!

I LEEEEEEROY JENKINS against a hoard of Amish Zombies. I survive my first attempt, and make my way left. Not much there but a gate, and a giant enemy with an Axe. He scares me, so I avoid him. I LEEEEEROY JENKINS against another group of Amish at the Bonfire... yeah, it doesn't go so well!
Death Count: 2!

I make another go of it, a little more cautiously. But then two attack from behind me, and I die again!
Death Count: 3!

Then I die again, this time at the stairs because I missed a couple of attacks I absolutely shouldn't have.
Death Count: 4!

I get adventurous and decide to see if I can take on the Giant man with an axe. The answer is decidedly No. No, I cannot.
Death Count: 5

I feel i'm doing a bit better when I chase some Zombies and there end up being four of them and they slaughter me!
Death Count: 6

It's also now that I realize I have Molotov cocktails. 10 of them to be exact. After looking up how to use them, I equip them and try them out -- and yeah, they're pretty awesome. I use a few of them, and end up running away... back into a large group of Zombies. Yay?
Death Count: 7

I die another time because I don't want to use all my molotovs.
Death Count: 8

This time I try to keep the back area clear of Zombies so that if I have to fall back, I don't instantly get killed. Also, I get a bunch of Blood Vials (which seem to be easy to come by) but still only have 6 Molotovs. I use bullets to attack some of them from afar. It takes a LOT of shots, but I have some decent amount of ammo. And the easiest Zombie to kill always seems to carry some on him. Seems I'm right so far about that, as I now have 18 quicksilver bullets again!

I notice a giant at the gate, and NOPE my way out of there. Kill some Giant Crows. And now I just realize I can shorten and lengthen my axe by complete accident! Noice. But then I die again to some furry white hellhound. SHIT!
Death count: 9

I was doing so well too. I decide I don't want to immediately do all that all over again, so I decide this is a good time to take a break. Almost ten deaths, and I'm not out of the first area! Another checkpoint would've been nice. But alas. It wasn't meant to be.

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After a bit of a break, and watching my kids play Mario Kart Live! (It's pretty neat, honestly) I return to be brutally murdered some more in Bloodborne.

I try out the Long Axe, and end up dying again!
Death Count: 10

But it still proves pretty useful. I mean I die yet again, but it seems to be decent at clearing crowds.
Death count: 11

And after 11 deaths I finally realize there's a difference between using R2 and R1 to attack. I had only been using R2 this whole time! Using combos is useful, but I run out of Blood Vials and die yet again.
Death Count: 12

I start to get the use of combos, but then a stupid Amish Zombie kills me with a torch. But at least I have more blood vials now.
Death Count: 13

It takes me 4 deaths, but I finally get back to where I was! But at least now I'm equipped with a bit more knowledge. It's also at this point I realize I can return to the Hunter's Dream. I have a bunch of Blood Echoes, so I decide to stock up on some stuff. And I buy all the armor they have. I feel a bit more prepared now! Sadly this means all the enemies I killed respawn again. BUt I think it'll be worth it in the long run. I hope. I still die, but I feel I can last a lot longer/better than before at least.
Death Count: 14

This time I get back to exactly where I was before, and this time use a molotov to take out three monsters in one go! Noice! But then a Giant comes and nearly kills me while I'm typing this because there is no pause button. Luckily, I get away and still have like 6 blood vials left. Two molotovs and a hit from my trusty axe fells the Giant! I proceed with an abundance of caution, as I feel like I'm actually making progress here. I find some Blood Stone Shards, which I have no idea what they do. Still, the Giant dog things kill me.
Death count: 15

I have no difficulty (okay, little difficulty!) making it back to where I was, though. Still those dog things kill me.
Death Count: 16

After that I decided to grind for some more vials and molotov cocktails. I died 9! more times grinding everything out. Eventually I figure out the combat system a bit better. Like the long axe has a nice attack for clearing crowds.
Death Count: 25

After i get my vials and cocktails, and four tries later...
Death Count: 29

I finally get past the dogs, though. And make my way to a gate, which leads back to the checkpoint. Now with the gate open. So I feel like I've now made some real progress.

Phew. Thoughts on the game so far:

It's definitely very hard. But so far I like it more than Demon's Souls (which I played for all of 5 minutes!). I just never felt like I made any progress in Demon's Souls and got kind of bored. Anyway, the difficulty isn't driven by how strong or how much health the enemies have so much as how many enemies there are at times. You get overwhelmed, and then have to figure out how to get past the area. Figuring out where enemies are so they don't get the jump on you, and dwindling their numbers. Dying feels punishing, and a little frustrating -- but never too frustrating to where you feel like you can't make progress. I've already died almost 30 times and haven't made it out of the first area yet. I'm finally starting to get the hang of the combat and figuring things out for myself. I haven't given up yet. We'll see what happens tomorrow.

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Bloodborne is very good with shortcuts like the gate back to the checkpoint.

Continuing

I decide to return to the Hunter's Dream and it says my weapon is at risk. I look that up, and find out how to repair it. So I explore the hunting grounds and meet a guy named Gerhman. I repair my weapon, and then fortify it and restock on Blood Vials and Molotovs.

Moving on, I find two large hunchbacks. They kind of scare me, but I take them on without too much problem. They hit hard, but I hit back hard enough. Find a device, but it's inoperable. I kill some dogs, including a few in a cage.

Some lady asks me about a safe place. I'm given Zero options other than to say 'No'. I keep exploring, and eventually get pushed into a sewer and think I'm about to die, but thankfully I don't! Find an item called Madman's Knowledge. No idea what that does aside from giving 'insight'. Find another gate and manage to open it, but it only takes me back to an area earlier in the game that I'm not sure I currently have use for. Probably doesn't hurt to open it though.

A large group of water monsters attack me, and I use a bunch of MOlotovs on them because they kind of scare me. They seem kind of slow though, but I'm still erring on the side of caution. Then I see a FREAKING GIANT PIG? Hello Ganon. I go up the ladder instead of toward the enormous Pig monster. I make my way into an elevator. But it too just takes me back toward the beginning. A giant ball of fire is thrown my way like a bowling ball, which I dodge. The zombies attacking me aren't so lucky. But the Giant at the top of the stairs kills me. (I shouldn't have been trying to conserve my molotovs)
Death Count: 30

This time around I skip the sewer portion, but the giant ball of flame demolishes me while I'm trying to avoid the zombies.
Death Count: 31

I get past the giant this time, but then get killed by two fishy looking guys.
Death Count: 32

This time, I get past them and get a cut scene! Apparently it's a mid-boss or boss. Father Gascoigne. He wipes the floor with me once I get him down to about half health.
Death Count: 33

It takes me to th Hunter's dream, where I find a girl who will level me up in exchange for some blood echoes. Which means I should probably grind a bit. So that's exactly what I plan to do.

I do a little grinding, dying once along the way (not bad...)
Death count: 34

Then I put two points into vitality and level up my weapon again. At this point, I feel I'm ready to try taking on the Reverend again. We'll see how bad of a mistake that is! He kills me again, this time after transforming into a larger form. But I get his health almost all the way down to 0!
Death Count: 35

I decide to do a little more leveling (and also buy enough Molotovs). In the process, I get something called a blood gem when I figure I might as well try killing that monster early on that scared me too much earlier to face. I die once from a fall like an idiot.
Death Count: 36

But I buy my moltovs, raise my vitality by 3 and my Strength by 1. Despite being more prepared, he still destroys me pretty fast in his final form.
Death Count: 37

After 3 more tries (well 1 death was to a giant) I finally take him down!
Death Count: 40

I get the Oedon Tomb Key and light the lamp and return to the hunter's dream. And I feel like that's a good place to stop! More progress woo! Just 40 deaths so far. I think I'm starting to get the hang of things.

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Congrats! Daddy Guacamole is the first real wall the game throws at you and it's where a lot of new players struggle. Consider yharnam to be your tutorial and training area, the game opens up considerably from here.

I don't want to backseat, but am curious - how thoroughly do you intend to experience the game's content? There are is a lot of optional content off of the main path, and some of it is very easy to walk right past.

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I don't know. Depends on how hard it is to find, I guess. When I get back into the game, I'll probably do another run through of the stuff I've already beat just to get some Blood Echoes and maybe level up. See if I can do it without dying. Maybe try to take on Sewer Ganon. (Maybe after refilling my Molotov's. I used all but like one on the reverend. His final form dodged them very easily so I used a lot.) If there's something I should check out, I don't mind being told (as long as it's after I've been through an area, rather than before. I like having a chance to find stuff for myself first)

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Ok. If you keep exploring that area i fully expect you to find what i have in mind, it's really not hidden. Nothing crucial, but fun content!

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I think you fared better against Father Gascoigne than I did on my first playthrough!

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Probably won't get a chance to play today, but I haven't given up. Just been busy with Football stuff.

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tagggggggggg

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I go back through the level, making sure I'm prepared for the next area. I get back to the Sewers and find some rats who scare me a little, but they aren't hard to dispatch. At the end of that area, I find Madman's KNowledge. I manage to kill Ganon in the sewers, though I use a few Blood Vials to do it. He's not TOO hard, but I'm glad I didn't take him on earlier. I get something called a Saw Hunter Badge. Doesn't really explain what it does, and doesn't seem equipable. Further on, there's what appears to be a bottomless pit. I don't jump down because that seems like suicide. The adventurous side of me wants to find out what's down there, but there's no ladder. After that, I return to the Hunter's Dream with a boatload of Blood Echo's.

I max out on Molotov's, max out on Blood Vials, repair my weapon, none of the new weapons look worth purchasing atm. I get my Vitality to 20 (It seems like the only one worth leveling. The attack stat raise doesn't look worth it)

Not confident I haven't missed anything, I still decide to press on! To the Tomb of Oedon!

The key opens a gate, and up the ladder I find a treasure chest! Woo! Blood Gem Workshop Tool is what's inside. Whatever that is. (Also my character clearly went to the Link school of dramatically opening treasure chests).

Ooh cutscene! Ominous churchbells ring as I enter a new area. I light the lamp and return to the dream now that I have a new area unlocked. I try to figure out what that thing I found does, apparently, it lets me Imbue my weapon with a blood gem. But I don't think I have any? So back to the Cathedral Ward.

I go right (though there's a forward path). A new type of enemy appears, not even sure what the heck they are. I also find some new equipment, but none of it appears to be worth equipping. A top hat among some other stuff.

Immediately, I decided to check the route I didn't take. There, I find another madman's knowledge. I get a wooden shield, which takes me a little while to figure out I can equip it o my left hand. That's all that appears to be in that area. But I'm happy to have a shield!

One way I go leads me to another Giant Wraith looking creature, which I decide to avoid for now. I go inside what I assume is a tomb. There I find another Madman's Knowledge. I expect an ambush of a large number of enemies, but surprisingly that is not the case! There's only one, which I dispatch quite easily.

I flip a switch and open the tomb. I'm curious about what's inside, but at the same time, I'm curious about what's further on. (Also I find another madman's knowledge. Still no idea what they do.)

Up ahead, I see what I thought was a monster, so I attack it before it can attack me. Oops! Turns out it's a guy. His name is Albert, and I agree to cooperate with him. He's nice enough to give me some stuff, even after I attacked him! Can't find them anywhere in my inventory though.

Since there's nothing else that way, it's time to delve into the tomb! I find a tempering bloodstone gem. Deeper in, there's a Giant Wolf. It can't get into the stairway so I fight dirty and attack it from safety! Why do I get the idea that when I inevitably die, I'll find that this strategy does not work again... Continuing on I find a guy with 4 antidotes (a lot of good it did him..) And I light a lamp! Wow, all the way to the checkpoint without dying!

And that, I think is a decent spot to stop for the day. Mainly because I'm so excited not to have died once! An update with no deaths! The enemies in this new area so far seem easier, though I"m guessing that's about to change. Also, I avoided the giant wraith thing which I'll have to kill later. Apologies to Mr. Albert for attacking him. I didn't realize there would be NPC's about literally anywhere.

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I run into a door that says Hunters are not welcome here. So I turn back. After looking around, I try the door again, and this time it lets me go through. Not sure why the door didn't just open the first time! A voice tells me to turn back and asks if I saw the sign. Like a good video game protagonist, I ignore the warning. I run into some monsters... no idea what they are. The hardest thing about them is seeing them through the misty fog. The guy starts shooting a gatling gun at me! The creatures pose less of a threat than Mr. Gatling Gun though. I get slow poisoned by this thing that looks like Milon from Final Fantasy IV. I think I'm about to die when he does it, and I'm like "SERIOUSLY?" but it doesn't kill me, just poisons me, and I have a few antidotes so I use one and keep them handy. I also find a bloodtinge gemstone, and then I finally die when the gatling gun guy just keeps shooting me with no way to back out.

Death Count: 41

I go a different route, but it doesn't take me anywhere for the most part, but i do pick up some items along the way. It eventually leads me back to the top. I make my way back to where I died and retrieve my blood echoes. At this point, I decide: "Time to spend those blood echoes." So I return to the Hunter's Dream and improve my weapon some more as well as fill up on Blood Vials, and level up. I put most of my points into Vitality, and one into Endurance.

The gatling guy kills me a few times. I do make it to what I assume is him at one point, but then die falling off the tower. I give it one more go, only for the Gatling gun to get me again.

Death Count: 45

And that's where I think I'll leave off for now. There's SOME cover but combined with the monsters, Mr. Gatling gun is quite a nuisance. Sometimes he takes out the monsters himself, but it's not very consistent. If this is what the game throws at me once I figure out one thing, I dread what it might throw at me next. I'm definitely going to have to restock on Blood Vials too. But blood echoes come pretty quickly. I think the new area provides several more than the first area. (Though enemies seem to drop blood vials less frequently, and drop antidotes instead)

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Your hunch is correct, vials won't be dropped quite as often now, so you'll have to keep in mind to hold some echoes back to restock.

Insight can be consumed for another kind of currency, there's a certain shop in the dream where it can be spent.

Old Yharnam certainly makes you have to play more cautiously when moving around. Good job on managing the enemies on your way there, the cathedral giants and packs of dogs can really punish new players.

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Ashethan posted...

I get something called a Saw Hunter Badge. Doesn't really explain what it does, and doesn't seem equipable.

Expands the shop selection IIRC, that's why you saw new weapons in the next paragraph.

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Going back to stock up on Blood Vials I realize: They upped the price! Bloodborne was doing so well with the difficulty until now. The price increased by DOUBLE. So my guess is that every time I reach a new area, the price doubles. So I go back to the first area, where they still drop vials like they're candy, and max out on them. Before setting off once more into the breach, I level up Vitality once more. (Also I've gotta stop hitting Triangle to try to get the menu. Damn you muscle memory, how many blood vials have you cost me?!)

I get back there only to die again. This time NOT to falling off the ladder. So.... progress?

Rather than face him again, I decide to press on. I get another Madman's knowledge. Also find something called Ritual Blood. Looks like my decision to press on is paying off!

When I come to a fork in the road, I take the road left because I see a shiny bright spot. Turns out to be a Blood Shard only, but still! I then go the other way, which has a bunch of blood vials and a ladder. The guy with the gatling gun is back, and I realize I'm in an earlier area. I kill a guy with a gun (he weirdly stops attacking me when I get behind safety, making him very easy to kill), before I die falling down to the area with the ladder while trying to avoid the gatling gun. At least getting back there shouldn't be too hard.

And that's' a good place to stop for now. I have to pick up my kids from school in about an hour, so better to play it safe. Hopefully pouring all these points into vitality isn't going to hurt me down the road. The other stats just don't seem quite as useful. Enemies go down pretty fast. I barely use my gun. And I seem to have a decent amount of stamina for attacks. Not a huge update, but I should play a bit more later!

Death Count: 47

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Continuing! I make my way back and get the blood echoes back. I then go back down the ladder and find a new area I missed before. This takes me to some werewolves, who aren't that hard to kill thankfully. I find a tower, which leads me to a shortcut that goes back to the area where the guy with the gatling gun was. Now hopefully I can avoid Mr. Gatling gun. At the top of the tower is some more fire paper. Foolishly I decide to press forward rather than going back to the dream so I can use my 14k blood echoes. I keep hearing what I assume is a freaking Banshee. Scares the crap out of me every time I hear it. Like "WHERE IS IT?!" At first I think it's the werewolf, but it keeps screeching after killing the Werewolf. I assume it was the Milon looking thing, cause it stops screeching after I kill it. As I press forward, I reach what is THE BOSS. The Blood Starved Beast. Holy crap! It's a boss. So immediately (without dying, thankfully!) I use the Bold Hunter's Mark (I now have 3 left) and reawaken so I can use some of my now 16k Blood Echoes.

But before that, I go back to the first area to restock my blood vials. I had 16 left, so I only needed 4. I also repair my weapon. Then I accidentally summon Albert, and can't return to the dream so I have to look up what to do. Thankfully there are no spoilers, and there's a handy dandy guide on Gamefaqs! I level up my Stamina and now have over 1000 HP! Noice! I then max out on cocktails, and see that I almost have enough to level up one more time. So time to go do that before I try facing the boss again. A little caution never hurt anyone.

I also go back and face the Giant I didn't kill earlier. He's not too much trouble, but I also don't get much for it. I explore an area I hadn't been before, and find a monocular. I kill another Giant, and this time perform a finishing move? Pretty cool! I also find a treasure chest but it just has another Gemstone, which I have several of by now. I'll see if It's better when I get back to the dream.

I level up my Vitality one more time. None of the gemstones I have are better than the ones I have equipped.

After that, I figure it's time to FACE THE MUSIC and more importantly face the boss. I'm guessing six tries, maybe 10. We'll see. I see i can summon Alfred, but decide not to. I want to do this on my own.

OH SURE NOW IT ASKS ME TO TRAVERSE THE NIGHTMARE FOG INSTEAD OF LETTING ME WANDER IN ON MY OWN

I get it down to about half health on my first go. I die of poison mostly, because I wasn't prepared with antidotes equipped, and I haven't figured out how to switch items yet. Changing items mid-battle seems like pure death!

Death Count: 48

I do about the same as before, only this time using up half of my antidotes. I noticed I couldn't buy more, so I didn't want to use them all up.

Death Count: 49

I go back to restore my Blood Vials (more time consuming than anything) so it's back to the first area! There, I encounter a mini-boss of sorts, I think? It had a health bar and everything, but no fog room. It scares me because I'm thinking "Oh god, boss?!" But it's a walk in the park for my current level I guess.

The shop now has a new weapon available. I'm guessing that's because of the Sword Hunter Badge (So new items appear in the shop depending on what badges you get? That's a pretty cool concept). I decide to buy the Kirkhammer just to try it out and have a second weapon. Then I immediately regret it as I can't equip it yet. I lack the skill? So that's what that's for. I go and fortify the weapon anyway since I have a lot of shards. It's only got a little more attack power than my Axe. And I really like my Axe. I might have to pour a couple of points into skill to give it a try though. It might be useful later to be able to use two weapons.

I decided to give the boss ONE MORE COLLEGE TRY. (My controller battery is getting low anyway. And I'll have to try to find some antidotes)I get a lot closer, with it about down to 25% ish HP, but I just can't finish the job. Just as well, I suppose. It will have to wait until tomorrow.

Death Count: 50! What a magical number.

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Tag. You're progressing smoothly for someone's first time playing a Souls-style game. Don't ask me how many times I died in Demon's Souls.

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Ashethan posted...

I go back to restore my Blood Vials (more time consuming than anything) so it's back to the first area! There, I encounter a mini-boss of sorts, I think? It had a health bar and everything, but no fog room. It scares me because I'm thinking "Oh god, boss?!" But it's a walk in the park for my current level I guess.

This is the content i was referring to earlier. The cleric beast can be the first boss you fight, but it's entirely optional! I'd estimate that technically speaking, around three quarters of the boss fights in the game are not needed in order to see the credits.

BSB is a doozy. Like Gascoigne, he helps train you for the rest of the game if you take his lessons to heart!

Every single weapon in the game is viable, but some will fit your preferred play style more and each weapon has different strengths and weaknesses. Experiment as you go!

Don't worry much about your level ups. Vitality is an excellent stat to be boosting, and you'll see good returns on each level up for a good while to come. As you noticed, the offensive stats don't contribute as much until you start to increase their scaling from blood shard upgrades.

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I try against the beast again but die again cause it's really aggressive.

Death Count: 51

On my next try, I keep getting poisoned like 5 times in a row. Now with no antidotes, I decide: It's time to accept help from Alfred. I do find that you can buy Antidotes now, but they're prohibitively expensive. The most annoying thing about this game is you cannot retry with the same items you had before. Use them once, they're gone. No reloading an old save and trying again. I feel like this isn't good gameplay design. Being able to reload to face a boss would be very helpful, and I don't feel like it'd make the game too easy. Just less frustrating.

Death Count: 52

While looking for more antidotes, I kill the guy with the Gatling gun and get a badge. But it seems to only unlock some weapons that I'm not really interested in. I can find blood vials very easily (the giants near the central yharnam lamp drop them like hot cakes) but antidotes seem to be super rare.

Overconfident while trying to farm for antidotes, I die again to one of the pale face guys, which is really embarrassing because they're kind of the most pathetic enemy I've seen. Granted they had the HIGH GROUND.

Death Count: 53

I make a lot of blood echoes but decide (perhaps naively) to level up rather than buy antidotes. I put two points into skill to try out my new sword. I do buy antidotes with the leftovers. I immediately regret my decision because I do not like the sword. The attacks feel a lot less versatile. I like the reach of the axe, and the swingy Link-esque move that hits multiple enemies from a safe distance. Not super useful against bosses, but good against normal enemies so far.

I figure I'll give it one more try without Alfred cause I really want to beat it without any help (and who knows how much help he'll actually be, and then if I fail, I probably won't have him to help me again)

In my next fight, the sword does me no good at all, but I do find three antidotes in the middle of the fight. This will be helpful for what I HOPE is my best shot at actually beating the thing. So I set my pride aside and get ready to face the beast.

Death Count: 54

Sadly Alfred does not prove super useful at all. And I die again. I almost had the beast dead, though. It only had about 15% health. However, I used up all my antidotes. I die again trying to grind out some antidotes, but I do manage to get 2! I make my way back to the Hunter's Dream with a TON of Blood Echoes. I level up once more, and give myself one more stamina. I figure it might be useful against poison.

Death Count: 55

After that, it's ONCE MORE INTO THE BREACH!

I find I can still summon Alfred, so together we TAKE ON THE BEAST AGAIN! This time I plan on throwing everything I can at it. This proves fairly fruitful, as Fire Paper helps significantly. But alas, I still die!

Death Count: 56

And then I die again. It grabs me and does a TON of damage. I don't even have time to heal up. Like I only used 4 vials of blood! I had him over half-dead. This is easily the most frustrating fight I've ever faced in a game.
Then I die from I guess poison? I didn't even realize I was poisoned. But I die far from the creature

Death Count: 58

Then a werewolf kills me on the way to the re-match. *sigh* It usually doesn't follow me and I'm able to avoid fighting it. Which saves me a blood vial or two.

Death Count: 59

The Werewolf kills me again the next time through, thanks to POISON. Stupid red-eyes werewolf.

Death Count: 60

On the next go, I FINALLY DEFEAT THE BLOOD STARVED BEAST! I'm super careful against the boss, keeping my distance while trying to go for attacks. My biggest problem is that I usually swing a little early and end up doing no damage, then I'm in a bad position. This time around though, Alfred and I fell the beast and I get the Pthemeru Chalice. No idea what that is or what it does, but FINALLY the beast is slain. And that's where I decide to stop for the night. Progress! It's slow, but it's happening. Poison is easily the most annoying thing about the game, and makes me consider putting a bunch of points into Stamina to avoid it.

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BSB is a major hurdle yes
The only boss I could do better with the music off.
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Getting a lot of stamina to roll and run around feels good, but upgrading your health and damage will probably help you more.

Have you paid much attention to the clothes that you're wearing?

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I've paid attention to clothing a little, but there's not been much available. Other than the top hat set I found, and the armor I've bought, I haven't seen any other armor to get.

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It's not like armors in other games, each set has strengths and weaknesses. In particular, the way statuses work is that each effect has a bar that can be filled, and once the bar is filled it will slowly dwindle away until it's gone. The size of the bar depends on what your resistance is - higher poison resistance only means you need to be hit by more poison in order to start losing the health.

There's also some armor available in the other dream shop, but i don't remember offhand how its poison resistance stacks up.

Regardless, congrats on beating BSB! She's a handful.

---

Outside some very specific cases (like status effects above) I never worried too much about armor stats and instead chose based on fashion.

Fashion Souls too strong.

---

Back to the Dragon's Den!

I have enough Blood Echoes to level up once, so I do that, raising my Vitality to 29! Mostly unsure of what to do, I explore a bit and eventually find an elevator that takes me up to a treasure. But there's a guy with a gun there. I leave the room and come back and he's stopped shooting. This allows me to easily dispatch him. I open the treasure chest and receive Communion. Apparently, this allows me to carry more blood vials? Nice.

Up ahead I find more amish guys and another treasure chest. This one contains a bloodtinge gemstone (2). Then I die to one of the amish trying to avoid the fast shooting wheelchair amish guy.

Death Count: 61

I'm a bit more careful this time, and wait at the stairs for the guy who killed me before, and easily murder him. The gatling wheelchair guys are annoying, but they have a clear weakness: They run out of ammo pretty fast and they don't change directions much. Then I run into the GREATEST and most FEARSOME enemy of the game: Gravity. Falling off the edge, I scream "NO NO NO" Then when I get back up there, the giant kills me because I'm trying to prevent from falling off the edge again.

Death Count: 62

I lure the giant troll into the interior this time, so I can dance on his grave. I climb a ladder, and it says "The Sky and the Cosmos are One. - "The Choir". Not sure what that means, but it's probably important. I find two more guys in wheelchairs, this time with Flamethrowers. Lots of enemies in wheelchairs. It'd be ableist of me if I didn't murder them indiscriminately like everything else! Very progressive of the game. Inside the chest I find the Radiant Sword Hunter Badge. Past that, there's a locked door. I smash all the pots, looking for stuff, because if Zelda has taught me anything: Smashing pots leads to good things. Also smashing pots is fun.

This sadly did not get me anywhere. (ZELDA LIED TO ME!) So I return to the dream and see what's new for sale from the badge. Hopefully something good. They now sell a Stake Driver, but I don't have enough strength to wield it.

Also hey! Some new armor for sale. Before trying to buy any of it, I check the stat comparisons. Honestly, the upgrades don't seem worth it. The Yharnam Hunter Equipment seems like it's about as good. And in some area's its better. So I decide NOT to go grind out 32,000 Blood Echoes so I can have some fancy new equipment... as much as I'd like to.

Instead of buying the weapon, I level up my vitality to 30. A worthy investment IMO.

I investigate the new area a little more and find an area you can drop down to. It damages you, but doesn't kill you! Kind of like the trip down to the Blood Starved Beast. Really not a fan of fall damage. Hopefully, there's an item later that lets you fall all you want. Like in Dragon Quest Builders! The area is hard to navigate though and I end up falling to my death trying to land on a platform with a shiny thing. DAMN YOU SHINY THINGS. Why must you tempt me so?

Death Count: 63

Undeterred by things like my greatest enemy: Gravity, I go and stock up on blood vials because at this point I'm running very low.

Despite getting something that lets me carry more Blood Vials, I am still capped at 20. I assume I have to equip the thing or something, but I have no idea how.

On this trip, I realize there's a weird little monster that shows up. It doesn't attack you or anything. But when I kill it, it drops some Twin Blood Shards.

I manage to drop down to a shiny thing, but then immediately fall further. *shakes fist* I manage to get the next ome, though, and get Madman's KNowledge. I fall further, and misjudge my fall and DIE AGAIN. At least this time I don't have to grind out blood vials. (Also I did manage to somehow get my blood echoes back so yay!) This time around I survive the fall and make it to the bottom (and get my blood echoes back still!) Down there I find a werewolf on two legs that throws FIRE AT YOU. It drops something called "Beast" which appears to be another rune which I currently have no use for.

I find a Rumpled Yharnam Hat, Sweaty clothes but neither look worth using. I get into a fight and flee -- which leads me to an elevator. This lets me open the gate which I think takes me back toward the beginning.

I go up the stairs where there are more pale faces. The one with the scythe is pretty dangerous compared to the rest. Then I find another gate and open it. The place looks familiar, and I almost mistake it for the area with giants earlier, but the shiny stuff clues me in that I haven't been there yet. I find more mad man's knowledges. I find at least 3 (I kind of lost count). I slaughter the giants, then open yet another gate which this time I think takes me back to the beginning area? Yeah, seems like it. So the other gate must lead somewhere else?

I go back to find out what the other gate leads to, and run into this thing that looks like Death. I nearly kill it, but then it kills me. But instead of taking me back to the lamp, I'm... in a new place? Does this count as a death? I think it has to?

Death Count: 64

But new area! Looks like a prison. I WANT MY BLOOD ECHOES BACK THOUGH. I had like 14k. I find another one of those monsters who don't attack and get more twin blood shards. Everything about this new place scares me, not least of all because I want my blood echoes back. I find a lamp, and am able to return to the hunter's dream. Hopefully, that means I can go get my blood echoes.

I return to the Cathedral Ward for my blood echoes, glad I opened the big gate so I can return easily. I hope that the death thing didn't take my blood echoes. On my way back a giant drops something called a Blue Elixer. Apparently. it makes still bodies detectable. Not sure what that means but OKAY!

I find the thing that killed me, but after NEARLY killing it again, it gets me again. *sigh* This time it doesn't take me to the new place though.

Death Count: 65

I return to the Hunter's Dream and weep for my lost echoes. Then I upgrade my axe with some of those twin blood shards (I use a colddew to get enough echoes to pay for it). Couldn't hurt, I figure. And that... I think is a good stopping place for today. There seem to be a lot of paths I could take from here. The new place, the way I was going where the Grim Reaper killed me twice. I think I'm going to stick with the old area. Though it's weird that I died and it took me somewhere new. There's also a few other areas I should explore a bit better I think. The world is huge and I almost don't know where to begin. I'm sure I'll end up getting lost. Or killed. Maybe both!

---

Good update! When i said the game was starting to open up, this is what i meant. There's a lot of different ways you could go right now, all of them doable in whichever order suits your fancy.

---

I start by stocking back up on Blood Vials. Then return to Cathedral ward. My first destination is the area to the left of where the giants are. I find a poison knife there. To the left I find a door where once again I'm asked for a safe place but have no place to tell them. A mossy zombie does a good deal of damage to me, but I still manage to take it down. The fog here is very thick, making it hard to see.

I climb a ladder, and read a note: "A watchman of Byrgenwerth guards te gate with a password, the sacred adage of the Grand Cathedral." I find a new area and a door where they ask me for a password. Also I now realize by accident that I can use L2 to attack with the long axe too for a new attack. Huh! Sadly I then die to a Giant and one of the shooting zombies who gang up on me.

Death count: 66

I return for my blood echoes, then go north. I fight some mages who are very fast. One of them drops bolt paper. Then I find a door that asks me to bless them with blood.

Then I enter a large and foreboding door. This looks like a boss room, so I leave. I go the other direction and find a bloodshot eyeball. I enter a cave, followed by a forest. The dragon-like creatures scare me, but I manage to handle them pretty well. I run into a firing squad, so I run away from them. Then I go back and kill them. I enter a gate and now I'm in a place called Hemwick Charnel Lane. I find a lantern, and light it! Woo! I take on a bunch of enemies in the area, including some old ladies and torch bearing things.

I return to the Hunter's Realm and upgrade my axe once more. I then level up my Strength twice and my Endurance once. I feel like having a little more endurance could help since sometimes I'm unable to attack when I need to.

I'm about to go restock my blood vials, when I realize: I have plenty. Then I figure I should check out and see if that's a boss I missed or not. Sadly the one stamina doesn't seem to help that much with having more attacks. I prepare a bold hunter's mark in case there IS a boss, so I don't lose my Echos. And I get a cutscene, so OF COURSE it's a boss. A girl and a locket. She quickly turns into a monster of course. Cause why not? A big hairy monster that looks like the thing from the never ending story. Vicar Amelia. So of course I use my bold hunter's mark to go back and spend the rest of my blood echoes before trying the boss at least once.

And right now I'm thinking to myself: You know what'd be nice? A Blood Bank. This game loves blood stuff. You can store blood vials. You can store antidotes. Why not blood echos? That'd be really nice. I raise my strength to 19. Then buy a couple fire paper. I also find that I have a better blood gemstone which raises my axe's attack power quite significantly. Then it's time to GO INCREASE MY DEATH COUNT BY ABOUT 10-20.

I get her about half-way dead before she kills me.

Death Count: 67.

Before going back into the fight, I use some coldblood dew to level up twice. I bring my strength up to 21! Then I get ready to face Vicar Amelia with a new strategy!

And this strategy (Throwing Molotovs at her) doesn't matter as she kills me in a manner of seconds.

Death Count: 68

The next strategy works quite well, though, as I use Fire Paper once she starts glowing and it demolishes her. (Okay, I use a LOT of Blood Vials! But I still beat her!) I receive a gold pendant for my efforts! Then I go and light the lamp. I also approach the altar and reach for the skull. This brings me to a cutscene. "Fear the Old Blood" they say (Hey, that's something someone in this topic said!)

Using the Lantern, I return to the Hunter's Dream. There I find there's a new shop now! But the price is Insight instead of anything else. I have 10. That's enough for a full set of armor, so I decide to compare my current setuw with what's offered. I buy and equip the Gasciogne Set. Then I spend my blood echoes on two points in Vitality.

Next, it's time to restock my Blood Vials since Amelia took all of mine (Well most). Also, everything looks darker now for some reason? Also I will say the most surprising thing about this game is that you can heal for free by going back to the Dream. I'd almost expect them to charge an escalating rate for healing.

I go back to the Cathedral, and go face the creature I call "Death". It's not nearly as intimidating this time, and I wipe the floor with it. Then I realize that's just the beginning part of the stage as I originally thought. Huh.

I try as hard as I can to get back to the area where I was i an elevator and found some useless armor, but end up having to go the hard way. And... I die. From a fall. How easy it is to misjudge where you will land.

Death Count: 69 (nice!)

I return, get my echoes back, and then realize something: The elevator is the end of the area, and I only missed a fire gemstone. But maybe the fire gemstone will be worth the trip!

I go back to the Dream, level up Vitality again, then check on the Fire Gem. I can't seem to equip it to any of my weapons though.

While exploring, the scythe pale faced guy kills me again.

Death Count: 70

I accidentally attack a nameless NPC because they all look like monsters to me. (Is this some kind of commentary game?!)

I have enough echoes to level up again, so this time I raise skill. Maybe one day I'll come across a better Axe... BLOODBORNE HUNTERS AXE ONLY RUN HERE WE COME!

And I think that's a good spot for a break. A boss beaten and some exploration. I might play more later, we'll see.

---

I love the Amelia fight so much.

Different gemstones have different shapes, and each weapon has slots with predetermined sockets. Some gemstones can fit into any shape socket but those are rare.

---

I go exploring again, and this time run into I think Alfred? I very nearly attack him, but avoid it. Not used to NPCs still! He tells me a few things about the healing church.

Apparently, I have the password now and can enter the door. I talk to the dead guy, and get a madman's knowledge. (He doesn't talk back, alas) then I enter a new Area: The Forbidden Woods. (Saria's theme plays in my head, even though this is the Forbidden forest, not the lost forest). The enemies here aren't too bad. I meet an enemy that looks like an executioner (or those hooded guys from Dragon Quest!) I find some more gemstones, and then find a lamp to light.

Across the bridge I come across a trap that could give just about any boss I've encountered a run for their money! This place must be good for farming Twin Blood Shards, because I come across several. I then come across some Amish Guys in white! I'm guessing they're the upgraded versions of the guys from the beginning.

This place appears to be TRAP CITY cause there's a lot of places you can fall through.

Before doing too much, I head back to the Dream and raise my Vitality by 2 and fortify my Axe which is now a Hunter's Axe +6! This apparently lets me equip a third gemstone? Very nice.

Apparently. the Forbidden Woods is part of the "Above Ground" which makes me think I'm supposed to be in Hemwick Charnel Lane first. But I still go back to the forbidden woods. Doing things in order? Who needs that!

I fall down the trap again, and while climbing out the Fish guy kicks me! HE KICKS ME! What the heck? The developers think of everything. But the fish guy doesn't, because I'm ready to murder him when he gets down.

Then I get killed by stepping into a pool of... oil? IDK, but it rains fire on me and I die.

Death Count: 71

Sadly, I die to another trap that just rams into me. I never expect those, and I don't know why.

Death Count: 72

I can't find my lost blood echoes, but I push forward anyway. I get past the lake with the fire, and find a guy with a freaking canon. Luckily it's not too hard to avoid, and he's easy to kill.

Up ahead I kill this weird thing that when it dies snakes? come out of its head. Okay then! There's a platform that looks like schmuck bait, but I'm able to walk to a lever, but can't pull it. I run into another one of those snake guys. I also run into a weird snake like monster that disappears when I kill it. The enemies here seem to be more defensive than offensive. Which gives me much pause. A giant snake almost kills me, but I manage to get away.. then no idea where it went. I eventually find it though, and toss molotovs at it until it dies. Up there I find something called Clear Deep Sea which adds Slow poison resistance of 100. Very nice. If only I could equip it...

I find another giant snake thing, but I ignore it because I don't want to waste my molotovs on it. Nearby I find a Clockwise Metamorphosis. This boosts max hp by 5%. Sounds pretty good.

I backtrack a bit and fin dd an item that's a cannon. It's a pretty good gun. But I've not got enough strength to equip it. Or skill (oh hey, skill would come in handy). But 30 strength? Yeah, that's way too much. Also it's not like I use guns much.

Unable to find my way back, I use a Bold Hunter's mark. I've got a few of em'. And I really don't want to lose my blood echoes. Then level up Vitality 3 more to 38.

I decide to try Hemwick Channel Lane, unsure of where to go in the Forbidden forest. The enemies here are pretty weak and go down without much fight. I find a well and go down, but it just takes me back to the place I just was. I find a stable of dead... Horses? They vaguely look like horses.

On the roof area I'm careful of where I step, the traps from earlier have me paranoid. The enemies around the corner prove a bit more of a threat. I also open the gate that goes toward the village!

The executioner here can do some damage, but nothing I can't take. The game isn't too bad if you can predict enemy movements pretty well. Dodge their hits, then hit them hard. They're just as squishy as you are.

As I'm making my way on... I encounter Witch of Hemwick. A boss?! I wasn't expecting that at all. So I reawaken, and go to level up a little more. I want to use up as many of my Blood Echoes as possible before I inevitably die several times. So I go ahead and raise my Vitality to 40.

Then it's time for the boss! ...And it's a pretty easy boss, aside from its minions. But the witches themselves are pretty weak, aside from that one move that can paralyze you. I don't remember what item it dropped. But afterward I move forward and find the Rune Workshop tool! So I guess I can equip runes now?

After checking the storage, and the weapon station, I stumble on to the altar, which lets me equip runes. I equip three, including the one that gives me +5% HP. I raise my vitality by one more, then go back to Witch's Abode. Past there, I find a Lake Rune. Which might be more useful than the one that increases Vial Carry by 1.

I return to the Forbidden Woods, unsure there's anywhere else to go in that direction. This time I find a way to open the door I couldn't before.

I fall down to a new area and find some aliens. Also some metroids? And I find an anti-clockwise metamorphosis. Which sounds kind of useful, raising stamina by 10% The aliens tend to drop arcane gemstones. I find an underground lake with fireflies.

I run into Ganon again. This time he spits poison? But he's easy to take down becuase he's not in a narrow corridor. The snakeheads now summon smaller snakes. Which are more of an annoyance than anything. Also I kill a Giant snake without any molotovs. I make my way down to a river, where more Ganons await me.

When given a choice between going down or going up, I go down. Then I come to a place that looks very much like a boss room, so I BACK OUT! So this time I head up and open a gate. It doesn't seem to be in a useful place though. Cause I wind up on a cliff, and it looks like it's the only way down.

I backtrack, and find a dissipating lake. Beyond that, sadly I run into one of those snakeheads, and it manages to actually kill me. It got the jump on me, and the element of surprise is probably the most dangerous thing in the game next to gravity.

Death Count: 73

Determined to get my echoes back, I upgrade my weapon's gemstones and set off. But then I get rushed by a mob and... *cries* die. ALL THOSE BLOOD ECHOES GONE. And so that's where I'll leave off for now. 60k blood echoes. Gone with the wind. You'll have to excuse me while I go weep in a corner.

Death Count: 74

---

Starting back up on a Saturday morning once the kids are fed and I have some time before the playoffs.

I start back toward my earlier area, and in doing so explore a little more. This time I find a nice shortcut I wish I had found before. Very useful. A nice elevator that leads me back to the lamp. I accidentally stumble onto the boss mostly unprepared. It's three guys in Robes (Organization XIII?! No wait. This game isn't convoluted enough for them.) I get slaughtered mercilessly.

Death Count: 75

On my second try, I'm more prepared. I use all my blood vials, but manage to kill all of them. Not a bad boss fight, probably the most fun so far IMO. Each with different fighting styles. It makes the fight challenging, but not super frustrating. I take out the guy throwing fire first, which makes the rest of the fight a breeze. (The others didn't have much health anyway, because I was splitting damage between them). After defeating them I receive a Blood Rapture. Which seems like a pretty nice Rune! Also, these guys all seem to be snake-men. Are they snake worshipers?

I foolishly move forward after lighting the lamp, then run back after a bug ABSOLUTELY DESTROYS ME. Also, I have no blood vials. This thing is tougher than the boss I just fought.

I've got enough to level up a couple of times. I put 4 more points into Vitality to raise it to 45.

Expecting the stupid insect this time, I preemptively attack it and it goes down pretty easily. There's another lamp up ahead, as I'm now in Byrgynwerth. Weird how two lamps are so close together, with only like one enemy separating them.

Continuing forward, I run into a bug guy who gets me in a corner and I cannot escape! He nearly kills me, until he backs off a little. Geez! Then I run into this monster that's like the Witches, only like... way more powerful. It paralyzes me and then sucks blood from me. And kills me.

Death Count: 76

I try again, only a bug kills me. I really hate how the enemies here can incapacitate you. It's not fun. Losing control of your character, even momentarily, isn't fun. Challenging? Yes. Fun? No.

Death Count: 77

That stupid enemy... UGH! It has way too much health, can spam its paralysis attack (which isn't just not fun because it's hard, but because you can't do anything while it's happening) and get you multiple times in a row. I finally kill it, and geez... THAT's closer to a boss fight than the Witches I fought yesterday. Doesn't even drop anything good. Behind him, I find an arcane lake.

Ahead, there's this giant ice insect thing? It looks scary, but it's not too hard to take down. At least not compared to the rest of the enemies in this area.

I open the gate, which creates a pretty early shortcut. I enter a nearby house and find some kind of slug in a chest. Inside the house, this pirate ninja kills me. For the first time in the game, I feel like I'm not doing NEARLY enough damage. These enemies take way more hits. Like boss-level.

Death Count: 78

When I show up to fight it again, it kills me very quickly>

Death Count: 79

Then he gets me in a corner and kills me again.

Death Count: 80

Wow. I've died more to this guy than the last two bosses combined! This guy kills me YET AGAIN! And at this point I decide: I'm not going to face him again right now. Yeah.

Death Count: 81

I check to see if any new armor is available at either store. That's when i realize: I don't have any insight? Not really a problem, though as I've got a lot of those items that give you insight. Not that they're selling anything new yet.

Deterred by these events. I decide it might be prudent to check Hypogean Gaol. Cause why not?

Sadly the enemies here are just as tough and have high HP.

Death Count: 82

And I think that's where I stop for the day. At least one boss is down. Somehow it was easier than some of the normal enemies, and way more fun to fight. The shadow boss fight was a lot of fun, and still challenging without making me want to rip my face off.

---

Back at the game...

I do a bit of grinding. (Buy a Holy Sword, cause why not? I try it out, but I'm unimpressed for the price I paid for the thing.) I find an area I neglected earlier. I receive a tonsil stone, and move forward and find a GIANT MONSTER. Thankfully rather than kill me, it sends me to a new place. The Lecture Building. There seem to be no enemies here, so i proceed further.

I fight a new enemy that dosen't seem too tough. Then fall down a hole and lose all my grinding. *sigh* It takes me some time to find the spot again, but once I do, I get my echoes back. Also I run into some monsters that throw rocks at me! Or I guess I should say boulders...

I do a bit of leveling up, and die 1 time along the way. But now my strength is 28!

I try the unseen village area again, but die 3 times there. I then try the snow ninja pirate again and die there too.

Death Count: 87

After repairing my weapon (it was getting really low) I decide to try a new tactic. I take out the enemies in the area out first, then lead the snow pirate ninja outside. This proves fairly useful as I can make distance, and swing my axe pretty hard at it. I finally get the better of it, and it drops 3 blue elixers. I accidentally ring the bell, and Damien joins me.

Upstairs I find a Lunarium Key. I also find another Bug. Then I open a chest for an Empty Phantasm Shell. I return Damian to whence he came from, and go back to spend my blood echoes before devling into the lake. (An underwater dungeon seems pretty cool)

Well it turns out to be a Spider? Boss. It doesn't look like a spider. The things with it? Those look like spiders. I very nearly kill it, bringing it down to like a sliver of health, but it ends up killing me at the end when I run out of Vials. I mostly ignore the spiders after a few seconds, cause they take a lot of damage, and there's a lot of them.

Death Count: 88

My second try goes a little better, but then I still die trying to get that last hit in... Patience Ash. Patience.

Death Count: 89

My third try however is the charm! I use up all of my blood vials, but the Spider is washed down the drain along with its babies. I run toward... a woman in a bloody wedding dress? Also a big meteor starts coming toward me and I hear a baby crying. And I have no clue what just happened.

I'm given a message: Ritual secret broken. Seek the nightmare newborn. Now I'm back in the room with the giant monster that send me to the new area. But apparently I'm in the unseen village? Luckily there's a lamp nearby and I go back to the Dream. Then I go and get some more Blood Vials, because 0 is not enough.

I return to the new area. The enemies here seem to respawn, and they don't seem to drop blood echoes. So I don't bother fighting them and push forward. I read a note that says the ritual must be stopped less they all become monsters (Seems a bit late for that?)

I get lost, get struck by lightning, and die. Yeah, I dont' like this place at all.

Death Count: 90

My next couple of tries don't go so well. I get picked up by a monster and squished, then gange dup on by a bunch of hags.

Death Count: 92

This time around I make it to a new lantern. But the hordes of enemies get me.

Death Count: 93

A large troll kills me this time.

Death Count: 94

Yeah, I think it's safe to say we'll reach 100 on this play.

On the next try I manage to open the elevator. Which creates a pretty good shortcut. But I'm going to need some more vials of blood before I try to move forward. So it's back to the first area!

The Skull Plant things are really tough to beat. I somehow manage to beat a large group of them though. I find a note that says: Behold! A Paleblood Sky! No idea what that means.

I also find some nice armor. Yahar'gul Black Garb, Black Hooded Iron Helm, Yahar'ul Black Gloves, and Yahar'gul Black Trousers. Well I say 'nice armor' but what I mean is "something I probably will never use."

The next area has a TON of enemies, so I run past... and right into a BOSS FIGHT! Well crap. I don't have nearly enough blood vials to take The One Reborn on. Luckily I'm able to use a bold hunter's mark to return to the dream.

Back at the dream, I level up my Axe cause I can now! After that, I go to stock up on Blood Vials. I also level up twice, putting one point into strength, and one into vitality. I go back to fight him this time... and it does not go well. I kill his mages, but his spit is just absolutely brutal. I kind of figure a strategy out after that, but time will tell if it works.

Death Count: 95

My hope is to beat it before I get 100 deaths. I think that'd be a small accomplishment! Alas, I don't even make it back as I die to those STUPID Skull Plant things.

Death Count: 96

Trying to take out the monsters doesn't work either as this weird monster kills me.

Death Count: 97

Honestly this may be my biggest complaint about this game: The monsters before the boss make the boss harder than it should be. I want to get to the boss with full vials, and full health. I don't want to have to choose between them. How about a shortcut that takes you to the boss room? I then die one more time falling down the elevator. Yeah, not having less than 100 deaths before beating this guy...
Death Count: 98

I take out the boss - who is actually pretty fun. All the frustration comes from BEFORE the boss. Getting to him is more of a hassle than anything. It makes the game more of a grind than it should be. But I'm going to celebrate that I managed to beat this boss without dying 100 times! Actually the last couple of bosses have all taken only a few tries. Figure out their attacks, then wail on them.

I go past the area where I beat The One, and inspect the mummy. This takes me to the Lecture Building. I check out the new area. The enemies here aren't as bad as the last area (and don't respawn like the others did). Their water gun attack is a tad annoying, but I'll take that over infinite enemies. I also run into a giant with more HP than the others. Still a fun enemy to fight though.

What I'm dubbing Squirtlemort (they act like Squirtle, they look like Voldemort) aren't too bad for enemies. I find some notes:
-Three Third cords
-The Nameless Moon presence beckoned by Laurence and his associates. Paleblood

And I have no idea what they mean. Vague much game?

I open the door to outside. And now I'm in an area that looks very much like it belongs in a game called "Bloodborne." Well, except that blood isn't coming out of all their eyes. I would almost expect blood to be everywhere in this game.

I run into some new enemies. Not even going to bother trying to figure out what they're supposed to be. not like my descriptions are very apt anyway! But there's some worms too, and they're not too hard.

I fight one of those things that don't fight back, and it drops THREE bloodstone chunks. Very nice! I think Legion (that's what I'm going with for those. It reminds me of Legion from persona) might be my favorite enemy in the game lol.

I barely find a lamp, which allows me to return to the dream. (Maybe we're all inside a Giant Monster dreaming.... a certain video game theme plays in my head) I then go and put a point into skill. I see that it makes my new sword fairly stronger (I've leveled it up along with the axe, even though I almost never use it. I like my trusty axe. But I had plenty of things that level the weapons up, with nothing to do with them!)

Then I return to the Nightmare of Mensis and... instantly die to those... yeah like I said. NOt even going to try to describe them. But they team up on me and I die.

Death Count: 99!

I've got 99 deaths, but the Witch of Hemwick wasn't one of them!

Also the worms are really annoying here. Then the worms kill me, and there goes Death 100! Stupid worm....
Death Count: 100!

And I think that's a good stopping place. Tomorrow! My first past 100 death!

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You made a ton of progress. Congrats on having an easy time with the three snake men boss, they're generally pretty difficult even for players who are a little over leveled (which it does not look like you are)

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Ashethan posted...

My third try however is the charm! I use up all of my blood vials, but the Spider is washed down the drain along with its babies. I run toward... a woman in a bloody wedding dress? Also a big meteor starts coming toward me and I hear a baby crying. And I have no clue what just happened.

The meteor sounds like one of the Spider's attacks. I'm guessing it got it off right before it died. ...Would have been a funny - if frustrating - death, though it would still record the boss kill AFAIK.

You're definitely making good progress!

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Did a little grinding. Tried going to the Grand Cathedral, but couldn't -- so I walked there manually. Found a black ninja there, which kills me very fast.

Death Count: 101

I want to take the Ninja down, so I go back and kill it without much trouble. Just a matter of dodging. I get the Crow Hunter Badge for my efforts. This made me wonder if there are any other areas closed off, but the only one seems to be the prison, and I can't get back there afaik by walking.

I try to take on the nightmare frontier next, where I get cornered by two lightning monsters who kill me easily.

Death Count: 102

Apparently, the deadliest enemy in the game is being blocked in. The lake in the region is poisonous, so I avoid it. I kill a golem throwing boulders, which is a lot easier than I suspect it'd be. The golems are only really a threat from a distance.

Upon realizing I probably have no choice but to go through the poison, I equip the best defenses against poison I have available to me. I make my way through, but then get killed by a great big brain with eyeballs. Yeah, the enemies in this game are... weird. After falling into a lake of more poison... I decide to use a bold hunter's mark. I think I'm going to skip this area because I don't like poison. I think I'm okay with missing out on this place.

Returning to Nightmare of Mensis... I get killed by the Lightning beasts again.

Death Count: 103

I've noticed sort of a pattern. Normal enemies are fast, with low HP and do a LOT of damage. Bosses on the other hand don't do quite as much damage but have much more HP.

Three more tries. Fell off a cliff once...

Death Count: 107

Also at times I appear to be taking damage from... nothing? The next time, I decide to take a new route and run into some golems. I nearly die, and use all my blood vials. Then I make it to a new lantern and a device that isn't operable right now. I'm guessing this is a shortcut for later. But really not a fan of this new area.

I use some madmens knowledge to buy a Blood Stone chunk (maybe not the best use of them, but I want to upgrade my axe)

While grinding a bit, I learn that I have maxed out quicksilver bullets. Huh. I also die once while trying out the sword.

Death Count: 108! (Stars of Destiny baby!)

Die again while grinding, this time from a direct shot from the stupid canon...

Death Count: 109

I decide to try to grind in the last place, because I'm not sure how many blood echoes you get from there, even with respawning enemies. Then I die...

Death Count: 110

Going through again, the lightning kills me again. WHY IS THIS IN THIS GAME? WHY!?

Death Count: 111

I try the area I'm supposed to be in again.. and once more fall off a cliff. *shakes fist at gravity*

Death Count: 112

Then those two things team up against me and burn me to death...

Death Count: 113

Then while rolling away from them I fall off a cliff again.

Death Count: 114

I try again, but yeah... I'm taking way too much damage from these things. I then try the trusty strategy of RUNNING in the direction of my objective. But these things are RELENTLESS!

Death Count: 115

Then they kill me again. These are the worst enemies in the game. Bar none. Give me the blood starved beast over these things.

Death Count: 116

I manage to kill one, run away from the other, and the other one still follows me and kills me with its stupid worms. And I think this is where I quit bloodborne. Up until now everything's been manageable. Challenging, but fair. Nothing i couldn't handle. But these things? Fuck these things.

Death Count: 117

I finally kill them but use MOST of my blood vials doing so. I get into the building, and the enemies here are spiders. I make my way inward, avoiding unnecessary fights because I have almost no vials. I get to this guy who doesn't look like a normal enemy and makes me think of those ninjas. Low on health... the guy kills me.

Death Count: 118

And I think that's it. GETTING to that point should not be so fucking hard. It's stupid. And the game doesn't explain anything to you. Why do i keep taking damage when there's no enemies around? What inflicts it on me, and how do I stop it? It's not even worth killing these things. You can grind much easier on earlier enemies getting better EXP, and the drops aren't even that good.

I try three more times. Buying the flamethrower and leveling it up, figuring: Maybe I just need to set these things on fire, and that'll take care of them. But nope. These things TAKE OUT HALF OF MY HEALTH. The fuck? It's not like I neglected the vitality stat. Then on the fourth time, I just RUN THE FUCK Past the stupidly designed lightning monsters from HELL. Yes, I said stupidly designed. They look stupid. The people designing these things were hopefully fired and never allowed to design an enemy in a video game again. Then I die twice to the stupid spiders. Fuck this area. Seriously. Fuck it. Next time I fall down an elevator shaft after dodging EVERY ENEMY. Except a couple of stupid spiders becuase those spiders are stupid. When people say "Bloodborne is a hard game." I imagine this is what they're talking about. The rest of the game? Moderately challenging. This part? Pure fucking hell. Then I fall into a chasm trying to get away from some... fertility statue? IDK. At least now I have an elevator though. Then I die trying to defeat the swordsman with the... Ice Thrower?

Death Count: 126

This time around I kill Sub-Zero wannabe. He's not that hard. Just does a LOT of damage. Also my sword seems to actually come in handy here, doing more damage than my axe. *cries for my axe* The knights aren't hard to take out, and don't do ridiculous damage. I manage to kill the fertility statue. Everything in this area is far more manageable than the previous area. Seriously, I died like 22 times trying to get through that. I very nearly gave up.

I find another elevator. Then I find another one that's a shortcut. Very nice. I'm almost ready to forgive the game for the earlier part of the level. ALmost. Then I get killed by a skeleton that's really hard to hit.

Death Count: 127

Getting back is super easy. Barely an inconvenience. This time the skeletons are easier to hit too. Then I run into a boss room by complete accident. Oops. At least I have equipped the thing that lets me return to the dream. Micolash will have to wait.

I return to the dream to spend my echoes. It's only enough for one level up, but I put another point into skill since i'm using my sword occasionally now. The increase skill gives to the sword is not insignificant.

Then I have to go get all the blood vials I need. My first attempt goes very poorly because I can't find him when I get him halfway dead, and then I use up all my vials trying to survive his minions. Ugh. This guy is ANNOYING!

Death Count: 128

I get a stupid death from falling while trying to get Blood Vials.

Death Count: 129

On my next attempt, his tentacle attack kills me before I can even get him half-dead.

Death Count: 130

Then the next time, his light attack gets me.

Death Count: 131

The next time, I know what to do, so I manage to beat him without too much trouble this time. And 8 blood vials to spare! As a result I get the Mensis Cage. It's not a particularly impressive helmet. Though it does look kind of funny.

I light the lantern at the top of the area. I also find a new elevator. Not sure how necessary it is, since there was a lantern. There seem to be 4 elevator spots to use. And that's where I stop for the day. The latter part of this area? Fine. The early part? Worthless. Set it on fire and toss it out.

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Ashethan posted...

Honestly this may be my biggest complaint about this game: The monsters before the boss make the boss harder than it should be. I want to get to the boss with full vials, and full health. I don't want to have to choose between them. How about a shortcut that takes you to the boss room?

The boss 'shortcut' is basically just memorizing the optimal way to run past enemies without getting hit by them. This doesn't do much to reduce rising salt levels though. It's definitely one of the more consistent complaints about From Software games and one I think they could do a better job at addressing.

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Ashethan posted...

I go back and kill it without much trouble

What in the fuck

He's generally recognized as one of the more difficult encounter in the game

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Peace___Frog posted...

He's generally recognized as one of the more difficult encounter in the game

Really? He was pretty easy. Dodge the attacks, and hit back. He seemed easier to me than the guy before the Spider Boss. Fight was pretty fun, honestly. Maybe I just got lucky. I'd take two of him over the Lightning Monster things at the start of Nightmare of Mensis.

KamikazePotato posted...

The boss 'shortcut' is basically just memorizing the optimal way to run past enemies without getting hit by them. This doesn't do much to reduce rising salt levels though. It's definitely one of the more consistent complaints about From Software games and one I think they could do a better job at addressing.

Yeah, I'm starting to get this now. First part of the game definitely felt like 'Kill all the enemies' but these past two areas for me have been "RUN THE FUCK AWAY Until you reach the boss/shortcut."

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"Dodge the attacks and hit back" is easier said than done!

By the way, do you know if you have the dlc or not? The way to access it is even more obtuse than what was damaging you at the start of the Nightmare of Mensis.

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No, I don't have the DLC. I got the game for free from PS Plus through PS5.

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Peace___Frog posted...

What in the fuck

He's generally recognized as one of the more difficult encounter in the game

I'm not surprised! Amelia, Rom... all the "typical" roadblocks haven't amounted to more than a few attempts really!

makes me weep thinking back to my experience with Amelia.

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Ok but amelia and rom were both first-tries for me. It wasn't until other play throughs that i had trouble with them! Something about being a cocky player on subsequent runs...

But yeah i must have died at least thirty times to the crow.

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Peace___Frog posted...

But yeah i must have died at least thirty times to the crow.

Oh, are we talking about that? Does Bloody Crow of Cainhurst still show up if you don't pursue Eileen's sidequest?

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Oh i totally misread what had happened. I think you're right. So who was the black ninja? eileen?

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Peace___Frog posted...

Oh i totally misread what had happened. I think you're right. So who was the black ninja? eileen?

Yeah. If you miss a step in her sidequest she goes hostile after Rom and sets up shop in the Grand Cathedral instead. She drops the Crow Hunter Badge (instead of getting it through her quest). Bloody Crow doesn't, he drops a rune or something IIRC.

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Aha. Thanks for clarifying. I guess I've gotten too in the habit of doing that, so the possibility of the other path didn't even occur to me.

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Decided to play a little more.

I level up once, then head up the stairs. I find some Organization XIII guys, and they're pretty fun to fight again. Less HP, tough but fair. Then I run into the 50 eyed Ganons... and yeah, they kill me. Yikes.

Death Count: 132

Then the shadow guys breathe fire on me and kill me.

Death Count: 133

I fight some more Organization XIII, cheese the fight with the 50-eyed Ganons, and then run into a lady wigh a bloody wedding dress. It won't let me talk to her, and she doesn't attack me. This, however, leeads me to an elevator. I think I hear a baby crying. It takes me a little bit to realize it's in the game, and not in my house. And up ahead is the CLEAREST sign yet of a boss room. I find a shortcut on the left side (there's also a Ioefska's vial, but I'm full. Apparently I can only carry one? Lame!) But I go back to the dream and level up and fill up on Blood VIals. I also use enough Mad Man's Insight to get another Blood Chunk, which means another upgrade! I also level up once more and then decide to grind out another level while getting Blood Vials. Better prepared than not, right? The Forbidden Woods seems like the best grinding spot. You can travel between the two lanterns, and get like 20k per trip. And the enemies are really easy to kill.

After that I'm ready for my first try against the Boss!

Mergo's Wet Nurse is a Raven Lady type thing with a lot of blades. It does a lot of damage, especially once it starts turning the arena dark. After the first time she uses it, though, I figure that you just have to keep dodging and don't have to try to hit her during it for it to eventually end on its own. Then just wail on her. Managed to get her down on my first try! I receive one third of Umbilical Cord. Then I light the lantern and return to the Hunter's dream.

When I return to the Hunter's dream though, I see the place is set on fire!? Crazy! Was not expecting that. I was about to end the update before noticing that.

And that's where I'll leave off for now. Small update, but another boss down! Maybe tomorrow I learn why the place is on fire. Or at the very least learn where I'm supposed to go next.

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Have you backstabbed one of the giant pigs yet?