Bloodborne (From Software / Sony)

YouSavedMyLife

That Ludwig fight! On my first attempt i got him down to about 10% before he killed me. Then on my next 5 or so attempts i couldn't get him past the first phase Finally beat him on my 6th try. How the music changes after the cutscene is epic. As easy as the second phase was it sure was cool as hell.

I must have picked up about 6 weapons so far before Ludwig. Its some what overwhelming, and its hard to part with both my +9 weapons in favor or an un upgraded weapon.

penev10

Anyone in summon range of level 70 and fancy helping with the wet nurse?

Edit. It's ok, turned out to be easy enough

YouSavedMyLife

Orphan of Kos is some shíthead...

nix

YouSavedMyLife wrote: »

Orphan of Kos is a some shíthead...

Yeah i found him and Ludwig never get easier, they're just constantly up in your grill with many different move sets.. Tense is the word

Retr0gamer

I found him tougher than Laurence. Laurence had high damage output but his second phase was easier to read. Orphan of Kos just mills about everywhere with attacks that can one hit KO you if you are unlucky and there's very few opportunities to heal.

noodler

Everytime I load up the game since I purchased the DLC, I get an error message telling me I need to re-download the DLC again.

I can get online occassionally to restore licences which fixed it, but next time I turned it on...exact same problem! You cant load your save, start a new game - nothing!

I hadnt realised we had reached an online only stage for offline content! Massively annoying.

YouSavedMyLife

noodler wrote: »

Everytime I load up the game since I purchased the DLC, I get an error message telling me I need to re-download the DLC again.

I can get online occassionally to restore licences which fixed it, but next time I turned it on...exact same problem! You cant load your save, start a new game - nothing!

I hadnt realised we had reached an online only stage for offline content! Massively annoying.

If you set the PS4 to be the primary console for your account you don't have to go online at all to restore the licences. But loading saves and starting games seems like a bug as the game wouldn't start at all if the licence wasn't accessed. A re-download would be in order but you don't seem in the position to do that.

TinCanMan

Digital Solitude wrote: »

I can give you a hand tonight if you want

Dodging forward-left can avoid a lot of his attacks, you need to immediately dodge back toward him to land a hit though

Only got around to trying this last night but it worked a treat. Cheers.

Pickpocket

I'm starting Bloodborne later, my first attempt at a From Software game. Have you any tips for a freshman (if you can stop yourselves from laughing at the thoughts of my early efforts)?

Evade

Pickpocket wrote: »

I'm starting Bloodborne later, my first attempt at a From Software game. Have you any tips for a freshman (if you can stop yourselves from laughing at the thoughts of my early efforts)?

Pick the Threaded Cane. It's good at stunlocking groups of enemies.

Digital Solitude

Pick the Cleaver (its easier to start with imo, the cane is class too but weaker at the start) and the Pistol, learn to parry and whenever possible use pebbles to fight one enemy at a time until you get the hang of it.

The wolf is supposed to kill you first time

If you find an item called Madman's Knowledge, use it from the inventory and you'll be able to level up when you return to the dream

Stamina is more important that health. Low health and high stamina, you can dodge for a good while, high health and low stamina, you're taking a hit or two 75% of the time, and in this game, getting hit hurts.

The stats are grand, level your strength if you want to be a hard hitter, skill if you want to be faster and quicker, I'd avoid arcane for my first play through, bloodtinge also, it takes too long to get a good bloodtinge weapon.

Search every nook and cranny.

You need to manually equip items and weapons and armor.

A lot of this won't make sense right now but will become clearer when you start playing a bit.

And we were all beginners at one stage, laughably bad at it so don't feel bad about dying a lot, its a gameplay mechanic, not a penalty.

There's a free set of armor in the starting area, but you can buy another set from the start for 2500 Echo's if you're stuck, it shouldn't take you too long to get that many together if you would prefer to buy it.

Dissect the stat screen, its terrifying I know, I just avoided it my first run of Dark Souls because there's so much info there, but its not that scary, and very useful when its broken down

And prepare to die.

Digital Solitude

Also, I got my gf hooked on this, its her first Souls game, I've beaten Demons Souls, Dark Souls, Dark Souls 2 and Blood borne a heap of times, I do challenge and speed runs in the two Dark Souls, so I'm fairly experienced at them, over 600hrs total I'd say.

She's got 45 hours and is undoubtedly a better player than I am, I've a more refined, tidier play style (I.e. better timing and control) from experience but that's it, total rook in comparison would wipe the floor with me in PvP.

Moral of this is that you don't need to be an expert to be good at the game

jones

Many bloodborne fans going to get DS3?

Pickpocket

Digital Solitude wrote: »

Pick the Cleaver (its easier to start with imo, the cane is class too but weaker at the start) and the Pistol, learn to parry and whenever possible use pebbles to fight one enemy at a time until you get the hang of it.

The wolf is supposed to kill you first time

If you find an item called Madman's Knowledge, use it from the inventory and you'll be able to level up when you return to the dream

Stamina is more important that health. Low health and high stamina, you can dodge for a good while, high health and low stamina, you're taking a hit or two 75% of the time, and in this game, getting hit hurts.

The stats are grand, level your strength if you want to be a hard hitter, skill if you want to be faster and quicker, I'd avoid arcane for my first play through, bloodtinge also, it takes too long to get a good bloodtinge weapon.

Search every nook and cranny.

You need to manually equip items and weapons and armor.

A lot of this won't make sense right now but will become clearer when you start playing a bit.

And we were all beginners at one stage, laughably bad at it so don't feel bad about dying a lot, its a gameplay mechanic, not a penalty.

There's a free set of armor in the starting area, but you can buy another set from the start for 2500 Echo's if you're stuck, it shouldn't take you too long to get that many together if you would prefer to buy it.

Dissect the stat screen, its terrifying I know, I just avoided it my first run of Dark Souls because there's so much info there, but its not that scary, and very useful when its broken down

And prepare to die.

Digital Solitude wrote: »

Also, I got my gf hooked on this, its her first Souls game, I've beaten Demons Souls, Dark Souls, Dark Souls 2 and Blood borne a heap of times, I do challenge and speed runs in the two Dark Souls, so I'm fairly experienced at them, over 600hrs total I'd say.

She's got 45 hours and is undoubtedly a better player than I am, I've a more refined, tidier play style (I.e. better timing and control) from experience but that's it, total rook in comparison would wipe the floor with me in PvP.

Moral of this is that you don't need to be an expert to be good at the game

Thanks for taking the time! I'm quite excited at the thoughts of getting stuck in. I've been away from gaming for a good while and I'm slightly nervous at the thoughts of tackling a world like this! I've always gravitated towards mature games, even as a kid, but things have hit another level in the past 8-10 years.

penev10

Just beat it tonight, only got a ps4 at xmas, just in time for Dark Souls 3 which arrives Thursday!

Pickpocket

I've already started the game. Just about to enter the aqueduct. Can I purchase and unlock the DLC now and then return to it when the game is cleared? Or do I have to clear the game first and then replay it until I get to the DLC? Surely the latter can't be correct.

nix

Pickpocket wrote: »

I've already started the game. Just about to enter the aqueduct. Can I purchase and unlock the DLC now and then return to it when the game is cleared? Or do I have to clear the game first and then replay it until I get to the DLC? Surely the latter can't be correct.

the aqueduct after the first boss where the rats are? if so you're well before the point where you get the key item to access the DLC, you wont get that until after the 3rd-4th boss depending on which route you take..

Pickpocket

nix wrote: »

the aqueduct after the first boss where the rats are? if so you're well before the point where you get the key item to access the DLC, you wont get that until after the 3rd-4th boss depending on which route you take..

Yeah I'm at the Central Yarnham Aqueduct. I've just read some stuff saying that the DLC has to be unlocked from the start, otherwise you'll have to replay a huge section of the game to access it. It sounded odd but I wasn't sure.

So I'll go ahead and purchase it now, make sure to pick up the key along the way, then travel back for the DLC when the time comes.

Digital Solitude

The DLC is about 25% into the game, but it's fairly hard. If you've got it bought, then you'll find the item when you get that far, you can't miss it, and leave clearing it until endgame

Pickpocket

Digital Solitude wrote: »

The DLC is about 25% into the game, but it's fairly hard. If you've got it bought, then you'll find the item when you get that far, you can't miss it, and leave clearing it until endgame

Great, thanks.

What if I want to clear the game first? If I purchase the DLC at that stage can I access that area directly, or do I have to play through the entire game from scratch?

That's one of the criticisms I read about the DLC. It forces you to replay an entire section of the game to access it. Alternatively, you can purchase and access it on your NG+ play-through, but it will be even harden then.

Is that correct?

Digital Solitude

Pickpocket wrote: »

Great, thanks.

What if I want to clear the game first? If I purchase the DLC at that stage can I access that area directly, or do I have to play through the entire game from scratch?

That's one of the criticisms I read about the DLC. It forces you to replay an entire section of the game to access it. Alternatively, you can purchase and access it on your NG+ play-through, but it will be even harden then.

Is that correct?

You can't beat the game 100% and then start the DLC, but you can get up as far as the final boss before starting it.

For any experienced players, its only a few hours into the game, its pretty much at the beginning of NG+ if you're any good at all, and for new players you won't have a hope of progressing until you get well into the game anyways, I don't understand that as a criticism

Pickpocket

Digital Solitude wrote: »

You can't beat the game 100% and then start the DLC, but you can get up as far as the final boss before starting it.

For any experienced players, its only a few hours into the game, its pretty much at the beginning of NG+ if you're any good at all, and for new players you won't have a hope of progressing until you get well into the game anyways, I don't understand that as a criticism

I understand your line of thinking. Those looking to access an even more difficult DLC pack are likely those that would breeze through those early sections, or enjoy the challenge of NG+.

However I think it's a valid criticism. I've not completed a From Software game before, but ordinarily I have no interest in replaying games or NG+. Correct me if I'm wrong, but I can't think of another instance where I essentially have to decide on whether I want the DLC before I've completed 25% of the game, if my intention is to only beat the game once. I accept that the Souls games are deliberately obscurantist, but that's pushing it.

I've just completed the opening sections of the game this morning, and I love it, so I'll purchase The Old Hunters and do as you say, play it before the final boss. But it's a bizarre way of implementing DLC.

Evade

Pickpocket wrote: »

But it's a bizarre way of implementing DLC.

Isn't it pretty standard in RPGs that you only get to access DLC after a certain point in a game? The problem with Bloodborne is that once you beat the final boss you get thrown straight into NG+ which they'd already changed in DS2 and kept it that way for DS3.

Digital Solitude

Pickpocket wrote: »

I understand your line of thinking. Those looking to access an even more difficult DLC pack are likely those that would breeze through those early sections, or enjoy the challenge of NG+.

However I think it's a valid criticism. I've not completed a From Software game before, but ordinarily I have no interest in replaying games or NG+. Correct me if I'm wrong, but I can't think of another instance where I essentially have to decide on whether I want the DLC before I've completed 25% of the game, if my intention is to only beat the game once. I accept that the Souls games are deliberately obscurantist, but that's pushing it.

I've just completed the opening sections of the game this morning, and I love it, so I'll purchase The Old Hunters and do as you say, play it before the final boss. But it's a bizarre way of implementing DLC.

If you're at the end of the game and buy the DLC you can play it on that file, its not a thing of having to go back to the 25% mark, that's just the minimum for unlocking it. When you get 25% of the way through you get an item to unlock the DLC, if you're past 25% the item is in the exact same, completely unmissable place, obviously the item is only there with the DLC installed.

So you can wait until you've beaten as far as the final boss, then decide if you want the DLC and then play through it immediately.

Pickpocket

Evade wrote: »

Isn't it pretty standard in RPGs that you only get to access DLC after a certain point in a game? The problem with Bloodborne is that once you beat the final boss you get thrown straight into NG+ which they'd already changed in DS2 and kept it that way for DS3.

I'm new to RPGs so I don't know anything about the genre's conventions. But the issue here is that I can't just purchase the DLC and play it separately.

Take Left Behind as an example. I wouldn't like having to replay three hours of The Last of Us to access something I've just paid 20 quid for.

If it's common place in RPGs, or if it's becoming more popular in a general way, then I stand corrected. It just strikes me as unusual, although I've been away from gaming for quite a while, bar the odd title, so perhaps DLC has moved even further away from the days of the expansion-pack style content that I'd prefer.

But I suppose it's not all about me, unfortunately.

Pickpocket

Digital Solitude wrote: »

If you're at the end of the game and buy the DLC you can play it on that file, its not a thing of having to go back to the 25% mark, that's just the minimum for unlocking it. When you get 25% of the way through you get an item to unlock the DLC, if you're past 25% the item is in the exact same, completely unmissable place, obviously the item is only there with the DLC installed.

So you can wait until you've beaten as far as the final boss, then decide if you want the DLC and then play through it immediately.

Great, thanks for clarifying that!

Evade

Pickpocket wrote: »

I'm new to RPGs so I don't know anything about the genre's conventions. But the issue here is that I can't just purchase the DLC and play it separately.


If it's common place in RPGs, or if it's becoming more popular in a general way, then I stand corrected. It just strikes me as unusual, although I've been away from gaming for quite a while, bar the odd title, so perhaps DLC has moved even further away from the days of the expansion-pack style content that I'm I'd prefer.

It's pretty common in RPGs mostly because of character customisation. Left Behind switching focus meant that you start without any of your upgrades so it was easy to make it launchable at any time but obviously you should have at least gotten to Winter before doing so.

The Witcher 3 has an interesting kind of compromise. You had to be near the end game to play the DLC but you got the option of creating a level 30 character from the start menu so you could jump straight in and do the DLC but without any of the gear you might have picked up during your game.

Pickpocket

Evade wrote: »

It's pretty common in RPGs mostly because of character customisation. Left Behind switching focus meant that you start without any of your upgrades so it was easy to make it launchable at any time but obviously you should have at least gotten to Winter before doing so.

The Witcher 3 has an interesting kind of compromise. You had to be near the end game to play the DLC but you got the option of creating a level 30 character from the start menu so you could jump straight in and do the DLC but without any of the gear you might have picked up during your game.

That makes perfect sense actually.

johnny_ultimate

Left Behind isn't really comparable. That's a standalone addition, and could realistically be played without having even played the main title. The Old Hunters is very much designed for people who have played the game - it requires an already experienced character, and an intimate knowledge of the game's mechanics. Having some sort of restriction on its accessibility is, well, pretty much essential. If there's some sort of market for people who haven't played the core game but want to play the DLC immediately - and that's a big if - I'd say it's tiny enough to be completely and utterly negligible.

Unusual? Sure, but then From Software have made their name by not being usual - challenging and ignoring convention to create idiosyncratic games that are quite unlike anything else out there. Having DLC that ties nicely into the mood and mysteriousness of the game itself is much more fitting than a simple menu option. And that said, accessing the Old Hunters is a piece of cake compared to accessing the DLC areas in DS2: Scholar of the First Sin edition. Two of the items you need effectively require you to go poking around two of the most well hidden areas of the late game. The Old Hunters, in contrast, is available early and easily accessible!

Pickpocket

johnny_ultimate wrote: »

Left Behind isn't really comparable. That's a standalone addition, and could realistically be played without having even played the main title. The Old Hunters is very much designed for people who have played the game - it requires an already experienced character, and an intimate knowledge of the game's mechanics. Having some sort of restriction on its accessibility is, well, pretty much essential. If there's some sort of market for people who haven't played the core game but want to play the DLC immediately - and that's a big if - I'd say it's tiny enough to be completely and utterly negligible.

Unusual? Sure, but then From Software have made their name by not being usual - challenging and ignoring convention to create idiosyncratic games that are quite unlike anything else out there. Having DLC that ties nicely into the mood and mysteriousness of the game itself is much more fitting than a simple menu option. And that said, accessing the Old Hunters is a piece of cake compared to accessing the DLC areas in DS2: Scholar of the First Sin edition. Two of the items you need effectively require you to go poking around two of the most well hidden areas of the late game. The Old Hunters, in contrast, is available early and easily accessible!

The angry consumer in me rails against the idea of paying for something that's closed off (I can't imagine DS2!), but you've made a compelling argument as to why it fits the entire ethos of the series. I stand corrected.