Am I doing this wrong?

[MegaHiro91]

Ever played one of those games where the way forward was so tedious or monotonous that you had a feeling you were supposed to go about it another way but weren't sure what that was?

That's how I feel right now giving Bloodborne a shot. I'm aware the souls games are all about difficulty and dying over and over again, but at the same time nothing crushes you spirit more than getting far and collecting a lot of blood/souls just to die and lose it all (able to reclaim it if you beat the enemy who beat you. Plus the fact that all enemies are back when you respawn.

As a result I figured what I had to do was trek through the opening area (where the villagers gather around the burning stake) to farm for souls and keep returning to The Dream to cash in, since I lose everything if I die.

Right now my character is lvl 14, though I don't feel particularly stronger. So do I have to grind more, or do I just have to march on and make due with what I have? Is the issue not my level but my skill?

 

[RanmyakuIchi's iconRanmyakuIchi]

Bloodborne's early game is something of a trial-by-fire for a first timer. I remember having trouble too. Out of curiosity, which starter weapon did you pick?

 

[MegaHiro91]

Bloodborne's early game is something of a trial-by-fire for a first timer. I remember having trouble too. Out of curiosity, which starter weapon did you pick?

The cane. Mostly using it as a chain whip. Did I accidentaly choose the hardest starter weapon? I just figured that the axe and saw were too crude for my tastes.

 

[RanmyakuIchi's iconRanmyakuIchi]

The cane. Mostly using it as a chain whip. Did I accidentaly choose the hardest starter weapon? I just figured that the axe and saw were too crude for my tastes.

Unfortunately, yes. The cane isn't bad by any means, but compared to the axe's ease of use and the saw's general top-tierness it takes a little more work. I would recommend you stick with it if you enjoy it, however.

Which parts are giving you trouble specifically?

 

[MegaHiro91]

Unfortunately, yes. The cane isn't bad by any means, but compared to the axe's ease of use and the saw's general top-tierness it takes a little more work. I would recommend you stick with it if you enjoy it, however.

Which parts are giving you trouble specifically?

So typical of me, always unintentionally making things harder for myself. Oh well, I guess that's what happens when you go style over efficiency.

Well I ain't dying so much to the villagers now as I did a moment ago, and I did reach the boss across the bridge one time, so I guess I'm on the right track. I guess it's just that I slip up every once in a while, and have to do redo the whole area again.

 

[Wees]

Man, you have to keep going, I went through the same situation, I died so many times that I was thinking about going back to the store to ask for a refund, the game is worth it, it's very good

 

[zibltogt]

Bloodborne is a game of optimization of your play more than anything else. Practice dodging attacks and fiding opportunities and it will take you far. You are on the right track, just keep at it and you'll progress. :)

 

[RanmyakuIchi's iconRanmyakuIchi]

So typical of me, always unintentionally making things harder for myself. Oh well, I guess that's what happens when you go style over efficiency.

Well I ain't dying so much to the villagers now as I did a moment ago, and I did reach the boss across the bridge one time, so I guess I'm on the right track. I guess it's just that I slip up every once in a while, and have to do redo the whole area again.

To be fair, I went cane first time too, I couldn't resist the classy style. You'll get access to many more weapons, so you're not committed or anything.

Sounds like you found the Cleric Beast, so you're on the right track. Flame is effective against beasts, so using Molotov's may help if you have any. You can target a bosses limbs to "break" them and open them up as well.

 

[Evaccaneer Doom]

Ever played one of those games where the way forward was so tedious or monotonous that you had a feeling you were supposed to go about it another way but weren't sure what that was?

This sums up my problems with Xenoblade 2

 

[mollieifusco]

So typical of me, always unintentionally making things harder for myself.

It's standard fare these days for this "series" as it's gone on. Don't go thinking the onus is on you or nothing: you're getting in on something that unconditionally expects you to have some experience (or passing familiarity) with the action-adventure format From Software's been churning out. There's plenty of ways I could gripe about this, but I'll spare you that and give you the common-faire pedantics:

- Leveling your player character is never as important as upgrading your weapon, unless you're leveling your stamina or health. To that end: don't pool stats into Bloodtinge or Arcane on your first playthrough unless you're confident.
- The stats that allow you to equip weapons also scale their damage. You can check the degree of this scaling affect through the extended information menu. Press the square button while hovering over the item of intrigue in your equipment/item menu.
- Stat have thresholds - more commonly referred to as a "softcap" - which reduces the effectiveness of continued investment. Sometimes drastically. For most all stats (aside from Endurance, which is 40) this drastic softcap is 50.
- Addendum: never invest in Endurance further than 25.
- Any weapon - no matter how humble - can always take you to the end-game. This does not mean all weapons are good. Use your judgment: play with it in the dream, then against enemies in an area you're familiar with.
- Rallying works on enemies while they're dying.
- Dodging and healing are both interrupt flag states for most every enemy in the game. In layman's terms: they will either react or keep the momentum for their current attack ongoing if they see you doing either. If you're bothered by anything that comes as a result of this... It's only going to get worse. Also, don't listen to people that say it's a skill issue. Trust me. Sometimes, it really is as annoying as you think it is.
- Your best interrupt is shooting an enemy right before they dish out an attack with your gun, then attacking them while they're down for a visceral. Your second best interrupt is getting familiar enough with an enemy to get around them and charge attack their back. Both require familiarity and skill. Again: practice.
- If an enemy gets staggered two or more times in succession, they *will* throw out an interrupt. Just expect it and react accordingly.
- You can sprint while locked on. This has a lot more versatility than you think.
- Playing unlocked (as in: without an enemy lock-on) *is* a chore, but it's a good habit to build.
- Shoot dogs with your gun, then sprint or dodge into them. Attack when they get up. If there's more than one: unlock and circle counter clockwise around them as they lunge towards you. Attack the one you're closest to.
- When you have forty insight: go back to the Cathedral.

 

[MegaHiro91]

To be fair, I went cane first time too, I couldn't resist the classy style. You'll get access to many more weapons, so you're not committed or anything.

Sounds like you found the Cleric Beast, so you're on the right track. Flame is effective against beasts, so using Molotov's may help if you have any. You can target a bosses limbs to "break" them and open them up as well.

Great tip, thanks! And yeah, that's the one. I have my system set to Danish and SONY published titles are one of the few that are translated into my language, so I didn't know what the boss was called in English xD I know I could've just looked it up, but I was lazy.

Post automatically merged: Feb 26, 2025

This sums up my problems with Xenoblade 2

Oh don't get me started!! I still have trauma from reaching the great field outside the first city. Place is filled with beasts of varying strength, and then out of nowhere, from a MILE away, I get sniped by a lvl 40 gorilla thing that I did NOTHING to provoke!! WHY ARE THERE LVL FORTY MONSTERS OUTSIDE THE STARTING CITY??!?

Post automatically merged: Feb 26, 2025

It's standard fare these days for this "series" as it's gone on. Don't go thinking the onus is on you or nothing: you're getting in on something that unconditionally expects you to have some experience (or passing familiarity) with the action-adventure format From Software's been churning out. There's plenty of ways I could gripe about this, but I'll spare you that and give you the common-faire pedantics:

- Leveling your player character is never as important as upgrading your weapon, unless you're leveling your stamina or health. To that end: don't pool stats into Bloodtinge or Arcane on your first playthrough unless you're confident.
- The stats that allow you to equip weapons also scale their damage. You can check the degree of this scaling affect through the extended information menu. Press the square button while hovering over the item of intrigue in your equipment/item menu.
- Stat have thresholds - more commonly referred to as a "softcap" - which reduces the effectiveness of continued investment. Sometimes drastically. For most all stats (aside from Endurance, which is 40) this drastic softcap is 50.
- Addendum: never invest in Endurance further than 25.
- Any weapon - no matter how humble - can always take you to the end-game. This does not mean all weapons are good. Use your judgment: play with it in the dream, then against enemies in an area you're familiar with.
- Rallying works on enemies while they're dying.
- Dodging and healing are both interrupt flag states for most every enemy in the game. In layman's terms: they will either react or keep the momentum for their current attack ongoing if they see you doing either. If you're bothered by anything that comes as a result of this... It's only going to get worse. Also, don't listen to people that say it's a skill issue. Trust me. Sometimes, it really is as annoying as you think it is.
- Your best interrupt is shooting an enemy right before they dish out an attack with your gun, then attacking them while they're down for a visceral. Your second best interrupt is getting familiar enough with an enemy to get around them and charge attack their back. Both require familiarity and skill. Again: practice.
- If an enemy gets staggered two or more times in succession, they *will* throw out an interrupt. Just expect it and react accordingly.
- You can sprint while locked on. This has a lot more versatility than you think.
- Playing unlocked (as in: without an enemy lock-on) *is* a chore, but it's a good habit to build.
- Shoot dogs with your gun, then sprint or dodge into them. Attack when they get up. If there's more than one: unlock and circle counter clockwise around them as they lunge towards you. Attack the one you're closest to.
- When you have forty insight: go back to the Cathedral.

So you do not recommend stressing over returning to The Dream every time you have accumulated a fair amount of blood in order to cash in and not waste it? What's more important is finding upgrades in the wild and if you happen to have blood when you find a Dream "camp" you can spend whatever you have? I ask this because knowing I will lose everything upon death, I stress over finding a way back to The Dream, but I also know that returning to The Dream in order to cash in brings everything I have slayn back to life.

 

[Nidoking's iconNidoking]

It's less a grind for stats and more a trial of adaptation. If you stick with it you'll be able to clear the opening area easily without being touched. Once you master Central Yharnam, you're ready for the game. If you can't overcome it confidently, you'll never get through the whole game in any sort of enjoyable way.

 

[mollieifusco]

So you do not recommend stressing over returning to The Dream every time you have accumulated a fair amount of blood in order to cash in and not waste it?

No, that's good practice. It's better than hoarding the echoes and finding yourself in a pinch trying to get back the expense of your time when you die with all of them on your person. Just that, in a situation where you have to pick between leveling up your stats or your weapon of choice, you usually always want to go for upgrading your weapon.

 

[Graw]

It's been a while since I've played Bloodborne. I don't remember how I killed the cleric beast but I remember it was hard. I also chose the cane sword if it makes you feel any better. If I remember right dodging and parrying is super important in Bloodborne even moreso than Dark Souls. I managed to get through most of Dark Souls without ever parrying and being kinda bad at rolling. I remember trying to do that in Bloodborne and just getting wrecked constantly until I got the hang of the flow of combat.

I never ended up finishing the game though. There's a part you get to that's super frustrating when you first go through it with some Metroid Prime 2 style death fog and safety zones but once you've completed it you can invade people there and troll them while they try and get through it and I just ended up doing that every time I played Bloodborne after that until I got bored and started playing something else.

 

[Neopolitan]

I recently finished a LP of the game on my Youtube channel. Game is hard, I cannot even beat the DLC. I disagree with people saying levels and stats are not important - every level up increases your base defence. Levelling *seriously* makes the game easier, regardless of what stats you pump. There's a Saw Spear weapon you can find in the sewers early on, it's a fantastic weapon I used all the way to the end, so if you struggle with the cane maybe try that?

 

[MegaHiro91]

I recently finished a LP of the game on my Youtube channel. Game is hard, I cannot even beat the DLC. I disagree with people saying levels and stats are not important - every level up increases your base defence. Levelling *seriously* makes the game easier, regardless of what stats you pump. There's a Saw Spear weapon you can find in the sewers early on, it's a fantastic weapon I used all the way to the end, so if you struggle with the cane maybe try that?

I don't think I found that weapon, may have to go back and look, but since I made this thread I did make it to the old city, beating both the bridge boss and the guy in the cemetery.

 

[Neopolitan]

^ Here's the video of my LP where I find the weapon. I've set it to play from about 39 mins in, and it's about a minute or two in from there where I find it. I also have a PDF official guide if you want, though it doesn't cover the DLC.