Topic: Bloodborne Tavern: Impressions, Help, Discussion Board

Finally beat Martyr Logarius. That dude was tough. After receiving a beat down for about the 10th time, I went back to spend some of my Insight to bring my level down to see if that would make the fight easier, and it may have helped - hard to say. Whether that or just dumb luck, finally everything fell into place for me.
I really ended up enjoying Cainhurst. It’s a strange area because it has really difficult enemies at the very beginning, then in the middle it’s easier as far as enemies go, and then a pretty formidable boss at the end. I like how the level has a shortcut to the lantern fairly early on though.
Now I’m going through Yahar’gul and it is quite hard as well. The sheer number of enemies is the challenge now.
Boy this game just keeps throwing stuff at you. As soon as you feel comfortable, it gives you a different challenge.
The further I go along, I also have access to more different weapons now. However, it’s just not worth it to invest blood shards and chunks on more than 2 or 3 weapons. I wish I would have had the option to be playing the blade of mercy from the beginning. Too late to change my tactics now. So many cool
weapons. Does Dark Souls have a bunch of weapons like this that completely changes your approach? I probably will try DS eventually after I finish this. But I’m getting ahead of myself. I still have a ways to go in Yharnam.

@Th3solution Yeah there are loads more weapon choices in all of the DS games. What I love about the first game is the you can chop some bosses tails off to obtain weapons, which are usually much better than the normal ones. Wish they still had that in the sequels. I just got the Drake Sword which is an amazing weapon early on.

@Th3solution one of the main criticisms of bloodborne was the lack of weapons in comparison to the ds series. The old hunters fixes that as you are bombarded with weapons.

@NecuVise @JohnnyShoulder Wow, to me it feels like there are a lot of weapons on BB. I probably have about 10 in my inventory and about 6 firearms, although I consistently only use and level up 3-4 mains and 3 left handed weapons. And honestly, I find that 90% of my gameplay at this point is 2 weapons and 1 gun. When I experiment with other weapons just for fun on lower level guys I really like the feel of some - like the blades of mercy, but if I attempt to play the higher level places with it I just get slaughtered and end up going back to my standby saw Cleaver or Ludwig blade. Since each weapon benefits mostly from a certain build, some weapons are not effective or simply don’t even have the requisite attributes to even weild. And by the time I have enough shards and chunks to level up the other weapons, the game is probably going to be over. I suppose that’s the value of chalice dungeons and NG+ so you can enjoy the variety of weapons if you want.
In Most RPGs I’ve played as you progress you get better and more powerful weapons, but they all behave the same mechanically. Either a sword or a bow or a staff, etc. so you don’t have to change your play style. Here, it is more advantageous to stick with one weapon and just level it up because they all play differently.

@Th3solution One thing I really like about Bloodborne is that all the weapons are equal in that none are inherently better than each other, just different.

@Th3solution I had the exact same feelings you're describing. And congrats on the progress and beating one of the most difficult bosses in the game.

You easily have what it takes to beat the rest of the game. It won't get harder than this (that was my experience).

On the one hand I can't wait to play the DS remaster, but on the other hand I want to savor it for now.

@Jaz007 Yes, I agree — the good thing is each weapon appears to be pretty balanced, as long as you level your attributes correctly and use the gems right. It’s just a matter of preference whether you want quickness, power, reach, durability, arcane damage, etc. Each weapon appears to have its niche but is not necessarily “better” than the others.

@Kidfried Thanks, man. I’m still enjoying it and it’s good to know I should be okay to finish it if I was able to beat ML. I kinda want to do the Chalice dungeons but I also need to move on and complete the game. Amazingly I haven’t grown tired of it even after playing for probably 50+ hours. But I’m with you - I hesitate to jump right into Dark Souls too quickly, not because of a fatigue of the genre, rather just savoring one of PS4’s best titles and I feel I need to work on my backlog. (Maybe I’ll fire up my copy of Yakuza 0 when I finish BB since you’re liking it.)

But a question for anyone about being a Soulsborne veteran — do you find that after playing Bloodborne and/or Dark Souls games that the combat of other games is just too bland or ininspired? I have read online about how people just can’t go back and enjoy standard hack ‘n slash games or RPGs with shallow combat after getting into the Souls series. I noticed God of War apparently adopted a Soulsborne feel to keep current (I haven’t played it just going from what I’ve read). Just wondering if I’m going to be spoiled now and be disappointed the next time I play a game like Elder Scrolls or Dragons Dogma or something.

@Th3solution I don't have that feeling after playing bloodborne and dark souls. I think I've played horizon zero dawn after bloodborne and I didn't mind it, even though hzd combat is simple.

@NecuVise That’s good. I was afraid of becoming a Soulsborne purist. 😂

@Th3solution I tried going back to The Witcher 3 to play the dlc after DS3 but couldn't get used to the combat.

But I went straight from playing Bloodborne to The Witcher 3 with no problems. One of the reasons I never finished Bloodborne cos I wanted to play TW3, and I was fed up on the last boss. I'm kinda glass I never did so that I could play the dlc without starting ng+.

I wouldn't go into God of War expecting the combat to be like Bloodborne or any other souls games. It feels different enough that you are not comparing it to those games. Sure there are similarities but I never got that feeling when playing the game.

If you are worried about ruining the next game just a totally different type of a game like a FPS or something like a Telltale game to flush BB out your system. I generally try to do that anyway so I keep things feelings I don't get bored playing one type of game.

@JohnnyShoulder Yeah, you’re right - I do like to switch up the genres I’m playing to keep from getting bored of a particular type of game. That a good point about The Witcher 3, as it is in my backlog too, I’ll be sure to wait a while before playing it. If I ever finish Bloodborne I will be either finishing Persona 5 or starting Yakuza 0 for my big main game. Those are different enough. I mix in the Telltale games and walking sims too. God of War will be in there someday.
Another game I haven’t played yet that seems similar to Soulsborne combat style observationally from afar is Monster Hunter World. Obviously the setting is different, but after playing the demo it is reminiscent of BB a little bit with all the variety of weapons and the difficult bosses.

@Th3solution Me too, I wanna get MHW at some point. Might not be my next game as going from God of War to Dark Souls to MHW could be too much. Probably go for a couple of indies next, something short and sweet.

EDIT: Nice new Avatar by the way!

@JohnnyShoulder Thanks! I thought I’d shake things up a little. I might rotate the avatar to reflect what game or cultural icon I’m obsessed with at the time 😅

Actually the end of Bloodborne is approaching for me (bitter sweet) — I have done all the side areas and bosses I think, and so now I have nothing left to do except to move on through the story now. I sliced through both Celestial Emmisary and Ebrietas fairly easily. Both downed on the second try. I was actually expecting Ebrietas to be tougher, but I did get a little bit of luck at the end and just charged her swinging wildly with my Ludwig’s while she simultaneously pounced and beat down on me and just before my health bar was spent, she fell to my Blade. Usually that tactic is suicide but I lucked out. I actually thought Celestial Emissary was maybe harder, the lasers got me the first time. I avoided them by taking him down before he could charge up. Now on through the Nightmare of Mensis.

@Th3solution What’s your level? Out of curiosity.
Also, I’d reccomend keeping a Plus save that won’t be overwritten by the auto uploading by turning it off for Bloodborne. The most satisfying is not necessarily the “true” ending.
I can tell you how to each of them too if you’d like. It would be extremely minor spoilers at worst. One somewhat necessary I think.
And I don’t know if I was just really overleveled or what, but I barley even considered the Celestil Emissary a boss hecjase I found it so easy. You had a easier time with the next boss in that area than I did though, so I guess it balances out.

@Th3solution Celestial Emissary is probs my least fave boss in a Soulsborne game. So lame lol. Maybe Jabba the Hut in DS2 runs it close.

If you wanna try the dlc, and i would, do not beat the final bosses. Otherwise you have to start ng+ and get the cathedral ward to be taken to the dlc area.

And well done! Sounds like you've made some good progress.

@Jaz007 @JohnnyShoulder I’m at level 88. I have a Ludwig Blade +9, Saw Cleaver +8, Tonitrus +8. I have basically a strength build. My stats are focused on strength and vitality but I have put 15 into Arcane so I could use the empty phantasm shell which I quite like. I think it was key to bringing down Ebrietas. I have the Ludwig’s buffed with gems that add overall physical dmg and then I can use the shell to add arcane damage and have the best of both worlds (unless the boss is resistant to arcane)
A bolt dmg gem on my Saw Cleaver was helpful against Celestial Emissary and the minions (I hope that’s not a spoiler since there was about 4 online messages outside the boss area suggesting to use bolt) but despite being able to cause good damage, the area was a little strange to navigate and there wasn’t good space to dodge well enough and those stupid lasers one-shot killed me when I got hit. I probably had the wrong runes and clothing on to withstand that, but I was able to avoid them and the annoying minis the second time around.

That’s a good idea about making a cloud save and then turning off auto uploads as an alternative to having to play it all again for the other endings and DLC. I think I’ll do that. I didnt know you could do that. When’s a good time to store the save?(without major spoilers. I don’t mind minor spoilers, if you need to tell me with spoiler tags) I feel like maybe after I finish Nightmare of Mensis would be good, or should I do it now before I get to that boss?

@Th3Solution After you finish the Nightmare of Mensis is perfect. Make the save the then.

It’s taken me a while, but I finally completed Bloodborne. I feel a sense of closure in my life now.
And when I say I completed it, I mean I played through to get all the endings. I did all optional bosses and areas of the main campaign. I’m tempted to do a NG+ but I am ready to move on. Bloodborne is a strange beast, in that I feel both a sense of closure and a feeling that I could probably play this game for ages after completion and still get enjoyment out of it. Definitely one of the games to consider when doing the thought experiment “If I’m ever stranded on a desert island and could only have one game” scenario. In short, it’s just an excellent game and one of my favorite PS4 games at this point.
If my backlog was not so big already, I’d probably buy Dark Souls Remaster or Dark Souls 3. They’ll have to wait, for now.

@Th3solution Well done dude! You have any plans to buy The Old Hunters dlc?

@JohnnyShoulder I was really tempted while it was on sale during the last Days of Play sale, but I didn’t buy it. I might keep my eyes open if it goes on sale again, but I have no plans to buy it right now. I know it is a beloved addition by all accounts, but I have a lot of backlog to work on for now.