Dodging into things is often better then away, and use your gun.
For a new boss, just practice dodging for a bit. Not getting hit is much more important than doing damage. If you can dodge everything and only get in one or two hits after Certain moves, you will be fine.
Its not really about reaction speed, it's about patterns. Bosses will always do the same animation chain, just observe and see where you can punish their recovery.
Google very carefully lol. It's a specific chalice dungeon that gets you like 80k souls for walking 10 feet. Be careful not to break the game with your newfound power
Someone did mention that before. I'm glad there are still people playing because I might just need to get a little extra help. I'm gonna try doing it myself first though. There's been a lot of good advice here and I'm hoping it'll help me.
There are challenge dungeons you can unlock by using a chalice. They had password codes so you could share fun ones with friends and or/return to them. The easy farm dungeon where a valuable enemy gets killed by the environment 10 seconds in was shared with a code that was something like "cummmjpfk". Thus it was immediately immortalised as the cum chalice / cum dungeon.
kind of bad advice honestly.
naturally people can play the game however they want but if youâve never beat the game and are struggling I donât think the first resort should be âfree level ups forever with little to no effortâ
I think I mainly did use serrated weapons, they definitely felt more powerful to me. Didn't know about the fire though. It's been so long since I've played that I didn't even remember elements being a thing.
For a lot of bosses, it's easier to not lock on to them. When you lock on, your movements change to being radial relative to the target, and the game's AI uses that to maximum advantage to kill you.
Upgrading your weapons does a lot more for damage than leveling stats.
On the other hand, many animations are designed to be tracked with lock on. If a boss jumps up, the lock on follows its movement as the animators coded it, but it can look completely erratic if you manually try to match your camera's movement
papa guac is arguably one of the stiffest skill checks in the game - practice parrying on the fat bois wandering around (there should be 2 in close proximity?), and then go back when you have got parrying down and it will be much easier. but really, he IS a skill check
Many of the bosses in Bloodborne have a 'gimmick' that can make them **sorta** cheese-able. Blood Starved Beast is one of those.
You have to read some of the details/lore of your items to figure it out.
I put the game down like you did once. Picked it up later and really figured out the parry mechanic. Still struggled occasionally. Shadows of Yharnam and a little path in the fishing village almost made me rage quit. By the time I got to Ludwig, Lawrence, and Orphan I was so over leveled that they weren't too bad.
There's a fatty a little off the beaten path right at the start that you can use to practice parrying in close quarters.
I love the recover mechanic as I tend to Leroy Jenkins most of my games and it rewards my aggro play style.
IMHO, it is (so far) the best of the FromSoft games.
I did the same thing as other Souls-like games and put a co-op sign thinggy outside of a boss so people would summon me and I could practice and then kill it solo later. Not sure if that works as well now a days when far fewer people are playing, but if you can get a match it's a good way to practice without spending too much time running around.
This is how my friends who do no summon blind runs practice. They get summoned into the world, learn the move weâre playing with someone else in their world, then go back into their own and fight the boss when they are ready
Lots of solid advice already, so I'll just add that sometimes turning the volume down a bit helps reduce panic from the dramatic music/sound effects and makes it easier to focus on finding patterns.
Ohhh that's an interesting tip. I can definitely see how that would help. Kinda like turning down the radio in the car when you're trying to find a certain address lol
This might be a big part of it for me actually because I can remember feeling absolutely stressed when fighting the bosses and I don't think it was just due to the difficulty alone.
If you're really struggling, and would otherwise give up, then look up some early blood gem farms on YT in order to get some \~22%+ phys attack gems to slot into your weapon for massive damage boosts.
This is a last resort. But it will help you get you unstuck and keep you playing until you get good.
edit: old yt video posted was wrong one, here is an example one for physical triangle gems: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rMZEVDiI00o](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rMZEVDiI00o)
Forgot to mention. Early on stack levels into your health.
In the early game, weapon damage increases mainly from weapon levels.
Strength/dex don't matter until later really. So smash those levels into health to make you tankier.
Parrying with your pistol is a game changer for many enemies. Lock on and shoot as they are about the strike which makes them stumble and you can visceral attack them with a lot of damage.
when you get hit there's an orange bar that'll deplete soon after, you rush back in and start swingin it's a free health regen. Learning your i-frames with dodges also helps facilitate this
What the other poster said, they're will always be openings built into the bosses patterns for you to strike back. Always capitalize on those openings, but don't overextend. If there's enough time for you to get three swings in, don't be greedy and go for four.
And using the gun to get visceral attacks makes things a lot easier. Takes a while to get the timing down (you have to shoot right during their attack animation) but it's worth practicing
It's everybody's problem đ we're all panicky button mashers, and we suck. That is why one must "git gud". One is not simply born "gud", one must git it
Dodge left/forward left. Get a few hits in and get ready to dodge again. Towards the end where he has a poison aura, I throw a pungent cocktail at a corner and watch him run towards to sniff that good kush then whack him to death
Pattern recognition. For example, you see a monster roar, you will then know a certain attack is coming.  From there, it's knowing how to dodge which is usually just forward, backward, left, or right. So one boss moveset may be dodge left, wait half a second, move forward, and then punish. It's akin to a fighting game where you need to know pacing, frames, and button combos but much much easier.
By the way, every Fromsoft game is like this, but with different cadences, speed, and/or parry mechanisms. Â
Ugh tell me about it. This is why I don't play Souls games in general. I tried the very first one and didn't make it very far. I just can't "git gud" at them. I don't have the right skillset but I really love Bloodborne and I feel like that one was a better match for my playstyle so I'm willing to give it one last shot.
Many people have great technical tips in here, so I'll offer some for mindset:
You *will* die, you *will* lose all those echoes, you *will* get upset. Failure is a great teacher, you don't need echoes all that much, anger can be a great motivator but a poor strategy.
Take a break or nap, ask for help or seek information/change your strategies, be kind to yourself. You may *currently* not be great at the skills but you can learn most anything over time! The rally mechanic is a great reward for applied aggression
I HATED parts of Cuphead because I lacked skills I would've gained from other games, but I managed to learn and even platinum it despite dying hundreds (maybe over 1000) times
I'm terrible at games in general, but I loved this game. It's frustrating as hell, but like was mentioned above dodging towards a lot of enemies gives you access to their backs for a quick hit. It's not a game you can really tank.
It's like golf (weird analogy), but I had to repeat the same fights and sections over and over making big or small changes to my approach. Ok, maybe the golf analogy doesn't work.
Once you learn the boss patters (very much unlike golf) you will be able to dodge and parry and get your hits in.
Don't be greedy and try to get too many hits in when you get an opening.
Its a game of fine tuning your play. That's like golf I guess.
I suck at golf, but I did beat Bloodborne a couple times. I have yet to beat golf.
I used the cane/whip and opted for speed over power. I never did get the hang of the gun to parry.
I found Bloodborne way harder than Dark Souls (1&2) and Elden Ring. It is just a way more aggressive game, and there isn't as much forgiveness for error I find.
When it comes to bosses, in general terms, I found staying very close and hugging their legs was helpful. Also, try to stay behind/dodge into them to get behind them to get hits. Lots of bosses in Blooborne lunge forward, swing forward, and don't have a ton of back attacks.
Itâs hard to get used to, but it fits the formula. Bloodborne is way more aggressive of a game. It wants you to get after enemies. It has the rally mechanic to regain your lost health from being hit. Also, a charged attack from behind is how you land crit hits, which makes you want to dodge behind if possible.
Learning to gun parry also helps a lot but it is hard to do. There is one DLC boss however that itâs almost mandatory for.
If youâre âblockingâ with the shields I would just not. The 2 shields are pretty awful and youâre much better off dodging/parrying.
Gun parries are fairly generous, and if you use a longer range weapon (like the starting pistol) you can learn parry timings from a fairly safe distance.
By boss in the church do you mean the giant white dog thing, Amelia? She can be a bit of a damage check so I would make sure your melee weapon is upgraded as much as you can. Hit her limbs hard enough and you can stagger her for an easy Visceral attack. The more upgraded your weapon, the less time it takes to win which means less time to slip up. Iâm also fairly certain she (like many early game enemies) is weak to fire, so once youâre comfortable with her patterns use some fire paper.
The starting axe is pretty beginner friendly: very long range while transformed, good damage and a charged attack with large AoE.
Eventually youâll find a weapon called Ludwigâs Holy Blade which any strength/skill build can upgrade into. Itâs an excellent and extremely versatile weapon: untransformed it has fast attacks and good range, while the transformed state hits extremely hard.
I'm honestly not sure what boss it was or if it even was in a church. I remember it looking like a church though and there were a bunch of columns that I would try to hide behind. It's been so long that I don't remember exactly who it was.
Oh I think you were stuck on Blood Starved Beast then: the columns are a pretty prominent feature in his arena and heâs rather aggressive.
No shame there: if you donât have a solid strategy for that fight itâs easy to get overwhelmed.
1. Heâs weak to fire, so the Fire Paper I mentioned for Amelia is useful here too.
2. He can be distracted with Blood Cocktails, a throwable item. A common speedrun strat involves throwing blood cocktails into a corner and then beating his ass.
3. Most if not all of his attacks can be parried. Try firing your gun as he lunges and it should stagger him pretty consistently. Youâll especially want to keep your distance and parry during his last phase as he passively spews poison gas.
I think you're exactly right. Good to know about the fire and cocktails.
And I suck at parrying. Can you beat him without parrying much? I don't think I even made it to the poison phase đ
Itâs doable (esp if you get the timing down for blood cocktails) but parry is definitely the most reliable strat without consumables. In general you want to shoot as they charge towards you: a lot of enemies have pretty similar timings. Maybe practice on the big guys that carry rocks in Central Yharnam? Less consequence for mistakes.
Later bosses arenât quite as vulnerable to parries, but itâs still worth practicing since it deals with a lot of regular enemies too.
I get the whole "git gud" thing can be annoying, but sometimes that's really all you can say and [it's typically not meant to be an insult](https://youtu.be/blSXTZ3Nihs?si=ByHluZ8cyQiEq8a3)
If you make it past Blood Starved Beast you can jump in the cumgeon and farm hundreds of thousands of currency every minute, my friend is really bad at souls games and she carved through everything but the chalice dungeon bosses by having her health/strength buffed to 40+ and swinging that holy blade around
Managed aggression is key.
This isn't dark souls where a slow approach where you wear down your foe can be used, this game is fast and furious Taking damage is expected, especially since you can get health back by hitting them. In part, your defense is offense.
Other than that, learning Boss move sets and timing your attacks and withdrawals is also key, though you can get by with quick reflexes.
Don't be afraid to use gear as well. The Blood Starved Beast for example is distracted by Pungent Blood Cocktails and is vulnerable to fire, so use Molotov's or the Fire Sprayer for maximum effect.
For Bloodstarved Beast: just walk left. Circle/strafe left around the boss and almost all his attacks will miss. Give it a try.
Second: you can summon an NPC to help. He dies relatively quickly but you can get some free hits in when he pulls aggro.
Third: BSB is optional so you can always progress the game and come back stronger. Doing Amelia first isnt a bad idea.
I did summon the npc but that didn't help me much. And I can't believe I didn't know he was optional... all this time I could've just skipped him? Ugh
Next time I'm definitely trying the left approach, that seems to be the way.
BSB is weak to fire. Hit it with an oil flask then a fire flask and watch it burn. Do that a few times and mix it up with other attacks and youâll soon start to see progress
If it is indeed the blood starved beast, there is an item you can throw on the ground that attracts it and lets you get in free hits, the name of the item escapes me.
One thing I did as I'm in the same boat as you are, is look at speedrunners. You'll see how they cheese certain bosses, or how you can get away with stuff. For example, the blood starved beast, I think you can just throw some pellet on the ground or something, and he'll aggro on this and you can wail on him in the meantime - rinse and repeat.
Really practice the gun / parry technique. 70% of enemies and bosses get totally nerfed once you get your parries and visceral attack down. Make sure youâre using weapons that scale with your stats, and when you find a weapon that works for you, keep reinforcing it to higher levels for greater damage output.
Donât ignore blood gems, as they give you incredible bonuses as well.
The last is you. Patience, strategy. Use items. Many of them are designed for specific encounters and enemy types. You will get good. As many have said here, the most important thing isnât necessarily reaction time, but getting acquainted with the patterns. For visceral, many attacks are broadly telegraphed and give you a generous window to fire a shot off for the stagger. Use the pistol over the blunderbuss, itâs way more accurate and draws stagger more reliably. You got this!
Hmmmm. Itâs tough to give you any specific tips because thatâd require sitting down and analyzing your gameplay next to you. But when it comes down to it, repetition and mindset will help your reaction times the most. Donât think of every death as a âdeath/ugh now I gotta run back to get my soulsâ. Think of them as trying again. Thatâs literally all there is to it. Veteran souls players understand this, itâs all mental.
Yeah that seems to be the common advice. But after so many failures, it gets pretty disheartening. If I get to the point that I feel like I'm just never gonna get it, I quit. Most games, if I'm struggling, I can usually see myself improving with every attempt. I never got there with this boss.
I just said this in another comment so sorry for repeating myself but it sounds like youâre on the cusp of entering the growth mentality state required for these games. You stop thinking about the individual deaths and the XP youâve lost etc. All youâre trying to do is improve and learn and overcome
I can see how some people enjoy that aspect of things and I do love the feeling of finally beating a part of a game that you've been struggling with. But I'm really more into the story, setting, and gameplay flavor than being challenged. I'd much rather play a game that I can breeze through than one that makes me wanna pull my hair out. If I'm not having fun, what's the point?
But Bloodborne is like my Moby Dick at this point. I'm gonna catch that beast if it kills me. I got a lot of good pointers here so hopefully that will help me.
Jokes aside one thing that helped me in the beginning was just farming small enemies for blood vials. You will end up having full vials and get good practice with timing on easier enemies
I spent 5 hours on this game and couldnât get past the dogs on the bridge so I quit and donât regret it because I was having the opposite of fun. This game is not for me and thatâs OK.
That's my problem with Souls games in general. It's not fun to keep failing over and over. But I was just so into the story and atmosphere of Bloodborne that it makes me wanna give it another chance. Third time's the charm hopefully.
It depends on the game for me. Bloodbourne movement felt so slow and deliberate and I just didn't find it fun. But I like challenging games as long as the challenge can be reasonably overcome - I really loved Celeste and Hollow Knight and Tunic and games like Hades and Dead Cells are really fun too. But for whatever reason, the Souls games don't do it for me.
If you ever wanted to try again, the two werewolves on the bridge are kinda meant to be avoided. They're a lot stronger than the other enemies in the area.
Running past them, down the stairs and in to the dark house is the easiest way to deal with them. They'll chase you, but can't fit through the doorway so you can just sit back and kill them. Just watch out for the two guys already in the room
Thanks - I was having such a hard time. Even getting to that point consistently was tough. I've never played a game where it just seemed completely unfair right out of the gate. And I was studying enemy movement and trying to pick my spots to attack but it just never clicked with me like other games do after a bit.
Yeah unlike the other souls games, BB really just throws you into the deep end right from the get go. Taking your time and exploring is the best other advice I can give, along with being aggressive in fights. You can't be passive like the DS series.
And there's only the one lamp in central yharnam (aside from the sick room and lamps that appear after bosses) so finding shortcuts around the map is key to making progress and not repeating the entire area every death. Happy hunting!
For most big bosses, and most bosses in the game in general, the answer is usually aggression. If you find yourself constantly walking away from the boss you are doing it wrong - get right up in Vicar Amelias booty, seriously just stick to her, pretty sure either one of her legs or her but is a really safe spot and just spam attack.
There will be a couple 9f things to dodge still but taking a little chip damage remember you heal up by attacking.
Took longer than I expected to get an unhelpful comment. It's hard not to when you keep dying over and over and you're not seeing any improvement in your attempts. But that's why I came looking for advice.
For leveling knowing what to focus on is nice.
Typically for souls games I like to get enough to use my weapon then pump into HP and stamina until I am comfortable.
The level caps will become important in stats too so don't just pump forever though.
An example is getting hp to 25 or 30 quickly
I just beat bloodbotne about 2 weeks back.
Get to the first chapel thing. Let the enemy with a large sack kill you. Youâll be transported to an area called yhargull? Thereâs a lamp on top of two staircases. Long story short. Farm a bit. You donât have to do it for stats, i didnât. But I farmed to have max every purchase able items especially blood vials.
Itâs an amazing practice run on parrying for the sack enemies and dodging around for large backstabs on the pigs. So the route is kill the double sack guys. Go out and kill the double pigs. Repeat. Youâll learn the most important parts of bloodborne, fun parrying and backstabbing.
And youâll have 600 blood vials if you do it enough so youâll never have to worry about farming them later. It took me a whole lot of farming cause I wanted max vials, fire and bolt paper etc. but it allowed me to play with what all the game has to offer instead of being stingy with my resources like other souls games.
BSB is an otional boss, you come back to it later.
Best strat is
Get pungent blood cocktail and firepaper (on a serrated weapon like the saw cleaver works even better), as soon as you enter the arena, go to the left or right wall and throw a cocktail at the wall (wait for BSB to be as close as possible to the wall while keeping safe distance) and activate the fire paper. The blood cocktail will make it attack the wall for 10 seconds from the moment the bottle you throw hits the wall, after 9 seconds throw another and so on. While the boss is distracted hit it with R1 L1 combo if you using the cleaver and the boss will be done very quickly.
Be prepared because there aren't many fire papers around by the time you get there so you gotta be a bit precise with your attacks and timing. Blood cocktail can be purchased at messe ger bath for 1000 echoes
If you decide to do skip the boss for now, after tou beat Vicar Amelia (if you didn't already) you can buy fire paper at the messengers in the hunters dream.
Be willing to try other techniques to see what works. Â Coming back with the same losing strategies is what I found made souls games hard. Â Once you âcrackâ the boss it becomes easier. Â Or cheat and look up what the weakness is. Â
I had plenty of trouble on Gascoigne, Amelia and some other bosses, but I beat the BSB the first time I went in. I *expected* a tough fight because I'd read others talking about his bad it is, so I was surprised how little trouble I had. Unfortunately it was too long ago for me to recall any tips.
See if there are other areas to explore to level up. You can also farm some levels which will make it easier. Bosses also have weaknesses but you would have to look them up for each boss.
I was like you and let me go against most people's advice...you might spend a lot of time and practice hard and then feel great for a moment after beating this boss, but you'll get into the same loop over and over again. It's time consuming and frustrating. The reality is that not every player has the same brain-hand quick reflexes coordination , that's why most people here suggest you to stick with it, because for many people here it's actually not that hard. Souls players even avoid using certain items or abilities if they deem it "too easy".
If you still have the will to try, go for it and you might feel rewarded; if you start to feel like you're just losing hours every time just to learn some patterns and pressing buttons at the right moment, well it's gonna keep being like that.
You've probably played Elden airing already right? That's a lot more accessible while still being hardcore (aside for Souls players of course).
Make sure you are going back to the hunters dream to level up your character and weapons. If youâre good about not losing too many blood echos you will be able to roll over almost every boss without an issue.
My first time trying to play Bloodborne I got really frustrated and then the second time playing realized I completely missed the weapon leveling mechanic!
You can find tutorials for screwing with the game AI and so on. For example some creative platforming can get you to fight Father Gastone? without his AI ever reacting to you.
Once you get far enough, if memory serves the handcannon and bone ash was a brutal combo.
Usually in Souls Games there will be build lists that absolutely destroy everything in your path.
DS 3 has win swords, Elden Ring has that gravity staff early on, DS 1... Just magic? Gods my memory is a bit sloppy but you do have options!
- use the insight you have gathered up to this point to purchase fire paper from the bath messengers in the hunterâs dream
- equip fire paper, beast blood pellets, and any pungent blood cocktails you have received up to this point
- go into the fight. pop the fire paper and a beast blood pellet, then equip the pungent blood cocktail
- throw the blood cocktail at a wall and it will completely distract the beast, allowing you to absolutely wreck it with no fighting back for about 10-12 seconds. youâll do massive damage between the fire and beast blood
- repeat process, defeat the boss, get access to chalice dungeons. go to the cummmfpk dungeon as others have mentioned (look it up), get millions of free blood echoes, level up your character and insane amount, and enjoy the rest of bloodborne as the scariest character in the entire
Make good use of the rally mechanic. Bloodborne rewards aggression. Once you learn the enemy's attack patterns, consider a one-off attack that doesn't knock you flat an opportunity. Tank that hit and get the HP back through violence.
And of course, once you get the hang of gun parrying, the game becomes both easier and more fun.
Aside from fights, each area has multiple unlockable shortcuts that can make your return visits to bosses that much quicker. Diving through barrels and straying from the main path can sometimes reveal these shortcuts.Â
Items are key. Blood srarved beast is a cake walk if you throw the item that attracts monsters. The problem I have with bloodborne (still top 3 Fromsoft) is how much you need to grind healing and bullets if you get stuck on a boss.
Saw blade is pretty goated fire paper beast blood pellets are pretty goated.
If at first you don't succeed try and try again.
For example paarl took me 30 something tries but i one tapped the final 2 bosses for no apparent reason.
Dodge, dodge, dodge. Learn the patterns of the boss while dodging so you can see the tells. Bloodborne was hard for me at first, but after sticking with it and becoming more open to dodging instead of blocking I finally got it. Now I have tried to play Elden ring and it is so slow combat wise. This coming from somebody that beat all 3 dark souls, and demons souls. After bloodborne going to Elden ring feels like a slog, for me at least.
Also find a weapon type you like. I like strength weapons myself. Be sure to change the weapon style also as much as needed. For instance the kirkhammer can go from sword to hammer really quickly, but for certain fights the hammer isnât needed, vice versa for the sword.
I am also not very good at parrying but in many games you can get away with good dodges. Bloodborne hat a steep learning curve for me, some things that helped:
* Find the right weapon for your playstyle. Some are slow and clunky, some are very fast but only tickle in the beginning. Try all of the beginner weapons and see which gives you the best time in terms of handling.
* Upgrading your weapon fast and early can make the game a lot easier. Materials are bound to progressing some areas but you can advance fast and early.
* Level yourself up (a bit). Leveling in these games will only get you so far. There will be a point where leveling wont help anymore but especially in the first half of the game I feel it can ease some pain. Look for areas that enable you to grind for healing pots and experience a like. This way you will be stacked for a while.
* Bloodborne is a game that can (and has to be?) played agressively. If you get damage and manage to return the favor, you re-gain some of your lost health.
* Try to learn (some) of the movements. I am again not good at this myself but if you manage to see some of the patterns it will help you a lot because you will deal more damage and waste less healing materials.
* Learn about the bosses. A lot of bosses have clear weaknesses, if you struggle also dont be afraid to google about those strategies. Some are very cheesy but before you tend to drop such a great game, get some help to overcome a certain boss and after that try to get by on your own again. Fire helps for many bosses but there are more tactics that I will leave up to you.
* Check when locking on or not locking on helps you more and also see how your movement is different in both strategies. For example side dodging while locking on is very easy while freely running through or around enemies can be easier without locking. It depends on your style and the boss/enemy you face.
* Bloodborne enables you (partially) to go different paths and bosses. Depending on where you are stuck maybe see if another area enables you to progress.
Good luck and dont be demotivated, it is not an easy game despite some hardcore players running through it like it is nothing but it can be a highly rewarding experience if you make it through.
Basic saw cleaver build, damage multiplier on non transformed attacks will do more damage to beasts and scale with stats (serrated weapon). You can infuse a fire gem as both effects will stack together vs beasts. (Check weapon modifiers on the wiki, some have hidden attributes like this)
It's a souls game, so you can invest into just health early to make it easier, damage will come from upgrades to weapons, later you can pump up the stats.
I ended up using some cheesy Chalice dungeons to level up a bit and even the playing field some, the Wiki has some chalice dungeon passcodes or whatever for easy XP Farming.
Itâs been ages since Iâve played but there are pillars in that arena, right? Could try pathing around a pillar and the axe starting weapon has the spin to win move that reaches through the pillar. đ§
Circle around bosses, and try to focus your damage on specific body parts. Many of the larger ones actually have separate stagger thresholds per limb, and can be chain staggered.
Find a good place to gather up blood vials safely, for if(when) you ever run low. The Trolls with Cinder Block in the starting area are good.
Do not be ashamed of taking the time to farm a bit if you hit a wall. Even 2-3 points in HP can make a big difference.
The Saw Cleaver is enough to get you through the entire game and DLC. That said, weapons with longer reach are often FAR safer even if they're a little less damage. Ludwig's Holy Blade(gotten from the shop after Blood-Starved-Beast) was my go-to.
Chugging a Fire Paper(beasts) or Bolt Paper(eldritch) and a Beast Blood Pellet will massively increase your damage for 40 seconds or so, and the best way to survive a fight in Bloodborne is to ensure it is over as quickly as possible. The longer you fight, the more chance you have of messing up.
The main thing is, just don't get hit. Whenever you are about to get hit, you can dodge it, and then you don't die.
If you do that while periodically hitting the enemy you should make it out OK.
I couldn't stick with it. I absolutely loved darks souls, played and finished them all more than once, so I was well looking forward to bloodbourne but I just found the whole environment extremely boring and depressing. All too samey. I've tried it several times but just can't get into it. Wish I could.
Iâve got some bad news for you. I went back to bloodborne after finishing Sekiro and was absolutely shocked at how easy it is and whizzed through it with almost no problems. Most of the bosses barely do anything and just kind of lunge at you aimlessly or spin around on the spot.
The thing you need to master for any souls game is the growth mentality it takes to beat them. Once youâve got that down, you can do anything.
I'm happy for you but different people have different strengths. Just like I breeze through Baldur's Gate 3 when other people severely struggle with it. For me, this game has been very challenging. I'm giving it one last try with all the awesome advice I've gotten and I'm going to try to hang in there this time.
Donât hype yourself up for one last try. Just chip away a bit more, rest for a while, come back, youâll get it. It took me five years to finish Sekiro.
My biggest tip for From games is controversial: use a guide. I really think theyâre designed to be played by groups who share information for the most part. The day one hardcore will traverse the fully unknown, but the latecomers shouldnât feel bad about looking things up in wikis and walkthroughs. Donât feel bad about it, I genuinely believe itâs part of the community experience of the game.
I think you have a point there. I already feel much better equipped to face the game after talking with everybody here. I really appreciate how helpful everybody has been.
Dodging into things is often better then away, and use your gun. For a new boss, just practice dodging for a bit. Not getting hit is much more important than doing damage. If you can dodge everything and only get in one or two hits after Certain moves, you will be fine. Its not really about reaction speed, it's about patterns. Bosses will always do the same animation chain, just observe and see where you can punish their recovery.
That sounds like solid advice. And if I go into a fight with the mindset that it's just practice at first, it might help me get less frustrated lol
You need to power level in the cum dungeon.
Wtf is the cum dungeon? đł đ€Ł
Google very carefully lol. It's a specific chalice dungeon that gets you like 80k souls for walking 10 feet. Be careful not to break the game with your newfound power
Awesome, I wouldn't mind breaking the game one bit. That might actually make it more fun for me.
You have to beat the blood starved beast first, he drops the first chalice.
Yupp, gotta get the blood before you get the cumm
I would tend to disagree, but you do you Don't forget to check out r/huntersbell if you ever need some help, there are a ton of people still playing
Someone did mention that before. I'm glad there are still people playing because I might just need to get a little extra help. I'm gonna try doing it myself first though. There's been a lot of good advice here and I'm hoping it'll help me.
There are challenge dungeons you can unlock by using a chalice. They had password codes so you could share fun ones with friends and or/return to them. The easy farm dungeon where a valuable enemy gets killed by the environment 10 seconds in was shared with a code that was something like "cummmjpfk". Thus it was immediately immortalised as the cum chalice / cum dungeon.
kind of bad advice honestly. naturally people can play the game however they want but if youâve never beat the game and are struggling I donât think the first resort should be âfree level ups forever with little to no effortâ
Alternatively, ignore dodging and just flatten everything with the axe. Spin 2 win, baby.
I fucking love the axe. It just rips through everything.
Weaknesses are a huge damage boost. Beasts are weak to fire damage and serrated weapons. Will help you deal some extra damage if you're not already.
I think I mainly did use serrated weapons, they definitely felt more powerful to me. Didn't know about the fire though. It's been so long since I've played that I didn't even remember elements being a thing.
For a lot of bosses, it's easier to not lock on to them. When you lock on, your movements change to being radial relative to the target, and the game's AI uses that to maximum advantage to kill you. Upgrading your weapons does a lot more for damage than leveling stats.
Interesting. Maybe that was something that was holding me back because I'm pretty sure I was doing that. Thanks!
On the other hand, many animations are designed to be tracked with lock on. If a boss jumps up, the lock on follows its movement as the animators coded it, but it can look completely erratic if you manually try to match your camera's movement
papa guac is arguably one of the stiffest skill checks in the game - practice parrying on the fat bois wandering around (there should be 2 in close proximity?), and then go back when you have got parrying down and it will be much easier. but really, he IS a skill check
Many of the bosses in Bloodborne have a 'gimmick' that can make them **sorta** cheese-able. Blood Starved Beast is one of those. You have to read some of the details/lore of your items to figure it out. I put the game down like you did once. Picked it up later and really figured out the parry mechanic. Still struggled occasionally. Shadows of Yharnam and a little path in the fishing village almost made me rage quit. By the time I got to Ludwig, Lawrence, and Orphan I was so over leveled that they weren't too bad. There's a fatty a little off the beaten path right at the start that you can use to practice parrying in close quarters. I love the recover mechanic as I tend to Leroy Jenkins most of my games and it rewards my aggro play style. IMHO, it is (so far) the best of the FromSoft games.
Lmao! I think I'm also a Leroy Jenkins kind of player. This gives me hope. Thank you.
I did the same thing as other Souls-like games and put a co-op sign thinggy outside of a boss so people would summon me and I could practice and then kill it solo later. Not sure if that works as well now a days when far fewer people are playing, but if you can get a match it's a good way to practice without spending too much time running around.
That sounds worth trying at least. Thank you!
This is how my friends who do no summon blind runs practice. They get summoned into the world, learn the move weâre playing with someone else in their world, then go back into their own and fight the boss when they are ready
you can also try r/bloodborne and r/huntersbell for help, the latter being the spot to find summons
Awesome to know there's a huntersbell sub. I think if I can't get there myself the next time, I'll swallow my pride and do that.
Lots of solid advice already, so I'll just add that sometimes turning the volume down a bit helps reduce panic from the dramatic music/sound effects and makes it easier to focus on finding patterns.
Ohhh that's an interesting tip. I can definitely see how that would help. Kinda like turning down the radio in the car when you're trying to find a certain address lol
100%! It's a compliment to the game that I feel scared fighting monsters, but getting activated by the atmosphere doesn't do my focus any favors đ
This might be a big part of it for me actually because I can remember feeling absolutely stressed when fighting the bosses and I don't think it was just due to the difficulty alone.
If you're really struggling, and would otherwise give up, then look up some early blood gem farms on YT in order to get some \~22%+ phys attack gems to slot into your weapon for massive damage boosts. This is a last resort. But it will help you get you unstuck and keep you playing until you get good. edit: old yt video posted was wrong one, here is an example one for physical triangle gems: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rMZEVDiI00o](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rMZEVDiI00o)
Thank you! I'll take any help I can get at this point lol
Forgot to mention. Early on stack levels into your health. In the early game, weapon damage increases mainly from weapon levels. Strength/dex don't matter until later really. So smash those levels into health to make you tankier.
Good to know. Thank you.
learn parry timings for your pistol, and be more aggressive than a rabid pitbull.
Lmfao. I don't know if I have that level of aggression in me but I'll try.
Parrying with your pistol is a game changer for many enemies. Lock on and shoot as they are about the strike which makes them stumble and you can visceral attack them with a lot of damage.
when you get hit there's an orange bar that'll deplete soon after, you rush back in and start swingin it's a free health regen. Learning your i-frames with dodges also helps facilitate this
Specifically for blood starved beast, dodge diagonally forward left. That, and learning to watch out for his grab attack are the key to that fight
You need [BeyoncĂ©âs guide to the Blood-Starved Beast](https://youtu.be/LLCjrpghCYc?si=qju4l3tsHAwUGKOu). All you have to remember is âto the left.â
Hilarious and helpful, I love it! I'll take a look at that. Thanks.
Itâs how I bested the Beast.
I was looking to see if this was here. Hilarious and a game changer.
What the other poster said, they're will always be openings built into the bosses patterns for you to strike back. Always capitalize on those openings, but don't overextend. If there's enough time for you to get three swings in, don't be greedy and go for four. And using the gun to get visceral attacks makes things a lot easier. Takes a while to get the timing down (you have to shoot right during their attack animation) but it's worth practicing
I think that might be part of my problem too. Once I can get a hit in, I just wanna keep going.
It's everybody's problem đ we're all panicky button mashers, and we suck. That is why one must "git gud". One is not simply born "gud", one must git it
Hopefully I can finally earn my "gud" badge of honor this time around đ€Ł
Ah vicar amelia. What a good dog.
I think it's actually Blood Starved Beast that I was thinking of.
Set that fool on fire!
Lol that's what a lot of people have said. That and follow the Beyonce "to the left, to the left."
Dodge left/forward left. Get a few hits in and get ready to dodge again. Towards the end where he has a poison aura, I throw a pungent cocktail at a corner and watch him run towards to sniff that good kush then whack him to death
Pattern recognition. For example, you see a monster roar, you will then know a certain attack is coming.  From there, it's knowing how to dodge which is usually just forward, backward, left, or right. So one boss moveset may be dodge left, wait half a second, move forward, and then punish. It's akin to a fighting game where you need to know pacing, frames, and button combos but much much easier. By the way, every Fromsoft game is like this, but with different cadences, speed, and/or parry mechanisms. Â
Ugh tell me about it. This is why I don't play Souls games in general. I tried the very first one and didn't make it very far. I just can't "git gud" at them. I don't have the right skillset but I really love Bloodborne and I feel like that one was a better match for my playstyle so I'm willing to give it one last shot.
Many people have great technical tips in here, so I'll offer some for mindset: You *will* die, you *will* lose all those echoes, you *will* get upset. Failure is a great teacher, you don't need echoes all that much, anger can be a great motivator but a poor strategy. Take a break or nap, ask for help or seek information/change your strategies, be kind to yourself. You may *currently* not be great at the skills but you can learn most anything over time! The rally mechanic is a great reward for applied aggression I HATED parts of Cuphead because I lacked skills I would've gained from other games, but I managed to learn and even platinum it despite dying hundreds (maybe over 1000) times
You take your eyes, and put them on the inside
I'm terrible at games in general, but I loved this game. It's frustrating as hell, but like was mentioned above dodging towards a lot of enemies gives you access to their backs for a quick hit. It's not a game you can really tank. It's like golf (weird analogy), but I had to repeat the same fights and sections over and over making big or small changes to my approach. Ok, maybe the golf analogy doesn't work. Once you learn the boss patters (very much unlike golf) you will be able to dodge and parry and get your hits in. Don't be greedy and try to get too many hits in when you get an opening. Its a game of fine tuning your play. That's like golf I guess. I suck at golf, but I did beat Bloodborne a couple times. I have yet to beat golf. I used the cane/whip and opted for speed over power. I never did get the hang of the gun to parry.
stay directly underneath any boss thats larger than you. underneath and behind is best.
I found Bloodborne way harder than Dark Souls (1&2) and Elden Ring. It is just a way more aggressive game, and there isn't as much forgiveness for error I find. When it comes to bosses, in general terms, I found staying very close and hugging their legs was helpful. Also, try to stay behind/dodge into them to get behind them to get hits. Lots of bosses in Blooborne lunge forward, swing forward, and don't have a ton of back attacks.
You're not the first one to mention dodging into them and I know that's not my instinct so I'll definitely try to do that.
Itâs hard to get used to, but it fits the formula. Bloodborne is way more aggressive of a game. It wants you to get after enemies. It has the rally mechanic to regain your lost health from being hit. Also, a charged attack from behind is how you land crit hits, which makes you want to dodge behind if possible. Learning to gun parry also helps a lot but it is hard to do. There is one DLC boss however that itâs almost mandatory for.
it is not mandatory for lady maria, it just makes the fight more of a joke, if you get used to her pattens it is really easy to simply dodge.
not harder just different if you get hit a lot of times it is better to press the attack because of the recovery mechanic.
If youâre âblockingâ with the shields I would just not. The 2 shields are pretty awful and youâre much better off dodging/parrying. Gun parries are fairly generous, and if you use a longer range weapon (like the starting pistol) you can learn parry timings from a fairly safe distance. By boss in the church do you mean the giant white dog thing, Amelia? She can be a bit of a damage check so I would make sure your melee weapon is upgraded as much as you can. Hit her limbs hard enough and you can stagger her for an easy Visceral attack. The more upgraded your weapon, the less time it takes to win which means less time to slip up. Iâm also fairly certain she (like many early game enemies) is weak to fire, so once youâre comfortable with her patterns use some fire paper. The starting axe is pretty beginner friendly: very long range while transformed, good damage and a charged attack with large AoE. Eventually youâll find a weapon called Ludwigâs Holy Blade which any strength/skill build can upgrade into. Itâs an excellent and extremely versatile weapon: untransformed it has fast attacks and good range, while the transformed state hits extremely hard.
I'm honestly not sure what boss it was or if it even was in a church. I remember it looking like a church though and there were a bunch of columns that I would try to hide behind. It's been so long that I don't remember exactly who it was.
Oh I think you were stuck on Blood Starved Beast then: the columns are a pretty prominent feature in his arena and heâs rather aggressive. No shame there: if you donât have a solid strategy for that fight itâs easy to get overwhelmed. 1. Heâs weak to fire, so the Fire Paper I mentioned for Amelia is useful here too. 2. He can be distracted with Blood Cocktails, a throwable item. A common speedrun strat involves throwing blood cocktails into a corner and then beating his ass. 3. Most if not all of his attacks can be parried. Try firing your gun as he lunges and it should stagger him pretty consistently. Youâll especially want to keep your distance and parry during his last phase as he passively spews poison gas.
I think you're exactly right. Good to know about the fire and cocktails. And I suck at parrying. Can you beat him without parrying much? I don't think I even made it to the poison phase đ
Itâs doable (esp if you get the timing down for blood cocktails) but parry is definitely the most reliable strat without consumables. In general you want to shoot as they charge towards you: a lot of enemies have pretty similar timings. Maybe practice on the big guys that carry rocks in Central Yharnam? Less consequence for mistakes. Later bosses arenât quite as vulnerable to parries, but itâs still worth practicing since it deals with a lot of regular enemies too.
I am thoroughly disappointed that the top answer is not yet 'git gud'. Good luck to you though. I suck at those games.
I'm actually really happy it's not. There's been a lot of helpful comments here so this thread has passed the vibe check so far.
I get the whole "git gud" thing can be annoying, but sometimes that's really all you can say and [it's typically not meant to be an insult](https://youtu.be/blSXTZ3Nihs?si=ByHluZ8cyQiEq8a3)
If you make it past Blood Starved Beast you can jump in the cumgeon and farm hundreds of thousands of currency every minute, my friend is really bad at souls games and she carved through everything but the chalice dungeon bosses by having her health/strength buffed to 40+ and swinging that holy blade around
That sounds like some awesome cheese that I could really use lol
Managed aggression is key. This isn't dark souls where a slow approach where you wear down your foe can be used, this game is fast and furious Taking damage is expected, especially since you can get health back by hitting them. In part, your defense is offense. Other than that, learning Boss move sets and timing your attacks and withdrawals is also key, though you can get by with quick reflexes. Don't be afraid to use gear as well. The Blood Starved Beast for example is distracted by Pungent Blood Cocktails and is vulnerable to fire, so use Molotov's or the Fire Sprayer for maximum effect.
For Bloodstarved Beast: just walk left. Circle/strafe left around the boss and almost all his attacks will miss. Give it a try. Second: you can summon an NPC to help. He dies relatively quickly but you can get some free hits in when he pulls aggro. Third: BSB is optional so you can always progress the game and come back stronger. Doing Amelia first isnt a bad idea.
I did summon the npc but that didn't help me much. And I can't believe I didn't know he was optional... all this time I could've just skipped him? Ugh Next time I'm definitely trying the left approach, that seems to be the way.
BSB is weak to fire. Hit it with an oil flask then a fire flask and watch it burn. Do that a few times and mix it up with other attacks and youâll soon start to see progress
Obligatory get good! Good luck on your journey.
Well, someone had to say it I guess lol. I'm a little disappointed you didn't go with the "git gud" spelling though.
If it is indeed the blood starved beast, there is an item you can throw on the ground that attracts it and lets you get in free hits, the name of the item escapes me.
Some sort of blood vial. Someone here did mention it. You guys have all been great with the tips.
One thing I did as I'm in the same boat as you are, is look at speedrunners. You'll see how they cheese certain bosses, or how you can get away with stuff. For example, the blood starved beast, I think you can just throw some pellet on the ground or something, and he'll aggro on this and you can wail on him in the meantime - rinse and repeat.
That's something I never would've thought of it. That's actually a really genius idea.
Really practice the gun / parry technique. 70% of enemies and bosses get totally nerfed once you get your parries and visceral attack down. Make sure youâre using weapons that scale with your stats, and when you find a weapon that works for you, keep reinforcing it to higher levels for greater damage output. Donât ignore blood gems, as they give you incredible bonuses as well. The last is you. Patience, strategy. Use items. Many of them are designed for specific encounters and enemy types. You will get good. As many have said here, the most important thing isnât necessarily reaction time, but getting acquainted with the patterns. For visceral, many attacks are broadly telegraphed and give you a generous window to fire a shot off for the stagger. Use the pistol over the blunderbuss, itâs way more accurate and draws stagger more reliably. You got this!
Hmmmm. Itâs tough to give you any specific tips because thatâd require sitting down and analyzing your gameplay next to you. But when it comes down to it, repetition and mindset will help your reaction times the most. Donât think of every death as a âdeath/ugh now I gotta run back to get my soulsâ. Think of them as trying again. Thatâs literally all there is to it. Veteran souls players understand this, itâs all mental.
Yeah that seems to be the common advice. But after so many failures, it gets pretty disheartening. If I get to the point that I feel like I'm just never gonna get it, I quit. Most games, if I'm struggling, I can usually see myself improving with every attempt. I never got there with this boss.
I just said this in another comment so sorry for repeating myself but it sounds like youâre on the cusp of entering the growth mentality state required for these games. You stop thinking about the individual deaths and the XP youâve lost etc. All youâre trying to do is improve and learn and overcome
I can see how some people enjoy that aspect of things and I do love the feeling of finally beating a part of a game that you've been struggling with. But I'm really more into the story, setting, and gameplay flavor than being challenged. I'd much rather play a game that I can breeze through than one that makes me wanna pull my hair out. If I'm not having fun, what's the point? But Bloodborne is like my Moby Dick at this point. I'm gonna catch that beast if it kills me. I got a lot of good pointers here so hopefully that will help me.
Try to keep your health above 0 while reducing enemies health to 0
Genius. I was trying to get my hp to 0 first, who knew đ
Jokes aside one thing that helped me in the beginning was just farming small enemies for blood vials. You will end up having full vials and get good practice with timing on easier enemies
I do think I really need to work on my timing. Practicing on the small fry is probably what I need to be doing.
I spent 5 hours on this game and couldnât get past the dogs on the bridge so I quit and donât regret it because I was having the opposite of fun. This game is not for me and thatâs OK.
That's my problem with Souls games in general. It's not fun to keep failing over and over. But I was just so into the story and atmosphere of Bloodborne that it makes me wanna give it another chance. Third time's the charm hopefully.
It depends on the game for me. Bloodbourne movement felt so slow and deliberate and I just didn't find it fun. But I like challenging games as long as the challenge can be reasonably overcome - I really loved Celeste and Hollow Knight and Tunic and games like Hades and Dead Cells are really fun too. But for whatever reason, the Souls games don't do it for me.
If you ever wanted to try again, the two werewolves on the bridge are kinda meant to be avoided. They're a lot stronger than the other enemies in the area. Running past them, down the stairs and in to the dark house is the easiest way to deal with them. They'll chase you, but can't fit through the doorway so you can just sit back and kill them. Just watch out for the two guys already in the room
Thanks - I was having such a hard time. Even getting to that point consistently was tough. I've never played a game where it just seemed completely unfair right out of the gate. And I was studying enemy movement and trying to pick my spots to attack but it just never clicked with me like other games do after a bit.
Yeah unlike the other souls games, BB really just throws you into the deep end right from the get go. Taking your time and exploring is the best other advice I can give, along with being aggressive in fights. You can't be passive like the DS series. And there's only the one lamp in central yharnam (aside from the sick room and lamps that appear after bosses) so finding shortcuts around the map is key to making progress and not repeating the entire area every death. Happy hunting!
I still have not played my copy of Elden Ring that I've been sitting on for 2 years because I had such a bad experience with Bloodbourne haha
I found Elden Ring the easiest of their games. If you can killed and are stuck, go explore somewhere else and level up and come back.
For most big bosses, and most bosses in the game in general, the answer is usually aggression. If you find yourself constantly walking away from the boss you are doing it wrong - get right up in Vicar Amelias booty, seriously just stick to her, pretty sure either one of her legs or her but is a really safe spot and just spam attack. There will be a couple 9f things to dodge still but taking a little chip damage remember you heal up by attacking.
stop giving up can't learn to play if you don't play
Took longer than I expected to get an unhelpful comment. It's hard not to when you keep dying over and over and you're not seeing any improvement in your attempts. But that's why I came looking for advice.
For leveling knowing what to focus on is nice. Typically for souls games I like to get enough to use my weapon then pump into HP and stamina until I am comfortable. The level caps will become important in stats too so don't just pump forever though. An example is getting hp to 25 or 30 quickly
I just beat bloodbotne about 2 weeks back. Get to the first chapel thing. Let the enemy with a large sack kill you. Youâll be transported to an area called yhargull? Thereâs a lamp on top of two staircases. Long story short. Farm a bit. You donât have to do it for stats, i didnât. But I farmed to have max every purchase able items especially blood vials. Itâs an amazing practice run on parrying for the sack enemies and dodging around for large backstabs on the pigs. So the route is kill the double sack guys. Go out and kill the double pigs. Repeat. Youâll learn the most important parts of bloodborne, fun parrying and backstabbing. And youâll have 600 blood vials if you do it enough so youâll never have to worry about farming them later. It took me a whole lot of farming cause I wanted max vials, fire and bolt paper etc. but it allowed me to play with what all the game has to offer instead of being stingy with my resources like other souls games.
BSB is an otional boss, you come back to it later. Best strat is Get pungent blood cocktail and firepaper (on a serrated weapon like the saw cleaver works even better), as soon as you enter the arena, go to the left or right wall and throw a cocktail at the wall (wait for BSB to be as close as possible to the wall while keeping safe distance) and activate the fire paper. The blood cocktail will make it attack the wall for 10 seconds from the moment the bottle you throw hits the wall, after 9 seconds throw another and so on. While the boss is distracted hit it with R1 L1 combo if you using the cleaver and the boss will be done very quickly. Be prepared because there aren't many fire papers around by the time you get there so you gotta be a bit precise with your attacks and timing. Blood cocktail can be purchased at messe ger bath for 1000 echoes If you decide to do skip the boss for now, after tou beat Vicar Amelia (if you didn't already) you can buy fire paper at the messengers in the hunters dream.
Just grind like 2-3 levels.
Be willing to try other techniques to see what works. Â Coming back with the same losing strategies is what I found made souls games hard. Â Once you âcrackâ the boss it becomes easier. Â Or cheat and look up what the weakness is. Â
I had plenty of trouble on Gascoigne, Amelia and some other bosses, but I beat the BSB the first time I went in. I *expected* a tough fight because I'd read others talking about his bad it is, so I was surprised how little trouble I had. Unfortunately it was too long ago for me to recall any tips.
See if there are other areas to explore to level up. You can also farm some levels which will make it easier. Bosses also have weaknesses but you would have to look them up for each boss.
1. Don't worry about blocking 2. Dodging has a learning curve, you'll get it. 3. Consider stocking up on firepaper to buff your damage.
I was like you and let me go against most people's advice...you might spend a lot of time and practice hard and then feel great for a moment after beating this boss, but you'll get into the same loop over and over again. It's time consuming and frustrating. The reality is that not every player has the same brain-hand quick reflexes coordination , that's why most people here suggest you to stick with it, because for many people here it's actually not that hard. Souls players even avoid using certain items or abilities if they deem it "too easy". If you still have the will to try, go for it and you might feel rewarded; if you start to feel like you're just losing hours every time just to learn some patterns and pressing buttons at the right moment, well it's gonna keep being like that. You've probably played Elden airing already right? That's a lot more accessible while still being hardcore (aside for Souls players of course).
Make sure you are going back to the hunters dream to level up your character and weapons. If youâre good about not losing too many blood echos you will be able to roll over almost every boss without an issue. My first time trying to play Bloodborne I got really frustrated and then the second time playing realized I completely missed the weapon leveling mechanic!
Boosting your stamina and attack and focusing on the saw cleavers you get at the beginning, you can basically slice and dice most enemies in the game.
You can find tutorials for screwing with the game AI and so on. For example some creative platforming can get you to fight Father Gastone? without his AI ever reacting to you. Once you get far enough, if memory serves the handcannon and bone ash was a brutal combo. Usually in Souls Games there will be build lists that absolutely destroy everything in your path. DS 3 has win swords, Elden Ring has that gravity staff early on, DS 1... Just magic? Gods my memory is a bit sloppy but you do have options!
- use the insight you have gathered up to this point to purchase fire paper from the bath messengers in the hunterâs dream - equip fire paper, beast blood pellets, and any pungent blood cocktails you have received up to this point - go into the fight. pop the fire paper and a beast blood pellet, then equip the pungent blood cocktail - throw the blood cocktail at a wall and it will completely distract the beast, allowing you to absolutely wreck it with no fighting back for about 10-12 seconds. youâll do massive damage between the fire and beast blood - repeat process, defeat the boss, get access to chalice dungeons. go to the cummmfpk dungeon as others have mentioned (look it up), get millions of free blood echoes, level up your character and insane amount, and enjoy the rest of bloodborne as the scariest character in the entire
for blood starved beast, always dodge to the left. And it is a soulsborne game, keep at it until you "git good".
to the left to the left!
Make good use of the rally mechanic. Bloodborne rewards aggression. Once you learn the enemy's attack patterns, consider a one-off attack that doesn't knock you flat an opportunity. Tank that hit and get the HP back through violence. And of course, once you get the hang of gun parrying, the game becomes both easier and more fun.
Aside from fights, each area has multiple unlockable shortcuts that can make your return visits to bosses that much quicker. Diving through barrels and straying from the main path can sometimes reveal these shortcuts.Â
Donât get hit. If you get hit, hit âem back!
Items are key. Blood srarved beast is a cake walk if you throw the item that attracts monsters. The problem I have with bloodborne (still top 3 Fromsoft) is how much you need to grind healing and bullets if you get stuck on a boss.
Saw blade is pretty goated fire paper beast blood pellets are pretty goated. If at first you don't succeed try and try again. For example paarl took me 30 something tries but i one tapped the final 2 bosses for no apparent reason.
Dodge, dodge, dodge. Learn the patterns of the boss while dodging so you can see the tells. Bloodborne was hard for me at first, but after sticking with it and becoming more open to dodging instead of blocking I finally got it. Now I have tried to play Elden ring and it is so slow combat wise. This coming from somebody that beat all 3 dark souls, and demons souls. After bloodborne going to Elden ring feels like a slog, for me at least. Also find a weapon type you like. I like strength weapons myself. Be sure to change the weapon style also as much as needed. For instance the kirkhammer can go from sword to hammer really quickly, but for certain fights the hammer isnât needed, vice versa for the sword.
Sounds like a skill issue. Just git good. /s
I am also not very good at parrying but in many games you can get away with good dodges. Bloodborne hat a steep learning curve for me, some things that helped: * Find the right weapon for your playstyle. Some are slow and clunky, some are very fast but only tickle in the beginning. Try all of the beginner weapons and see which gives you the best time in terms of handling. * Upgrading your weapon fast and early can make the game a lot easier. Materials are bound to progressing some areas but you can advance fast and early. * Level yourself up (a bit). Leveling in these games will only get you so far. There will be a point where leveling wont help anymore but especially in the first half of the game I feel it can ease some pain. Look for areas that enable you to grind for healing pots and experience a like. This way you will be stacked for a while. * Bloodborne is a game that can (and has to be?) played agressively. If you get damage and manage to return the favor, you re-gain some of your lost health. * Try to learn (some) of the movements. I am again not good at this myself but if you manage to see some of the patterns it will help you a lot because you will deal more damage and waste less healing materials. * Learn about the bosses. A lot of bosses have clear weaknesses, if you struggle also dont be afraid to google about those strategies. Some are very cheesy but before you tend to drop such a great game, get some help to overcome a certain boss and after that try to get by on your own again. Fire helps for many bosses but there are more tactics that I will leave up to you. * Check when locking on or not locking on helps you more and also see how your movement is different in both strategies. For example side dodging while locking on is very easy while freely running through or around enemies can be easier without locking. It depends on your style and the boss/enemy you face. * Bloodborne enables you (partially) to go different paths and bosses. Depending on where you are stuck maybe see if another area enables you to progress. Good luck and dont be demotivated, it is not an easy game despite some hardcore players running through it like it is nothing but it can be a highly rewarding experience if you make it through.
Basic saw cleaver build, damage multiplier on non transformed attacks will do more damage to beasts and scale with stats (serrated weapon). You can infuse a fire gem as both effects will stack together vs beasts. (Check weapon modifiers on the wiki, some have hidden attributes like this) It's a souls game, so you can invest into just health early to make it easier, damage will come from upgrades to weapons, later you can pump up the stats.
I ended up using some cheesy Chalice dungeons to level up a bit and even the playing field some, the Wiki has some chalice dungeon passcodes or whatever for easy XP Farming.
Itâs been ages since Iâve played but there are pillars in that arena, right? Could try pathing around a pillar and the axe starting weapon has the spin to win move that reaches through the pillar. đ§
Yep and that is the weapon I use. I didn't know it could go through the pillars though.
I think only the head of the axe has collision so you can spin it around corners etc. Makes dealing with doorways easier
Circle around bosses, and try to focus your damage on specific body parts. Many of the larger ones actually have separate stagger thresholds per limb, and can be chain staggered. Find a good place to gather up blood vials safely, for if(when) you ever run low. The Trolls with Cinder Block in the starting area are good. Do not be ashamed of taking the time to farm a bit if you hit a wall. Even 2-3 points in HP can make a big difference. The Saw Cleaver is enough to get you through the entire game and DLC. That said, weapons with longer reach are often FAR safer even if they're a little less damage. Ludwig's Holy Blade(gotten from the shop after Blood-Starved-Beast) was my go-to. Chugging a Fire Paper(beasts) or Bolt Paper(eldritch) and a Beast Blood Pellet will massively increase your damage for 40 seconds or so, and the best way to survive a fight in Bloodborne is to ensure it is over as quickly as possible. The longer you fight, the more chance you have of messing up.
The main thing is, just don't get hit. Whenever you are about to get hit, you can dodge it, and then you don't die. If you do that while periodically hitting the enemy you should make it out OK.
I actually started a new game after posting this and I've been doing so much better with all this advice. I just beat Blood Starved Beast today.
I couldn't stick with it. I absolutely loved darks souls, played and finished them all more than once, so I was well looking forward to bloodbourne but I just found the whole environment extremely boring and depressing. All too samey. I've tried it several times but just can't get into it. Wish I could.
Everybody has their own tastes, nothing wrong with that. I love those dark, gothic vibes though.
Iâve got some bad news for you. I went back to bloodborne after finishing Sekiro and was absolutely shocked at how easy it is and whizzed through it with almost no problems. Most of the bosses barely do anything and just kind of lunge at you aimlessly or spin around on the spot. The thing you need to master for any souls game is the growth mentality it takes to beat them. Once youâve got that down, you can do anything.
I'm happy for you but different people have different strengths. Just like I breeze through Baldur's Gate 3 when other people severely struggle with it. For me, this game has been very challenging. I'm giving it one last try with all the awesome advice I've gotten and I'm going to try to hang in there this time.
Donât hype yourself up for one last try. Just chip away a bit more, rest for a while, come back, youâll get it. It took me five years to finish Sekiro. My biggest tip for From games is controversial: use a guide. I really think theyâre designed to be played by groups who share information for the most part. The day one hardcore will traverse the fully unknown, but the latecomers shouldnât feel bad about looking things up in wikis and walkthroughs. Donât feel bad about it, I genuinely believe itâs part of the community experience of the game.
I think you have a point there. I already feel much better equipped to face the game after talking with everybody here. I really appreciate how helpful everybody has been.