Bloodborne

[VladimirPutin]

To be honest, Hunter Axe is pretty decent especially if you want to fight against the other players. I would also recommend Beast Claw, because with proper gems and runes it's really awesome weapon and also very unpredictable for the other players.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F0NLYlQYvT0

Here you have F R C dungeon with 27,2 physical ATK up blood gems. You need to farm a little bit to get them, but definitely worth it. Farming blood gems is really addictive part of game. Everyone wants the rarest ones, but sometimes you get rare with negative effect, then you proceed to farm more.

For your normal character I would also recommend you getting Uncanny Saw Cleaver which has one triangular slot for blood gems instead of waning one like normal version of this weapon. 27,2% physical ATK up waning blood gem is really rare, possible, but so rare that it's better to get Uncanny Saw Cleaver and then you can put three 27,2% physical ATK up blood gems.

About my BL4 run - I've killed Failures and now I'm fighting with Maria. Such an entertaining fight and at least there's no long path before her like it was for Failures. I hate long roads before boss areas

 

[Griffith]

To be honest, Hunter Axe is pretty decent especially if you want to fight against the other players. I would also recommend Beast Claw, because with proper gems and runes it's really awesome weapon and also very unpredictable for the other players.

Yeah, the Hunter Axe always seemed pretty cool and the Beast Claws just seem so unique, especially the idea of fully transforming into a beast!

I'm not so concerned about the other players part because I haven't had to deal with any since NG1 during the segments with bell ringing women, and even then it was few and far between during the Nightmare of Mensis. Bloodborne doesn't kill multiplayer outright like Sekiro apparently will, but it really de-emphasizes and sort of abandons it compared to Souls. One of the few ways Dark Souls 3 is superior, really (and a linchpin in its case for best Souls-like game). It's funny for me to say that because I'm not into multiplayer at all, but Souls multiplayer is basically multiplayer tailored for the anti-social and I've learned to really enjoy it, especially in DS3.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F0NLYlQYvT0

Here you have F R C dungeon with 27,2 physical ATK up blood gems. You need to farm a little bit to get them, but definitely worth it. Farming blood gems is really addictive part of game. Everyone wants the rarest ones, but sometimes you get rare with negative effect, then you proceed to farm more.

For your normal character I would also recommend you getting Uncanny Saw Cleaver which has one triangular slot for blood gems instead of waning one like normal version of this weapon. 27,2% physical ATK up waning blood gem is really rare, possible, but so rare that it's better to get Uncanny Saw Cleaver and then you can put three 27,2% physical ATK up blood gems.

Oh, I bet it's addictive, which is why I've stayed away and used only what I find without farming or specifically looking (I've got a bunch of Physical and Arcane gems at or around 20% and that's good enough for me). The Chalice Dungeons are already a little too close to Diablo for comfort, especially grinding them when I'm close enough to level.

About my BL4 run - I've killed Failures and now I'm fighting with Maria. Such an entertaining fight and at least there's no long path before her like it was for Failures. I hate long roads before boss areas

It's too bad viscerals aren't worth as much without the points in skill, otherwise that could be the whole fight, but I'm guessing it's still worth parrying her for the charge attack or regular punishment while she's down. Have you ever used the Cane against her in its normal form? I was able to really stay on her much more effectively than with the swords (before that I didn't realize it was faster), and I had high strength and skill at the time so I think I could even stagger her big windups with it. Made the fight much easier.

 

[VladimirPutin]

It's too bad viscerals aren't worth as much without the points in skill, otherwise that could be the whole fight, but I'm guessing it's still worth parrying her for the charge attack or regular punishment while she's down. Have you ever used the Cane against her in its normal form? I was able to really stay on her much more effectively than with the swords (before that I didn't realize it was faster), and I had high strength and skill at the time so I think I could even stagger her big windups with it. Made the fight much easier.

I've used Cane on my normal character, but here I'm using only Saw Cleaver. I triggered her third phase few hours ago and died. I'm literally playing without blood vials now, because I feel that I can beat her without using blood vials. And why? Because when I'm following her and dodging her fast attacks, the only attack that can hit me and pretty much hits me every time in my 60 attempts ( I already fought her so many times ) is her power attack when she waits a little bit and hit with two weapons at once. This attack always kill me because of close distance so there's no point in healing myself.

 

[Cyrus Jong]

I think it's just as well that the multiplayer in Bloodborne is rubbish. The blood gems force you to grind in the Chalice dungeons just to stay competitive. That, and because I ain't spending money just to do something that I can easily get for free on PC.

The Beast Claw seems like it could be a cool weapon to use, especially in conjunction with the Beast Rune. Unfortunately, you won't catch me dead wielding it because that constant hissing sound it emits is absolutely infuriating.

Anything else I should consider? I've heard good things and enjoyed playing around with the Burial Blades, Church Pick, Chikage/Rakuyo, basically all blood weapons, etc. Of course, there's also guns to consider, which is why I'm still holding onto my rocks, so to speak. Of course, I'll be able to grab a bunch more soon in NG+3.

You heard correctly, they're all fantastic weapons for Skill-based builds (well, Skill+Blood for the Chikage). Burial Blade has great range, the best rally in the game, and it's a fricken scythe, and the Rakuyo has a ridiculously flexible moveset that makes it useful in every situation. As for guns, Evelyn is pretty much all you need if you've pumped up your Bloodtinge, but the Cannon can be wicked fun if you like to see huge numbers, and the Piercing Rifle has its uses when you're facing large groups.

 

[Griffith]

the only attack that can hit me and pretty much hits me every time in my 60 attempts ( I already fought her so many times ) is her power attack when she waits a little bit and hit with two weapons at once. This attack always kill me because of close distance so there's no point in healing myself.

Damn, that one always got me too, before I started staggering her with the Cane (which I couldn't seem to replicate on NG+, so maybe I imagined it), but I didn't realizae it was that unavoidable because it was never that crucial since I could just back off and heal. BL4!

I think it's just as well that the multiplayer in Bloodborne is rubbish. The blood gems force you to grind in the Chalice dungeons just to stay competitive. That, and because I ain't spending money just to do something that I can easily get for free on PC.

Yeah, it's an interesting evolution going on from the Souls to Bloodborne to Sekiro; less RPG elements, less online, seemingly more emphasis on skill, though not necessarily "sport" if there's no PvP. You're only opponent is Miyazaki now. =)

The Beast Claw seems like it could be a cool weapon to use, especially in conjunction with the Beast Rune. Unfortunately, you won't catch me dead wielding it because that constant hissing sound it emits is absolutely infuriating.

Oh fuck, I forgot about that! I honestly may reconsider leveling it now, because I'm not going to listen to that shit either.

You heard correctly, they're all fantastic weapons for Skill-based builds (well, Skill+Blood for the Chikage). Burial Blade has great range, the best rally in the game, and it's a fricken scythe, and the Rakuyo has a ridiculously flexible moveset that makes it useful in every situation. As for guns, Evelyn is pretty much all you need if you've pumped up your Bloodtinge, but the Cannon can be wicked fun if you like to see huge numbers, and the Piercing Rifle has its uses when you're facing large groups.

I'm starting to slow down a bit so I'm going to need to decide soon because I don't think I'm even going to bother grabbing chunks on this NG3 run. I'm at Rom and once I waste her I'm headed for Mensis and then to my voluntary death! I'd like to have a fully upgraded gun so I'm thinking Evelyn since it'll best use my budding bloodtinge, but I hear the Blunderbuss is the one for catching roll spammers if I'm ever going to do PvP again. Probably going to be a moot point soon.

Update: Speaking of seeing huge numbers, with Antal as a distraction, beast pellets, bolt paper and the Whirligig's L2 attack I racked up like 12,000+ damage on the One Reborn in one technically continuous attack! I didn't even see what the final number was on his health bar before I was finally interrupted and had to regroup.



Edit: I'm Platinum, baby! Also I somehow lost online and/or however I was getting credit for Playstaion + (maybe the guy I bought it from got a new PS4 =). Man, BB requires PS+ just to play vanilla online? That SUCKS!!

 

[Spiky Spaghetti]

Hey, how are you guys doing?

I'm gonna drop a Fextralife link in which someone by the username of Rakuyo theorizes about the origins of a lot of design choices made by FromSoft in the making of Dark Souls and Bloodborne and how it relates to our beloved series - Berserk.

https://bloodborne.wiki.fextralife.com/From+Berserk+to+Bloodborne

(Bear in mind that these are all theories like it says on top of the page and they are not to be taken seriously.)

I gotta say, some of them are pretty out there but then there are some pretty cool theories like the one that relates the defiled Windham city with
Yharnam city or the now popular theory that relates Artorias with Guts (in the berserker armor).

I just wanted to share this although I know some of you have probably seen this or heard about some of them from videos on the internet (ex: vaati).

So, which theory you like the most?

The weekend is coming and I hope you all enjoy it.

Goodbye,

 

[underpileofdeadbodies]

Out of the rare unlikely event someone wants co op, level 50 by Rom the Spider.

 

[Griffith]

So, because I've done everything else I decided to try some of Bloodborne's playable cut content last night, which features a test area FULL of monsters, including some never used in-game, and two bosses, among other things. I'm posting this here since the information is a little more significant and comprehensive than a play update and I don't want to keep spamming the 'Playing' thread.

First, a little background, as I said a major facet of this game is gaining access to an unseen plane of existence where cosmic beings control or exert influence on reality, or in our dreams, or perhaps realities that are dreamed by those superior beings. That's the main game, there's also an optional secondary, concurrently playable, campaign accessible from the main hub where you explore ancient ruins, Chalice Dungeons, to uncover more about these cosmic beings, an ancient civilization that rose and fell with them, and perhaps even physical manifestations of those beings themselves the deeper you go. These dungeons also have their own unique areas, enemies, bosses and story progression with its own final boss, so it's more than a side game or remix of the main game's assets, it's another half of the game.

In gaming terms, the Chalice Dungeons can be set dungeons for the "story" Chalices, or procedurally generated random dungeons, created through rituals and requiring special ingredients, that you can also use to add modifiers for difficulty, etc. These random dungeons can then be shared among players via glyph codes. This naturally led to many players exploring deeper and deeper, or seldom seen, layers of the dungeons for heretofore unknown enemies or bosses. These players were known as "Tomb Prospectors," named after the faction which originally explored these ruins according to in-game lore. They've been figuring out how the dungeon generation works and finding new and unique dungeons and monsters accordingly, literally discovering new in-game enemies years after the game was released. The biggest breakthrough though happened once Bloodborne's files could finally be read and datamined, which led to the discovery of not only cut content in the files by Sanadask and ZullietheWitch, but some actually playable content used by the developers, including new areas, enemies, and bosses! This was in December 2017 and January 2018, and functioned almost like some unofficial DLC once Zullie shared them via glyph. So, I backed up my save files and decided to give them a try. Below are my experiences and impressions. Of course, calling it "cut content" is boring and almost has a negative connotation, so given the nature of the game and its themes, accessing eldritch truth and other planes of reality, literally unearthing it in cases, through ancient ruins or dreamlands ala H.P. Locecraft, I'm dubbing the experience:

Bloodborne: The Lost Nightmares

"The Murder Dungeon" (glyph: 2c8czh8h)

This glyph was supposed to transport me into what I thought was a one-on-one fight with the Chalice Beast, an enemy seen on the Bloodborne prototype "Project Beast" load screen, but not the final game. Instead I found myself surrounded by enemies, including multiple Undead Giants! After being immediately gang-attacked I was able to escape and ran down the hall, only realizing more enemies were spawning or waiting as I went and the previous mobs followed. I didn't even know if this hallway had an end, but it did, featuring a huge Bloodletting Beast and a creepy, hostile disembodied voice telling me my actions were "most uncharitable"... Well! I put up a fight and wasn't killed by the mob outright, but got knocked out of a archway on the platform to fall into an empty gray void until finally hitting an invisible floor and dying (an enemy was apparently knocked off with me as I could see their silhouette off to the side). This thankfully returned me to the Hunter's Dream.

Attempt two went much better. I took on the initial mob and realized, though they could damage me, it was relatively light, and most couldn't take a hit, at least not from my 900+ attack rating Holy Moonlight Sword. Surviving the initial throng allowed me to pace myself and lure out the rest in manageable numbers. I indeed fought the lost Chalice Beast, a Pthumerian Ghost, and a strange egg-shaped enemy that resembled a facehugger pod from Alien. There were others that seemed unfamiliar as well, or like variations of enemies, some partly invisible. There were so many lined up that at times the game could hardly keep up animating them or running their AI. Halfway through my sword broke, it was outfitted with cursed gems affecting durability and I'd forgotten to repair it; I replaced it with Ludwig's, which seemed to make little difference despite the lack of gems. Finally, I reached the end, killed the Bloodletting Beast and discovered the source of the unfriendly voice: Patches the Spider. It was his death dialogue, I must have inadvertently killed him when I fought the mob the first time. This time it would be intentional, and indeed most uncharitable since he wasn't hostile. First I retrieved my Blood Echoes from the archway, panning the camera to keep an eye on Patches all the while. The fittingness of this situation amused me, and since he does indeed push you into a pit in this game, I wouldn't have been surprised if he was programmed to do so here, but alas, no such scene took place and I dis-Patched him. Before exiting I noticed a prompt for an apparently invisible Bath Messengers, which sell you items in the Hunter's Dream and Chalice Dungeons. I checked their wares, but the only thing of special interest were Uncanny and Lost versions of the DLC weapons, which I think the regular Chalice Bath Messengers sell, and the only ones I could currently afford I already had, so no memento unfortunately. It was time to leave, and see what sort of boss could follow an area such as this.

Great One Beast (glyph: arkhv2vs)

AKA Silver Beast according to game files, not to be confused with the regular enemies that may be its servants. Once again, while I expected to be transported outside a boss room, a telling roar close behind told me I was already in one, a Chalice Dungeon boss arena. I turned to see the Great One Beast approaching. I can best describe it as looking like a wolf crossed with a dragon; long tail and serpentine neck leading to a beastly head, and covered all over with long levitating hair that would float and wave above it as if it were underwater. With these characteristics, of beast and kin, I could see where it got its name.

It approached slowly and deliberately, but attacked fast, and could seemingly fly accross the room. It hit me with some kind of projectile, but I couldn't see it and the only indication the Beast was causing the damage was that it roared as it was inflicted. Unfortunately, it was not nearly powerful enough otherwise to put me on my heels and just hitting it with some of my ranged arcane attacks did a fair amount of damage, enough to finish it off. Apparently hitting it with fire will burn off its fur and leave it looking like a hairless dog, but I didn't get a chance to try it (Update: Tried to with Flamesprayer and nothing). I made short work of him, and there is bigger squid to fry.

Inherit The Nightmare Last Form (glyph: sikgc3sm) - AKA an alternate "Moon Presence" final form or a unique Chalice Dungeon variant. I noticed this battle happens at ?PlaceName?, which is a fitting display name of this final location beyond all others, clearly because it's unfinished like the previous ones, but all of this happily only fed into the surrealistic, dreamlike state of these places. This time I was outside the boss room, in a small ruin that opened to a strange beach with other ruins, crags and the branches of a humongous, unseen tree coming out of the clouds. It's actually more like the beach fight in Demon's Souls than Orphan of Kos, but given the content of this fight the similarity with the latter is unavoidable. It's official name is apparently the Lake of Mud, and it's mentioned in the base game as being hidden from sight now (which it is =).

Now this staging room is different for different players, and perhaps different versions of the game. Some see a ghost in the room before the boss, have access to an invisible lantern to safely warp back to the Hunter's Dream (I wanted to do that about now =), and see a boss bar with the "Moon Presence" name on it, implying this is some kind of alternative version or new final form, since they neither look nor attack alike (could also just be a template or placeholder essentially), and allegedly fully functioning fog door, Insight, and the boss waits for you to activate the fight. I have the base game CD with the DLC downloaded, rather than The Old Hunters or GOTY editions, and got none of those things, just the already hostile boss with a regular enemy health bar. One interesting theory as to why it changed is they continued work on it after the base game, perhaps as prospective DLC content that remained cut or a possible DLC Chalice that never was (Bloodborne was to originally have two DLCs that were purportedly combined, perhaps this beach confrontation gave way to the Orphan of Kos fight). If it was indeed supposed to be a follow-up or alternate Moon Presence fight, it would make more sense in a Chalice setting. Anyway...

Upon arrival there was already some epic boss music playing, and I could also see part of the creature, a wiry hand and huge tentacles like tree trunks attacking through the boss door, implying a truly massive monstrosity on the other side. This was genuinely intimidating, and unlike the previous Beast, this Great One apparently hit like a truck and could even one shot a max level character. I waited for the tentacle attacks to subside and immediately went for the door, it attacked again as I opened it but I was unaffected, happily freeing me on the other side between its attempts, which was fortunate since you come face to... whatever, with a massive maw and possibly an eye, blocking your way, but as I moved to one side it so too turned and allowed me to slip by. I ran a good distance away toward the ocean to avoid it's tentacles and have a good look. When I finally saw it, it was much greater than even a new form of the game's final boss; more like Nyarlathotep or Azathoth, Oedon made flesh (it resembles the Oedon Writhe rune, and a reaper =), or given the setting on a dream-like beach, Kos herself or even some form of The Old One from Demon's Souls. To put it more mildly, it was a cool-ass giant squid monster!

As with the Beast I tried my Blacksky Eye to put my 99 Arcane to the test. It damaged it visibly, but not enough to drain it's life pool effectively; I was going to need to move in. I hit it with my Holy Moonlight Sword and did decent damage, but had to be careful of its tentacles, a glancing blow took off a quarter life. Before long I got greedy and, with me stuck mid-attack animation, it slammed all its tentacles down pancaking me and crushing the life out of my body.

YOU DIED. The next try got off to an inauspicious start as I tried hitting him though the door but got hit back instead for the aforementioned quarter life, but fuck it, I'm not here to cheese him through the door anyway, I want to slay the Leviathan! Back through I was more cautious, I used the Zapruder method, back and to the left, to continue hitting it without facing the wrath of it's forward or back facing tentacle slams. Midway through it started floating in the air and slamming its whole body down. It was hard to tell exactly where you were in relation to it or where it would come down so I kept trying to maintain position but always rolled away at the moment it came down, hoping that if I wasn't in the right spot the invincibility frames would cover me, and I don't think I was hit once by this attack, nor the psychic shockwave seen above. This proved effective as the beast unfortunately didn't have any other counters that I saw and so I was victorious against one of the most imposing, if not actually that difficult, Souls bosses I've encountered. Of course, the downside is in my version the fog door didn't work properly and disappear after do I was forced to commit suicide to respawn on the other side of the foor, then jump to my death to return to the Hunter's Dream. Despite that, all in all a very cool unexpected follow up all this time later.


Now, these aren't the only playable cut content, just the most significant and readily available ones, and more cool stuff, like cut questlines, bosses etc are still being discovered to this day. I might dig into more of this, like there's some Maria content that can be restored with a downloaded save that resets the triggers for a short questline, which actually makes a lot of sense, or more so than two boss fights back to back at least, unless they decided the Living Failures so lived up to their name they should be a feint. Anyway, I'm definitely going to check out some more cut content glyphs and rare or unique Chalice Dungeons. In any case, this was a lot of fun and if you're into Bloodborne or were it's definitely worth giving a try.