Topic: Bloodborne Tavern: Impressions, Help, Discussion Board

@KratosMD Oh, that sounds reasonable. Not quite as good as a save point, but acceptable. Alright, I might try that later. I’m Bloodborned out at the moment. Already put in Persona 5 for now.

@Th3solution An irrational fear of dogs on bridges is just one of the many permanent scars Bloodborne will leave you with. A few months ago I encountered a poodle on Tower Bridge and I almost took my chances with the water.

Keep going. Kill some of the enemies you're familiar with, the ones you know you've definitely got the beating of, until you've got enough to level up a couple more times. Just two or three levels will make the dogs fight that bit easier.

@Gremio108 Lol. Yeah, I’m sure I’ll have nightmares tonight.
To be frank, in the few hours I played the game, it does a spectacular job of presenting the atmosphere and world building. The few enemies I’ve come across are creepy and well created, and I know there are so much more. The visual style with the dark gothic feel is strangely beautiful. I don’t like horror games usually, partially because they can be really gratuitous - using gore to create fear, but with Bloodborne they seem to have created a creepy and spine tingling atmosphere, yet one in which you want to wander around and explore. I especially appreciate the excellent sound design— with the coughing and hacking, the grunting and groaning, the cackling women, the banging on the door or gate, the moans, and the sound of steel scraping on the stone road as someone walks past. It really adds to the tension, but also helps to make you prepare for what’s around the corner. Also the inclusion of the online message system does offer some comfort, so that you don’t feel so isolated and alone, which helps temper the fear effect to a more manageable level.
The combat system is great, fun, and satisfying. So all things point to an excellent game with such high production value and innovative design. That’s what makes it so frustrating that I haven’t really been able to “enjoy” all this masterful design. I want to explore, but I don’t want to wander too far and suffer an abrupt death unnecessarily.
@Kidfried I did skip the big brute rumbling back and forth in a side street behind the opening building because I could tell the game needed me to go the opposite direction and he was purely for those who wanted the challenge. The next time I play, I might try to skip the wolf beast creatures on the bridge then. I tried throwing a Movoltov grenade at them also, but I missed and I am not sure how to really aim when you throw items like that. My attempts at tossing stones to attract attention and isolate enemies has been largely ineffective— usually resulting in the stone smashing several feet front then intended individual which sometimes backfires on me and attracts attention from several surrounding enemies resulting in the very mob on top of me that I was trying to avoid. Also, on that point, I’m not sure I’m doing sneak attacks right. The enemy always turns around right before I get there. Is there a trick to that?
I have to admit, as I was playing Persona 5, my mind kept thinking back on BB, strategies floating through my mind, even while I was engaged in another game. I’ve heard many people comment on this so maybe that means I will actually get the hang of it and not be so frustrated next time. I just prefer having a game I can play for like an hour at a time if I want. And clearly BB requires one to set aside huge chunks of time for each play session.

@Th3solution Try just running to the first boss and let it kill you. That will wake up that doll girl in your "base" so will be able to level up. That's the point where this game really starts. Until you encounter the first boss you can't really progress. So you just need to encounter the first boss - Vicar Amelia, not beat it! and then killing all those guys gets some meaning. Additionally, as others said, there are some shortcuts which will help you a lot. I felt just like you, I wanted to quit because I was fed up with doing all the same over and over again in the starting region just to be killed by some random guy or a wolf in the end, but after those shortcuts and some leveling, the game got much more interesting.

@NecuVise Sounds like a plan. How far past the bridge wolf beasts is the first boss?

@Th3solution IIRC it's on that very bridge, at the end of it. Just run past them and go to the end of the bridge and that boss will spawn. Let it kill you and that girl will wake up so you can start your leveling up .

Vicar Amelia is later, the boss on the bridge is the Cleric Beast. This boss is actually optional and you can go straight to the other boss (purposely not said the name) in Yharnam.

@Th3solution I feel ya pain lol. It can be frustrating as you feel like you are going round in circles and not making any progress. Just use this section to get some practice in. And git gud lol.

If you exit the game it will auto save and you can carry on from exactly where you left. You will still spawn from the last lamp if you die, but may help you if you want a breather or something.

@JohnnyShoulder haha yeah you are right. I forgot it's correct name, but anyway I still think he should rush it so he can level up and Cleric Beast is the easier of the two so he better make some practice before engaging that second boss in the area.

@JohnnyShoulder Omg, are you kidding me?! Arghhhh, I wish I would have realized that I could exit and it would save where I was. I assumed the lantern acted like a save point and so anything you did after that was lost if you quit the game! I feel like an idiot now! That will make things a lot better.

@Kidfried Yes, I have been typical playing with my weapon extended when I sneak. I usually can kill most of those cronies with 1 or 2 slashes before they can wind up to attack me, but it’s just they do see me before in attack so they aren’t truly stunned I don’t think. I was just thinking for future reference I was needing to perfect that when the enemies get tougher.
And on that subject (I’m playing with the saw cleaver and the Blunderbuss and have the torch of course as a pick up) I find the extended version of the saw is great for the reach but is harder to be accurate with. I’ll whiff on enemies more easily than it I keep it closed. So I’ve liked switching it up depending on the situation, like when sneaking or for large hoards. Besides the animation and sound of expanding and retracting it is so cool.
And no, I hadn’t gone back to the dream place to upgrade weapons. Another stupid move on my part. I assume that all the enemies respawn after you come back from there in the same way they do when you die, so I figured there was no use. But if the game is saving my progress then I absolutely need to be going back and forth a few times! If I’d been doing that from the beginning I probably could have upgraded many time over! Gah! So frustrating! Welp, now I know. I’m definitely taking another shot at this game then with all this information. I appreciate all the advise. It would be nice if the game itself told you some of this stuff.

@Th3solution When you go back to your workshop all the monsters will respawn! So you better have many souls before going back. And besides, IIRC you need blood chunks (or however they are called) to upgrade your weapons,.

I think that an axe is a good weapon for beginners as you can charge it in its extended mode and just wipe them as they are coming at you.

@NecuVise is correct if you rush past the enemies to the boss, life will become a bit easier for you. By seeing the boss you will gain an Insight point which you need to level up your character by going back to Hunter's Dream and speaking to the doll. You will need enough Blood Echoes to level up.

You can summon Father Gascoigne to help you fight the Cleric Beast (you must have the Old Hunter Bell). He can be summoned near the fountain where you encounter the first Brick Troll in Yharnam. The advantage to summoning Father Gascoigne is that he can help you fight the enemies that guard the Great Bridge. The disadvantage is that he may get hurt before the boss fight against the Cleric Beast.

Only quitting the game will leave all the enemies dead. Make sure you go back to the title screen otherwise it might not save properly. When you die or rest at a lamp all your bog standard enemies will respawn.

@JohnnyShoulder How do I obtain an Old Hunter’s Bell? And is it reusable or a consumable?
(Many, many thanks to all who have talked me off the ledge on this game. I was inches away from just giving up on it)

I forgot you have to gain 1 Insight before you can level up. I need to go and play half an hour on this before I comment any more. I keep giving out useless/fatal advice...

As an update, I took the advice of many here and ran all the way to the bridge and past the wolves and to the cleric beast, surprisingly not too hard — the running there that is. The dying at its hand was also quite easy 😂
Now the doll is awake, and I can level up. I am excited I can also choose where to put my upgrade points. I also stupidly didn’t realize I should have been buying the upgraded clothing and repairing my weapon with my blood echoes. The only thing I was doing with them was stockpiling them and then losing them, thousands at a time when I would die and then die again before recovering them. So much lost opportunity...
But now I have a decent feel for the early enemies and how to use the Hunter’s Dream. I am going to grind some more tomorrow or later this week. I feel so empowered now that I know I can #1) upgrade and get stronger and #2) save my progress. I still only have 2 of the 3 required blood shards so haven’t been able to upgrade my weapon yet. Hopefully I find another one somewhere around that opening area before the cleric beast.
I did get the hunter bell thingy too, and it appears the bell is reusable but you use up insight to ring it? I hope there is a source of more insight because I don’t want to use up my precious stock of 1.
I also was not able to find the short cut to open up for the easy route to the bridge. I guess I’ll try to explore for that later.
I am starting to feel like I might become a Bloodborne ambassador. But I’m not going to commit my allegiance just yet, since I haven’t even beaten a single boss yet. Lol.

@Th3solution You'll get insight every time you beat a boss and every time you help someone in co-op defeat a boss. I think there are other ways too. I've got a bunch if insight since I didn't really spend any. I think you might get some for defeating players who invade your world or when you invade theirs, but don't quote me on that one. Haven't played the game for over two years.

@Th3solution you won't have many insights in the beginning, but later on you will have plenty of them. I have beaten cleric beast without any help from Gascoigne so don't worry about it.

IIRC the shortcut is on the opposite side slightly to the left when you get to the bridge. You should see some stairs going down and to some house. I think it goes something like that. It is there, just explore a little without aggroing those pesky wolfs

You gain insight by doing the following:

By entering most Boss arenas. (amount varies)
By beating Bosses. (amount varies)
By defeating bosses as a summoned guest in multiplayer. (+1)
By successfully killing another player using the Sinister Bell. (+1)

And by comsuming various items, meeting certain npc quest lines, and at certain events in the game.

I would advise spending insight as enemies become harder the mire you have. A little bit later you unlock a merchant where you can spend it. You also need it to summon anyone into your game.

When you get 10 insights another merchant unlocks by the door above the first merchant, and you can spend your insights there. But I think you shouldn't worry having a couple of them, but don't hoard them.

I know this is the epitome of “I told you so” but many thanks to everyone who told me to stick with this game. I am really only a few hours into and still haven’t beaten the cleric beast but I am really starting to enjoy it. I came close to giving up on it and for now I feel like I “get” this game. I’m by no means a pro at it but I have some inkling of what I’m doing. The ability to level up has indeed been key. I have been collecting echoes and upgrading my stats and I upgraded my saw cleaver with shards once. I can run now through the opening area and clear out every single enemy all the way up to the bridge without dying and only having to use like 2 or 3 health vials (i forget the B.B. name for these) and I defeated the two wolves after a couple attempts last night. The use of fire and Molotovs made them fairly manageable. I am close to ready to take on the boss but I got too interested in exploring the bridge and found the [semi] hidden area underground and fell down there. I have a feeling I probably am under leveled to be down there, so I quit there last night before I continued exploring this new area and will resume later this week when I get a chance. Bloodborne has the potential to drain me of all my time so I need to pace myself.
The only problem I think I made was I was pouring stat points into strength, but it looks like since the saw cleaver is a trick weapon, I should have been putting the points into Skill. Ah well... I’m sure the strength will come in handy eventually.
Anyways, just wanted to give an update and many thanks for the help and advice so far.

@Th3solution I think you're alright to go down there btw