Topic: Bloodborne Tavern: Impressions, Help, Discussion Board

Thymesia has some looks but none of the quality that From's games have.
They nailed the "tough" combat "but" they forgot the "fair" part Soulsborne games always implement.
There is no quick recovery when dodging (recover from a hit faster by dodging away).
There is no health rally so any association with Bloodborne stops right here.
Parrying has to be so exact that you need to extremely precisely hit the enemy's weapon right at the millisecond it must be parried to actually work... needless to say parrying a hit that comes to you in a horizontal arc is almost impossible.
Bloodborne has the absolute best parry mechanic in the genre, too bad no one recognizes and uses that in other Souls-like games.
Dodge is sluggish. Coming from Bloodborne to which Thymesia is often compared, it feels useless.
The distance is short, too short.
And there are many times when you know you could dodge an attack (after finishing all of From Software's games, you develop a 6'th sense for it). But here you hit the button at just the right time but the character fails to dodge properly, and many times to even move (after finishing a combo there is around 1 second of recovery time, like a cooldown during which you can't execute another move... there is no such thing in From's SoulsBourne games).
And the worst of it all: there are almost no invincibility frames.
In any SoulsBorne games you could dodge through attacks if you timed it correctly. Here that's very hard to do, you can manage it about 5-10% of the times, and only if you're lucky.
So yeah... any comparison between Thymesia and Bloodborne is purely environmental and nothing else.
If anyone wants to give it a try, the Demo is still available on Steam for a limited time.

In the latest Sacred Symbols Colin Moriaty admits he may have been wrong about a Bloodborne remake/sequel as he has heard conflicting things from a new source, which contradicts what he heard before.

@ThereThere awesome news mate! So the best advice I could give you at this stage is to basically just aim to complete your corpse-run each time you respawn. You’ll surprise yourself at how easily the initial encounters will seem as you skill improves.

Also, making it to the first boss is big, after reaching it you will then be able to start levelling up… that or if you stumble upon a madman’s knowledge. That item would also enable the start of your levelling.

@ThereThere Just run run run to the first boss, gain 1 insight (you just need to encounter the boss), then you can start levelling up!

@ThereThere yes sorry mate I probably should’ve elaborated… but you got it.

Madman’s knowledge gives you a point of insight if I remember correctly… and you need at least 1 point of insight to begin levelling up 👍

@ThereThere you might surprise yourself how far you get just sprinting past everything in these games versus trying to take them down methodically 😂 it’s not always a viable tactic but it does work.

There is that gif from walking dead where dude was casually walking past the zombies… thing he was the governor or something been a while. Anyhow that gif precisely is like all FromSoft levels.

@ThereThere Pebbles can be thrown at an enemy, in order to pull them away from a group of mobs, without grabbing the attention of others.

@ThereThere Well done!

Personally, I grind a lot in these games. I find it therapeutic and I like to have a slightly OP character, where as playing the same boss over and over too many times can be a bit frustrating to me. But, other people enjoy the challenge of being at the right level and I get that. You'll have better memories of the game getting by the skin of your teeth. Even so, having a strong character will only get you so far.

The second boss will probably be a big challenge for you, and it might force you to level up if you can't do it. Once you're over that wall, you'll have the flow you need for the rest of the game for sure.

@ThereThere hello mate, I recently just finished a blind playthrough and a plat playtrough(first From Softwaregame for me as well). It's loads of fun and by loads of fun I mean very palm sweaty and frustrating at time doing a blind playthrough and can get a little confusing and even though I managed to stumble through and complete it, as a total noob to these types of games I felt like I really did it an injustice by not fully understanding what I was doing 🤣

Anyway in my Plat playthrough I found a guy on YouTube fightincowboy, an absolutely fantastic and brilliantly in depth walk-through which makes it so easy to actually get the plat, he even has a few "cheeses" to defeat certain bosses and some very useful and handy tips for leveling.(you could literally make your self as op as wanted around the half way point of the game with one of his "hacks")

I know people say these games are best played blind but I enjoyed my plat playthrough much more because I felt like I actually under stood alot more about builds and what was going on.

@ThereThere grind away buddy… grind away. I think if the genre grips you, your subsequent souls-likes can be played more organically… but this is your first one, so get through it any which way you can 👍

@ThereThere For me, just finishing the game without summoning help felt "legitimate" by my own standards, even if it meant I was a bit over levelled.

@ThereThere yeah I very much had the same feeling as in I was worried I would get to a point of banging my head against a wall, but honestly the relief after you do beat that boss that gives you trouble is worth it, you all of a sudden realise how much your hands are sweating after the adrenaline runs out 🤣

But using the walkthrough guide from the guy on YouTube allowed me to get to grips and a better understanding of the mechanics and the game as a whole. I also didn't just go at the same boss 20 times as my frustration would just grow and grow but I found if after 4 or 5 times if I had a break even for an hour I'd go back and with in 2 or 3 attempts I'd get it. So sometimes knowing when to have a rest is a big point to enjoying these games(in my case anyway)

@ThereThere Great advice given so far from everyone and I’ll just chime in with a ditto to what’s been said and add a few personal points.

I tried and fell off Dark Souls 1 by trying to go blind; I lasted about 4-5 hours. But with Bloodborne I accepted advice, searched YouTube videos, etc and was able to finish it without having to summon help from any NPC’s or online players and my experience with the game was simply fantastic. One of my favorite PS4 games, hands down. I did exactly as you described it — somewhere between ‘blind’ and ‘full informed guide following’. Probably little more toward informed than blind, but I mostly explored around areas on my own and tried bosses once on my own, but was quick to search a boss guide at the first inkling of frustration. There are a ton of difficult encounters, so if you try to suss them all out on your own it will definitely take a large amount of intestinal fortitude. So for me it made the game so much more enjoyable to use a few tactics suggested online. There’s no shame in it.

After running past the enemies in the first area, getting to Cleric Beast and dying, and waking up the doll to open up the ability to use echoes and level up (awesome advice from Kyle, who I think was actually the person who encouraged me to do the same a couple years ago), I also spent many hours just grinding that opening set of enemies over and over and gradually leveling. Once you’re able to level up your weapon that helps a lot too, as I recall. But yes, as a newcomer, I spent so much time in that early area until I could just routinely mop the floor of those guys and then I was able to beat the boss. If memory serves, there’s a wolf or two on that bridge too and they were probably the biggest challenge in that area besides the boss… I might have run past those on my eventual run which got me over Cleric Beast. My memory is fuzzy on it though.

Regarding Cleric Beast (and many enemies in general), well timed dodge rolling is pretty key, and you’ll eventually learn to maximize your I-frames (the timing which you’re invincible during a roll) and also learn to overcome the instinct of rolling away from the enemy because often the best strategy is staying close to them and rolling toward the enemy when you dodge. Each boss is different but that was a souls mechanic that took some “unlearning what you have learned” as the Master Yoda famously taught. 😄

Toward the middle of the game I read about a good farming spot to farm echoes and grind levels and I used that area endlessly until I was a fair bit overpowered. The further in I got the more open to using the game’s mechanics against itself I became. So I often cheesed enemies, for example by hitting them through walls, because they were doing that to me! And I think it’s been said many times but grinding and over-leveling is the game’s ‘easy mode’ so it’s all part of the design — might as well take advantage of it! 😄

Bloodborne is so good. Keep at it @ThereThere

@ThereThere Personally I rarerly grind to the extent of makong my character OP in these games as I prefer the challenge and strategy of overcoming the tougher foes.

And that is not me turning my nose up at grinding, more power to you if that is what find enjoyable.

One thing I always do is if I'm close to levelling up and about to face a boss, is to then grind a bit so I don't lose all my hard earned blood echoes.

@ThereThere just one more tip on the cleric beast, I think he’s weak to fire. During central Yarnham you should have come across some oil and fire bombs (they may be called something different)… so a couple of well place throws (first hitting him with the oil and second hitting him with the fire) will give you a nice head start.

@ThereThere
Glad to see newcomers to this game even if it's been 7 years after release. Wish I could become one again too btw, so I could discover this gem once more One of the best games ever made, definitely the best on in From Software's repertoire.
That being said, welcome to Yharnam!
Gonna chime in here with my 2 cents... some of the little things I've learned in my ~600h time with this game.

Step 0.... read up. What you can, when you can, not all at once because you need the practice too... Only a bit each day. Some beginner's guides, some tips and tricks, some fighting techniques, best build for beginners etc...
Step 1... You will die in this game. A LOT. Get used to it, in your mind. There is no way to play this game without dying, understand it, let in sink in, accept it.
It's not a failure here, not a shame if you do. There is NO BB player out there that has not died in this game more times than he can remember, that has not lost blood echoes by the thousands in the process, no matter how tough they act like.
Each death is an opportunity to learn more, to try again, and again, to learn a bit more each time. It WILL add up in the end, you'll see.
Step 2... patience, "grasshopper", patience.
Don't rush into enemies, like one usually does in other genres, that will get you dead here.
Pick one away from the crowd using pebbles, kill him, pick another, kill him, etc.
You can use the gun to that effect, but that will make noise, and may get the attention of more enemies than you can handle.
If 3-4 enemies turn from the crowd to come your way, don't get cocky and try to face them! You're not there yet. Right now it will be like trying to win a car race before you learn how to drive properly.
Turn back 30-50 steps, turn a corner, go back to a room you've already cleared... until they stop chasing you... (because they do that in this game as opposed to others). Then try again to move forward, to pick only 1 from the crowd... maybe 2 at a time if you really feel you can take them on.
Step 3... derived from 2... study each enemy's movements. Try to learn when how they move, to remember what their hits are, how long it takes for their hits to land, when the hit animation stops and you can land a hit.
How long it takes for one of your hits to land. When during the animation of an enemy you must dodge or you must hit.
It seems like a lot to take in, but it takes longer to read than to execute.
This can only be learned by trying. You will hit, you will miss, you will most likely die many times, but you will learn. Bit by bit, hit by hit.
And you must do this "study" for each new enemy type or boss, until you learn them all. And you will, have no fear, by the time the credits roll you will know most of them...
Step 4... Parry. This is one of the most important combat techniques you must learn if you plan on finishing the game and DLC. And one i didn't pay enough attention to during my first playthrough... and because of it Lady Maria put an actual end to my first character after 22 repeated failures... gave up the game for like 3 months... then I came back to take revenge
You can parry with your gun during an enemy's hit animation, in a specific time interval between when the animation starts and when it stops.
In some enemies that interval is very short, in others is as long as the animation. It's up to you to try to parry and learn for each enemy when during their hit animation you can stagger them.
Once you stagger an enemy... it's visceral hit time baby! (hit R1 close to enemy when it's staggered)
One of the heaviest most damaging attacks you can land in this game. This is what the parry is used for.
Step 5... Farm. I understand that there are players out there that have an affinity for games like this one, and like to play without upgrading, leveling up, etc.
I for one recommend to keep yourself a bit overpowered. Not too much though, because it will make the game too easy...and you'll be sorry you did that, trust me, I know... did that with my second character, in order to take my revenge on Lady Maria... I didn't leave Yharnam until I was level 40 (yeah! f..king crazy I know), farmed Hypogean Gaol and Forbidden Woods dozens of times each, and got to around clvl 180 before I faced her... sufficed to say she died in the first round that took about 1-2 minutes max.... kicked her ass so hard I instantly felt sorry I wasted so much time leveling up, when there was no need to
Step 6... Use a proper build and stick to it For you as a beginner, until you learn the game, I recommend the Strength build, with Fire or Bolt papers on the side for bosses weak to one of them. Search for this build online, to learn where to properly allocate the echoes, and what blood gems to use later on.
In your 2nd character though, definitely try the Arcane build. This is the one that will get you all the way to the Platinum. And the most fun to play with.

Ok, enough for now. There is a lot more to say, but you also need to play.
So go farm Yharnam.
Btw you know how to cheese the 2 Werewolves on the bridge? From the Central Yharnam Lamp go through the gate and.... ummm no... here's a 10 minute video instead, easier that writing, more useful to you than reading

@Shinnok789 Lol, I completely forgot about the cheesing of using the doorway against the werewolves on the bridge. I remember doing that over and over as a good early farming run.

(An excellent list of sound advice there by the way.)

@ThereThere ****ing YASS!!!! Well done buddy… now, forever onwards!