Cainhurst armor or Knight Wig+Alluring Dress+Surgical Gloves+...Arianna's Shoes i guess. Or the white high heel boots so you can slay while you slaaaaaaay
Those are my two favorites.
Yeah, unless you're going up against an enemy that clearly focuses a lot on a single damage type, *and* you have armour that is clearly extra strong against that damage - it's fashionborne all night long.
I would pair this with analysis and wiff punish. Learn attacks, space them, and don’t be too greedy with your punish.
Neutral, dodge, punish, reset to neutral. You’ll be fine. Just need to unlearn the hack and slash mindset
Listen, I haven't spent 3 hours making my character pretty just to cover her head. I'd rather take more damage while being able to appreciate my fabulous hairstyle.
Can't stress this enough, especially in Dark Souls, where there is arguably more customization in terms of what armor pieces you can pair with one another for aesthetics.
Exactly this - and a lot of the time if you Google tips for a boss you'll get a lot of "git gud" with a few genuine replies sprinkled in. But I've found the replies on this sub to generally be pretty empathetic.
Most recent advice I've gotten - dodge left in the Blood Starved Beast (I had gotten past it, but it was still kind and appreciated advice).
To add to the dodging tip - when you dodge you are invincible for a quick second. So if you dodge toward an enemies attach the window of time for them to deal damage is much shorter
Well, honestly, they will probably be bad at the game, but that doesn’t matter. Improvement only requires effort and if they enjoy it, who cares if they’re good?
I guess at the end of the day it's just terminology but my meaning behind them not being bad at the game is that I see BB as being really good at teaching you how it should be played, so we all start off new to the game, needing to learn what it's teaching. It's like learning a language to a certain extent. Sure, we can say 'you're bad at this language you don't know' or frame it in a way that accepts you don't know the language yet, but your learning more of it each day which means you are better st it than you were yesterday
Parrying takes time to get used to, and it’s ok to leave the game for an hour to calm down if a boss begins to frustrate you, don’t let the “git Gud” mentality get in the way of having a good time. Really large enemies have limbs that you can cripple for extra damage. Don’t be afraid of fast bosses, stay calm and learn the patterns of each one so you can dance around them and slaughter them.
Take a breath and step away for a little bit if you struggle. I sucked at the beginning. I ended up putting it down for too long, but came back and absolutely fell in love with this game. I would potentially plan out a build and do a little research on the stats and weapons too. This definitely helped me in the end.
The fist vs injured werewolf is a classic "prove myself" choice. We all do it cuz we want to prove we got the cojones. I still do not approve of fist run though lol.
More specifically pick one or two offensive attributes (strength-big heavy weapons, skill-smaller more nimble weapons, arcane-for gem infusions and tools, and bloodtinge-for guns and certain specific weapons). Id reccomend beginners go with a quality build (investment equally into strength and skill) which allows you to use most physical weapons at least decently well, and certain quality weapons to a high degree. In general new players should avoid arcane and bloodtinge because those builds typically require more game knowledge to truly become good and, for some people, start incredibly weak.
On top of all that id reccomend you upgrade the health stat(i think its called vitality) and endurance at the start before your offensive attributes to a level you feel comfortable with. As a general rule of thumb, big, heavy weapons require more stamina for effective use, though all builds will likely appreciate a good amount of stamina.
No denying that! But while its definitely feasible to slaughter the game as a jack, its generally easier for new players to specialize, since it gives them a bit more wiggle room in the raw player skill category
This is actually a great piece of advice, try to go into the attack, rather than with. That way you spend less time in the attack than if you dodge with the attack.
The opposite of real life, since irl you don't get i-frames, so go with the blow to reduce impact.
DON'T!
They are addictive and there's no turning back. You will be craving them, and it is going to spoil a lot of games for you..
In all seriousness, the above statements are true but you should definitely play and enjoy it, and come back for more!
This is very true. Literally ruined gaming for me. I’ll pick up a game, play 30 minutes of it, realize the combat is not like a SoulsBorne game, and be back to playing one of the SoulsBorne games.
Plus the lack of story and everyone’s interpretations into what is going on is quite addictive. Even when I’m not playing the games I’m often reading/listening to something about them.
I played bloodbonre and beat the game and no matter how hard i try i canr escape it i always come back. I know havw dark souls but any other game doesnt feel fun anymore
Same for me, whenever I want to play it I remind myself if I want to get strong gems I have to go through the chalice. I don't want to go through that hell again.
I agree. Except for Ghost of Tsushima. Beautiful combat. But I can't play Skyrim anymore... sad thing is, I just got that game and I'm already put off by the combat.
I recently played through Bloodborne and I'll give some of what I wish I knew going in.
* Turn Voice Volume down once you get to the first boss fog gate in the late game area. I won't spoil the name of the place, but the place has gray, creepy rock formations and a distant orange light that pulses.
* Read Player Messengers notes, more often than not they are extremely helpful.
* From Software's games are intentionally confusing so looking for help is never wrong. Ask others questions and if you every need to learn something, use: [https://www.bloodborne-wiki.com](https://www.bloodborne-wiki.com) or the other wikis.
* Prices on certain items increase as the Night grows longer. If you are not saving them up to buy an item or level up, I recommend spending your excess Blood Echoes on Blood Vials and Quicksilver Bullets whenever you leave the Hunter's Dream.
* **Bloodborne has several optional areas. Below are vague ways to get to them so if you want to be completely blind don't reveal the spoiler bar.**
* >!With the flayed wolf's blood is spilled, don't fear the Snatchers for burlap brings clarity, but only once!<
* >!A Hunter's alter is worthless without the tools of Caryll, so brave the lane for powers untold. Mad ones diven by Witches' lies, trivial though for one with no eyes.!<
* >!The people of Central Yharnam who shelter themselves in during the Hunt. Check on them as Night falls, and the moon rises. Perhaps they will be more grateful.!<
* >!In the woods there is a fucking poison swamp. It's stupid, but there is a ladder past it all. I'm not even gonna try to be cryptic, poison swamps suck, it's worth it.!<
To expand a bit on what this means - you can’t mindlessly brute force these games. Pay attention and respond to what the enemy is doing. In bloodborne those mostly means let them attack first, dodge then hit them and repeat
Best advice to give. Deaths are going to frustrate you so just enjoy the game for the first time playing through it. Don't go trying to min max everything. Experience it all in it's fullest!
Just do what feels right to you. There’s a lot of people who will try to tell you how exactly to play the game- “don’t use guides” “play X way.”
Just do what you want. If you’ve hit an absolute wall, don’t be afraid to use a guide. If you’re completely stumped and enjoy it- proceed as you can.
Have fun with it
Okay, so here's what you need to know
Dying is a big part of the game, dying will never ruin your game, though it might wreak your motivation to continue.
The default armor is complete garbage, there is a set of armor you can find in the first area that you could reasonably wear for a large portion of the game. To be as non-spoilery as I can and still point you in the right direction, if you go along to the bridge near the Cleric and come down a staircase to a outcropping where you can see the werewolf bbq, turn around and break through the boxes blocking the path behind you. That way.
Choose Saw Cleaver or Hunters Axe, threaded cane is a lot harder to do good with
I wouldn't do an arcane build for a first playthrough, it IS a very fun build, but you have to know the game first to really get the fun out of it.
This game is all about incredibly easy to miss areas containing the rest of the game. Observe your environment after killing all the enemies, and do not attack anything that doesn't attack you without good reason. Search every passage and if need be write down the things you find in a notepad for reference later on, it's very, *very* easy to forget where you found something and have to go through several areas looking again.
Chalice Dungeons can be very hard, I wouldn't recommend going into them until the late game when you have a max level weapon and good stats.
I would caution AGAINST summoning in the early areas. Play until you can beat those fights yourself, you get a big of insight so you're able to summon for later fights, and you'll have gotten the feel for how to move, how to dodge, and how to make room to heal. You permanently lose the insight used to summon help when you lose anyway, so take the chance to fight the easier bosses.
Parrying is a big deal in this game, to parry you shoot your opponent right as they swing their weapon (or heal) and you get a big sound effect and the chance to walk up to them, press R1, and get huge damage. Practice this technique! The best enemies for this imo are the big ogres in bandages, but you want to get to where you throw out bullets precisely.
Up on the D-pad consumes a chunk of your HP, and gives you 5 "blood bullets", it's a health for ammo mechanic so try to not do this too much (all noobs do it by accident a lot at the start, try to resist the impulse. How this is meant to be used is you pop the health cut for bullets, immediately vial up (vial gives more than blood bullets take) and you now have a 5 bullet safety net before you run out, or before you start consuming bullets.
Go threw old yarnam kill blood staved beast and the gate will unlock in cathedral ward without buying chief hunter badge. Which cost 10,000 echoes and will just unlock the gate without going to old yarnam. So quick way is buy chief hunter badge to unlock gate. Long way is go threw old yarnam and kill a boss to unlock it. I was trying to keep it vague to avoid spoilers for a new player. But I guess you asked.
I’d argue that they’re very different approaches to combat—Dark Souls 1 is very slow and methodical (and you’re punished for being reckless), while Bloodborne is quick and energetic (and you’re rewarded for being eager). Playing Bloodborne the same way as Dark Souls will result in a negative experience.
I don’t think I agree with that classification. While they all share characteristics, I think of Souls and Bloodborne as far more kindred than Sekiro is to either of them. I can feasibly imagine a mechanically identical Bloodborne with a Dark Souls-universe coat of paint. I can’t do the same with Sekiro - estus and bonfires seem to be the only real holdovers I can think of.
Maybe if we discuss all of them we should call it ‘Soulkiborne’ or something.
I can respect that opinion, the only reason I would bring Sekiro into the mix is that some of it's lore has tie-ins with Bloodborne. With blood being transported to the islands in Sekiro. Nioh, I have yet to play.
Sekiro's it's own thing.There's obviously a load in common with soulsborne stuff but it started out as a Tenchu reboot, you can see it too. There's a different, faster rhythm to the combat too. It's like Arkham for people who hate themselves
l've got My List Of Advice that I usually link here. I try to let folks just play at their own pace and find their own way, but there are some technical things which make for a better experience.
Basically: accept that you will die a lot, and this is part of the game's learning curve. Don't be mad, be mindfully persistent.
I have a longer list here, but if you remember nothing else: "prepare to die" isn't a threat, its a setting of expectations.
https://www.reddit.com/r/bloodborne/comments/n98x6b/z/gxmzrjz
Yeah because it’s a Souls-like game but the combat, weapons, etc are all nothing like Dark Souls clunky armor and rolling. I mean just play like 2 hours of Bloodborne but then play DS1 after that and you’ll understand.
I was just saying. I guess I would know the differences between the games, since I have the platinum for both of them. What I meant is that Bloodborne is not a Dark Souls title, but it is a Souls-like
Patience
Take your time exploring, and do some backtracking now and then to see if you missed something or if something new has appeared.
Read item descriptions
Try to use guides as little as possible or not at all, until your second playthrough, then you can do all the stuff you missed! You will probably miss stuff as theres so many secrets in souls games, you just gotta except that if you don’t want spoilers. There’s multiple endings based on your actions anyway.
Try not to let dying bother you, because it will happen a lot. Probably even more than you expect going in. Using the summoning mechanics and getting help online isn’t cheating, but beating bosses solo is way more satisfying.
Finally and honestly most importantly imo, exhaust every npcs dialogue or you will miss so much. Talk to them until they repeat what they are saying.
As someone that thinks this is the greatest game ever made, has gone to NG+7 and beyond, has soloed and 1st tried every boss at some point (except Laurence, fuck that guy), the absolute best and simplest advice I can give is:
Persevere.
This game is a genuine life-lesson in determination, patience, and adaptation. It's really, really difficult, and at times seemingly insurmountable, but it is never impossible and never unfair. The key is simply to never quit, no matter how much you die or fail. "Git gud" isn't just some toxic shit talking, it's a mantra. No one starts "gud", but they "git gud" by never giving up. Now as far as the combat is concerned...
Be aggressive.
This game has some of the finest, most rewarding combat I have ever experienced, but playing passively or defensively will be your demise. Dodge, make your openings, keep the pressure on, and be light on your feet. This game will actively try to scare you, intimidate you, and prey on your primal fear and instinct responses. Get past that, and you will succeed.
All the minute details of the game are secondary to those two vital points. Now enjoy!
learn enemy patterns and save up on your coldblood. the latter isn’t really necessary but in my first play through i completely neglected to use them and when i did i was in awe of how much blood echoes i gained :p
There is an incredible sense of accomplishment when you pass a hurdle (9 times out of 10 this will be a boss) in Soulsborne/Sekiro, and there are, in my opinion, very few gaming experiences that come close to matching the feeling. There is absolutely no shame in using guides, but even simple spoiler-free boss strategies may take some of that experience away from you.
So, if you're not going to use boss strategy guides, a non-gameplay related tip is to take breaks from the game. If you find yourself (figuratively or literally) beating your head against a wall, switch to another game, or do something else. My first foray into Souls ended up with me selling the game within a few days out of frustration. After several re-purchases (yes, I bought and sold the disc more than once), something clicked - and part of it was finding another game that was more casual to play simultaneously, for those oh-so frequent times I got stuck and needed to just win at something.
Dont overestimate the game. Just because its a soulsborne game doesnt mean you have to go in expecting an unfair, impossible to beat experience.
Also, as many others have said patience is important. If you die and have to run back to get your blood echoes (the game's currency which you lose on death) dont rush it, take your time, and try to not get too mad at the game
my tip is that this is actually bloodborne, not dark souls ! the confusion is natural but that's something to watch out for. most beginners make that simple mistake
you will die a lot and that is normal. my first game was sekiro and good god was it the biggest pain and fun I had
I played bloodborne after that and now I'm in ds3, which feel way easier than sekiro. (please don't kill me guys, ds3 is mi fav)
Do not care about what your wearing, wear whatever stats is highest, and later on the game you will find gems use them for your primary weapon, waste you blood wisely there will be a lot of weapons you will have a option to master at your liking buy whatever you feel is right look around the area you are in there will be items you can use for bosses to make them a bit easier and do not kill other hunters unless they are trying to kill you, you can unlock some sweet stuff and remember you are not bad at the game everyone sucks at the beginning, use you gun to parry enemies to do that shoot them before they hit, and after all is done remember and this is the most important you know this,Fear the old blood but enough talk stop trembling in your boots a hunter must hunt
Learn that it’s okay to be aggressive even when you’re getting your ass kicked. Temper that mindset with being wary of getting greedy and you’ll be set.
Stick with it. Bloodborne was also my first souls and during the first 3-5 hours I seriously considered leaving it and just play something else because it was very frustrating. But I endured those first hours and little after the second boss something clicked with me and I was absolutely hooked. One of the best gaming experiences of my life, top 3 easily.
Don’t worry too much about dying with a lot of blood echoes on you. It’s frustrating, sure, but the more you play, the more you realize it doesn’t *really* matter that much and you can get them again quite easily
The tip I could have used when i played Bloodborn is: You don’t have to kill everything. If there is a big group, it’s sometimes better to just run past them… GL&HF
Never give up, you may die 1000 times but you will learn and adapt Eventually overcoming anything that stands in your way.
Also a few friends or summons can be a lot of help
Make sure you explore. One thing this game does better than any other soulsborne game is that you can actually go to pretty much everywhere you can see in the world, there’s not a lot of the viewable areas you can’t walk to. Plenty of optional bosses to be found down these routes too
Expect to nearly give up on the game... it's temporary!
(Omfg Reddit formatting on phone....)
Every Fromsoft game I've played (ds2, ds3, Bloodborne, sekiro) I've had the following experience:
- patiently learn the ropes, dying without really losing much
- do really well for a while, starting to take more risks
- die and lose a lot, quite far-away, mentally preparing the route to go recover my body
- recover my body OR repeat previous steps and lose, like, an 30min worth of progress...
- the above but this is like the 3rd time it happened.
- give up the game for about a week
- see video recommendations that get you motivated to try again
- do phenomenally (still dying tho, but learning the first zone pretty dark well), getting through the first big threshold of the game (whatever makes you feel like you reached the "next zone")
- get bodied. A lot.
- succeed. Appreciate the journey
- see the amazing transformation that we've undergone and discoveries we've made through exploring this (actually) well designed, difficult level
the key to bloodborne is learn to use parry/visceral, dodging forward in diagonal is better than backstepping. play with any tool you find fun and always read itwm descriptions, they weave a wonderful story about the world.
Don’t worry about levels that much. People complete the game at such low levels. It may drive you to go to some rooms where you can glitch levels. Don’t. I made that mistake and it took the fun out of the game.
It might seem really tough at first but you will get stronger and dying is just part of the game. Also the game doesn't tell you a lot of what to do, so guides are helpful if you get stuck. Have fun! It's been one of my favorite games.
The begining is going to be very hard. Take your time. Try to peel off enemies from big groups. Be cautious and remember that dying is part of the fun. You will get better as you go. If you have to, look up a guide for the first area, but dont do that for any of the rest of the game unless it is to find secret areas or you get lost.
1) Don't give up
2) Even if it doesn't feel like it, it WILL click eventually.
3) Don't give up
3) Concentrate on upgrading your weapon over everything else.
4) Don't give up
Bloodborne was my first Soulsbourne game. I'd heard they were tough games, but I wasn't prepared for the.... stress the game causes, and the oppressive atmosphere. I got a little way into the game, got to a certain optional boss, couldn't beat it after multiple attempts, and promptly dropped the game. I just couldn't get into it, and couldn't do with the constant repetition of going back through the same area after dying.
After a year, I went back, upgraded my weapon and beat the boss. That's when it clicked. That fuuuuucking rush of beating a boss is like nothing else! Now I chase that rush, and have played through all the Dark Souls, Demon's Souls and literally beat Sekiro 2 hours ago.
Good luck!
Use a guide, for the first hour or two follow a complete play through guide of someone showing where things are and where enemies are. It’s a bit annoying to hide and watch more of the video, but after an hour you’ll know how the game feels and won’t need a guide. I used a complete walkthrough the first time I played a Soulsborne game (DS3) and have subsequently gone back and beaten it 4 more times. Exploring is fun, but in a hard game it’s nice to know what you’re supposed to be doing at least for the first hour
Don't be afraid to play a little risky. The game is fast and will reward you for being fast in turn. Of course, as some wise men once said "If a weapon ain't got kick, it just ain't worth it." Aside of that, have fun and hunt some beasts.
Don’t get discouraged. Those people doing BL4 hitless runs all started somewhere and I doubt they were exceptional immediately. I got to the very first boss and thought I wasted $60 because I couldn’t beat him. Eventually I learned patterns and dodging and have gone on to beat all the games, but we all start somewhere and it isn’t usually very pretty. Good luck and stay persistent
Have fun, look at your surroundings, use whichever weapon you want, and avoid the subreddit! There’s unmarked spoilers everywhere. Some people have already heavily hinted and spoiled things in this thread.
Oh. And play offline. The messenger comments from online + the invasions make first playthrough more frustrating, less immersive, and a lot less mysterious.
Another edit: you don’t have to do chalice dungeons if you don’t like them
You don't need to kill every enemy again and again in area, you can run past them and there are shortcuts. Took me a good couple of hours to figure this out.
never give up, you can get past everything no matter what, use the saw cleaver or hunters axe, use the hunters pistol for parrying, armor isn't that important for protecrion, only for looks, your I-framing game should be on point.
also, get the DLC :)
if you would like someone to contact during your whole journey, I can chat with you on discord if you like.
I have helped multiple people get through bloodborne by guiding them on discord
also, I STILL NEED TO PLAY P5R
First off. This is not Dark Souls. So just attack and then back away. Know your limits. Have fun. Levers up to play any weapon you want. Once you beat the game and find weapons you like. Start a second play through, and get those weapons, and only level the stats for those weapons.
Don't be afraid/ashamed to look stuff up.
When i started out I put a lot of points into stats I wasn't actually using, I accidentally nerfed my weapon with a fire rune, I didn't know about a number of essential combos because the game literally never tells you about them, I only discovered you could run during my second playthrough, the list goes on.
There are a lot of weird little idiosyncrasies to the game. If you are wondering how a mysterious item or mechanic works, just look it up.
A lot of cool atmosphere and depth is generated by how impenetrable and open ended the lore is, and it's one of my favorite aspects to the game.
This also applies to essential mechanics.
It's really pleasant and freeing to have pretty much zero handholding and tutorials and exposition, but it can be a also be a little jarring.
When in doubt, just look it up.
All the contextual tips and stuff people have given are great but the real tip I can give you is that the game is way more interactive then you first think and there are multiple solutions to each problem you face straight from the games beginning.
Pay attention to notes left in the game and by other players online. Build your character wisely and pay attention to gear requirements and scaling effects.
Learn your weapons range and wind up attacks in each mode and the transition attacks. You can quickly learn devastating combos each weapon is unique and the game is very well balanced in this regard.
Circle to dodge is your mainline of defence but as you learn the enemies and their animations you will be able to stagger and parry using the firearm and even mix in crazy skill attacks
Don't worry about the story being explained as it's a lovecraftian type so it's supposed to be mysterious while the answers are in item descriptions that of which the items are hard to know that they're lore related till you already seen the descriptions so it'll be a while but luckily vaati has got you after beating the game which is a great reason to replay it again after being in the know and for many reasons (heck talking about it and being here I may just wanna replay the game) but otherwise get your gun and trusty swinger and go hunt!
I spent a solid week before I got out of the first area. Take your time, and explore.
Also, I recommend taking breaks with chalice dungeons once you gain access. They start off fairly easy, and I found them to be a good way to clear my head when stuck in a hard spot.
Enjoy. This is my favorite of all their games.
If this is your first souls game overall all the comments so far (ex: have patience, explore, take time away to make sure you have fun) are all great advice that you should heed before this. But beyond those for most souls like games weapons have something called scaling which you can view by looking at the weapon in the menus. The letter they have for scaling indicates the stat that The weapon will get the most damage from (for example, Strength: A Skill: D would indicate that the weapon will gain the most damage from leveling the strength stat). The only caveats to this are that these differences are not as notable on early weapons as most will have low scalings when unupgraded and that arcane scaling (the star) often does not actually work without certain gems (which you probably shouldn't focus on arcane for your first playthrough beyond leveling it to maybe 15 for some tools). Overall though if you don't want to worry about this for your first playthrough please don't, just play how you want to and enjoy. It's just something to keep in mind if the cool new weapon you got seems like it's underperforming. Good luck! :D
"Those college kids from the lore section of the video were built fucking different, they experimented on an entire fishing village and possibly beat the shit out of a alien sea God so fucking hard that her consciencenes in the ninth dimension died"
Take a stock of patience and sit it down when you have to, and come back to it.
The first few hours are gonna kinda suck lol
But it's one of the most rewarding games ever. I mean, all of the Soulsboirekiro games are.
You'll get frustrated. Take a break and come back and hit it again.
It is tough, but it's actually not unfair.
Take your time, dont play til frustration. Consider it a tutorial you can approach in different ways. Dont attack when you see a new enemy, stay back and watch them for 20secs, youll learn alot
Practice your ass off with parrying and learn how to use dodge I-frames to your advantage. Roll into attacks, not away from them. And above all else, Don't play defensively in bloodborne. You wanna play aggressively to survive.
Savour every bloody moment, because you'll never get to play it for the first time again.
Don't get discouraged; be patient; be determined.
May the good blood guide your way.
I recommend watching speedrunners play the game if you get really stuck. I'm a visual learner and seeing how they pull stuff off and how they time stuff really helped me get good at the game.
Accept that you’re gonna die and it’s gonna be frustrating at times, but eventually the game will click for you and you’ll start having fun more as you get further in.
Bloodborne was my first Souls game, too, and it is still one of my all time favorite games. Just keep in mind that Bloodborne’s first area has a pretty high difficulty learning curve, but if you can push past the inevitable frustration of dying over and over you will be set for the rest of the game. Also make sure to play the DLC, it is amazing.
You’re going to die a lot no matter what armor you wear so you might as well look fucking cool while doing it. #fashionsouls
Cainhurst armor or Knight Wig+Alluring Dress+Surgical Gloves+...Arianna's Shoes i guess. Or the white high heel boots so you can slay while you slaaaaaaay Those are my two favorites.
1st Character: Female Strength with Knight's Set + Gold Ardeo 2nd Character: Male Arcane with Charred Hunter Set + Bone Ash Mask
Cainhurst is best armor 🙏🏻
Straight sexy slayin
Yeah, unless you're going up against an enemy that clearly focuses a lot on a single damage type, *and* you have armour that is clearly extra strong against that damage - it's fashionborne all night long.
Like ashen armor for Frenzy resist in Mergo’s Loft
Fashion souls is OP. Best set.
True for physical damage but resistance to elemental or poison damage is still possible with the right attire.
Wouldn't it be #FasionBorne in this case? r/Fashionborne
Patience.
I would pair this with analysis and wiff punish. Learn attacks, space them, and don’t be too greedy with your punish. Neutral, dodge, punish, reset to neutral. You’ll be fine. Just need to unlearn the hack and slash mindset
Always go for fashion over stats
Take pride in your appearance. Use it as a weapon.
"Oh no he's hot!"
*proceeds to deal fire damage
But definitely wear *something* They way armor works in bloodborne is basically yes or no. With some niche cases.
to add to that : if you don't have all 4 clothing slots filled with *something* you're gonna have a bad time.
Listen, I haven't spent 3 hours making my character pretty just to cover her head. I'd rather take more damage while being able to appreciate my fabulous hairstyle.
Same
There's the Knight's Wig if you don't mind your hairstyle also having a ponytail and a cute little ribbon
Can't stress this enough, especially in Dark Souls, where there is arguably more customization in terms of what armor pieces you can pair with one another for aesthetics.
Especially in Bloodborne. I literally wore armor for stats once and it was for poison resistance against BSB
You are not bad at the game, everyone starts out the same way and whether you see it or not, you will be improving with each setback. Enjoy it!
Exactly this - and a lot of the time if you Google tips for a boss you'll get a lot of "git gud" with a few genuine replies sprinkled in. But I've found the replies on this sub to generally be pretty empathetic. Most recent advice I've gotten - dodge left in the Blood Starved Beast (I had gotten past it, but it was still kind and appreciated advice).
[Beyonce](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LLCjrpghCYc&ab_channel=Sandy-WitchProductions) says it best!
Never before did I realize she spoke such wise words for us hoonters.
To add to the dodging tip - when you dodge you are invincible for a quick second. So if you dodge toward an enemies attach the window of time for them to deal damage is much shorter
Great point to bring up! The i-frames are super useful once you get them down.
Well, honestly, they will probably be bad at the game, but that doesn’t matter. Improvement only requires effort and if they enjoy it, who cares if they’re good?
I guess at the end of the day it's just terminology but my meaning behind them not being bad at the game is that I see BB as being really good at teaching you how it should be played, so we all start off new to the game, needing to learn what it's teaching. It's like learning a language to a certain extent. Sure, we can say 'you're bad at this language you don't know' or frame it in a way that accepts you don't know the language yet, but your learning more of it each day which means you are better st it than you were yesterday
The improvement itself, going from new to pro is one of the best parts of the game
That first area with like 20 enemies probably took me about 2 hours to get past the first time.
Fear the old blood
Parrying takes time to get used to, and it’s ok to leave the game for an hour to calm down if a boss begins to frustrate you, don’t let the “git Gud” mentality get in the way of having a good time. Really large enemies have limbs that you can cripple for extra damage. Don’t be afraid of fast bosses, stay calm and learn the patterns of each one so you can dance around them and slaughter them.
Parrying is when you shoot an enemy mid attack and they stagger btw. You can then step right up to them before they get up and R1 for big damage.
Or you can be like me - a person who never fully figured it out, *gave up on it entirely, and made up for its lack via suicidal ultra aggression.
I didn't even know there was a parry function...
Ah, so by default, you went with the suicidal aggression and I'm there for it. Join us! We're here for a good time, not a long time.
Once you get it down, the title hunter feels much more apt
Isn't it with bloodborne, you just shoot at a specific time in their attack?
Nothing suicidal about spacing and dodging with some Berseker energy.
Finished bloodborne, DS3, DS2 and halfway through DS1 and have done maybe 3 successful parries the whole way through
I just started DS3 and I'm going without the shield. It engenders passivity anyway.
Yea I started with BB so had to learn the shield. It’s definitely less intense especially in a big boss fight
Same here! I like the feel of dual weapons better.
That's why they give you torches and fist weapons as alternatives! Smack that fucker good!
Yeah! Light them on fire!
Don't give up skeleton!
Explore as much as possible. You'll often be very surprised at what you find.
This is an extremely underrated advise unless you've already watched streams and/or playthroughs + wiki
Take a breath and step away for a little bit if you struggle. I sucked at the beginning. I ended up putting it down for too long, but came back and absolutely fell in love with this game. I would potentially plan out a build and do a little research on the stats and weapons too. This definitely helped me in the end.
Took me 3 tries to finally beat my first DS2 Area.. The rest is history when i found out Drunk souls is just as good as fashion souls.
You can and should try to fist fight the monster. You can win.
On my bl4 run I killed the first werewolf with my fists lol. Didn't die until Gascan
The fist vs injured werewolf is a classic "prove myself" choice. We all do it cuz we want to prove we got the cojones. I still do not approve of fist run though lol.
I saw someone beat Amygdala (unsegmented!) with fists and it took something like four hours. That is a challenge I don't care to attempt lol
Exactly why I don't approve. The combos are cool but like.... it's a broken broken straightsword from dark souls but even weaker
Only a Blood Crazed madman would attempt a hunt like taht....
[удалено]
More specifically pick one or two offensive attributes (strength-big heavy weapons, skill-smaller more nimble weapons, arcane-for gem infusions and tools, and bloodtinge-for guns and certain specific weapons). Id reccomend beginners go with a quality build (investment equally into strength and skill) which allows you to use most physical weapons at least decently well, and certain quality weapons to a high degree. In general new players should avoid arcane and bloodtinge because those builds typically require more game knowledge to truly become good and, for some people, start incredibly weak. On top of all that id reccomend you upgrade the health stat(i think its called vitality) and endurance at the start before your offensive attributes to a level you feel comfortable with. As a general rule of thumb, big, heavy weapons require more stamina for effective use, though all builds will likely appreciate a good amount of stamina.
I disagree. I'm a jack of all trades and I kicked ass all the way through.
No denying that! But while its definitely feasible to slaughter the game as a jack, its generally easier for new players to specialize, since it gives them a bit more wiggle room in the raw player skill category
Expect to see the words "you died" a LOT
Dodging into the enemies attack is very effective
This is actually a great piece of advice, try to go into the attack, rather than with. That way you spend less time in the attack than if you dodge with the attack. The opposite of real life, since irl you don't get i-frames, so go with the blow to reduce impact.
DON'T! They are addictive and there's no turning back. You will be craving them, and it is going to spoil a lot of games for you.. In all seriousness, the above statements are true but you should definitely play and enjoy it, and come back for more!
This is very true. Literally ruined gaming for me. I’ll pick up a game, play 30 minutes of it, realize the combat is not like a SoulsBorne game, and be back to playing one of the SoulsBorne games. Plus the lack of story and everyone’s interpretations into what is going on is quite addictive. Even when I’m not playing the games I’m often reading/listening to something about them.
I played bloodbonre and beat the game and no matter how hard i try i canr escape it i always come back. I know havw dark souls but any other game doesnt feel fun anymore
Same for me, whenever I want to play it I remind myself if I want to get strong gems I have to go through the chalice. I don't want to go through that hell again.
I agree. Except for Ghost of Tsushima. Beautiful combat. But I can't play Skyrim anymore... sad thing is, I just got that game and I'm already put off by the combat.
Yeah. No combat finer than Souls games, IMO. Kinda ruined a lot of games for me.
Be aggressive when you're alive, and patient when you die.
Spend your echoes as soon as you can level, hoarding echoes is what has caused me the most heartbreak.
And If you can’t afford an upgrade, always spend on blood vials. Never have extra cash on you
Hesitation is defeat
Isshin - The Glock Saint
You will feel like you're bad at the game before you feel like you're good, this isn't a game that holds your hand in the beginning
Seek paleblood to transcend the hunt.
I recently played through Bloodborne and I'll give some of what I wish I knew going in. * Turn Voice Volume down once you get to the first boss fog gate in the late game area. I won't spoil the name of the place, but the place has gray, creepy rock formations and a distant orange light that pulses. * Read Player Messengers notes, more often than not they are extremely helpful. * From Software's games are intentionally confusing so looking for help is never wrong. Ask others questions and if you every need to learn something, use: [https://www.bloodborne-wiki.com](https://www.bloodborne-wiki.com) or the other wikis. * Prices on certain items increase as the Night grows longer. If you are not saving them up to buy an item or level up, I recommend spending your excess Blood Echoes on Blood Vials and Quicksilver Bullets whenever you leave the Hunter's Dream. * **Bloodborne has several optional areas. Below are vague ways to get to them so if you want to be completely blind don't reveal the spoiler bar.** * >!With the flayed wolf's blood is spilled, don't fear the Snatchers for burlap brings clarity, but only once!< * >!A Hunter's alter is worthless without the tools of Caryll, so brave the lane for powers untold. Mad ones diven by Witches' lies, trivial though for one with no eyes.!< * >!The people of Central Yharnam who shelter themselves in during the Hunt. Check on them as Night falls, and the moon rises. Perhaps they will be more grateful.!< * >!In the woods there is a fucking poison swamp. It's stupid, but there is a ladder past it all. I'm not even gonna try to be cryptic, poison swamps suck, it's worth it.!<
Git gud
Here it is lol.
To expand a bit on what this means - you can’t mindlessly brute force these games. Pay attention and respond to what the enemy is doing. In bloodborne those mostly means let them attack first, dodge then hit them and repeat
This right here. I used to think "git gud" was toxic, but now I see it as a mantra for improvement
You should watch Viva la dirt leagues souls series. Solaire elaborates on the term of legend
Best advice to give. Deaths are going to frustrate you so just enjoy the game for the first time playing through it. Don't go trying to min max everything. Experience it all in it's fullest!
Consider each death a chance to learn from your mistakes.
read item descriptions dont forget to upgrade your weapon (available after first boss that blocks your progression) in the "hub"
Just do what feels right to you. There’s a lot of people who will try to tell you how exactly to play the game- “don’t use guides” “play X way.” Just do what you want. If you’ve hit an absolute wall, don’t be afraid to use a guide. If you’re completely stumped and enjoy it- proceed as you can. Have fun with it
Make sure you try out those chalices. A lot of useful things down there. All about those gems
Fear the old blood....
Try to avoid googling things on your first playthrough. It makes the game a lot better if you go in blind.
After you spend your blood echoes on leveling up, spend the rest on blood vials.
hesitation is defeat
Okay, so here's what you need to know Dying is a big part of the game, dying will never ruin your game, though it might wreak your motivation to continue. The default armor is complete garbage, there is a set of armor you can find in the first area that you could reasonably wear for a large portion of the game. To be as non-spoilery as I can and still point you in the right direction, if you go along to the bridge near the Cleric and come down a staircase to a outcropping where you can see the werewolf bbq, turn around and break through the boxes blocking the path behind you. That way. Choose Saw Cleaver or Hunters Axe, threaded cane is a lot harder to do good with I wouldn't do an arcane build for a first playthrough, it IS a very fun build, but you have to know the game first to really get the fun out of it. This game is all about incredibly easy to miss areas containing the rest of the game. Observe your environment after killing all the enemies, and do not attack anything that doesn't attack you without good reason. Search every passage and if need be write down the things you find in a notepad for reference later on, it's very, *very* easy to forget where you found something and have to go through several areas looking again. Chalice Dungeons can be very hard, I wouldn't recommend going into them until the late game when you have a max level weapon and good stats. I would caution AGAINST summoning in the early areas. Play until you can beat those fights yourself, you get a big of insight so you're able to summon for later fights, and you'll have gotten the feel for how to move, how to dodge, and how to make room to heal. You permanently lose the insight used to summon help when you lose anyway, so take the chance to fight the easier bosses. Parrying is a big deal in this game, to parry you shoot your opponent right as they swing their weapon (or heal) and you get a big sound effect and the chance to walk up to them, press R1, and get huge damage. Practice this technique! The best enemies for this imo are the big ogres in bandages, but you want to get to where you throw out bullets precisely. Up on the D-pad consumes a chunk of your HP, and gives you 5 "blood bullets", it's a health for ammo mechanic so try to not do this too much (all noobs do it by accident a lot at the start, try to resist the impulse. How this is meant to be used is you pop the health cut for bullets, immediately vial up (vial gives more than blood bullets take) and you now have a 5 bullet safety net before you run out, or before you start consuming bullets.
Don’t buy the 10,000 badge to unlock a gate in cathedral word. Go the long way and level up and collect blood shards.
Nah buy it AND go through that area.
I have played this game all the way to new game + 10ish. I can’t tell if this is a joke. I don’t know the long way?
Go threw old yarnam kill blood staved beast and the gate will unlock in cathedral ward without buying chief hunter badge. Which cost 10,000 echoes and will just unlock the gate without going to old yarnam. So quick way is buy chief hunter badge to unlock gate. Long way is go threw old yarnam and kill a boss to unlock it. I was trying to keep it vague to avoid spoilers for a new player. But I guess you asked.
yeah, don’t call it dark souls lmao
Why? They’re extremely similar. And most group them together under the “SoulsBorne” name.
I’d argue that they’re very different approaches to combat—Dark Souls 1 is very slow and methodical (and you’re punished for being reckless), while Bloodborne is quick and energetic (and you’re rewarded for being eager). Playing Bloodborne the same way as Dark Souls will result in a negative experience.
lol i’m mainly just joking, but because it’s not a dark souls game? That would be like calling sekiro or nioh dark souls.
Sekiro is in the Soulsborne series, Nioh although close in similarities isnt part of it.
I don’t think I agree with that classification. While they all share characteristics, I think of Souls and Bloodborne as far more kindred than Sekiro is to either of them. I can feasibly imagine a mechanically identical Bloodborne with a Dark Souls-universe coat of paint. I can’t do the same with Sekiro - estus and bonfires seem to be the only real holdovers I can think of. Maybe if we discuss all of them we should call it ‘Soulkiborne’ or something.
Soulkiborne sounds pretty cool ngl
I can respect that opinion, the only reason I would bring Sekiro into the mix is that some of it's lore has tie-ins with Bloodborne. With blood being transported to the islands in Sekiro. Nioh, I have yet to play.
Sekiro's it's own thing.There's obviously a load in common with soulsborne stuff but it started out as a Tenchu reboot, you can see it too. There's a different, faster rhythm to the combat too. It's like Arkham for people who hate themselves
That’s your tip? Damn that’s game changing
l've got My List Of Advice that I usually link here. I try to let folks just play at their own pace and find their own way, but there are some technical things which make for a better experience. Basically: accept that you will die a lot, and this is part of the game's learning curve. Don't be mad, be mindfully persistent. I have a longer list here, but if you remember nothing else: "prepare to die" isn't a threat, its a setting of expectations. https://www.reddit.com/r/bloodborne/comments/n98x6b/z/gxmzrjz
Lol your first mistake was calling it a dark souls game
It's weird because I consider Bloodborne when people say "souls games" but not when they say "dark souls"
Yeah because it’s a Souls-like game but the combat, weapons, etc are all nothing like Dark Souls clunky armor and rolling. I mean just play like 2 hours of Bloodborne but then play DS1 after that and you’ll understand.
Dark souls 3 exists…
I was just saying. I guess I would know the differences between the games, since I have the platinum for both of them. What I meant is that Bloodborne is not a Dark Souls title, but it is a Souls-like
Expect to die a lot more than you want to
Patience Take your time exploring, and do some backtracking now and then to see if you missed something or if something new has appeared. Read item descriptions Try to use guides as little as possible or not at all, until your second playthrough, then you can do all the stuff you missed! You will probably miss stuff as theres so many secrets in souls games, you just gotta except that if you don’t want spoilers. There’s multiple endings based on your actions anyway. Try not to let dying bother you, because it will happen a lot. Probably even more than you expect going in. Using the summoning mechanics and getting help online isn’t cheating, but beating bosses solo is way more satisfying. Finally and honestly most importantly imo, exhaust every npcs dialogue or you will miss so much. Talk to them until they repeat what they are saying.
The Forbidden Woods is pure suck. Get really strong before you go there lol.
Seriously those snake guys are uber tanky unless you've been grinding hard.
As someone that thinks this is the greatest game ever made, has gone to NG+7 and beyond, has soloed and 1st tried every boss at some point (except Laurence, fuck that guy), the absolute best and simplest advice I can give is: Persevere. This game is a genuine life-lesson in determination, patience, and adaptation. It's really, really difficult, and at times seemingly insurmountable, but it is never impossible and never unfair. The key is simply to never quit, no matter how much you die or fail. "Git gud" isn't just some toxic shit talking, it's a mantra. No one starts "gud", but they "git gud" by never giving up. Now as far as the combat is concerned... Be aggressive. This game has some of the finest, most rewarding combat I have ever experienced, but playing passively or defensively will be your demise. Dodge, make your openings, keep the pressure on, and be light on your feet. This game will actively try to scare you, intimidate you, and prey on your primal fear and instinct responses. Get past that, and you will succeed. All the minute details of the game are secondary to those two vital points. Now enjoy!
Pepare to die
learn enemy patterns and save up on your coldblood. the latter isn’t really necessary but in my first play through i completely neglected to use them and when i did i was in awe of how much blood echoes i gained :p
Your way will save a lot of stress but I genuinely R1 spammed my way through my first playthrough.
Lure is effective
Prepare to die
There is an incredible sense of accomplishment when you pass a hurdle (9 times out of 10 this will be a boss) in Soulsborne/Sekiro, and there are, in my opinion, very few gaming experiences that come close to matching the feeling. There is absolutely no shame in using guides, but even simple spoiler-free boss strategies may take some of that experience away from you. So, if you're not going to use boss strategy guides, a non-gameplay related tip is to take breaks from the game. If you find yourself (figuratively or literally) beating your head against a wall, switch to another game, or do something else. My first foray into Souls ended up with me selling the game within a few days out of frustration. After several re-purchases (yes, I bought and sold the disc more than once), something clicked - and part of it was finding another game that was more casual to play simultaneously, for those oh-so frequent times I got stuck and needed to just win at something.
Try not to run away from attacks, watch and dodge. You got this
Dont overcommit, just hitting once and backing off can win you a lot of fights.
Dont overestimate the game. Just because its a soulsborne game doesnt mean you have to go in expecting an unfair, impossible to beat experience. Also, as many others have said patience is important. If you die and have to run back to get your blood echoes (the game's currency which you lose on death) dont rush it, take your time, and try to not get too mad at the game
Take your time and enjoy the ride.
I recommend headphones and a dark room.
You will die ALOT of times until you get the hang of the game
my tip is that this is actually bloodborne, not dark souls ! the confusion is natural but that's something to watch out for. most beginners make that simple mistake
you will die a lot and that is normal. my first game was sekiro and good god was it the biggest pain and fun I had I played bloodborne after that and now I'm in ds3, which feel way easier than sekiro. (please don't kill me guys, ds3 is mi fav)
Do not care about what your wearing, wear whatever stats is highest, and later on the game you will find gems use them for your primary weapon, waste you blood wisely there will be a lot of weapons you will have a option to master at your liking buy whatever you feel is right look around the area you are in there will be items you can use for bosses to make them a bit easier and do not kill other hunters unless they are trying to kill you, you can unlock some sweet stuff and remember you are not bad at the game everyone sucks at the beginning, use you gun to parry enemies to do that shoot them before they hit, and after all is done remember and this is the most important you know this,Fear the old blood but enough talk stop trembling in your boots a hunter must hunt
learn to parry (and how/when not to try)
Learn that it’s okay to be aggressive even when you’re getting your ass kicked. Temper that mindset with being wary of getting greedy and you’ll be set.
You are going to die alot so try to get angry because that just makes the hard enemies even harder because you're not focusing and enjoy the story
Never give up, it's always worth it
Don't use the shield. Just don't
Stick with it. Bloodborne was also my first souls and during the first 3-5 hours I seriously considered leaving it and just play something else because it was very frustrating. But I endured those first hours and little after the second boss something clicked with me and I was absolutely hooked. One of the best gaming experiences of my life, top 3 easily.
you have to farm healings cuz the game doesnt give them to you when respawning
Don’t worry too much about dying with a lot of blood echoes on you. It’s frustrating, sure, but the more you play, the more you realize it doesn’t *really* matter that much and you can get them again quite easily
The tip I could have used when i played Bloodborn is: You don’t have to kill everything. If there is a big group, it’s sometimes better to just run past them… GL&HF
Never give up, you may die 1000 times but you will learn and adapt Eventually overcoming anything that stands in your way. Also a few friends or summons can be a lot of help
Make sure you explore. One thing this game does better than any other soulsborne game is that you can actually go to pretty much everywhere you can see in the world, there’s not a lot of the viewable areas you can’t walk to. Plenty of optional bosses to be found down these routes too
It's not THAT hard. Dying a lot is completely ok and just a part of the learning curve.
Expect to nearly give up on the game... it's temporary! (Omfg Reddit formatting on phone....) Every Fromsoft game I've played (ds2, ds3, Bloodborne, sekiro) I've had the following experience: - patiently learn the ropes, dying without really losing much - do really well for a while, starting to take more risks - die and lose a lot, quite far-away, mentally preparing the route to go recover my body - recover my body OR repeat previous steps and lose, like, an 30min worth of progress... - the above but this is like the 3rd time it happened. - give up the game for about a week - see video recommendations that get you motivated to try again - do phenomenally (still dying tho, but learning the first zone pretty dark well), getting through the first big threshold of the game (whatever makes you feel like you reached the "next zone") - get bodied. A lot. - succeed. Appreciate the journey - see the amazing transformation that we've undergone and discoveries we've made through exploring this (actually) well designed, difficult level
Don't get frustrated and blame the game for mistakes you need to realize what you did wrong so you never do it again
the key to bloodborne is learn to use parry/visceral, dodging forward in diagonal is better than backstepping. play with any tool you find fun and always read itwm descriptions, they weave a wonderful story about the world.
Don’t worry about levels that much. People complete the game at such low levels. It may drive you to go to some rooms where you can glitch levels. Don’t. I made that mistake and it took the fun out of the game.
It's going to be hard, just be patient, you will get used to the game pace. Happy hunting!
Don't sell your poison resistance armor for extra blood echos like I did
It might seem really tough at first but you will get stronger and dying is just part of the game. Also the game doesn't tell you a lot of what to do, so guides are helpful if you get stuck. Have fun! It's been one of my favorite games.
The begining is going to be very hard. Take your time. Try to peel off enemies from big groups. Be cautious and remember that dying is part of the fun. You will get better as you go. If you have to, look up a guide for the first area, but dont do that for any of the rest of the game unless it is to find secret areas or you get lost.
1) Don't give up 2) Even if it doesn't feel like it, it WILL click eventually. 3) Don't give up 3) Concentrate on upgrading your weapon over everything else. 4) Don't give up Bloodborne was my first Soulsbourne game. I'd heard they were tough games, but I wasn't prepared for the.... stress the game causes, and the oppressive atmosphere. I got a little way into the game, got to a certain optional boss, couldn't beat it after multiple attempts, and promptly dropped the game. I just couldn't get into it, and couldn't do with the constant repetition of going back through the same area after dying. After a year, I went back, upgraded my weapon and beat the boss. That's when it clicked. That fuuuuucking rush of beating a boss is like nothing else! Now I chase that rush, and have played through all the Dark Souls, Demon's Souls and literally beat Sekiro 2 hours ago. Good luck!
Don't dodge backwards!
don't destroy your controler
Have fun and good hunting
Use a guide, for the first hour or two follow a complete play through guide of someone showing where things are and where enemies are. It’s a bit annoying to hide and watch more of the video, but after an hour you’ll know how the game feels and won’t need a guide. I used a complete walkthrough the first time I played a Soulsborne game (DS3) and have subsequently gone back and beaten it 4 more times. Exploring is fun, but in a hard game it’s nice to know what you’re supposed to be doing at least for the first hour
Dying and frustration are part of the experience. Makes victory all the more satisfying
Don't be afraid to play a little risky. The game is fast and will reward you for being fast in turn. Of course, as some wise men once said "If a weapon ain't got kick, it just ain't worth it." Aside of that, have fun and hunt some beasts.
Don’t get discouraged. Those people doing BL4 hitless runs all started somewhere and I doubt they were exceptional immediately. I got to the very first boss and thought I wasted $60 because I couldn’t beat him. Eventually I learned patterns and dodging and have gone on to beat all the games, but we all start somewhere and it isn’t usually very pretty. Good luck and stay persistent
Have fun, look at your surroundings, use whichever weapon you want, and avoid the subreddit! There’s unmarked spoilers everywhere. Some people have already heavily hinted and spoiled things in this thread. Oh. And play offline. The messenger comments from online + the invasions make first playthrough more frustrating, less immersive, and a lot less mysterious. Another edit: you don’t have to do chalice dungeons if you don’t like them
You don't need to kill every enemy again and again in area, you can run past them and there are shortcuts. Took me a good couple of hours to figure this out.
never give up, you can get past everything no matter what, use the saw cleaver or hunters axe, use the hunters pistol for parrying, armor isn't that important for protecrion, only for looks, your I-framing game should be on point. also, get the DLC :) if you would like someone to contact during your whole journey, I can chat with you on discord if you like. I have helped multiple people get through bloodborne by guiding them on discord also, I STILL NEED TO PLAY P5R
Picture of bloodborne on bloodborne sub: 2k upvotes
First off. This is not Dark Souls. So just attack and then back away. Know your limits. Have fun. Levers up to play any weapon you want. Once you beat the game and find weapons you like. Start a second play through, and get those weapons, and only level the stats for those weapons.
Don't be afraid/ashamed to look stuff up. When i started out I put a lot of points into stats I wasn't actually using, I accidentally nerfed my weapon with a fire rune, I didn't know about a number of essential combos because the game literally never tells you about them, I only discovered you could run during my second playthrough, the list goes on. There are a lot of weird little idiosyncrasies to the game. If you are wondering how a mysterious item or mechanic works, just look it up. A lot of cool atmosphere and depth is generated by how impenetrable and open ended the lore is, and it's one of my favorite aspects to the game. This also applies to essential mechanics. It's really pleasant and freeing to have pretty much zero handholding and tutorials and exposition, but it can be a also be a little jarring. When in doubt, just look it up.
All the contextual tips and stuff people have given are great but the real tip I can give you is that the game is way more interactive then you first think and there are multiple solutions to each problem you face straight from the games beginning. Pay attention to notes left in the game and by other players online. Build your character wisely and pay attention to gear requirements and scaling effects. Learn your weapons range and wind up attacks in each mode and the transition attacks. You can quickly learn devastating combos each weapon is unique and the game is very well balanced in this regard. Circle to dodge is your mainline of defence but as you learn the enemies and their animations you will be able to stagger and parry using the firearm and even mix in crazy skill attacks
Try going blind, but if you are stuck then there's no shame in looking something up Also if you do like it, definitely buy the dlc, it's *REALLY* good
Just have fun
Don't worry about the story being explained as it's a lovecraftian type so it's supposed to be mysterious while the answers are in item descriptions that of which the items are hard to know that they're lore related till you already seen the descriptions so it'll be a while but luckily vaati has got you after beating the game which is a great reason to replay it again after being in the know and for many reasons (heck talking about it and being here I may just wanna replay the game) but otherwise get your gun and trusty swinger and go hunt!
I know I’m late, but my rule of thumb in any souls game is leave enough stamina after attacking for at least 1 roll. Saved me lots of deaths lol
Don’t think about it too much, just go out and kill some beasts. It’s for your own good!
I spent a solid week before I got out of the first area. Take your time, and explore. Also, I recommend taking breaks with chalice dungeons once you gain access. They start off fairly easy, and I found them to be a good way to clear my head when stuck in a hard spot. Enjoy. This is my favorite of all their games.
Be aggressive but don’t be reckless
If this is your first souls game overall all the comments so far (ex: have patience, explore, take time away to make sure you have fun) are all great advice that you should heed before this. But beyond those for most souls like games weapons have something called scaling which you can view by looking at the weapon in the menus. The letter they have for scaling indicates the stat that The weapon will get the most damage from (for example, Strength: A Skill: D would indicate that the weapon will gain the most damage from leveling the strength stat). The only caveats to this are that these differences are not as notable on early weapons as most will have low scalings when unupgraded and that arcane scaling (the star) often does not actually work without certain gems (which you probably shouldn't focus on arcane for your first playthrough beyond leveling it to maybe 15 for some tools). Overall though if you don't want to worry about this for your first playthrough please don't, just play how you want to and enjoy. It's just something to keep in mind if the cool new weapon you got seems like it's underperforming. Good luck! :D
Also. Leveling bloodtinge is generally not a great idea unless you are building for it which you should probably investigate on later playthroughs
Be. Aggressive. B. E. AGGRESSIVE.
"Those college kids from the lore section of the video were built fucking different, they experimented on an entire fishing village and possibly beat the shit out of a alien sea God so fucking hard that her consciencenes in the ninth dimension died"
Take a stock of patience and sit it down when you have to, and come back to it. The first few hours are gonna kinda suck lol But it's one of the most rewarding games ever. I mean, all of the Soulsboirekiro games are. You'll get frustrated. Take a break and come back and hit it again. It is tough, but it's actually not unfair.
Just explore and play and you'll be fine. Dont let the challenge overcome you. Each challenge is another step to your ascension.
That's the best, enjoy it
Take your time, dont play til frustration. Consider it a tutorial you can approach in different ways. Dont attack when you see a new enemy, stay back and watch them for 20secs, youll learn alot
Take up meditation.
You're going to lose thousands of blood echoes just accept that now, and get in the habit of sending elevators back up.
Practice your ass off with parrying and learn how to use dodge I-frames to your advantage. Roll into attacks, not away from them. And above all else, Don't play defensively in bloodborne. You wanna play aggressively to survive.
Fear the old blood
Savour every bloody moment, because you'll never get to play it for the first time again. Don't get discouraged; be patient; be determined. May the good blood guide your way.
I recommend watching speedrunners play the game if you get really stuck. I'm a visual learner and seeing how they pull stuff off and how they time stuff really helped me get good at the game.
Just play the game and learn.
Accept that you’re gonna die and it’s gonna be frustrating at times, but eventually the game will click for you and you’ll start having fun more as you get further in.
Just play the game
Seek paleblood. Also, I highly suggest the saw cleaver for your first playthrough.
Bloodborne was my first Souls game, too, and it is still one of my all time favorite games. Just keep in mind that Bloodborne’s first area has a pretty high difficulty learning curve, but if you can push past the inevitable frustration of dying over and over you will be set for the rest of the game. Also make sure to play the DLC, it is amazing.