Bloodborne - The Nightly Hunt begins... (The Old Hunters DLC out Tuesday!)

The rag-doll effects are quite funny... dead beasts laying on the floor get knocked around in pretty silly ways when you walk by them .

Dumb question: Unless I'm missing something, you can't check out the controls in the game. I know that you get told some commands at the start of the game, but it seems that you can't look them up in the "System" screen? Seems odd; may have to go and Google them.

Edit: Ah, this appears to be a decent listing for controls reference.

Edit 2: Dang it. Was fighting a guy and another one turned up; I swung at both and killed them - but at the same time as one hit me, and we all died . Right, I guess this is real Soulsborne... time to try again.

Edit 3: Dang it again. At least I guess I'm getting used to the dying scenario.

You sooner you realise that dying just happens and doesn't matter at all, the better. I used to stress about it in the first dark souls and then one day I realised thst if I die....well so what? I'll just not die next time. Was a revelation.

Ad7 wrote:You sooner you realise that dying just happens and doesn't matter at all...

First rage. In the starting zone, beat up a few goons and then tackled the four-at-once crowd. Duffed 'em up and was creeping round near a bonfire where a group of guys were. I kep clear but a few stormed me and, despite taking out two or three, I died. Now gotta do all that again. God dang it .

Dodge dodge and dodge again!

If you look around the Hunter's Dream (I think it's bottom left, looking from the main building) there are notes around the ground. Those should tell you the controls and a few tips, iirc.

Okay... I *think* i did pretty well in Yharnam. From the Central Yharnam "checkpoint", I travelled round and opened the gated door just to the left of the checkpoint so I'm hoping that is gonna stay open now? I've gone back to Hunter's Dream and then returned to the checkpoint and the door was open - albeit all of the baddies seem to have returned.

I think I've made some inprovements to my fighting. Man, taking out all of those guys by the Yharnam street bonfire was tough. About a dozen of them and, one-by-one, I picked them off. Of course, they'll all be back there now lol!

Shortcuts stay open, so no worry on that part. Just enemies do respawn but you'll learn to deal with them quicker or slip by them, so it won't feel long each time you go through area you've been to before.

Seven wrote:Shortcuts stay open, so no worry on that part. Just enemies do respawn but you'll learn to deal with them quicker or slip by them, so it won't feel long each time you go through area you've been to before.

Thanks, Seven! That's great news... I found it to be really tough working through that area and, having opened up the shortcut, I am well pleased. Feels like I've got gud .

You should stream.

jawafour wrote:

Seven wrote:Shortcuts stay open, so no worry on that part. Just enemies do respawn but you'll learn to deal with them quicker or slip by them, so it won't feel long each time you go through area you've been to before.

Thanks, Seven! That's great news... I found it to be really tough working through that area and, having opened up the shortcut, I am well pleased. Feels like I've got gud .

How did you find the shortcut Jawa?

Jawa, you're taking your first steps in to a wider world

Mafro wrote:You should stream.

Yeah, TWA and Jazzem were saying about that... but I need to find out about setting up a Twitch account and how it all works. I am also real slow at playing games so I'm not sure that too many folk would want to check it out .

The Watching Artist wrote:How did you find the shortcut Jawa?

I was creeping around desperately trying to find a checkpoint - they seem to be *miles* apart - and I ended up opening a gate right by the Central Yharnam checkpoint. Earlier I had gone up some steps and seen a couple of huge wolf-dog things and I basically went off in another direction . I'm so glad I found the gate as I had snuck about and battled for (I think) about ninety minutes without dying!

I do see simiarities with Souls II from your play-through... the way that beasts sometimes appear outta nowhere and start slashing at you. I've been trying to replicate your "rolling away" move to avoid attacks and I was getting into it.

I have two of the starting weapons - a gun and an axe - and I find that the axe is way more useful. The gun doesn't seem to do much damage. I'm now wondering if they are degrading and need repairing or replacement? I'd better look at that the next time I play. I also need to look at how to use the things that I pick up - I wasted loads of molotov cocktails (I think that's the name?) by throwing them at walls rather than at an enemy!

Ad7 wrote:Jawa, you're taking your first steps in to a wider world

Feels good to have turned pro gamer* .

* I know I'm not.

EDIT: Just saw that PlayStation Blog EU has published some tips to help newcomers to the game.

By wolf-dog things do you mean the werewolves on the bridge? If you get by them and reach the opposite end you'll be able to unlock levelling up.
Weapons do degrade over time, you repair them in the workshop in Hunters Dream by spending echoes on them. Guns generally aren't meant for raw damage, their main use is to stagger enemies and open them up to "Visceral" attacks that do huge damage. Shoot an enemy at just the right moment before they attack and they'll drop to their knees, go up in front of them and press R1 and you'll plunge your hand right into them and do lots of big bloody damage.
(If you struggle with the werewolves, this is a great way to take them out - wait for them to do that big lunging move where they rear up on their hind legs first, shoot them before they lunge and you can get in a visceral to see them off quickly)
Also, just to make sure you don't miss anything, have you been talking to people in houses? If there's a lantern at the door or a light on in the window it means there's someone there to talk to. There's one NPC in a window right next to the Central Yharnam lamp who gives you some good stuff.

Well done on picking axe btw it's the weapon all the coolest people use

Riksilver wrote:By wolf-dog things do you mean the werewolves on the bridge? If you get by them and reach the opposite end you'll be able to unlock levelling up.... (If you struggle with the werewolves, this is a great way to take them out...)...

That sounds cool... thanks, I will have to try and take them on, then!

Riksilver wrote:...Weapons do degrade over time, you repair them in the workshop in Hunters Dream by spending echoes on them...

I'd better check out the workshop (but I think I need to repair the workbench? Will go and see).

Riksilver wrote:...Shoot an enemy at just the right moment before they attack and they'll drop to their knees, go up in front of them and press R1 and you'll plunge your hand right into them and do lots of big bloody damage...

I think I may have done this by accident once or twice but I will try and follow this strategy now.

Riksilver wrote:...Also, just to make sure you don't miss anything, have you been talking to people in houses? If there's a lantern at the door or a light on in the window it means there's someone there to talk to. There's one NPC in a window right next to the Central Yharnam lamp who gives you some good stuff...

I have knocked on a few doors but I've always been told to go away and received nothing but a cackling laugh! I don't recall getting any stuff by that Central Yharnam lamp so I will look there again. Thanks for your guidance, Riksilver .

Here's a video I did way back when I first figured out the parrying:


Remember it only works when you press r1, a heavy attack does nothing.

Ad7 wrote:Here's a video I did way back when I first figured out the parrying... ...Remember it only works when you press r1, a heavy attack does nothing.

Oh wow! Ta, Ad - that looks to be quite a move and I'll try it out.

I still find the rag-doll physics of dead enemies pretty funny. They move quite well but it's as if they suddenly lose 90% of their weight when they die... walk near them and the slightest touch can cause them to flail around. Who knew souls weighed so much? .

jawafour wrote:

Ad7 wrote:Here's a video I did way back when I first figured out the parrying... ...Remember it only works when you press r1, a heavy attack does nothing.

Oh wow! Ta, Ad - that looks to be quite a move and I'll try it out.

I still find the rag-doll physics of dead enemies pretty funny. They move quite well but it's as if they suddenly lose 90% of their weight when they die... walk near them and the slightest touch can cause them to flail around. Who knew souls weighed so much? .

It's clearly the very best thing about the Souls games. It doesn't happen in 2 though because its made of lumpy turds stuck together.

jawafour wrote:I was creeping around desperately trying to find a checkpoint - they seem to be *miles* apart - and I ended up opening a gate right by the Central Yharnam checkpoint. Earlier I had gone up some steps and seen a couple of huge wolf-dog things and I basically went off in another direction

Ok but how did you get to the gate? I wanna know. Because from what I've seen most people go past the werewolves to reach it.

jawafour wrote:Oh wow! Ta, Ad - that looks to be quite a move and I'll try it out.

You need to know that not all attacks can be parried like this and in order to do the visceral attack after you should only be pressing R1. That includes the stick. Another free tip from The Watching Scrub-
Try doing a charged heavy attack on the back of an enemy.
Also you know you can transform the weapons so they have two different movesets?

The Watching Artist wrote:Ok but how did you get to the gate? I wanna know. Because from what I've seen most people go past the werewolves to reach it...

Where the big closed gate is, just past the huge bonfire in the street, I battled the enemies (one by one) and then went up the steps on the left-hand side of the gate. I followed that right to the end (i.e. going past the lower-down gate and the big enemy behind it) where there was a door. I just got a cackling laugh from the door but, back to the left side of the door, some barrels and stuff are piled up. I smashed them and it opened up a break in the wall where you can fall down to a lower level. After a bit of creeping around I then ended up at the closed gate by the Central Yharnam checkpoint (lamp). I was so pleased as I'd survived for quite some time by that point .

The Watching Artist wrote:...You need to know that not all attacks can be parried like this and in order to do the visceral attack after you should only be pressing R1. That includes the stick. Another free tip from The Watching Scrub-
Try doing a charged heavy attack on the back of an enemy.
Also you know you can transform the weapons so they have two different movesets?

I will try out that parry/attack strategy and see how I get on! I have accidentally activated the transform functions (I think by using the dpad left/right buttons to change between weapons and hands) but I'll need to re-visit this to get a better understanding of how it works.

Jawa! You found the double shortcut!

The Watching Artist wrote:Jawa! You found the double shortcut!

"Double" shortcut? Is that 'cos there's the Central Yharnam lamp and the gate? I hope it's gonna be a nice time-saver as I spent *ages* killing off all the baddies in that big bonfire area. It was super-tough... and they'll all be back again .

I had a funny moment with that big beastie that is bashing against the huge locked doors near the big bonfire. I saw him when I went past on the high walkway and I didn't want to try and tackle him. At the end of the walkway I went down the steps (by that fountain-type thing) and duffed up a few big crows. I ddn't venture near the big baddie and instead went up the steps and started tackling the group of guys/dogs up there. Anyway, during that battle the big beast must have been disturbed and came charging up to where I was. I started to brick myself but kept cool and he wasn't that tough to defeat .

After that I edged up the stairs and saw the two huge werewolves... quickly turned back and eventually stumbled across that short-cut. It was quite an adventure .