Hello Hunter! Welcome to the dark, twisted world that is Bloodborne! If you are a Soulsborne newbie or are playing the game blind this is a list of general tips to follow and things to practice on. No spoilers here (although the rest of the blog certainly is).
To preface, this game rewards aggressive gameplay as it is incredibly fast-paced. For Dark Souls veterans it will be a bit of a change to play style and the different mechanics definitely reflect it. To begin, I will start with the basic game mechanics that are good to be aware.
-Dodging: There is no armor or shield to protect you (it is called Fashionborne for a reason as much of the garb you acquire will only give you a slight advantage over a certain type of damage). This makes dodging one of the most important things to master in this game. The beginning of a dodge or roll grants you temporary invincibility (known as i-frames), but be wary as a mistimed dodge will cause the attack to do more damage than normal so learning the timings of attacks will save you. Note that when locked on you will side step and when unlocked you will roll. Also learn to dodge to the side or towards whatever is attacking you. It seems counter-intuitive but dodging back usually puts you right under the attack with the additional damage inflicted from messing up a dodge.
-Locking On: This mechanic can be detrimental or helpful depending on your situation. In the majority of situations the lock on can be incredibly helpful for a newbie. Be wary that the camera can go haywire and you may need to lock off. Also note that you can switch between the enemies that are locked by moving the right joystick. In order to throw items successfully, you need to be locked on. One more thing to note: if you can't lock on to something it is one of the few friendly things in the game.
-Blood Echoes: This is the in-game currency gained from killing enemies or using certain consumables. It can be spent on leveling or on consumables from the bath messengers. These can be lost by being killed, and you are given one chance to return to the place you died and regain your echoes. If you have fallen, it will be at the place you fell from in the form of a glowing pool of blood. If you were killed by an enemy, it can either be a pool of blood or it can be "picked up" by an enemy, in which case you have to kill that enemy in order to get them back, characterized by glowing purple eyes.
-Rally: When hit with an attack, the HP bar will register a portion of your HP turning orange. This orange line will disappear after a short period of time (the more damage the more time the orange bar is up). As long as that orange bar is up, if you attack something you will regain a portion of health (dependent on the type of weapon and attack you use). Keep in mind that transform attacks have the highest rally potential. Also note that if you kill an enemy, if you keep attacking them there are a few seconds after their death that you can regain HP.
-Visceral Attacks: This is similar to the parry mechanic in Dark Souls (for those who have played). There are two ways to complete a visceral attack: shooting an opponent as they windup for an attack, and backstabbing them with a fully charged R2. If the attack was successful, the enemy will fall to one knee and a sound cue will play. If you parried with your gun go up to the enemy's front and hit R1. If you backstabbed go up to their back and R1. Be wary that some enemies can't be parried and that if you are on an incline the R1 might not register as a visceral attack (typically you should be fine, but occasionally it might not work and be prepared to back away). During the visceral attack animation you are invincible.
-Consumables: You will pick up many things while playing Bloodborne. Be aware that everything you pick up is useful in some way and will help you then or later so do not sell them. All consumables can be equipped through the options button or the quick options button. The options quick select is preferable as the item is always displayed on the upper left screen and you can easily scroll through them during battle.
-Starting Class: I suggest starting out as one of the first two starting classes listed; either Milquetoast or Lone Survivor is a good place to start for a beginner. They both have high vitality and are good starting places for a Quality build (see below). If you are a beginner do not start as a Waste of Skin. It has the lowest attributes of all the classes and will make the beginning much, much harder.
-Blood Level: Activated after you gain your first Insight (from boss arenas, entering new areas, or certain consumables), you will be able to level up attributes in the Hunter's Dream. These dictate how much damage, vitality, and stamina you have at your disposal. The various attributes impact different things as follows: Vitality effects how much HP you have, Stamina effects how much you can attack, dodge, or run, Strength effects heavy attacks first and then general damage output, Skill also effects damage output and visceral attacks, Bloodtinge effects how much damage your gun does, and Arcane effects spells and elemental damage. For the beginner, the best points to invest in would just be vitality, stamina, strength, and skill (also known as a Quality build) as this will give you the most versatility in weapons coupled with substantial damage output. The other attributes are quite a bit more nuanced as well as making it more difficult for early stage gameplay.
-Starting Weapons: There are three options for a starting weapon which all have different strengths. In my opinion, the best all around starting weapon is the Saw Cleaver (Strength weapon). This weapon is the middle ground of the two other options. It is fairly quick but still has pretty good damage output. It does extra damage against beast type enemies and has decent crowd control transformed. The second weapon is a much heavier weapon, the Hunter's Ax (Strength weapon). It hits the hardest of the three and has the highest rally potential (easier to gain back health). It is also the slowest, but counter acts that with the high damage output and reach. The third weapon is the Threaded Cane (or Pimp Cane as it has affectionately been dubbed) which switches between a bladed cane and a whip and is the fastest of the starting weapons. While having low damage output and a short reach in the cane form the whip form has incredible reach and extra damage against beast type enemies. The Threaded Cane is probably the hardest weapon to start with and it is the only Skill weapon among the starting weapon.
-Weapons at Large: The other weapons you will find will have a few things that determine whether or not they are viable. In the weapons menu, scrolling over a weapon will reveal a bunch of stats. To consider viable weapons, the only ones you need to note are at the bottom where it says "Attribute Bonus" and "Attribute Requirement". Starting with Attribute Requirement, if the weapon is darkened out it means you do not yet have the requirements to wield the weapon. The Attribute Bonus determines how well the investment in certain attributes will effect damage output. S is the highest rank followed by A and going all the way down to E. If a weapon has an S scaling in strength, the more you invest in strength the more damage the weapon will do. The damage gained from investing in strength will also be much greater than a weapon that only has a C scaling. Depending on how you play, different weapons will not aid you at all and can be ignored, such as if you are only investing in strength it would not make sense to invest in the Threaded Cane.
-Firearms: There are two guns available for use as starting weapons: the Hunter's Blunderbuss and the Hunter's Pistol. In my opinion, the Hunter Blunderbuss is the superior choice for a beginner as it is great for crowd control and knocks back enemies a fair distance. The Hunter Pistol does more damage and has more range but only stops an enemy if you score a visceral attack.
-Fortifying Weapons: This is done in the workshop in the Hunter's Dream. It increases the attack of weapons and requires special materials and blood echoes. This is something you should continuously do to whatever weapon you plan on using. Do not waste these materials on every weapon you find as their is a finite amount, only on weapons you think you will use. Fortifying weapons also unlocks gem slots (three for weapons, just one if that for most firearms).
-Gems: These are used to increase damage or give special effects to your weapon like adding different types of damage. Some can even heal you. As you get more and more gems check back when you are in the Hunter's Dream to see if you can give your weapon more damage.
-Exploring: This is one of the most important aspects of the game. The amount of echoes, items, and just general knowledge you will get from exploring seriously outweighs the amount of trouble to go through different areas. There are clues all over the environment to help you get through the different areas. Use them. Also be wary of traps and ambushes as there are a lot of them.
-Enemies: Rushing enemies in a group is about the dumbest thing you can do. This game is punishing and will let you know it if you rush everything in sight. Learn to lure enemies away (kiting) or bottle neck them so you can deal with them one at a time. Pebbles are especially useful for this. Many enemies are also set up so that you can sneak up (sneaking = walking) for a backstab. Take advantage of this and visceral attack them from behind. Play smart.
-Summoning: After obtaining one Insight and the Summoning Bell, you will be able to summon fellow hunters or NPC's. Note that using this consumes Insight. These will not be as powerful as you if they are summoned into your world as they have diminished health. If you are summoned, be aware that you will only have a little health. Also note that summoning increases the boss' health bar by fifty percent, so using two summons will double the boss' health bar. After the boss is killed the summons in the area will disappear.
Thank you for reading! Happy Hunting!
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