I got quite a bit done, even with the small amount of time I put in this weekend. Spoiler time! First up, I cleared out the Hypogean Gaol area completely, along with Darkbeast Paarl (I recommend wearing Henryk's complete set to help with the Bolt damage and to never lock target on him). Shadows and Rom are both downed; one try to down Shadows (though, I did try to assist three times previous to my attempt; I recommend wearing the Charred Hunter set to help with the fire damage and whittle all three down to low before killing one off, as they get harder for each one that dies) and two tries for Rom (I just ran up and pounded on him with my Tonitrus after circling a bit to draw out the smaller spiders). With those all done, I made my way to Cainhurst Castle (optional area with a boss). I have it completely cleared of items, leaving me with just Logarius to deal with.
Also, Rod, you definitely missed out on a shortcut in Forbidden Woods. When you get lower in the area, you will come to an area with shallow water. This is your marker for finding the shortcut. You will know you're approaching the shortcut when you start winding up a bath and find a Snake-Head Henchman that wants to ambush you from behind a tree.
Once you've unlocked the new shortcut, you can take the shortcut from the right of the Forbidden Woods lamp, run down the ramp outside the building, head left and kill the Snake-Head Henchman, and just forward over the bridge into the building and to the lever for the second shortcut. This will let you out near the ambush Snake-Head Henchman, but behind him, so payback.
You can make it from the lamp to the Shadows with killing two Snake-Head Henchmen and two Giant Pigs (and maybe three Swamp Crawlers, depending on how cautious you are; I like to take them out before the second pig).
Thanks! That's where I went wrong, I was taking the long way around. I unlocked that lever but didn't know it was to the left of the first shortcut. You da man!
Also I didn't get to play at all this weekend. Was at a bbq out of town and played a bunch of actual sports, something I haven't done in so long I don't want to admit . I am paying for it today!
You're welcome. I didn't know whether you had made it past that point or not, but figured I'd put it up there for everyone as that area is not the easiest to navigate.
Yeah, I did beat the Shadows. My recommendation is to wear the Charred Hunter gear to boost your Fire protection as much as possible. Also, whittle all three down to as low as possible before you kill them because each time you kill one, the one(s) that are left alive gain longer melee reach/new abilities each time.
Once you have that boss downed, the next area, Byrgenwerth, is extremely small, but has some nasty enemies (one leech warlock, about 8 'The Fly' type enemies that cause Frenzy if they hop on your head, and one tree/centipede-ish monster that is easy to down once you get to its sides (watch out for those projectiles, though!)), along with a hunter mini-boss before you can attempt Rom, the Vascuous Spider. Rom was fairly easy for me, but I've read of many folks that have done 12 or more attempts before you down him/it.
Made it past the Shadows last night. The tricky thing about that fight was keeping an eye on everyone, then the ridiculous range after the transformation. I also kept getting stuck on the tombstones while rolling and would get the old fire breath/sword to the face combination, which was an instant killer and made me want to hurl my DS4 across the room.
Looking forward to Byrgenwerth. If Rom gives me too much trouble I'll just bribe Quark to rein him in
For Shadows, I waylaid the fire-focused guy dead first, then the hybrid (part fire/part melee), and had the melee one last. I really wish I had tried the whittle them all down approach, but I one-shotted on my first attempt against them (I had tried three times previously as a cooperator, though).
Here's to hoping Rom is easy for you. The hunter was harder than Rom for me. Once you have the shortcut unlocked, there is maaaaybe one enemy to kill (I usually did, but you could just run past him) before you can get right back to him/it.
Welp, finally defeated Martyr Logarius. Why is it so hard for people that are called in to cooperate to use a blood vial(s)?
Some tips for that fight: •He can be interrupted with your gun, but it's a very small window. Additionally, I don't know why it does it, but sometimes the fight will bug and every single one of your shots will go over his head, no matter what you do or use for a left hand weapon. •Tonitrus or Bolt Paper is great for this fight as he's weak to Bolt (like most non-beast enemies). •The sword he plants in the ground that causes swords to shoot out from the air at you can be destroyed, whether you melee it or just simply shoot it from range. (This saves you from quite a bit of hassle with damage and rolling away from the projectiles). •If you can get behind him, you can charged R2 him to set him up for a Visceral Attack.
After this fight is done, pick up the Crown of Illusions, put it on, and a small cutscene will happen. Go into the new area, touch the lamp, pick up the item on the table to the right of the Queen, and then talk with Queen Analise to join the Vileblood covenant (the fourth rune is saved for the Oaths, which you get from covenants). After this, you can go talk to Alfred, who is located on the way to the Forbidden Woods from Cathedral Ward, and give him the Unopened Summons (the item that was on the table). Now, go back to the Queen's Chambers Lamp (I think that's the name of the lamp) to see what happened. I recommend going up to the throne to get an item. Once you have done that, warp to the Old Yharnam lamp and go back to Cathedral Ward. Fight a few enemies on the route that should be pushovers now and go where you first met Alfred to unlock the Executioner's Oath rune.
The Oath runes simply affect multiplayer, as their passive abilities are laughably miniscule (the Vileblood rune only works under 12.5% health and won't heal above that; the Executioner rune adds about 7 more hp per vial; and the Hunter of Hunters rune shortens the delay before you start regening stamina, which is fairly small to begin with). Vilebloods can't summon Executioners (and vice versa), while Hunter of Hunters will sometimes have you summon in a hostile cooperator (or be summoned into a world with a hostile host). I recommend not using the runes by not equipping them.
I spent about 2-3 days finding Eilieen the Crow because Henryk had the lamp at the Tomb of Oedon blocked. I opened all the gates, backtracked to the original location and could not find her. I really needed her help killing Henryk. After about the 100th try, I finally won because he got pinned between gate and wall above the tomb. After I finally beat him, I saw a body on the ground and it was Eilieen the Crow. She's been laying there dead and I don't even know when or how it happened. I did get her hunter badge and can buy her knives and gear.
When I was doing that fight, I did not realize that Eileen was friendly, thinking that she would attack me after killing Henryk. She died a few swings before I finished Henryk off.
Spent most of the day playing. Got past the hunter after a few tries, same with Rom. Nothing too incredibly difficult. The Unseen Village is a different story. Bell ringers making the mobs tougher and respawning them, cool ass giant whatever the hell they ares climbing the buildings and fucking with you, then a fight with 3 (!) Hunters. It took me three hours and many tries to finally beat those hunters (I realize I could have ran past but I feel like I ought to kill everything at least once). Then there's still more level with fucked up skeleton plants!
I thought the game was hard before but the difficulty spiked pretty good here, whew! Finally everything was dead and I had like 50,000 blood echoes, so I left and leveled up. I found one boss (Darkbeast Paarl) and saw what had to be the other boss entrance so I'm headed there as soon as I take a breather. That said I got DBP down to half health with like three blood vials so I'm not really worried about that fight.
Beat the Reborn One and Darkbeast Paarl. Was I supposed to do DBP earlier? Because he was really really easy, like I was way over leveled. My first attempt I didn't really try because I stumbled in there by accident and only had a couple blood vials, but if I had given it an honest go I'm sure I could have beat him even with that. After I beat the Reborn One I went back and killed him first try.
Very nice work, Rod! You're neck and neck with me as I didn't get much time this weekend to miss around with the game (I got sidetracked with Homeworld Remastered a little ).
As for Darkbeast Paarl, it is one of those fights that is either you're underleveled or overleveled, depending on when you tackle it. You can fight him earlier when you're abducted by the Abductors (the dudes with the large sacks that enrage after taking a little damage) or exactly where you're at now. He's not an altogether pushover when you're overleveled because of his speed, but having some levels under your belt definitely helps.
The Reborn One is almost as easy as the Witches were, though, very effed-up looking. I tackled him this weekend and did it on the second try (got stuck between a leg and his body, which let the mages up above roast me).
Now it's onto Nightmare Frontier, Nightmare of Menesis, the Choir, or some Chalice Dungeons ... still trying to decide which to do. I started on the Central Pthernuma Dungeon in order to get the Keeper of the Old Lords hat (it looks like a witch's hat ), so that will probably be my next one.
Oh yeah, about those hunters, Rod... if you agro them and run back to the Yahargul Chapel, only one will follow you all the way up there. A little late now, but hey, NG+ or next character it will help.
I went through the college, lit the 2 Nightmare zone lamps you mentioned then adventured some in the Nightmare of Menesis. It's another tough level, although it doesn't feel as tough to me as the Unseen village. I gave up after the Hunter there baaaarely eeked out a victory over me with like 1 hp left (I zigged when I should have zagged). I was kind of burned out at that point lol.
That place seems like it will piss me off because as soon as you start up the hill to the lamp and look at the castle (since it's got a heartbeat sound going and it flares up like a disco ball), you start having your frenzy meter fill up. I think I will save that area for last.
If you're looking to do PvP, apparently there is an item in Nightmare Frontier that makes you look like a Messenger. Dun dun duuuuuun!
That place seems like it will piss me off because as soon as you start up the hill to the lamp and look at the castle (since it's got a heartbeat sound going and it flares up like a disco ball), you start having your frenzy meter fill up. I think I will save that area for last.
You can take cover behind the rock formations to avoid some of that and fight the big scary enemies there, but yeah it's annoying. Also those enemies are super aggravating. They're quick, they hit hard, and when you kill them two worms pop out of their corpse and keep on attacking. I killed the whole area a couple of times, I plan on just sprinting through from here on out.
I haven't done any PVP yet. I did finish the first chalice dungeon and killed the Keeper of the Old Lords but didn't get a hat
Well, there's the Watch Dog of the Old Lords, which is the fiery dog, and then there's the Keeper of the Old Lords, which looks like a hunter with a witch's hat that attacks with a rapier and does fire attacks. If you defeated the hunter, you can purchase the hat from the Insight Messengers in the Hunter's Dream.
I fought the one enemy as you come out of the tunnel in Menesis and was like, "For fack's sake! They have the worms pop out when they die?! Bullsh*t!" >:|
Ah yeah I did the Watch Dog, not the Keeper. I have seen people with that hat, I want it too. Think I'll take a break from story progression and do some Chalice dungeons.
There are 3 of those enemies right in a row there, then 3 or 4 bigger but slower enemies that don't present much of a challenge. The 1st room once you get inside is easy if you do it right (don't want to spoil too much for you) and then there's the afore-mentioned Hunter which I almost beat on the first try and definitely will when I go back. So really after Unseen Village it's kind of a cakewalk!
Unseen was not too bad for me once I found where the Bell Callers were at. Once they're downed (and you have the shortcuts), it's almost like running through Central Yharnam... except with the Old Ones all hovering around wanting to molest you...
All kidding aside, the armor can be quite helpful, I did have to find a set with Frenzy Resistance on it. I never spent my insight except to summon my friends. The more insight you have some creatures get more difficult, stuff gets really weird, and the less frenzy resist you have, so...frenzy was a paint. Spoiler'd this, don't want people to know why insight does.
That's one thing that is kind of cool but also frustrating...none of the armor sets are OMG better than another. There is usually one good stat that is better than the other armors so you dress for what is appropriate, or for looks.
I noticed that too about the insight. I wish there was another way to spend it as I like to play through by myself. I think I have summoned help on 2 boss fight but that's it. I have a metric ton of madman's knowledge and my insight is in the mid 30s.
That's one thing that is kind of cool but also frustrating...none of the armor sets are OMG better than another. There is usually one good stat that is better than the other armors so you dress for what is appropriate, or for looks.
I noticed that too about the insight. I wish there was another way to spend it as I like to play through by myself. I think I have summoned help on 2 boss fight but that's it. I have a metric ton of madman's knowledge and my insight is in the mid 30s.
About the only one that really stands out stats-wise for me is the Executioner's Garb chestpiece (however, it has terrible Frenzy resistance), though, it is not very cool looking. Many of the cosmetic pieces are pretty terrible stats-wise (all of the Knight's Garb, Arianna's Shoes , Bone Ash armor). I tend to favor high melee resistance, so I use the Yharnam hunter's hat, Executioner's Garb chestpiece, and the Yahar'gul Black hands and legs.
If you want to get rid of Insight, you can always purchase a bunch of items from the Insight Messengers in Hunter's Dream. Whether it's cosmetic sets or bolt papers/blood shards, you can drop insight pretty quickly there. Even quicker is to use the Beckoning Bell, followed quickly by the Small Resonant Bell (to override the Beckoning Bell), and then just go back and forth between them until you're at the desired amount of Insight, as each time you use the Beckoning Bell, it uses one insight.
As for spoiler-ing about Insight, it is not revealing info story-wise, so we should be good talking about its effects. Bosses will have new abilities/combos if your Insight is 15 or above. However, in order to see the Insight Messengers, you need at least 10 Insight. This means if you want the most bang for your buck Insight-wise, you will want to keep it in the 10-14 range.
Questionable Content: the duplication trick was patch with 1.02 on April 1st, however, there is a certain easy way to get nigh infinite Blood Echoes. Do a search for "Bloodborne Forbidden Woods infinite blood echoes glitch" and you'll find plenty of videos detailing it better and quicker than I can type it. This glitch can be done as early as the beginning of the game as you can glitch jump to the back of Iosefka's Clinic. However, many videos won't warn you that the trick can't be if you've triggered the trap in Forbidden Woods where the villager drops the gate and releases all of the dogs, as the dogs will no longer be there in the cages when you trigger the trap (I know it doesn't work because I tried it on my main (who had triggered the trap (damn my curiosity!!!)) to test and it failed).
I messed around with it on a new character, let the trick work overnight, and woke up with enough Blood Echoes to level it to 194 (50 Vit, 40 End, 50 Str, 50 Skill, 35 Bloodtinge, and 25 Arcane; hard caps for all but Bloodtinge and Arcane).
Is it the same vendor you got the tophat preorder bonus? Honestly I didn't even know there were insight messengers! D'oh! I tend to repair/upgrade, buy blood vials, level up and leave as quickly as possible. Maybe I need to look around the dream more
EDIT: And holy cow that's quite an exploit. I heard about the dupe glitch but not that. I probably won't do it on my main guy. He's level 50 now I think (haven't played at all since Sunday and I'm old so my memory may be fuzzy lol)
Well after finishing the game, I've got somewhere around 85 insight. After I found out the effects it has, I decided to just stick with not using it as I had spent more then half the game with over 40.
Starting a new game and keeping it around 10 instead to see the difference.
. I am paying for it today!
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