STACK NZ Magazine April 2015 Issue 61

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by VaatiVidya.
1. It's not just about avoiding hits, it's
about what you do after you get hit.
Bloodborne introduces a "Regain"
mechanic, where you have a brief
moment after taking damage to regain
health you may have lost. Once hit,
players are faced with a tough choice:
"Do I play aggressively to regain my
health and risk further damage, or
do I play it safe and be okay with the
health that I've lost?" In my experience,
the right answer is almost always to
go for it. Healing potions are limited,
so you'll need to be an aggressive
player to succeed in the long-term. If
you're scared, remember: enemies in
Bloodborne often stagger after being
hit, so if you have the chance to combo
together a counter attack, you should
take it.
2. The two main consumables in the
game are Quicksilver Bullets and
BloodVials.
You can carry 20 of each, and they are
dropped by enemies you kill as you
progress through a level. On your first
few runs through a stage, you'll find
that enemies drop more of these than
you can carry. However, be warned.
The more you attempt the same level,
the less enemies will drop. If you ever
find yourself with 20 Blood Vials or
Quicksilver Bullets, it's advisable to
stash a bunch of them in your storage in
the Hunter's Dream hub. This way, when
you encounter a difficult stretch, you can
fall back on your stash to help you get
through it.
3. Every enemy has a weakness!
Once you find it, exploit it. For example,
some enemies are vulnerable after a
certain attack, so bait it out and punish
it. Some have very predictable, slow
attacks.. so shoot them with L2 just
before they strike you to initiate a parry/
riposte. Some bosses even have weak
spots, like their head or a limb. It may
take you a lot of deaths to discover an
enemy's weakness, but aim to learn
something new every time you die.
4. In Bloodborne, you can summon help!
By ringing your "Bell of Dream
Summoning", you put out the call for
an anonymous player to join you in the
hunt. Bosses will become stronger once
you summon, but in most cases, two
players are better than one. With the
ability to divide an enemy's attention,
you should be able to use teamwork to
cover each other. Be warned though...
once help is summoned, invaders will
find it easier to intrude upon your world.
5. If you ever find yourself stuck, don't
be afraid to search for help!
The difficulty of the Souls games forces
many players online, so you will always
be able to find resources or players to
assist you. I've actually heard about
this awesome YouTube channel called
"VaatiVidya" who is designing a guide
series... ;)
There's nothing quite like the feeling of
overcoming hardship. Enjoy. It's a bloody
good time.
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