Not Gud: An Unskilled Guide to Bloodborne

This is not a walkthrough for those with skill, for those that can parry and dodge with precision. This is for the gamers like me, who assume that they are not good enough to play Bloodborne and Dark Souls. This is for the unskilled such as myself that can find a way.

Setting Yourself Up

A good player will choose a weapon they can wield in one hand, and a good gun for the other. They will tell you which weapon is fastest or which weapon you should use for each boss.

I used the Hunter Axe for my entire playthrough. Nothing daring, nothing flashy. It hits really hard. I held it in two hands because I never tried to parry, so that it did more damage. I could just level up strength, so that the hits were even harder.

It also has serious reach. With minimal skill, you can press R1 and R2 as most creatures come towards you, and you will hit them before they’ve got close enough to finish (and sometimes even wind up) their attacks. For bosses, you can step in, hit and step back. You only hit once, but you hit them hard, with less room for error.

In my second playthrough, I used Ludwig’s Holy Blade. Other guides will show you how to get it, but it can be bought very early on. Just like the axe, it hits very hard. Even harder in fact, and because you get more from Strength and Skill from this one, you will quickly outpace the Hunter Axe.

Again, no skill require. I used the two handed version and swung for the fences. I pretty much needed to focus on the dodge button and R1 for most fights. It’s not pretty, it’s not flashy, but it works even with a lack of skill.

As for equipment, you probably know this already, but it barely makes a difference. I liked the Tomb Prospector Set for the look (and the stats to a lesser extent). I took to wearing the Cainhurst Helmet, because it’s cool.

Just make sure you keep swapping in gems that increase the axe/holy blades physical damage. When you eventually beat the Witch of Hemwick, throw the runes on that up your health and healing quota.

That’s it. Simple. You’re not a nimble, battle-dancing hunter. You’re a thug with a big stick.

Levelling Up

If you’re thinking about spending time farming, hold off on that. I only ‘farmed’ when failed attempts had left me low on healing. For the most part, do what I would call ‘Soft Farming’.

If you find yourself holding enough Blood Echoes to level up, go back. Retrace your steps, level up and return. Don’t go out of your way to kill everything, just keep making progress until you have enough, then about face. In the early stages, this means you get some practice bopping low level minions, and eventually you will get to a shortcut or lantern having lost nothing. You won’t be massively over-levelled, but you’ll be sturdy.

I recommend ‘Violent Past’ as a starting point, but any with strength and vitality will do. Try to avoid too many wasted points in Bloodtinge and Arcane.

From the beginning, up your Strength. Keep doing it until at least 20. Then, a few levels in Vitality. Then a few in stamina, From there, just keep upping all three but mainly strength. If your pick up the Holy Blade, you can bring Skill up to match strength, with will come in handy if you accidently/deliberately cause a boss to take a knee for a visceral.

On being aggressive

After hiding behind a shield for so long, the Bloodborne pro-aggression stance is unnerving. In my first playthrough I barely regained health by attacking after taking damage, preferring to dodge and heal. What I will say for aggression, early on, is that even big bosses will sometimes wobble if you hit them hard enough, so it’s worth trying to go on the offensive. Most bosses are also easy to avoid by dodging forwards rather than to the back or to the side, which doesn’t feel intuitive but works.

A lot of bosses have a weak point, usually the head. However, a lot of limbs ‘pop’ if you hit them enough. A burst of blood, and the monster staggers, allowing for you to continue hitting for a few more seconds. So if you can’t parry or put a lot of pressure on, just try to target a similar area each time.

Conversely, there are a few bosses where patience is needed, at least for one phase. In your first few tries, let the boss show off their thing, and work out how they telegraph, and which attacks leave them the most winded.

Abundance of Optional

A lot of this game does not need to be done to beat it. The Chalice Dungeons, and the DLC are there for those that want the challenge. There are numerous branches that don’t need to be explored (and branches that lead to another branch). You don’t actually need to do the last two bosses, unless you want endings 2 & 3.

The mandatory bosses are:

• Father Gascoigne (after getting through Central Yarhnam)
• Vicar Amelia (up through the Cathedral Ward)
• Shadows of Yharnam (deep down the forbidden woods)
• Rom, the Vacuous Spider (in Byrgenwerth after the Shadows)
• The One Reborn (in Yahar’gul)
• Micolash (Nightmare of Mensis)
• Mergo’s Wet Nurse (Also Nightmare of Mensis)

After that, just agree to what Gehrman is planning and you’re done. You’re missing a lot of cool encounters, items and upgrades, but if you just want to say you finished the game, there are six areas with seven bosses to explore.

Thank You for Reading