Bloodborne thread (formerly Project Beast)

[Stark]

Ah! It finally clicked what you meant another headstone in the Hunters Dream. Gotcha. (There's headstones everywhere so I wasn't sure what you meant at first.)

[MrPopo]

So after finishing Pillars I picked back up Bloodborne, explored a ton of the level and I think looted everything, unlocked the shortcut, and then ran into the first boss. And by that I mean the first required boss, not the optional boss most people run into first. I was massively thrown by the fact there was no fog gate; is this something I should continue to expect?

[Kidpanda]

So after finishing Pillars I picked back up Bloodborne, explored a ton of the level and I think looted everything, unlocked the shortcut, and then ran into the first boss. And by that I mean the first required boss, not the optional boss most people run into first. I was massively thrown by the fact there was no fog gate; is this something I should continue to expect?

Yes, I have stumbled across so many bosses because of this. Kinda scary thinking everything is gravy and BAM! you're are stuck

[MrEco]

So after finishing Pillars I picked back up Bloodborne, explored a ton of the level and I think looted everything, unlocked the shortcut, and then ran into the first boss. And by that I mean the first required boss, not the optional boss most people run into first. I was massively thrown by the fact there was no fog gate; is this something I should continue to expect?

Yes, this is the case with every single boss in the game. Or at least so far as I've gotten and I only have two or three left to go before finishing the game. If you're worried about it I would try to keep an eye out for anything that looks like a boss arena. Big open spaces often have a big nasty monster jumping down on top of you.


Also, on the topic of bosses, I recently heard someone claim that the game has exactly thirty bosses, and actually only seven of them are mandatory to beat the game. Does anyone know if this is true?

[MrPopo]

So after finishing Pillars I picked back up Bloodborne, explored a ton of the level and I think looted everything, unlocked the shortcut, and then ran into the first boss. And by that I mean the first required boss, not the optional boss most people run into first. I was massively thrown by the fact there was no fog gate; is this something I should continue to expect?

Yes, this is the case with every single boss in the game. Or at least so far as I've gotten and I only have two or three left to go before finishing the game. If you're worried about it I would try to keep an eye out for anything that looks like a boss arena. Big open spaces often have a big nasty monster jumping down on top of you.


Also, on the topic of bosses, I recently heard someone claim that the game has exactly thirty bosses, and actually only seven of them are mandatory to beat the game. Does anyone know if this is true?

According to the wiki this is true. Most of the optional bosses are in that big optional dungeon area thing.

[Xeogred]

There's definitely not 30 bosses, at least in the story. Probably more like 15, but yes, only 7 are mandatory apparently. You can skip a lot and miss a lot... definitely explore a bit. One of my friends missed three areas and so he missed like 5 bosses haha.

There are unique chalice dungeon bosses though, so there's probably like 30 some total. The chalice dungeons are definitely way harder than the main game after awhile. I'm near the end of my NG+ run and am on the last chalice dungeon for the trophy. Probably the easiest Souls game to platinum by far.

[Stark]

So after finishing Pillars I picked back up Bloodborne, explored a ton of the level and I think looted everything, unlocked the shortcut, and then ran into the first boss. And by that I mean the first required boss, not the optional boss most people run into first. I was massively thrown by the fact there was no fog gate; is this something I should continue to expect?

1.) There is a fog gate if you end up dying and coming back, but nothing other than environmental clues to show you that it's a boss.
2.) For me leveling up didn't unlock until meeting the (optional) first boss. Does it unlock on the second boss if you go straight there?

[MrPopo]

So after finishing Pillars I picked back up Bloodborne, explored a ton of the level and I think looted everything, unlocked the shortcut, and then ran into the first boss. And by that I mean the first required boss, not the optional boss most people run into first. I was massively thrown by the fact there was no fog gate; is this something I should continue to expect?

1.) There is a fog gate if you end up dying and coming back, but nothing other than environmental clues to show you that it's a boss.
2.) For me leveling up didn't unlock until meeting the (optional) first boss. Does it unlock on the second boss if you go straight there?

I think it's actually based on having insight, which you can do with an item in the sewers. I think the steps I took was I got the item, went back to the Hunter's Dream, used it, then noticed the church was open so I could do weapon customization. Then I went out, came back because I wanted to do some shopping after unlocking the shortcut, and at that point I could interact with the doll. This was before I had seen the second boss. My guess is that you need to have the one insight BEFORE returning to the Hunter's Dream.

[Stark]

I think it's actually based on having insight, which you can do with an item in the sewers. I think the steps I took was I got the item, went back to the Hunter's Dream, used it, then noticed the church was open so I could do weapon customization. Then I went out, came back because I wanted to do some shopping after unlocking the shortcut, and at that point I could interact with the doll. This was before I had seen the second boss. My guess is that you need to have the one insight BEFORE returning to the Hunter's Dream.

Ok, that could make sense. I beat the first boss on my first try and you get insight for beating a boss ...

[MrPopo]

Have I mentioned I REALLY miss my shield? This game makes me feel the worst of any of the Souls games because when I'm progressing through I feel like there's no level of caution that can save me from being murderlated by something and resetting my progress. With the shields I felt like I was in control the entire time and the vast majority of deaths were because I got cocky and didn't play cautiously.