So, I screwed up, I think: I beat Rom before I gave Alfred the invitation to Cainhurst Castle, and as such I don't think I can send him there and get the Executioner's Badge - while my Bloodtinge/Skill build is hardly going to be able to make use of Logarius' Wheel, I'm a little sad that this will prevent the acquisition of the silly cone hat, though I should double-check to ensure there's no chance I can continue this quest.
Currently the ranking "most deaths" enemy has got to be the Bloody Crow of Cainhurst, the NPC-fight in the Grand Cathedral at the end of Eileen the Crow's quest. After struggling a lot on that (and having to farm blood vials - something I really hope any Bloodborne II would drop as a mechanic) I continued on through the game a little farther and leveled up some and came back and took him down.
So far, in this playthrough, I've one-shot and two-shot most bosses. I believe this is the attempt count:
Cleric Beast: 3
Father Gascoigne: 1
Blood-Starved Beast: 1
Witch of Hemwick: 1
Vicar Amelia: 1
Martyr Logarius: 4 or 5
Amygdala: 1
Shadows of Yharnam: 1
Rom, the Vacuous Spider: 2
The One Reborn: 2
Micolash, Host of the Nightmare: 2
Celestial Emissary: 1
Ebrietas, Daughter of the Cosmos: 1
This last one I was surprised by. In previous playthroughs I'd come to Ebrietas after doing most of the DLC, and so I assumed I was far over-leveled, but while I had gotten well into the Nightmare of Mensis (I think possibly up to Mergo's Wet Nurse, though I haven't fought it yet) I hadn't done any of the DLC this time and had a pretty easy time of it. Granted, I did summon the Mensis allied Hunter, who kind of tanked her for me. Still, with these games I consider any assistance the game is willing to give you as perfectly reasonable - I'm not here to do some "dodge-free" run, and the game's plenty difficult even with help.
Logarius might not have been so difficult if I wasn't really pushing to get him down as soon as I could, given that my Bloodtinge build is pretty focused
Anyway, I haven't done a whole lot of farming this run, though when dealing with the Blood Crow I did do my old farming route of the stretch between Micolash's boss room and the top of Mergo's Loft (which I guess is a fitting place to get lots of XP given that it's really the last area of the game - prior to DLC, you'd just fight Mergo's Wet Nurse and then, depending on the ending you're going for, finish the game or fight Gehrman and then possibly the Moon Presence).
I'm not getting utterly annihilated by the Old Hunters at the start of the DLC the way I usually do if I come there earlier in a playthrough, but they're still a challenge. I'm expecting Ludwig will be pretty tough regardless, but perhaps the DLC in general will be easier with pretty much the whole main game under my belt.
I have not touched the Chalice Dungeons. I think on one of my earlier characters (maybe my first Arcane build? Which, incidentally, is probably my favorite playstyle in this game) did a lot of those, but they're just too repetitive for my tastes. If there's ever a Bloodborne II (and 8 years later, I'm skeptical) I think they could probably cut them and I wouldn't miss them.
But yeah, maybe it's Elden Ring's enormous size that is throwing me for a loop, but it does feel like Bloodborne is surprisingly quick. Consider, for example, that if you divide the game into three acts (Evening, Night, and Paleblood Sky) going from Vicar Amelia (who starts Act II) to Rom (who starts Act III) only requires a single boss between them. Yes, you can go off and do side areas like Cainhurst Castle and the Nightmare Frontier (and Hemwick if you're some kind of bizarre freak who fought Vicar Amelia before doing Hemwick) but basically you just need to clear through the Forbidden Woods and Byrgenwerth (the latter of which is hardly an "region" and more just a little circle around a building).
Anyway, still a fantastic game. I guess it just leaves me wanting more.
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