Yeah, I've been kind of shotgun blasting with posts about Bloodborne, but I have been making pretty steady progress over the last few days, so oh well.
However, after a kind of surprising one-shot of the Shadows of Yharnam, I fought the... seven? additional enemies to get to Rom, the Vacuous Spider.
Much like Amelia, Rom's kind of a barrier boss, and defeating her will move the world over to its new state. And given that she's important, I'm not exactly concerned about the fact that I'm not totally facerolling her.
The thing that's weird about Rom though is that she's... it's?... really easy for about 50% of her health. She drops her little spiderling adds (oddly, she doesn't really look like a spider at all) and kind of chills there while you work on them. These guys can hit somewhat hard, but it is a boss fight after all (though the Hunter NPC in Byrgenwerth is kind of a boss of his/her own, though I managed to cheese that fight by spamming Auger of Ebriertas.)
However, once face two starts and the comets start raining down, that's when things get tricky. It's really hard to see where they're coming from and when they're going to come, so I often get her to phase two (her first teleportation) and then die pretty promptly.
The thing that's throwing me is that her own health goes down pretty quick. I've tried the "kill all the adds" strategy and the "just focus her" strategy, and both work ok for that first phase, but those comets really take me down.
Still, I suspect this is one of those fights where once you figure out how to dodge that one really devastating attack, it becomes a cakewalk.
EDIT: Still working on it. I've burned some Twin Bloodstone Shards to upgrade my Tonitrus and get the lightning damage on Rom.
I definitely think this boss is going to take some iterative learning, much like Amelia. One thing I suspect could help is making sure to hold off on unloading all my stamina into attacking her in case she starts to teleport, which is when I want to get a lot of hits in (I think I actually managed to interrupt her teleport at one point by doing a ton of damage, though she just did it again when she recovered.)
I summoned Henrik for an attempt, and while he certainly made clearing the little spiders quicker, somehow a second group of spiders spawned nearby after she teleported - I don't know if this is a counter to seeking help or just a glitch, but I'm going to hold off on using up my Insight.
I think it's really just going to be a question of finding a way to clear the adds in phases two and three without getting destroyed by comets and then knowing when to back off for her big AoE burst, and I should be able to get her down. But I suspect it will take several attempts to get the rhythm right.
Thursday, June 2, 2016
Legion: What's With All This Void Magic?
World of Warcraft: Chronicle shed a lot of light on the motivations and creation of the Burning Legion. Sargeras had a very clear reason for wanting to destroy everything in the universe, and it ties into the origins of the Warcraft's other Big Bads, the Old Gods.
Moving forward, there will be spoilers for Chronicle, but at this point, we kind of have to just accept the information here as part of the background of the game. If you haven't read Chronicle yet, get on it, because we can't hide this all behind spoiler tags anymore.
So:
Sargeras was hunting demons, as he was wont to do, and found that a group of Nathrezim had begun to serve some other dark force unrelated to the Fel corruption of the Twisting Nether. The Dreadlords had started working with the Old Gods - a group of Old Gods who we wouldn't be familiar with, because Sargeras' reaction was to destroy the planet they had infested, even killing the nascent World-Soul that would have, at some point, become a Titan.
Sargeras wants to see the entire universe burned away because he thinks annihilation would be better than corruption by the Void. He's interested in Azeroth in particular because of the World Soul within our planet - one that is reputedly more powerful than any Titan who ever lived (in fact, the reason our Elemental Lords are such jerks is that this World Soul has been siphoning away the harmonizing "Spirit" fifth element to nourish itself.)
Ok, so Sargeras is taking a scorched-earth approach to containing the Void. Not really a good plan, but one that has some logic behind it. Kind of like some crazy guy during the Cold War who would rather see the world reduced to nuclear ashes than allow Communism to take over.
But the Legion uses the Void.
Voidwalkers have been part of the demonic wheelhouse since vanilla - they're the second demon you learn to summon as a Warlock. But we learned recently that Voidwalkers are not, technically, demons. They're void creatures, more related to the Old Gods than your Imp.
Now, to be fair, Warlocks are all about getting powerful things that are also dangerous, so it wouldn't be too much of a stretch for them to seek out something that isn't a demon as long as its dangerous and useful.
But it doesn't stop at player characters. We've seen the Legion very explicitly merging Void and Fel magic, and recently, so it's clearly not some kind of retcon. Xhul'horac in Hellfire Citadel is basically a Fel-infused Void Lord.
Given that the Legion's mission is all about destroying the universe to prevent the Void from claiming it, how the Fel did they start recruiting void creatures into their ranks?
Consider this: Sargeras has been out of commission for a few decades.
Sure, for a being as ancient as Sargeras, that's not a lot of time, but who has been in charge? In Legion quests, three demons are described as leading the invasion - Kil'jaeden, Balnazzar, and Gul'dan But note that one of those is Balnazzar, a dreadlord/nathrezim.
I wonder if Sargeras didn't really give good enough instructions, or perhaps some of his lieutenants are not holding to his vision quite so strongly. It is possible, of course, that over the eons killing everything, Sargeras lost track of his original purpose and started using the Void to do his deeds.
But I also wonder if there's some intra-Legion intrigue going on. How crazy would it be if the end of the expansion has us restoring Sargeras to leadership within the Burning Legion, rather than fighting him ourselves?
Anyway, something to keep an eye on as the expansion moves forward.
Moving forward, there will be spoilers for Chronicle, but at this point, we kind of have to just accept the information here as part of the background of the game. If you haven't read Chronicle yet, get on it, because we can't hide this all behind spoiler tags anymore.
So:
Sargeras was hunting demons, as he was wont to do, and found that a group of Nathrezim had begun to serve some other dark force unrelated to the Fel corruption of the Twisting Nether. The Dreadlords had started working with the Old Gods - a group of Old Gods who we wouldn't be familiar with, because Sargeras' reaction was to destroy the planet they had infested, even killing the nascent World-Soul that would have, at some point, become a Titan.
Sargeras wants to see the entire universe burned away because he thinks annihilation would be better than corruption by the Void. He's interested in Azeroth in particular because of the World Soul within our planet - one that is reputedly more powerful than any Titan who ever lived (in fact, the reason our Elemental Lords are such jerks is that this World Soul has been siphoning away the harmonizing "Spirit" fifth element to nourish itself.)
Ok, so Sargeras is taking a scorched-earth approach to containing the Void. Not really a good plan, but one that has some logic behind it. Kind of like some crazy guy during the Cold War who would rather see the world reduced to nuclear ashes than allow Communism to take over.
But the Legion uses the Void.
Voidwalkers have been part of the demonic wheelhouse since vanilla - they're the second demon you learn to summon as a Warlock. But we learned recently that Voidwalkers are not, technically, demons. They're void creatures, more related to the Old Gods than your Imp.
Now, to be fair, Warlocks are all about getting powerful things that are also dangerous, so it wouldn't be too much of a stretch for them to seek out something that isn't a demon as long as its dangerous and useful.
But it doesn't stop at player characters. We've seen the Legion very explicitly merging Void and Fel magic, and recently, so it's clearly not some kind of retcon. Xhul'horac in Hellfire Citadel is basically a Fel-infused Void Lord.
Given that the Legion's mission is all about destroying the universe to prevent the Void from claiming it, how the Fel did they start recruiting void creatures into their ranks?
Consider this: Sargeras has been out of commission for a few decades.
Sure, for a being as ancient as Sargeras, that's not a lot of time, but who has been in charge? In Legion quests, three demons are described as leading the invasion - Kil'jaeden, Balnazzar, and Gul'dan But note that one of those is Balnazzar, a dreadlord/nathrezim.
I wonder if Sargeras didn't really give good enough instructions, or perhaps some of his lieutenants are not holding to his vision quite so strongly. It is possible, of course, that over the eons killing everything, Sargeras lost track of his original purpose and started using the Void to do his deeds.
But I also wonder if there's some intra-Legion intrigue going on. How crazy would it be if the end of the expansion has us restoring Sargeras to leadership within the Burning Legion, rather than fighting him ourselves?
Anyway, something to keep an eye on as the expansion moves forward.
Shadows of Yharnam
Well, make that two bosses I've now one-shot. Though in this case, it felt slightly cheap. I summoned Henrik (hey, didn't Eileen and I kill you?) and went in. Unsurprisingly, having another guy to draw attacks makes this far more even of a fight (2 on 3 rather than 3 on 1.)
These guys don't have a terribly unusual moveset - there's a sword-guy, a guy who shoots triple homing fireballs, and a guy who does a flamethrower thing. And eventually they have snakes coming out of their faces, which is a motif for the area.
I'm certain there's stuff in the Forbidden Woods I haven't found (like the Graveguard head piece) but I did manage to get the back entrance to Iosefka's Clinic and picked up my Cainhurst Summons and some runes and the last of the real Iosefka's Blood. I'm not fighting fake Iosefka herself, as I want to get one of the Umbilical Cords from her (I know there are four that you can get, with one coming from the Chalice Dungeons, but I'm not sure how much of those I want to do.)
Anyway, I'm off to Byrgenwerth, and I managed to get hit by a brain-sucking dude twice, which really sucks but on the other hand might help with enemies that like to Frenzy you. Getting into Miskatonic University's sister school felt like a pretty good stopping point, so that's where I'm at.
Anyway, I'm thinking I'll get Rom and then either actually do Nightmare Frontier or head on up to Castle Cainhurst and actually get my Logarius Wheel.
I'm enjoying myself enough (and really enjoying that I haven't hit a brick wall like Ornstein and Smough... yet) that I might go ahead and grab the DLC. I'm given to understand it's very difficult, so I might clear through much of the main game first (though I really want that Whirligig Saw - maybe I'll do a bit of it.)
I've gotten a couple of Hunter Tools, and I've got my Arcane skill up high enough to use Augur of Ebrietas. I figure that's just one of those things I'll need to work into my moveset.
It's also funny that I've mostly just used the standard Yharnam Hunter set for most of my playthrough. Gascoigne's set was useful on BSB, and Henrik's Bolt resistance was good for Paarl, but the box-art set has a pretty well-balanced set of stats, so I can't complain.
I've got to say, I really hope that FromSoft does more Bloodborne games. I know Dark Souls is the flagship of the series, and it's true that Souls has more build-diversity than you get with Bloodborne, but I really like the look and vibe of Bloodborne, with every weapon at least somewhat ridiculous and a whole ton of tricorne hats.
There's references to a place called Loran - that may have collapsed into what is now the Nightmare Frontier - and I think the game could stand to expand its lore in sequels. Yharnam is definitely collapsing (unless the whole game is a dream in which the protagonist is purging him or herself of fears and anxieties and that the healing process is actually not as horrific as the game makes it out to be,) but there's no reason to think that there aren't other cities in the world that haven't gotten their hands on some Eldritch Truth.
Anyway, I think I'm now 7/15 bosses down (not counting Chalice Dungeons and DLC.) It's a hell of a ride.
These guys don't have a terribly unusual moveset - there's a sword-guy, a guy who shoots triple homing fireballs, and a guy who does a flamethrower thing. And eventually they have snakes coming out of their faces, which is a motif for the area.
I'm certain there's stuff in the Forbidden Woods I haven't found (like the Graveguard head piece) but I did manage to get the back entrance to Iosefka's Clinic and picked up my Cainhurst Summons and some runes and the last of the real Iosefka's Blood. I'm not fighting fake Iosefka herself, as I want to get one of the Umbilical Cords from her (I know there are four that you can get, with one coming from the Chalice Dungeons, but I'm not sure how much of those I want to do.)
Anyway, I'm off to Byrgenwerth, and I managed to get hit by a brain-sucking dude twice, which really sucks but on the other hand might help with enemies that like to Frenzy you. Getting into Miskatonic University's sister school felt like a pretty good stopping point, so that's where I'm at.
Anyway, I'm thinking I'll get Rom and then either actually do Nightmare Frontier or head on up to Castle Cainhurst and actually get my Logarius Wheel.
I'm enjoying myself enough (and really enjoying that I haven't hit a brick wall like Ornstein and Smough... yet) that I might go ahead and grab the DLC. I'm given to understand it's very difficult, so I might clear through much of the main game first (though I really want that Whirligig Saw - maybe I'll do a bit of it.)
I've gotten a couple of Hunter Tools, and I've got my Arcane skill up high enough to use Augur of Ebrietas. I figure that's just one of those things I'll need to work into my moveset.
It's also funny that I've mostly just used the standard Yharnam Hunter set for most of my playthrough. Gascoigne's set was useful on BSB, and Henrik's Bolt resistance was good for Paarl, but the box-art set has a pretty well-balanced set of stats, so I can't complain.
I've got to say, I really hope that FromSoft does more Bloodborne games. I know Dark Souls is the flagship of the series, and it's true that Souls has more build-diversity than you get with Bloodborne, but I really like the look and vibe of Bloodborne, with every weapon at least somewhat ridiculous and a whole ton of tricorne hats.
There's references to a place called Loran - that may have collapsed into what is now the Nightmare Frontier - and I think the game could stand to expand its lore in sequels. Yharnam is definitely collapsing (unless the whole game is a dream in which the protagonist is purging him or herself of fears and anxieties and that the healing process is actually not as horrific as the game makes it out to be,) but there's no reason to think that there aren't other cities in the world that haven't gotten their hands on some Eldritch Truth.
Anyway, I think I'm now 7/15 bosses down (not counting Chalice Dungeons and DLC.) It's a hell of a ride.
Paarl Down and On to the Forbidden Woods
I've started to try out the Chalice Dungeons - I've got the one I could create using the Chalice taken off of BSB and I've cleared two of the bosses. It's not terribly hard - there are some annoying enemies, like Bell Ringers who summon endless hard-hitting (but low-health) guys and some Brick-Troll-like guys who roll up to you to attack.
The two bosses I've fought in the dungeon were not terribly complex - the Undead Giant is just a big guy who seems very weak to thrusting attacks (thankfully something that an untransformed Kirkhammer has access to via R2.) The other boss was a trio, but honestly I must outlevel this place because it just took about three charged R2s apiece to take them down. I figure I'll finish the Chalice Dungeon eventually, but I can see why these weren't the most popular feature of the game - it all feels a bit generic, and I'm sure it will continue to as I run more of them.
I took another attempt at Darkbeast Paarl, summoning the NPC helper for the fight just to see who I'd get (looks like some Yar'hagul guy.) But ironically, despite not even really expecting to put in much effort, I got Paarl down. It's tricky, keeping un-targeted so that you can aim for his legs instead of his head. If you damage his legs (I think) enough, his sparks go out, which makes phase two in particular easier.
I made a quick sojourn toward the hidden Nightmare area, but I didn't have the Tonsil Stone yet, so while I beat two NPC hunters that were quite tough, I basically came to a dead end.
However, I next headed to the Forbidden Woods, and I have a Tonsil Stone in hand, not to mention a +6 Kirkhammer. The big snake-ball enemies are not as difficult as I expected them to be, so I'm making decent progress. I've unlocked two Windmill-adjacent shortcuts, which I think means I must be very close to the Shadows of Yharnam fight.
I'm wondering if I should do that next or backtrack and do the Nightmare Frontier area. I also know that I have to go to Iosefka's Clinic at some point (and that there's a hidden passage, as of yet unfound, in the Woods that takes you there,) but I think I should save that for after I beat Rom, as I want to get the Umbilical Cord off her.
Either I'm really getting into the groove of the game, or I've leveled up too much, or the game has been getting generous, but it's definitely not feeling as hard - which is fine. I really like Dark Souls and Bloodborne, but I could stand to lower their difficulties by maybe 15-20%. Actually, Bloodborne is, so far, feeling pretty much what I'm comfortable with, difficulty-wise - enough to keep you on your toes, but not nearly as brick-wall-like. The earliest part of the game, literally before opening the gate near the Central Yharnam lantern, has felt the most difficult. I'm expecting some huge difficulty spike at some point, but I won't complain if it doesn't come.
Maybe that's what the DLC is for.
The two bosses I've fought in the dungeon were not terribly complex - the Undead Giant is just a big guy who seems very weak to thrusting attacks (thankfully something that an untransformed Kirkhammer has access to via R2.) The other boss was a trio, but honestly I must outlevel this place because it just took about three charged R2s apiece to take them down. I figure I'll finish the Chalice Dungeon eventually, but I can see why these weren't the most popular feature of the game - it all feels a bit generic, and I'm sure it will continue to as I run more of them.
I took another attempt at Darkbeast Paarl, summoning the NPC helper for the fight just to see who I'd get (looks like some Yar'hagul guy.) But ironically, despite not even really expecting to put in much effort, I got Paarl down. It's tricky, keeping un-targeted so that you can aim for his legs instead of his head. If you damage his legs (I think) enough, his sparks go out, which makes phase two in particular easier.
I made a quick sojourn toward the hidden Nightmare area, but I didn't have the Tonsil Stone yet, so while I beat two NPC hunters that were quite tough, I basically came to a dead end.
However, I next headed to the Forbidden Woods, and I have a Tonsil Stone in hand, not to mention a +6 Kirkhammer. The big snake-ball enemies are not as difficult as I expected them to be, so I'm making decent progress. I've unlocked two Windmill-adjacent shortcuts, which I think means I must be very close to the Shadows of Yharnam fight.
I'm wondering if I should do that next or backtrack and do the Nightmare Frontier area. I also know that I have to go to Iosefka's Clinic at some point (and that there's a hidden passage, as of yet unfound, in the Woods that takes you there,) but I think I should save that for after I beat Rom, as I want to get the Umbilical Cord off her.
Either I'm really getting into the groove of the game, or I've leveled up too much, or the game has been getting generous, but it's definitely not feeling as hard - which is fine. I really like Dark Souls and Bloodborne, but I could stand to lower their difficulties by maybe 15-20%. Actually, Bloodborne is, so far, feeling pretty much what I'm comfortable with, difficulty-wise - enough to keep you on your toes, but not nearly as brick-wall-like. The earliest part of the game, literally before opening the gate near the Central Yharnam lantern, has felt the most difficult. I'm expecting some huge difficulty spike at some point, but I won't complain if it doesn't come.
Maybe that's what the DLC is for.
Wednesday, June 1, 2016
Amelia Down, Also Hemwick
Amelia was a challenge. She really pushed me to learn her abilities, even upgrade an alternate weapon and really test my ability to hold back or figure out how to dodge her various attacks. It was a classic Soulsborne-style boss fight, where by the time you beat her, you really feel like you've figured something out and there's a massive rush of adrenaline (which makes the fact that each boss spawns a lantern a really, really good idea - one that I know Dark Souls III brought into the flagship series.)
My strategy became to keep relatively close, backing off to heal and waiting for her to do her big swipe attacks, dodging to the side the attack was coming from. I'd then get a charged R2 on her legs with the Saw Cleaver, often making her yelp in pain (a kind of soft-stun that doesn't allow visceral attacks.) The last attempt I made didn't even require any anti-healing.
My strategy became to keep relatively close, backing off to heal and waiting for her to do her big swipe attacks, dodging to the side the attack was coming from. I'd then get a charged R2 on her legs with the Saw Cleaver, often making her yelp in pain (a kind of soft-stun that doesn't allow visceral attacks.) The last attempt I made didn't even require any anti-healing.
Having dispatched the massive antlered-werewolf-lady in charge of the Healing Church, I turned my attention to Hemwick.
Now I admittedly grinded a couple of levels (mainly while farming Blood Vials in Central Yharnam, so not a ton of levels) in the fight against Amelia. But holy crap did Hemwick seem like a step down in difficulty. The ladies there do hit pretty darn hard, but a quick thrust-slash combo with the Kirkhammer (in sword form) pretty much takes them out. There are also some not-terribly-subtle shortcuts to open in the area. In fact, the part that felt the most dangerous was actually still in Cathedral Ward, before getting to the Hemwick Charnel Lane lantern.
The Witch of Hemwick is the only boss in the game so far (and probably altogether) that I one-shot. Admittedly, the Witch is probably more of a puzzle boss, and having looked things up ahead of time (with Soulsborne, I have no shame looking for help,) I knew her deal.
Basically, she summons some slow-moving beast-men that you can really just run past. You simply have to search the four corners of the room, the area under the broken bridge and the top of the broken bridge, and she's very easy to get a backstab-visceral attack against. She does have a cleaver which she'll combo-attack with, but I didn't experience any other direct threats from her.
At about halfway, she'll summon a clone, and you can tell which one you're damaging by whether the boss meter is going down. Once one Witch is down, the other will begin resurrecting her, but you'll have a pretty big window, and as long as the living witch is at about a quarter of her health (she was for me,) you can probably make it. Just avoid the summoned beast-men and hunt down the Witch and you're good.
So from here I think I can technically go to Byrgenwerth (I think technically I could have post Amelia,) but I figure this is probably a good time to go try to take down Darkbeast Paarl and explore more of the Hypogean Gaol area.
Vicar Amelia, You Beast (Also, hi Paarl!)
Well, another day and another boss, though I have not yet gotten her down. Vicar Amelia is the first really "important person" boss, and I know she's a big transition one, as she sets the time of day from evening to night.
The most frustrating thing is that my last attempt, which forced me to set down the controller and take a break, I had her to within 10% of defeat. After many attempts in which I was basically getting two or three hits in, I really thought I'd figured out the boss. I think I may have gotten greedy though. Unlike Cleric Beast or Blood-Starved Beast, you can't just stay right in Amelia's face, as she's got a ton of close-range attacks that are very hard to dodge.
So far, my most effective strategy has been to stay at mid-range, baiting some of her long-duration attacks (there's one ground-pound she does that has a shockwave effect and must be dodged even at range) and then closing in to slash at her legs.
I did also manage to stun her at one point, and got a nice nasty visceral attack on her face.
I knew she could heal, but maybe she sensed I had my Numbing Mist on me, because she never chose to do that.
Between attempts on Amelia, I allowed a Snatcher to kidnap me and freed Arianna and took my first sort of accidental attempt at Darkbeast Paarl. Having Henrik's gear allowed me to survive a bit longer against him than I expected, but I think Amelia's really the next boss for me to down.
Still, knowing that seeing Paarl would (for some reason) allow me to have a friendly interaction with Djura, I went and talked to him and then Bold Hunter's Mark'd out of there, basically figuring I never have to go to Old Yharnam again (except to kill my new buddy and steal his clothes.)
I think that post-Amelia I'll be in the right area to start the DLC content if I choose to get it. I think taking down Paarl next wouldn't be too crazy, though I might instead go do Hemwick (I don't know about the level that leads to the boss, but I'm given to understand that the Witch is very easy. I might even spend all my Insight at the shop to make sure there are very few adds.)
The most frustrating thing is that my last attempt, which forced me to set down the controller and take a break, I had her to within 10% of defeat. After many attempts in which I was basically getting two or three hits in, I really thought I'd figured out the boss. I think I may have gotten greedy though. Unlike Cleric Beast or Blood-Starved Beast, you can't just stay right in Amelia's face, as she's got a ton of close-range attacks that are very hard to dodge.
So far, my most effective strategy has been to stay at mid-range, baiting some of her long-duration attacks (there's one ground-pound she does that has a shockwave effect and must be dodged even at range) and then closing in to slash at her legs.
I did also manage to stun her at one point, and got a nice nasty visceral attack on her face.
I knew she could heal, but maybe she sensed I had my Numbing Mist on me, because she never chose to do that.
Between attempts on Amelia, I allowed a Snatcher to kidnap me and freed Arianna and took my first sort of accidental attempt at Darkbeast Paarl. Having Henrik's gear allowed me to survive a bit longer against him than I expected, but I think Amelia's really the next boss for me to down.
Still, knowing that seeing Paarl would (for some reason) allow me to have a friendly interaction with Djura, I went and talked to him and then Bold Hunter's Mark'd out of there, basically figuring I never have to go to Old Yharnam again (except to kill my new buddy and steal his clothes.)
I think that post-Amelia I'll be in the right area to start the DLC content if I choose to get it. I think taking down Paarl next wouldn't be too crazy, though I might instead go do Hemwick (I don't know about the level that leads to the boss, but I'm given to understand that the Witch is very easy. I might even spend all my Insight at the shop to make sure there are very few adds.)
Tuesday, May 31, 2016
That Poor Starving Beast, Get Him Some Blood!
Three bosses down and so far no real brick wall.
I've been trying to be thorough as I can, making sure to clear out a much of Old Yharnam as I can. I think I've done so, and pretty early on managed to get a very convenient shortcut that made it pretty easy to get back to Blood Starved Beast without too much of a headache. I spent two or three Insight on summoning Alfred to help with the boss and also upgraded my Flamesprayer up to the same level as my Kirkhammer (+3,) and while the Flamesprayer strategy did do tons of damage, I found myself at a loss for bullets (it really seems pretty feast-or-famine with those things.)
So instead I used some Fire Paper, and boy howdy did that work well. Once using the paper, I managed to down him in two attempts (not total - with the Fire Paper.) I was still poisoned and out of antidote when I killed him, so I lit the lantern and warped to the dream just as I was about to die.
I believe that BSB opens up the first of the Chalice Dungeons, and I figure I should probably check those out soon, but I found myself drawn to a new area that had just opened up: The Church Workshop. While very familiar enemy types, the guys here hit quite hard. I also think I've missed a few of the things found there, but ultimately I got a badge and opened up a shortcut to Vicar Amelia that should make the many attempts I'm sure to make go smoother.
It's a little jarring to so quickly get to the next boss, but then again, I had cleared much of Cathedral Ward before heading to Old Yharnam, so I guess it's not so premature.
Amelia seems similar to the other beast bosses I've faced - encouraging you to get close and dodge around her. But she has some close-quarters moves and one particularly devastating AoE attack that has killed me on the two attempts I've made against her.
Even with the shortcut, getting to her is a bit of a challenge, as there's a Church Giant and a few of the big minister-types who you have to dodge quite carefully to avoid. Still, on attempt one I managed to get Amelia down to about two thirds of her health, and while the second phase is often where these bosses get their obnoxious mechanics, I'm feeling confident that she shouldn't take too many tries.
There's also a summon for a new NPC to assist, though my Madman's Knowledge is a little on the low side and I only have about three liquid Insight. And Alfred wasn't all that helpful in taking down BSB, so...
Right now my only complaint about the game is that I wish Blood Vials would drop more frequently. Or they could give you ten free ones when you die. Still, I love the artistic design and the flow of combat is quite good.
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