Bloodborne isn’t the best game to play when in a bad mood, I discovered. I don’t remember why I was in a sour mood, but my disposition did not sit well with exploring the Fishing Hamlet. I explored the area right around the well early in the hamlet, and then I delved into the well itself to take on the notoriously difficult shark giant thing. I hoped to get the Rakuyo and try it out, but holy crap. People aren’t kidding about these shark dudes. I don’t think I ever got more than a couple hits in before it killed me, and in at least half the attempts the stinking thing killed me before I did anything at all. I can’t even imagine what it will be like when the second one drops in for the fun. I gave up on that and, in no mood to deal with all the enemies and explore, I basically just rushed through the rest of the area. I stumbled on the second lamp, continued speeding through the second area until I got to the shortcut back to the lamp, and then I went straight to Orphan of Kos.
He sure is something.
I knew going in that Orphan of Kos is widely considered that hardest boss in the game, and I discovered that that was an accurate view. What I enjoy about his difficulty, though, is that it’s annoyingly fair. There’s basically no margin for error. He’s astonishingly fast, his attacks hit super hard, he’s incredibly mobile, and he has so much health. He’s also reactive in a way I’ve not seen with any other boss. He always has the perfect counter to your position, and if you try to spam attacks, you’ll pay for it dearly. Learning and reading his tells is a must. There’s no tanking hits in this fight, at least for someone of my low skill level. And I cannot stress enough just how much health he has. I have a +10 Beasthunter Saif, 20 Strength, and 38 Skill. I do decent damage to basically everything. But it this fight is quite the endurance test for me. I’ve attempted this fight roughly 10 times, maybe a little more. I’ve made it to his second phase 3 times. My first go at his second phase didn’t last long, my second attempt ended with his first attack after entering the second phase, and my third attempt got him to about a quarter health.
The amount of skill this fight demands is astonishing. You have to react quickly and read tells on the fly, and you have to do so for a significant amount of time. I know I can beat him. I know each and every death is a result of me screwing something up. But like the fight with Lady Maria, I just can’t be mad. It’s a fun fight, and though it is extremely difficult, I just want to keep trying, because I know I can do it eventually.
That said, I decided to take a break from the fight and delve a little deeper into the Chalice Dungeons, partly for the change of pace and partly in hopes of getting some good blood gems that might give me a slight edge in the Orphan of Kos fight. I’m doing the Lower Pthumeru Chalice, which has probably been my least favorite so far. I’ve cleared Layers One and Two, and while neither were bad, I was a little disappointed not to see any new bosses. The Layer One boss was the Merciless Watchers, just fought in a different and smaller arena. They seemed to pack a little more punch this time around, but otherwise it was still the same: run around, bait an attack, parry, visceral, rinse, repeat. The Layer Two boss was another rehash, this time an Undead Giant. It was slightly different in that the weird pustule thing that can be burst open for a good chunk of extra damage seemed to be on the other leg, but again, it was otherwise the same fight, just more dangerous. And I mean more dangerous; getting hit by its spinning attack would take me down to about 10% health, meaning I had to stay at max health a s much as possible to avoid a one shot. Thankfully, I noticed a more predictable pattern this time around. He usually only did the spin attack if I was up close on his side or back and attacked him once or twice. As long as I didn’t try to get greedy, I could get off a couple hits and quickstep back two times to avoid the spin attack.
I’ll tackle Layer Three next time I get a chance to play. I don’t know yet if I’ll go straight back to Orphan after clearing Lower Pthumeru or if I’ll move on to the next Chalice first. I might attempt Orphan again regardless if I get any good gems so I don’t get too rusty at the fight. I don’t want to have to spend a bunch of time just relearning the fight to get back to where I was when I took a break from it.