And I'm really excited to play Bloodborne when it unlocks at midnight tonight. My question is, because of the obtuse nature of these games and the fact that they don't give you much direction with what you need to be doing, will I be okay just going in blind and not using a guide? Because that's what I want to do but I'm wondering if I should be using FAQ's and talking to people about different tactics and getting hints etc.

Any help would be appreciated duders!

Out of curiosity, where are you at that it only now unlocks at midnight? UK?

Also, yes you are fine playing it blind, but also, you are not really. It is the most rewarding experience you can get and I recommend you try it. It will, obviously, take longer to complete and cause you to die more. But that's fine.

Don't fear to ask about leveling, I always think that is not really spoiler-ish. As there is no way to respec, being able to level 'properly' (read: efficiently) is useful. Otherwise, just go in, and when you are stuck, ask for help then. Not before.

EDIT: Forgot the most important Souls advice in a single sentence: If you ever encounter something you feel like you are not ready, or underleveled to take on, go explore further in a different direction since it's possible you are in an area you're not 'supposed' to be in yet.

Just pay attention to notes if you need direction

I would say go in blind and know it will take some dedication. If you want some general help how to aproach it maybe check an episode or two of Vinny and Brads Demon souls playthrough.

Cheking up some faqs and hints and tips wont destroy the experience in anyway but just bear in mind that most of the tips you will get are totally optional and there are many ways you can play this game.

@zevvion: Yeah I'm in the UK. It's been preloaded on my PS4 for two days taunting me! Thank you, that's really good advice. I don't mind taking my time with the game because I think it looks fantastic and I have heard people talk about how rewarding the souls games can be.

If you know anyone else playing then it's always fun to talk to them about how it's going and what you've found etc. I would echo the advice above and try to avoid FAQs at first because part of the fun is exploring and figuring things out.

You'll learn the area that you are in (alongside where enemies are etc) and then you'll want to explore further. Again, like said above, if you find a place is kicking your ass, back out and look round to see if there are any other paths to go down in the mean time.

Oh and keep an eye out for short-cut enabling devices, like switches, levers etc.

Above all just remember that you are pretty much always improving and learning something and that areas that initially seem impossible will later on be a piece of cake!

I would love to hear your thoughts on the game after you've had a chance to get into it.

you might want to check up on some of the upgrade materials and such at some point, but yeah going in mostly blind is the way to go and will make it that much more rewarding. Other than that HAVE FUN!

oh and talk to every NPC at least 3 times, or at least until they don't give you any new dialogue.

No need for FAQ because if you update the game and stay connected to the internet, there are messages left everywhere by other players to help guide you. it's part of the game itself. Just play and you'll see.

My first bit of advice would be to just go in blind, and interact with the community if you have questions its way more fun to discover things with other folks.

Now that being said, if you get stuck or need to know about mechanics I HIGHLY recommend that you take a look at EpicNameBro's youtube channel.

I honestly can not praise this dude enough, his videos on Dark / Demon Souls are incredible, and hell he even worked on the Bloodborne book / guide that is coming out next month.

Praise the Sun, Moon, and Marcus!

My copy of the game is coming from Amazon today really looking forward to playing.

Still probably going to get absolutely destroyed as I have never played a Souls game before

@pompouspizza: I played through Demon's Souls to the first boss and then fell off, but have been playing Bloodborne for the past few days now.

I'm trying to go in as blind as possible, staying away from FAQ's etc. and it has led to me running around in circles looking for levers, specifically trying to start the first elevator. I have however found the tips article on Kotaku here very helpful. There is nothing really spoilery in it, it even starts by saying don't read too many tips articles.

Yes, but it won't put you off. You'll try it again, taking a different approach, being more cautious or whatever, and you'll succeed. Then another area kicks your butt, you adjust your approach and succeed again. While it may be true that completely new players will have more of a difficult time because they are unexperienced with this type of game, basically everyone dies a bunch in a new Souls game. Even veterans who mastered all three games that came before it. Because it's new, it's unknown, and while you certainly can apply some of your experience to each new game, you still need to get a feel for the area's, enemies, bosses and whatnot (although I do think the bosses in this game are the weakest out of all games so far). It's only on subsequent playthroughs that you don't die as much. And then you'll still die a little bit here and there.

What I'm trying to say is, don't be scared of the game. It's not as impenetrable and difficult as the Dark Souls meme's have made it out to be. It's just unforgiving. But that won't hold you back if you won't let it. Adjust and continue.

Enjoy it! As everyone else seems to have said, you can definitely go in blind. But if you ever feel really confused or want to know something specific, don't be afraid to ask around here or look it up. From Software want you to learn, and the game is designed in a way to subtly teach you things.

Every time you die, any time an enemy catches you off-guard, any time you encounter anything new (whether it be a friend, foe, item, shortcut, or whatever) try to learn something from it and store that in your brain. Oftentimes the messages left by other players will help you along your journey too.

Happy hunting!

Hey, I don't want to start a new topic for this so I'll ask in this beginner one.

I can't seem to stunlock ennemies at all! I have no idea when to shoot my gun, so far I've been using it only to aggro ennemies. I'm at the first boss (well I think it is). Can I stunlock him?

When should I shoot? Is it right before the ennemy should be hitting you or before?

Thanks for the help!

@fear_the_booboo: In the Souls games the general rule was that you want to parry after the wind-up, as they're swinging, before they hit you (as in, when the animation starts to move towards you). The rule still seems to hold true, but due to the bullet animation the window has been pushed back a bit so you can shoot them just before the attack animation switches. However if you wait a bit too long they'll hit you even if you got the shot off.

@ares42: That makes sense! I actually saw that the bullet were travelling super slowly. Thank you.

@fear_the_booboo: There are two bosses you can run into first, depending on which route you took. You can stun them both though, so yes, you can. If you are fighting a large creature, you need to shoot him in the face twice. I'm unsure if timing even matters here. If you are fighting the man, it works the same as any enemy: shoot him just before he hits you.

@zevvion: I'm at the big creature. Thank you !

@paulmako: Thanks for the advice, I'm really excited to jump in. i think the game looks fantastic and I have never played a game like this before so I'm curious to see what it's all about. I will definitely report back after I have played a few hours.

@burgavo: I'm really glad the consensus seems to be go in blind because even though it might sound strange, the thought of having to constantly stop and look things up is way more intimidating to me than just figuring it out.

Depends on how patient you are. You can die real quick to even the most minor enemies. Never take anything lightly. Don't be afraid to look things up. The community is still discovering things about the game it seems.