Despite being the third game in the series, it’s possible Dark Souls 3 is your first Dark Souls game! Though Bloodborne was built from Dark Souls’ DNA, it’s pretty different. Here’s what might surprise you.
Everything Is Much Slower
Dark Souls 3 is fast compared to previous Souls games, but it’s got nothing on Bloodborne. There’s a reason most Dark Souls screen shots have dudes and ladies running around in chunky armour with big arse swords and shields! You can approach Dark Souls 3 a little like Bloodborne, however, if you build your character in a way that emphasises being nimble and light.
Bloodborne Is About Offence, Dark Souls Is About Defence
This isn’t entirely true, as it somewhat depends on your character, but it’s a useful shorthand. In Bloodborne, since shields aren’t part of the equation and it rewards counterattacks with additional health, the game trains players to be more aggressive. Dark Souls 3 requires a more measured calculation, as there’s nothing to gain by being greedy and attacking too often. In fact, several bosses are specifically designed to punish such tactics.
Dark Souls 3 Is A Harder Game
Your mileage may vary on this point, but as Bloodborne rewards aggression, it’s more in line with other action games. If you play Devil May Cry, for example, you’re not going to think twice about jumping into the action and going nuts with attacks. Being reckless isn’t a path to success in Bloodborne (or Dark Souls!), but it’s more survivable while exploring Yharnam. In Dark Souls 3, there are simply more bosses who will kill you in one or two hits until you begin to understand what the strategy is for taking them down.
Magic Is Both Powerful And Available Early
The usefulness of magic in Dark Souls depends on which game you’re talking about — it was basically broken in Demon’s Souls — but Bloodborne‘s equivalent of magic, hunter tools, weren’t viable until much later in the game. It’s why they never became a big part of my Bloodborne character. It’s much different in Dark Souls 3, where you can pick a character class with fire magic right off the bat. If you’re having trouble with the game, it’s one way to give you an early upper hand; said magic is super powerful.
Don’t Open Chests In This Game, Kill Them
Image Credit: Wikia
If a chest is a mimic enemy, it will react immediately. If it’s just a chest, your weapon won’t do anything. Be careful to back off at that point; hitting a chest too many times can destroy the chest and the loot hiding inside.
Staggering Enemies Works Differently
In Bloodborne, you shot enemies at certain points in their animation cycle — usually right before they hit you — to stagger them for a powerful “visceral” attack. The equivalent in Dark Souls 3 is called “parrying”, and it’s not possible with every weapon. In fact, you’re usually parrying with a shield. (Each shield has a different attribute, but many default to parrying.) It works similarly, though. You time the parry to a certain point in their attack — again, usually right before they hit you — and it staggers them. Then, there’s an opportunity to walk up the body and really tear into them.
(It’s also sometimes possible to hit an enemy enough times and stagger them, but I wasn’t able to make it happen with much consistency.)
Always Carry A Bow And Arrow
Though The Old Hunters expansion for Bloodborne introduced bows to the game, you might not have used it very much. Even if you’re a lumbering giant with huge armour in Dark Souls 3, keep a bow and arrow on you. It’s very useful for getting the attention of enemies, luring individuals out of groups and executing cheesy attacks from a distance. It’s vital.
Prepare For Others Players To Constantly Invade You
From Software basically nerfed the concept of invasions in Bloodborne, as you only had to deal with other people jumping into your game when you were seeking co-op partners. It’s a more punishing affair in Dark Souls 3, with its own set of risks and rewards. Now, whenever you beat a boss and get imbued with an ember or use an ember item, you’re susceptible to invasions. Embers wear off as soon as you die, but embers are super useful, as they allow you to summon friends to fight with and boost total health. If you don’t want to deal with it, either play offline or die ASAP after a boss.
Comments
11 responses to “How To Jump Into Dark Souls 3 If You Got Started With Bloodborne”
This is great for someone like me who can’t remember how the minutia changed from 1 to 2 to BB to 3. I still find myself rallying after I’ve killed an enemy even though it’s pointless.
I can’t parry, instead my character performs the weapon skill – is it because I’m using something other than the tiny shields? I will have to watch some ‘hey you old bastard, this is what’s new/the same’ videos I think.
Enemy/weapon types: Did they return to the sharp/blunt etc damages certain enemy types like Demon’s?
Red/Green blossoms: First time they’ve been seen since Demon’s?
Being summoned: Do I need to be unkindled?
Thanks in advance.
You don’t have to be unkindled to be summoned.
Some friends and I are still trying to work out the passworded summons thing….
I was outside a boss room last night and waited a fair while, Nothing happened. Will keep experimenting.
From what I know/have heard, if you are two handing a weapon then it will perform the weapon skill, if you have a shield out, it will perform the shield’s skill.
It also depends on the shield though. If you look closely at your shields in your inventory you’ll see a smaller shield in the bottom left corner of the thumbnail or a sword. The little shield means your l2 will be a parry, but the sword means your l2 (without two-handing your weapon) will be your weapons art.
Just to add to the questions – in Dark Souls II you could get summoned to a boss fight even if you haven’t beaten the boss, can that happen in this one or is it like Dark Souls 1 where you have to have defeated a boss in order to co-op it?
I think people who played and finished Bloodborne will do just fine, they virtually just finished playing a armorless, shieldless version of Dark Souls lol, now they get to do the same thing but with new toys. might be worth saying the game is slower but they could of figured that out in 10 seconds of playing.
Personally I feel that someone who has only ever played Bloodborne will be right at home in Dark Souls III since a lot of the speed tweaks in it carried over. Bosses and enemies are faster and more aggressive, and a lot of the enemy move sets are similar to those in BB so it’s familiar territory. In fact, with the addition of weapon skills, faster and more aggressive play seems encouraged.
The on tip that I’d give is that healing is slightly slower than BB. It’s faster than any other DaSo game but the timing is different. You also need to be a lot more conservative with your healing as it’s a very limited resource you won’t find as drops from enemies.
I’m torn. I only just started Bloodborne (up to Rom), but I really should get into DS3 while the community is active.
Not sure if it’s wise to change now though, as I’m only just settling into the aggressive play style of Bloodborne after too much Dark Souls previously. #firstworldgamingproblems
These games have communities that always stay active. You’ll be fine.
Roll a Deprived.
Flat skills for life.
Git Gud.
This is the article I needed.
I keep trying to heal myself by counterattacking – let’s just say it’s a tough habit to break.