‘Bloodborne’ Patch To Improve Performance, Plus All The Best Tips For Success

Sony’s second big PS4 exclusive for the year is finally out in the wild and gamer and critical reception has been considerably kinder to “Bloodborne” than it was to “The Order 1886.” Early reviews have lavished praise on director Hidetaka Miyazaki’s masterpiece, but some have also noticed issues with performance, specifically with regard to framerate and load times. Following a day-one patch, Sony has promised to release a second patch to help address these issues.

“The development team is currently exploring another patch for Bloodborne, seeking ways to improve load time duration, in addition to other performance optimisations and miscellaneous bug fixes. We will provide more information as soon as possible,” reads a statement issued to Eurogamer.

The statement comes in the wake of a Digital Foundry article, which highlighted a number of technical issues with “Bloodborne.” While the game’s framerate was found to be acceptable, with only infrequent drops below 30fps, issues with frame-pacing cause individual frames to be displayed out of order. The end result is an unpleasant stutter which makes the game look and feel much less smooth than it should. In addition, Digital Foundry noted lengthy load times approaching 45 seconds when gamers respawn or warp to certain areas of the game.

Sony and From Software’s commitment to fixing the framerate and load time problems suffered by “Bloodborne” is admirable, and the game has been very well received by critics. Videogamer reports that the game currently enjoys a Metacritic rating of 93, making it the highest-rated current-gen exclusive. Game Informer rated the game a 9.75/10, calling the game a macabre masterpiece, while praising its lush atmosphere, tight combat and extremely rewarding gameplay.

To help gamers just starting out, the PlayStation Blog has provided a set of helpful tips for survival in the city of Old Yharnham. When it comes to character development, the team at PlayStation recommends gamers spend their time selecting an Origin that fits their unique play style. Starting stats in “Bloodborne” include health-boosting Vitality, melee-focused Endurance and Strength and Bloodtinge, which helps raise firearm effectiveness. Hunters are advised not to spread themselves thin, but rather focus on a few key stats.

Gamers looking for “Bloodborne” combat strategies are advised to go on the offensive. After a hunter takes damage, he regains a small amount of lost health by inflicting damage, and the PSBlog states that when in a bind, going into a berserker rage to regain as much health as possible isn’t a bad idea. Locking on to single foes, circle strafing, stunning and using molotovs are also advisable as is trapping, using hit and run tactics and trapping larger enemies in smaller spaces.

“Bloodborne” is still likely to present a stiff challenge to even the most seasoned gamer. Players can call in back-up and team up with friends to take down foes by playing online. DualShockers notes that the game’s servers be down for regular maintenance every Wednesday from 8:00 p.m. to 11:00 p.m. EST, so hunters will have to plan their schedule around that.