First of all, I want to apologize to my TV: I said terrible things to you, and I swear I will never say those things to you again... until I play the Elden Ring DLC.
I would also like to apologize to my neighbors. You know, this Bloodborne experience has indeed been something different from the many times I've tried to beat a hard Boss. I feel like I'm getting old because fighting Kos aged me more than I wished it would.
But I also gained some wisdom, I hope. So let me describe to you my spiritual journey (while listening to Skyrim's Exploration Suite) into beating the world’s most hated boss. And for those for whom this journey still lies ahead: prayers be with you.
What you will find in this Blog
- Key differences between Bloodborne and Dark Souls
- A few of my favorite easy-to-beat bosses
- First encounter with the Orphan of Kos
- Best spots for grinding Blood Echoes
- Best practices for preparing for the fight
- Mastering Kos' moves
Bloodborne is Different than Dark Souls
For some time, this game lay on my pile of shame. But after my girlfriend gifted me a PS5 including God of War: Ragnarök for my birthday (yes—best girlfriend ever!), this opportunity opened up and I had to take it (as well as the Demon Souls Remake).
Before that, I was only playing the Dark Souls Trilogy, Sekiro, and Elden Ring. While Sekiro already introduced an overall different gameplay (which I loved, by the way), Bloodborne places an even greater focus on Parrying (Interrupting an enemy's attack).
Parrying is possible in Dark Souls, but the timing is quite unforgiving. You can also complete all three Dark Souls games, including the DLCs, without using parry even once. However, in Bloodborne, they made Parrying easier and even an essential gameplay mechanic.
In Bloodborne, you no longer hold a shield in your left hand, though there is exactly one shield in the game. Its description even says:
Don't be a p***y, use your gun.
If you time it right, your enemy gets staggered and falls to their knees, leaving them vulnerable to a fatal visceral attack.
Additionally, you now quickstep instead of rolling when locked onto an enemy. Overall, I liked this change because it challenges the player to be more aggressive.
Another feature is the ability to regain your health by hitting the enemy after you’ve been hit. This definitely encourages you to play riskier, as it gives you a chance to recover all your lost HP without using a blood vial—which is... a consumable?! (⊙＿⊙')
I am sure someone at FromSoftware got fired for this...
Breathe, breathe! Don’t let yourself get angry just because everywhere else the health items refill after dying. Find your center and return to Zen mode. ╰(⌣ʟ⌣)╯
FromSoftware Bosses: Honorable Mentions
Before I get to the best boss experience I've ever had, here are some other bosses that were not only super easy but also had a positive influence on my anger issues.
- Ornstein & Smough—our all-time favorite dynamic duo. They perfectly resemble Dumb & Dumber, Han & R2, or Frodo and the Ring. I can only imagine the fun conversations they had after a hard day of work... before I killed them!
- Nameless King—this gentleman didn’t have it easy. He and his super cool horse, Wilson, that looks like a dragon, were abandoned on a floating island for so many years. Naturally, he was happy to find some companionship. We laughed, ate, and danced—until I killed him.
- The Dancer—with a different rhythm than the usual Dark Souls bosses she invited me to our very own dance. In a six-hour-long breakdance competition, she finally broke her neck while doing a headspin.
- Sister Friede—this lovely lady and her friendly father sadly had to live in some hipster’s polaroid. Out of pity, I put them out of their misery.
- Darkeater Midir—it’s not often you see a real dragon. Unfortunately, you won’t be spotting this one anymore... because I killed it.
- Headless Ape—I guess he was already dead anyway.
- Genichiro—on some journeys, you’ll encounter people who cut off your arm. This guy was a given.
- Radahn—ah, the good old times on the battlefield. Together with so many friends, I managed to defeat this mighty warrior (and his miniature horse). Especially with my good friend Patches. After showing me the most unreachable treasures of the world, he stayed until the end, like a good sport!
I can remember a few more fun interactions that weren’t frustrating at all. But this was definitely the most fun!
The Orphan of Kos Boss Fight
You see, I’ve had some experiences with bosses, but the Orphan of Kos immensely increased my play fun—and with it, my playtime. I have to be honest: dying to this beautiful creature over and over again made my fear of death eventually vanish forever.
I could simply accept them as they came: sometimes in ways I anticipated, but most of the time, I was surprised by Kos's finesse and diversity. So I accepted many deaths.
The biggest compliment I can give is for the immense Hitboxes the programmers gave this boss. Anywhere the Orphan just gazed, my health bar faded. Fabulous!
With the increased stagger, I was mashing the B-button, but my character just stayed in place, still trying to process what had just hit him.
I-frames seemed to be nonexistent. So, I died some more.
After my first few attempts, I saw the real power of this boss. It managed to completely strip me of my resources. You know what that means, dear kids, it is:
Grinding Time !
This was definitely the best part. I lost all my bullets and blood vials. I could finally go back to the normal game and chill—just killing some simple mobs.
My tip for good blood echo farming is 'Mergo's Loft: Middle' on the Nightmare Headstone. After ignoring a dog and three birds, and running through (or killing) the three fire-spitting samurai Nazgûls, you’ll reach the main feast.
On today’s menu: three oversized piggies with potatoes. The first is just enjoying some good old beast chunks, so you can sneak up on it, hold your R2 button, and unleash the heavy attack of your current weapon.
After that, the pig will invite you to... well, I’m not sure if I should describe this picture. Insert 'filling the Thanksgiving duck' image here. Also, it drops two blood vials.
From one run (which takes around 5 minutes), you can get either 50 blood vials or 90 quicksilver bullets (at Level 83).
And 'silver bullets' is the magic word.
Developing the perfect Battle Plan
As I learned over the countless fun times I had with my new friend, I discovered that staggering him was easy within certain attacks. So, I used two of the Clawmark runes, which gave a total increase of 30% to visceral attacks.
I started with my starter weapon, the Threaded Cane, but I switched to Simon's Bowblade... because I killed Simon, took his weapon, and invested too many Blood Stones in it.
But it's an okay weapon in my opinion. The trick-weapon ability (a bow) is really useless for this fight, but so is the Threaded Cane’s.
After adding some attack-increasing gemstones, my standard attack did around 200 damage, and the visceral attack around 2,000.
Did I forget something? Ah, yes—clothes.
Fashion-Souls taught me that it's not about defense but about style. And if you have to die so many times, doing it in style is simply cooler. So, I chose the Hunter's Garb without the cape and the Old Hunter Cap—because I thought they looked cool.
Well, my plan basically failed, but I learned some new techniques to reach phase two. However, I also had to learn the most important thing:
Learning the Moves
The Orphan of Kos actually is a very misunderstood creature. He is a freshly born kid, so of course—he just wants to play. Awwww!
Some pedagogues might say that his play style is a little driven by anger. But in my opinion, he’s just discovering his newfound mobility, taking his first big steps, while ignoring his dangerously infected right hand.
His sense of fun and playfulness comes with a set of typical RNG attacks, which is the go-to for Soulslike games. Here are my favorites:
- The Superhero Landing - Just stay where you are; its aim is way off.
- The Windmill - He basically closes his eyes, trying to hit you like a piñata.
- Catch the infected Blood Ball - Occasionally, he doesn’t throw it at you but puts it into the ground, which turns it into a flourishing sprinkler system.
- The Backswing - Some say it's better with a wood; others prefer a 6-iron.
- Get Away from ME - Kos doesn’t like you getting too close. Maybe he’s claustrophobic from spending most of his time inside that whale placenta-looking thing on the ground.
And those moves are only in his first phase. Such a special child!
After losing half of his health bar, the Orphan of Kos transforms into a beautiful butterfly, and his hand infection spreads to his healthy hand. Both hands now form a grotesque, meat-like hugging device that any person would be thrilled to be invited to.
Additionally, lightning will now hunt you because Kos screams to the heavens. And it flies. Of course! Want to make something great even greater? Put wings on it.
I can basically do the first half in my sleep now, and the I-frames, contrary to what I said earlier, definitely exist. I just hadn’t been in the right rhythm most of the time. The second half should be a walk in the park.
Conclusion: The Dying of a Sacred Kos
Ten Years Later - French Narrator
Hello friend, long time no see. You are probably wondering if i managed to kill the Boss. Well...
Usually, I would be furious and play for 7 hours straight until I beat a boss. I have—or had—this inner urge to complete the things I started, and I will, but in my own time.
Maybe I’ll beat him tomorrow. Who knows?
The final boss in Bloodborne is still waiting, and I have a bunch of other games I want to play next, like the Elden Ring DLC. Or Black Myth: Wukong. Or I could continue Hades II. Or finally find out why opinions about The Last of Us Part II are so extremely polarized. Or maybe I’ll play Hollow Knight again on my Switch.
...
Or maybe, I’ll just try the Orphan of Kos one more time.
