Laurence, the First Vicar, presents a formidable challenge in Bloodborne. His aggressive attacks, unpredictable movements, and devastating area-of-effect spells can quickly overwhelm unprepared hunters. This guide offers a straightforward strategy to conquer this challenging boss, focusing on exploiting weaknesses and employing effective tactics.
Understanding Laurence's Attacks
Before diving into the strategy, let's break down some of Laurence's key attacks:
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Fire Attacks: Laurence frequently utilizes fire-based attacks, both melee and ranged. These inflict significant fire damage and can easily stagger you. Learning to recognize the wind-up for these attacks is crucial.
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Melee Combos: He employs a series of swift melee attacks, often chaining together multiple strikes. Dodging individual hits isn't always effective; instead, you need to anticipate the entire combo.
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AOE Fire Explosions: Laurence unleashes powerful area-of-effect fire explosions that cover a wide radius. These are devastating and difficult to fully avoid; prioritizing positioning is key to survival.
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Summoning: He can summon adds (smaller enemies) which can distract you and create further opportunities for Laurence to attack.
Strategies for Victory: A Step-by-Step Approach
This strategy prioritizes patience, precision, and exploiting openings:
1. Weapon Choice: A weapon with reach and good damage output is recommended. The Saw Cleaver or Threaded Cane are popular choices, allowing you to maintain distance and effectively punish Laurence's attacks.
2. Blood Vials and Quicksilver Bullets: Ensure you have a healthy supply of Blood Vials to heal and Quicksilver Bullets to parry his attacks. Parrying can be extremely effective, but it requires precise timing and can be tricky against Laurence's faster attacks.
3. Aggression with Caution: Don't be overly aggressive. Laurence's attacks have considerable range, so attacking blindly can result in taking significant damage. Focus on landing a few hits, then creating distance to dodge his counterattacks.
4. Baiting Attacks: Try to bait specific attacks. By staying at a safe distance, you can observe his attack patterns and anticipate his movements. His larger area-of-effect attacks are easier to avoid than his quick combos.
5. Phase 2: Once Laurence reaches his second phase, his attacks become more frequent and devastating. Maintaining distance becomes even more crucial. This phase focuses on exploiting his openings between attacks and punishing those moments.
6. Positioning: Utilize the arena effectively. There are pillars and areas you can use to your advantage to avoid some attacks or regain distance.
7. Learn his Tells: Pay close attention to Laurence's movements and animations. Learning the tell for each attack is crucial to predicting and dodging them.
Essential Tips for Success
- Level Up: Ensure your character is adequately leveled before engaging Laurence. Focusing on Vigor (health) and Endurance (stamina) is crucial.
- Weapon Upgrades: Upgrade your chosen weapon to a respectable level to inflict maximum damage.
- Fire Resistance: While not entirely necessary, increasing your character's fire resistance can help mitigate the damage from Laurence's fire attacks.
- Patience is Key: Don't rush the fight. Patience and careful observation are your greatest assets. Learn his attack patterns and exploit his weaknesses to secure victory.
By following this straightforward strategy, understanding Laurence's attack patterns, and utilizing the tips provided, you will be well-equipped to overcome this challenging boss and progress further in your hunt. Good luck, hunter!
