Sony has updated the official Japanese Bloodborne website, releasing a few screenshots and quite a lot of information on the online features of the game.
Cooperative gameplay is pretty much the same as we’ve seen in the alpha testing, with up to three players (including the host and two guests) playing together to overcome the odds. The host uses the “Lulling Bell”, while the guests can use the “Small Resonant Bell” to start co-op.
When the boss of the area is defeated, co-op will end. The guests will be sent back to their own world, and receive a reward.
If the host or the the guests die, the session will fail, and the guests will be sent back to their own world with no rewards. The session will also end if the “Parting Shot” is used.
A newly introduced feature is the “Watchword.” Players will be able to set a password of up to eight characters, and they will be matched automatically with others that have set the same password. This will help in playing with friends, but it won’t work in PvP.
PvP gameplay has also been introduced: the invaded player will be the host, and there can be up to two invading guests.
At times a “Bell Maiden” might appear, this can happen when initiating co-op, but there are rare cases in which she might be in an area from the beginning. The presence of the maiden might cause an invasion. In order to invade someone else’s world you have to use the “Ominous Resonant Bell.”
The purpose of the guests is to defeat the host. If they manage to do so, they are sent back to their own world and get rewarded.
The PvP also ends if the “Parting Shot” is used, if the players die, or if the host enters the boss area. In these cases, the guests will be sent back to their own world and no reward will be obtained.
As we already know, players will be able to leave messages called “memoirs” and read messages left by other players.
When players die, they will leave a tombstone visible by other players connected online. By touching it, those players will be able to see the replay of the death, and guess its cause.
In the Chalice Dungeons you can see “illusions,” basically ghosts of other players that are in the same area. This might help in learning tips and tricks on how to proceed.
There are two kinds of Chalice Dungeons: normal dungeons and generated dungeons. Both are playable online or offline, but you’ll need to be online in order to generate a dungeon. You’ll also need to be online to download one from the servers.
It’ll be possible to share your generated dungeons online, letting other players enjoy them.
We also learn that there will be a day one patch, which will improve performance and usability and optimize online gameplay.
Finally, PlayStation Plus requirements have also been detailed: it will be required for online gameplay, asynchronous online gameplay and sharing dungeons, but it won’t be needed to download updates and other players’ dungeon data.
