14 to 99 Arcane: It's Easy, Even at the Beginning

Clarification: I did NOT start with 99 Arcane, 99 Arcane is the goal of the build, and the whole video are the collection of parts of the playthrough of a new character in New Game.

7 Episodes of a more detailed playthrough: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL32xlbHWik9gNHWXX6GtonB7dzQr3dYRf
Unedited playthrough: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L66bHEO6LcA&list=PL32xlbHWik9hYSxsCF_9CSHjoNdJeIaNZ

Soundtrack in this video: Laurence the First Vicar

Q1-1) Flamesprayer and hunter tools cost bullets to use, what do I do if I run out of bullets?
A1-1) Simple, don’t run out of bullets. Press ↑ on your D pad to make 5 blood bullets, then use 1 vial to heal back. During the exploration, instead of using the regular bullets, use these blood bullets unless you don’t have time to make them.

Q1-2) Okay now I know blood bullets, but what if I run out of vials?
Q1-2) Simple, don’t run out of vials. When you face a new enemy, try not to attack first. You should first observe, find an opening to attack, you will beat them without (or rarely) getting hit. Many enemies drop vials, that’s why I always clear the whole map and never run out of vials and bullets.

Q2) Is the 99 Arcane build a Glass Cannon build?
A2) No, you can level up Vitality during the playthrough. Even if you stop at LV 124, you can have 40 Vit. If you don’t mind going for 134 or 150 (for cooperation), you can even have 50 Vit + some STR and SKL allow you to use a lot of fun and powerful weapons.

Q3) Does the 99 Arcane build requires a lot of farming to reach 99 Arcane?
A3) No, not at all, you don’t even have to farm, simply finish the main story (beating the Wet Nurse) and fixed dungeons, you will reach 99 Arcane and 50 Vitality before you enter the DLC.

Q4) Does the 99 Arcane build requires a lot of farming to get great gems?
A4) No, and if you farm like I did, it will be quick and simple. However, it will take you some time if you want perfect gems (perfect secondary). The difference is negligible though. As long as you know your enemies’ weakness, you don’t need perfect gems.

Q5) Why did you do the dungeons early? Aren’t they optional?
A5) If I never do dungeons until late game, the first two will be damn easy and boring, so I do those when I feel my character is strong enough but haven’t overleveled. They are optional, but it is satisfying to complete the dungeons easily with my build.

Q6) Your stats during the playthrough?
A6) Here are my stats (Vitality, Arcane) when I beat the respective boss. (Could vary a little as I may change my route in some playthrough)

Father Gascoigne (14,18)
Cleric Beast (15,19)
Blood Starved Beast (17,25)
Witches of Hemwick (24,33)
Darkbeast Paarl (27,35)
Vicar Amelia (28,37)
Amygdala (33,61) (the huge level gap here was because I finished all optional areas including D3 Pthumeru)
Shadows of Yharnam (33,61)
Rom (33,62)
Ebrietas (33,68)
the One Reborn (33,69)
Mergo's Wet Nurse (33,79)

After that go for the remaining chalices (Depth 4 and 5). Before you finish all of them, you should be able to reach (50,99). You can then go for the DLC without gem farming, as long as you have decent gems from those fixed dungeons.

If you go for BL 150, Cruel Fate, 50 VIT, 12 END, 20 STR, 14 SKL, 5 BLT and 99 ARC, you can have access to almost all Conversion Weapons, plus the viable split damage weapons (Tonitrus, Logarius Wheel and Holy Moonlight Sword).

Q7) Why go for 99 Arcane? Isn't 50 enough?
A7) When it comes to Hunter tools, 50 is far from enough.
See the chart made by reddit user u/Sljm8D:
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1y7zuCaT_LAqFrKQrdxz8Upe7gBJiVcOjO13XxssSGqE/htmlview

Q8) What pure physical weapon is great for conversion on a 99 Arcane?
A8) All are great.
https://i.imgur.com/BJyiQEV.png

Q9) What's the best gem setup for Fire/Bolt/Arcane conversion weapons?
A9) Two Cold + One Elemental.
As for how to farm those bosses efficiently, you can check here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rW-0ak3mAqM&list=PL32xlbHWik9ixWRvp3oQpVotwmkKgoTWB

Credit: I learned the best way to cheese the Elder from here:
https://youtu.be/V_9kjlGVgo8
Thank you, silvermedal222. If weren't for you, I would probably waste more time on this old guy.

Видео 14 to 99 Arcane: It's Easy, Even at the Beginning канала Speed Lee