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You're Probably Making Bloodborne Harder Than It Needs to Be

That harmless hand lantern you've been using? There is a downside.

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Bloodborne is not the sort of game that explains everything to you, and that's part of its charm. But it's only just now, weeks after its release, that players are beginning to realize that they've probably been making the game harder on themselves.

Early in the game, you're given the opportunity to buy the Hand Lantern. This hangs off of your character and provides additional light, something that can be tremendously helpful in dark areas if you choose not to hold a torch in your left hand. There didn't appear to be any downside to carrying one; unlike the torch, it doesn't require you to sacrifice using a ranged or two-handed weapon. It's simply something you buy once and should equip after every death.

As it turns out, there is a downside: It reduces stamina regeneration, making it take longer before you're able to attack or roll away from enemy attacks.

This is the discovery of a number of Reddit users, including Lucky_Number_Sleven, TCSyd, and Xarius478. They've also found that this is true not just of the lantern, but any equipment--whatever you have equipped will weigh you down and cause your stamina to take longer to regenerate.

There's still work to be done to work out all the details, but the video above demonstrates the difference when the lantern is and isn't equipped (both with and without a rune that increases stamina regeneration). It's clear that the innocuous use of the lantern and other items has been making the game harder than it needed to be.

Shedding the lantern and extra weapons won't necessarily make Bloodborne a cakewalk, but at least now you have an excuse for that time where you were one hit away from killing a boss.

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