Hunter Axe Bloodborne Wiki » Weapons » Hunter Axe

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Table of Contents

Basic Information

In-Game Description

Overview

Availability

Gem Shapes and Alternate Weapons

Gem Advice

Key Attacks

Durability

Notes

Merchants

Upgrade Table

Average Physical Attack Increase (Strength & Skill)

Normal Mode Attacks Properties

Transformed Mode Attacks Properties

Key

Basic Information

Image	Name	Damage	QS Bullet Use	Durability	Stats Req. / Bonus	Special Attack	Rally	Buffable
	Hunter Axe	98 / - / - / - / - (Phys./Blunt)	-	250	9 / 8 / - / - D / E / - / D	- / - / 100 / 100	75 (no upgrade)	Yes

Hunter Axe ❘ 獣狩りの斧	Right Hand Weapon

In-Game Description One of the trick weapons of the workshop, commonly used on the hunt. Retains the qualities of an axe, but offers wider palette of attacks by transforming. Boasts a heavy blunt attack, leading to high rally potential. No matter their pasts, beasts are no more than beasts. Some choose this axe to play the part of executioner. Note 1: The same in-game description in US & UK versions. ✓ Note 2: Original Japanese text on Original Japanese Item Index page. ✓ Overview The Hunter Axe requires 9 strength and 8 skill to use, and its damage increases a lot more from strength than skill. If you want to focus on strength, this should be your starter weapon. Despite the bladed edge of the axe, a lot of its attacks deal blunt damage. Another key feature of the axe is that it costs a lot of stamina to swing around; plan to increase your endurance along with your strength if you choose this weapon. The axe is very good at causing enemies to flinch and stumble, and it tears through enemy super armor quickly as well. Normal Mode: In tight spaces, the normal mode axe can be swung freely while the transformed version of the axe will bounce off of walls. Additionally, even though normal mode swings are expensive compared to other weapons, normal mode costs less stamina per attack than transformed mode. If stamina or space is a concern, use the normal mode. Transformed Mode: The Hunter Axe is much more useful in its transformed state. It has better range, better damage, and is even better at causing enemies to stumble. It does require a lot of stamina to use in this mode, but it's worth it. If you aren't in a narrow space, transformed mode will almost always produce better results. Availability Normal: Treasure in (Main Story): Starting gift from messengers in Hunter's Dream; Sold by: Bath Messengers Saw Hunter Badge: This badge is found in Aqueducts beside the Maneater Boar in Central Yharnam. In addition to unlocking the basic hunter weapons, this badge will make Throwing Knives and Beast Blood Cocktails available for sale, providing you with a backup source of ranged attacks and an extremely helpful means of distracting beast-type enemies. Uncanny: Treasure in (Root Dungeons): Hintertomb; 86en47tc Hintertomb L1, side area before layer lamp [tested May 12, 2020]; alternatively found in False Depth Dungeon, szdwj6n9, Hintertomb L1, side area before layer lamp [tested May 12, 2020] Lost: Treasure in (Root Dungeons): Ailing Loran; 3bv8tww5, Ailing Loran L1, side area before layer boss [tested May 12, 2020] Gem Shapes and Alternate Weapons Right-hand weapons can have up to three gem slots, and some left-hand weapons have one slot. There are different slot shapes, though; not every gem will fit every slot. The slot types are: Radial, Triangular, Waning, and Circle. Your gem's shape needs to match the slot you want to use it in. If you find a really great gem but the shape doesn't properly match your weapon, don't give up hope. There are actually two alternate versions of every right-hand weapon - the Lost and Uncanny versions. They're identical to normal weapons except that they have different slot configurations (► Blood Gems Sockets on the right). These alternate weapons can be found in Chalice Dungeons. There is also an exceedingly rare fifth type of gem shape - Droplet gems. These are "almighty" gems; they can fit in any type of gem slot! Gem Advice The Hunter Axe gets solid damage right out the gate with 27.2% Tempering gems, though this can be pushed even further with a Heavy Abyssal. The damage on a choice amount of its attacks (namely most of its strong attacks and tricked R1 chain) can be pushed higher with 32.6% Blunt Adept gems, however this does not affect the entire moveset. Its status as a starter weapon with non-existent stat requirements also makes it a fantastic choice for elemental conversion on an Arcane build, with any element being viable. The classic double Cold Abyssal and Elemental Abyssal of choice combo is the standard to aim for here. Best suited for: Strength builds, Quality builds, Arcane builds Arcane conversion: Yes For more information check the Best Blood Gem Setups page. Key Attacks Normal Mode: The Hunter Axe R1 chain can be too slow to combo against quick enemies, but it rips through enemy super armor very quickly. It can help you set up large stumbles with other attacks. You always have to be mindful of your stamina usage, though; it's very easy to exhaust yourself with attacks. If that happens, you'll be left defenseless. Play it safe with one or two hits, and then back away and recover your stamina. The normal mode R2 attack of the axe has good impact and super armor damage; it can cause even some medium-sized enemies to stumble in a single strike, making it an effective tool against enemies like the Huntsman's Minions. Single, well-timed R2 attacks are often more useful than R1 chains with the axe. The charged R2 has a massive impact that can knock down small and medium foes and stumble even large ones. It can also stagger enemies. Be warned, though, that it is slow to execute. If the enemy is agile or aggressive, you may have difficulty performing a normal R2. In those cases, the backstep and dashing R2 attacks can be reliable. Wait just within the enemy's range to bait an attack, backstep out of range so the attack misses, and then either execute the backstep R2 as a counterattack or dash and perform a dashing R2. Remember that you can dash while locked-on, but you need to run forward to do so. Transformed Mode: The uncharged R2 is an overhead chop that can strike the heads of tall enemies and is quite useful, but it is overshadowed by the incredible charged version of the R2.The charged R2 is a double spin with great range, great power, and the ability to hit twice. Furthermore, the second hit has a massive impact that knocks down light and medium enemies and causes large foes to stumble. This is one of the best attacks in Bloodborne and is the main reason to use the Hunter Axe. The first hit of the charged R2 does more damage than the second, but the second hit has the heavy impact. Against normal enemies that try to approach you in melee, begin charging the R2 as the enemy approaches. You want to time it so that they just enter range as your attack releases; they'll take a lot of damage and be knocked back, leaving you safe to repeat the tactic until the enemy is dead. If you manage to land this attack on an enemy that can be staggered from behind, the first hit will stagger them, and the second hit will deal double its noimal damage. Against larger, more aggressive foes, you'll need another tactic; that's where the L2 chain comes in. The L2 combo has very good range and breaks down enemy super armor very quickly. The first two swings of the combo are great against crowds, and the third hit strikes high. Once again, the downside is that the full chain consumes a large amount of stamina. The transformed axe's R1 chain is also useful, particularly when you are low on stamina, but the charged R2 and the L2 chain are your primary assets. Durability Durability of the weapon depletes when used. This means hitting an enemy, destructible object or bouncing off the walls. Hitting undestructible objects and environment does not deplete your durability. Style of an attack or upgrade of the weapon, even different weapon, does not matter - each count as one hit. Every 10th hit against the enemy/object depletes 1 durability. Exception is Tonitrus, which when in self buffed mode, depletes durability at rate of 2 hits. Hitting an enemy in dying animation still counts as hit. Also hitting multiple enemies/destructible objects at once counts as one hit per enemy - hitting 3 enemies at once counts as 3 hits towards durability counter. Shields lose 1 durability every 10th hit. Bounce means when your hit is bounced back off the wall or other objects. Every 5th bounce depletes 1 durability. Not every weapon can be bounced off, Hunter Axe belongs into the category which can. Damage reduction when heavily worn. When weapon is at 30% of total durability, it reaches the Risk state and AR is reduced by 30% and when it hits 0% of total durability, weapon is Broken, then AR is reduced by 50%. Hunter Axe which has 250 points of durability reaches risk state at 75 Dur. Workshop's Repair: cost of repair depends on the weapon and its upgrade. For Hunter Axe +0 it's 2 Blood Echoes per 1 point and for Hunter Axe +10 it's 7 (values are rounded), full repair costs for +10 are 1800 Blood Echoes Notes Available for purchase after obtaining Saw Hunter Badge. Weapon's Rally: A lot of attacks multiply the rally number by their attack damage multiplier. Some of them are special-cased to have a different amount of rally, both multipliers can be seen in the Normal & Transformed Mode Attacks Properties tables below. Rally number (in flat HP) can be raised by upgrading the weapon, as seen in the Upgrade Table below. You can find concept art of the Hunter Axe in Bloodborne Official Artworks, on page 228.

Blood Gems Sockets Hunter Axe Uncanny Hunter Axe Lost Hunter Axe

Merchants

Shop	Buy (Day)	(Evening)	(Night)	(Red Moon)	(NG+)	Sell	Requirement
Bath Messengers [Hunter's Dream]	1100	1100	1100	1100	1100	660	Saw Hunter Badge
Insight Bath Messengers [Hunter's Dream]	-	-	-	-	-	-	None
Chalice Bath Messengers [Chalice Dungeons Common]	-	-	-	-	-	-	None
Patches, the Spider [Chalice Dungeons Rare]	-	-	-	-	-	-	None

Upgrade Table

Name	Blood Gem Sockets	Rally
Hunter Axe +0	0 / 3	75	98	-	-	-	-	D	E	-	D	-	-	-	-	-
Hunter Axe +1	1 / 3	80	107	-	-	-	-	D	E	-	D	3	-	-	-	240
Hunter Axe +2	1 / 3	85	116	-	-	-	-	D	E	-	D	5	-	-	-	280
Hunter Axe +3	2 / 3	90	125	-	-	-	-	D	E	-	D	8	-	-	-	340
Hunter Axe +4	2 / 3	95	134	-	-	-	-	D	E	-	D	-	3	-	-	400
Hunter Axe +5	2 / 3	100	143	-	-	-	-	C	E	-	D	-	5	-	-	460
Hunter Axe +6	2 / 3	105	152	-	-	-	-	C	E	-	D	-	8	-	-	500
Hunter Axe +7	3 / 3	110	161	-	-	-	-	C	E	-	D	-	-	3	-	560
Hunter Axe +8	3 / 3	115	170	-	-	-	-	C	D	-	D	-	-	5	-	620
Hunter Axe +9	3 / 3	120	179	-	-	-	-	C	D	-	D	-	-	8	-	660
Hunter Axe +10	3 / 3	125	196	-	-	-	-	B	D	-	C	-	-	-	1	720
		(in flat HP)	Damage					Stat Bonuses				Cost

To fully upgrade Hunter Axe requires 16 Blood Stone Shards, 16 Twin Blood Stone Shards, 16 Blood Stone Chunks, 1 Blood Rock and 4780 Blood Echoes.

Name
Hunter Axe +0	0.45	0.15	0.00	0.33
Hunter Axe +1	0.47	0.17	0.00	0.35
Hunter Axe +2	0.49	0.19	0.00	0.37
Hunter Axe +3	0.51	0.21	0.00	0.39
Hunter Axe +4	0.53	0.23	0.00	0.41
Hunter Axe +5	0.55	0.25	0.00	0.44
Hunter Axe +6	0.57	0.27	0.00	0.46
Hunter Axe +7	0.59	0.29	0.00	0.48
Hunter Axe +8	0.61	0.31	0.00	0.50
Hunter Axe +9	0.63	0.33	0.00	0.52
Hunter Axe +10	0.65	0.35	0.00	0.55
	Scaling

Scaling determines how much additional damage a weapon deals. You gain a percentage of the weapon's base damage as additional damage, indicated by a "+" next to the weapon's base damage.

Average Physical Attack Increase (Strength & Skill)

This table will show you the approximate damage increase you will gain per point of a stat with a +10 weapon. There are three main ranges: base to 26, 26 to 50, and 51 to 99. The Damage per Point is how much each point of the stat will raise your attack power in that range. The Estimated Attack Gained is how much attack power will gain from that range in total.

Stat Range (Strength)	Damage per Point	Estimated Attack Gained	Stat Range (Skill)	Damage per Point	Estimated Attack Gained
10 to 25	3.63	58	9 to 25	1.82	31
26 to 50	1.76	44	26 to 50	0.96	24
50 to 99	0.41	20	50 to 99	0.22	11

Normal Mode Attacks Properties

Attack	DMG X	Type	Stamina	Rally X	Impact	Note
R1	1.00	Physical	25	1.00	Light	too slow to combo against some enemies
→ R1 (2nd)	1.00	Physical	25	1.00	Light
→ → R1 (3rd)	1.10	Physical	25	1.10	Light
→ → → R1 (4th)	1.20	Blunt	25	1.20	Normal
R1 (backstep)	0.95	Physical	15 (+10)	0.95	Light	fast startup
R1 (rolling)	0.95	Physical	15 (+10)	0.95	Light	fast startup
R1 (frontstep)	0.95	Physical	15 (+10)	0.95	Light
R1 (sidestep)	0.95	Physical	15 (+10)	0.95	Light
R1 (dash)	1.10	Physical	35 (+X)	1.10	Normal
R2	1.35	Blunt	45	1.35	Normal	causes many enemies to stumble easily
R2 (charged)	2.00	Blunt	75	2.00	Massive	continuously hold the button to execute
R2 (backstep)	1.30	Blunt	35(+10)	1.30	Normal
R2 (dash)	1.45	Physical	60 (+X)	1.45	Normal	better damage than a normal R2
R2 (forward leap)	1.40	Blunt	60	1.40	Normal	tap forward on the stick just as you press R2 to execute
Transform Attack	1.10	Physical	30 (+X)	2.50	Normal	press L1 while performing another action to execute; forced Guard Break
Plunge Attack	1.40	Blunt	50	1.40	Massive	press R1 or R2 while falling to execute
Plunge Attack (2nd hit)	0.90	Blunt	-	0.00	Normal	Plunge (AoE)

Note: Damage Multiplier data from official guide checked with http://darksouls2verificationdata.web.fc2.com/motion-bloodborne.html for correction after patch 1.09.

Feb 2022 Update: All attack properties (damage multiplier, damage type, stamina cost & attack impact) verified with datamined game files and added rally values for each attack.

Transformed Mode Attacks Properties

Attack	DMG X	Type	Stamina	Rally X	Impact	Note
R1	1.05	Blunt	27	1.05	Light	sweeping arc is good against crowds
→ R1 (2nd)	1.15	Blunt	32	1.15	Normal	hits high; useful for striking enemy weak points
→ → R1 (3rd)	1.05	Physical	27	1.05	Light
→ → → R1 (4th)	1.15	Blunt	32	1.15	Normal
→ → → → R1 (5th)	1.20	Blunt	32	1.20	Normal
R1 (backstep)	1.00	Physical	15 (+10)	1.00	Light
R1 (rolling)	0.65	Physical	15 (+10)	0.65	Light	fast startup
R1 (frontstep)	0.65	Physical	15 (+10)	0.65	Light	fast startup
R1 (sidestep)	0.95	Physical	15 (+10)	0.95	Light
R1 (dash)	1.15	Physical	35 (+X)	1.15	Normal	good damage; useful for hit-and-run tactics
R2	1.37	Blunt	50	1.37	Normal	hits high; useful for striking enemy weak points
R2 (charged)	1.50 + 1.30	Blunt	100	1.50 + 1.30	Massive	continuously hold the button to execute
R2 (backstep)	1.10	Blunt	30 (+10)	1.10	Normal
R2 (dash)	1.50	Blunt	60 (+X)	1.50	Heavy	hits high; useful for striking enemy weak points
R2(forward leap)	1.45	Blunt	60	1.45	Heavy	tap forward on the stick just as you press R2 to execute
L2	1.25	Blunt	45	1.25	Normal	great range; good against crowds
→ L2 (2nd)	1.25	Blunt	45	1.25	Normal	great range; good against crowds
→ → L2 (3rd)	1.35	Blunt	50	1.35	Heavy	hits high; useful for striking enemy weak points
Transform Attack	1.20	Blunt	30 (+X)	2.50	Normal	press L1 while performing another action to execute; forced Guard Break
Plunge Attack	1.40	Blunt	50	1.45	Massive	press R1 or R2 while falling to execute
Plunge Attack (2nd hit)	0.90	Blunt	-	0.00	Normal	Plunge (AoE)

Note: Damage Multiplier data from official guide checked with http://darksouls2verificationdata.web.fc2.com/motion-bloodborne.html for correction after patch 1.09.

Feb 2022 Update: All attack properties (damage multiplier, damage type, stamina cost & attack impact) verified with datamined game files and added rally values for each attack.

Attack: Attacks are named for the input command required to execute them.

Attack Damage Multipliers: Each attack has a different multiplier. Your attack's power is equal to the attack power of your weapon times this multiplier. Higher multipliers mean stronger attacks.

Type: Damage type determines which gems will boost your attack and which defense the enemy will use to reduce the damage. If multiple types are listed, the attack has two separate damage components that are calculated separately.

Stamina: Each attack costs a different amount of stamina. Numbers in parentheses indicate the cost of the additional action required to execute the attack. For example, a backstep attack requires a backstep, which costs 10 stamina.

Impact: When you hit an enemy, it will be stunned momentarily. Impact is an assessment of how heavy the stun will be. The scale is Light > Normal > Heavy > Massive. Attacks with Massive Impact often cause knockdowns.

Key
Damage	Requirements	Stat Bonuses	Special Attack
The Damage stat dictates how much damage the weapon does. The Damage stats for a weapon are V / W / X / Y / Z: V is Physical damage W is Blood damage X is Arcane damage Y is Fire damage Z is Bolt damage	The Requirements determines how high various Stats must be in order to wield the weapon effectively. The Requirement stats for a weapon are W / X / Y / Z: W is the Strength required X is the Skill required Y is the Bloodtinge required Z is the Arcane required	The Stat Bonuses rating indicates the level of bonus you receive based on the associated Stat when you use a weapon. This rating can be S , A , B , C , D , or E (in order from most to least bonus for the associated stat). For more information about the scaling as a whole and its values visit the Scaling wiki page.	The special attack attributes for a weapon are W / X / Y / Z: W is the Slow Poison attack X is the Rapid Poison attack Y is the VS. Kin attack Z is the VS. Beasts attack