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Election Results
-- favors -- favors -- favors

Election Results
08 favors 99 favors 36 favors

Since messengers are gathering in Messengers' Lodge, it's about time to play together and why not involve adored hunters as well. Messengers Events are thematic plays for community surrounding Bloodborne and this wiki. It is done for your amusement and little bit of competitiveness. Each play has own theme, story and all kind of messengers playing their roles. There are honorary rewards Insight and Titles for achieved successes of participating hunters. Down below you can see leaderboard of most adored hunters, who accumlated such rewards, also current event (if announced) and played past events.

Adoration	Hunter	Acquired Insight	Events
1. - 2.	Trin	2	Messengers' Lodge Event + 1 Insight: AutumnalVoid, Blarc576, BabyPana, Trin, mug
1. - 2.	Copper Coin	2
3. - 8.	AutumnalVoid	1
3. - 8.	Blarc576	1
3. - 8.	BabyPana	1
3. - 8.	mug	1
3. - 8.	Skaski	1
3. - 8.	Dopefull	1

Most Adored Hunters Adoration Hunter Insight Honored Title 1. Trin 2 Melvin Finder 1. Copper Coin 2 Bertram Finder, Giles Finder 3. AutumnalVoid 1 Messengers' Lodge Finder 3. Skaski 1 Silas Finder 3. Dopefull 1 Harrell Finder 3. Blarc576 1 - 3. BabyPana 1 - 3. mug 1 - Messengers' Lodge Event + 1 Insight: AutumnalVoid, Blarc576, BabyPana, Trin, mug Cainhurst Play Event + 1 Insight: Trin, Skaski, Dopefull, Copper Coin, Copper Coin

Damage

Depth	Guillotine	Pendulum Axe	Rolling Boulder	Arrow	Barbecue Pan [pic]	Exploding Barrel	Poison Smoke
1	550	550	1000	300	130	152	0.1% + 12 / s
2	650	650	1400	370	160	187	0.1% + 13 / s
3	800	800	1600	500	230	257	0.1% + 17 / s
4	1000	1000	1670	580	270	322	0.1% + 21 / s
5	1000	1000	1670	600	280	372	0.1% + 25 / s
	Physical Damage			Fire Damage

Note 1:	Arrow trap gets affected by dungeon damage scaling.
Note 2:	Flaming Boulder doesn't have a separate entry from the normal one.
Note 3:	Dungeon Cannons deal 350 blood dmg base and scales with chalice multipliers.

Table of Contents

Related Wiki Pages

Chalice Glyphs: tested July, 2023

Basic Information

Table of Contents

List of Changes

How to Access

Amygdalae Grab (DLC Access) Research

DLC Trophies

DLC Notes

NeoGaf's The Old Hunters |OT|

Pre-release Archived Information

Related Wiki Pages (In Alphabetical Order)
Used In:	link, link, link
Related:	link, link, link

Bloodborne Wiki Event

On 14 July 2023 Bloodborne Wiki Event took place, here on this page you will find all information about it.

On 13 July, 2023 day before event took place PSA was posted on twitter, main Bloodborne discord and Tomb Prospectors discord (followed by several other community discords) to let community know that something is coming and prepare. It said: "PSA: I hope you all are well and feeling playful this summer. Tomorrow at 7PM CEST (same time as posting this) I will announce peculiar event for Bloodborne Wiki, contest you might say. Tempted?" [archived tweet]

On the day of the event annoucement post was made (twitter, main Bloodborne discord and Tomb Prospectors discord) and event started on 7PM CEST. It said: "Wiki Event Announcement - The "hoont" is calling but this time we are hunting a secret. One of the Messengers dressed up as The Doll & beckons you to follow. Be first and become known as the one to unravel its mystery. Everything you need to know is in the picture below, have fun!" [archived tweet]

Event concluded 3 hours later when 5 hunters found the Messengers' Lodge at 10PM CEST post was made to publicly reveal its location and residence of the Doll messenger. It said: "A group of hunters led by AutumnalVoid followed by veterans Blarc576, BabyPana, Trin from Tomb Prospectors and scholar mug made their way into the deeps of Bloodborne Wiki and brought back information about whereabouts of the Messengers' Lodge." [archived tweet]

Announcement Poster & Rules

Results

A group of hunters led by AutumnalVoid followed by veterans Blarc576, BabyPana, Trin from Tomb Prospectors and scholar mug made their way into the deeps of Bloodborne Wiki and brought back information about whereabouts of the Messengers' Lodge.

First Hunter in 36 minutes	Report: and first hunter to unravel the mystery was AutumnalVoid (twitter) showing off the spelunking skill and do it in 36 minutes. But hunt for others continues who will be next?
	AutumnalVoid's Strategy: Started with "obvious" things like doll, lady maria, then some basics like yharnam, micolash, gherman and when I came to blood vials, I extended from opening single tabs to opening multiple that were offered when typing in a search. Not sure exactly which entry's additional suggestions had the flowers page in it, it was quite an adrenaline rush when I found the first little one on iosefka's blood vial.
Second Hunter in 53 minutes	Report: Keep it coming! We have second hunter to discover the secret this time it's Blarc576 (discord) doing it 53 minutes.
	Blarc576's Strategy: Home -> Sitemap -> Brute force every page there is in alphabetical order, in short: I was lucky it sat under "F".
Third Hunter in 1h 8 minutes	Report: Third hunter BabyPana (discord) made its way into the unknown and in 1h 8 minutes.
	BabyPana's Strategy: Well, I actually found on my second try! Had I joined the hoont at 7pm I might have been the first one. I just thought "where would I find the a messenger dressed up as the doll?", so I searched for the Hunter's Dream, and then the wiki suggested me the Flowers in Hunter's Dream entry.
Fourth Hunter in 1h 25 minutes	Report: 4th huntress made it in! It is getting crowded, Trin (discord) from Tomb Prospectors used well her prospecting skills, at time 1h 25 minutes.
	Trin's Strategy: I was clicking on each pages through Sitemap and hoped, ...I tried to click on pages I thought wasn't visited as much.
Fifth Hunter 2h 19 minutes	Report: Fifth hunter mug (twitter) sneaked in and secret is no more! This time in 2h 19 minutes. Hunters are returning to the surface to let everyone know about what they found. Secret will be revelead at 10PM (CEST) so about 25 minutes from now.
	Mug's Strategy: I guessed it would have something to do with the Doll, so I was searched things related to the doll and saw the page when I searched hunter's dream haha.

Community

What is this? One of the messengers made it outside of Bloodborne Wiki and joined Tomb Prospectors on Discord.

Child’s Play

Aside from their corpse-like appearance, thanks to their small stature, the Messengers also appear somewhat childlike. Taken together, these details suggest that these creatures might very well be dead children—or spirits of dead children. This idea isn’t new, but it isn’t just reliant upon these surface-level observations. To the contrary, there’s a trove of compelling evidence to support this line of thinking. In this section, we’ll progress from the most basic to the most robust supporting information.

Within the Nightmare Frontier, we can obtain a somewhat frivolous item called Messenger’s Gift, which transforms the player-character into a small group of Messengers. While the English text refers to this transformation as a “parlor trick,” in the Japanese it’s described as “a childish kind of illusion” (Last Protagonist) or “a type of illusion on the level of child’s play” (Aruki Mania). That gets us started. There’s also a small collection of purely cosmetic items that are exclusive to the Messengers, which allow us to outfit them in bows, bandages or even Church attire. The description for almost all these accessories includes the statement, “Why not let them be happy, and revel as babes?” All these descriptions allude to the happiness of infants—children at play and babes in revelry.

The infant-like physiognomy of the Messengers, coupled with these item descriptions that refer to their childlike behavior, bolsters the notion that the Messengers are—or at one point were—human children. But those are minor details compared to what we can discern from the vessels that house the Messengers: the stump and the baths. These change everything. Let’s first turn our attention to the stump, where we can change the outfits and accessories of the Messengers. If we’re operating on the assumption that 1) the Messengers are dead, and 2) they’re childlike, then we’re able to make a massive revelation about where From Software drew inspiration for this environmental feature.

Passiliran

The mountainous region of Tana Toraja in central Indonesia is home to an ethnic group called the Torajans, who are known primarily for one thing: their unique rituals to treat and honor the dead. Although the Torajans practice a form of Christianity, their spiritual beliefs are distinct from observers of the faith across the world. In Tana Toraja, the dead must receive a funeral commensurate with their status in the culture’s caste system, otherwise the soul of the deceased won’t pass on to the afterlife. For that reason, most families, which have no intergenerational wealth, save for years to pay for funeral expenses which primarily involves the purchase of pigs and water buffalo that are slaughtered in honor of their dead loved one. During this period of saving, the body of the deceased remains in the home and is treated as if the dead family member is still alive.

But the funeral rites for dead infants and stillborn children are perhaps even more remarkable. In Torajan culture, when a fetus or newborn dies, in order to send its spirit directly to the afterlife the family will carve a hole in a breadfruit tree and place the body of the deceased child inside. They cover the hollow with palm fibers, and years later, when the fibers have fallen away, the child’s body will have been absorbed by the tree. For the Torajans, this arboreal grave serves as a “second womb,” and “When the tree dies, a timely death has been achieved” (Hoppenbrouwers et al., 660).

This is an intriguing explanation for why the Messengers of Bloodborne reside in the stump. It’s an indication to us that, like dead Torajan infants, the Messengers are dead children. But there’s more to it than that. As part of their ongoing efforts to honor their deceased loved ones, the Torajans routinely change the clothes of the dead, which involves exhuming the corpse every few years to change its clothes and accessories, such as jewelry and eyeglasses. The Messengers of the stump, who live in the hollow of a tree, similarly allow us to change their attire and accessories. This seems to explain why the item descriptions of most Messenger accessories state, “The inhabitants of the stump appear to have an interest in adornment.”

Limbus Infantium

That might clarify matters involving the stump, but what about the baths? Again, if we’re operating on the assumption that the Messengers are dead and childlike, we can find our answers. These stone installations within the Hunter’s Dream and deep within the chalice dungeons are called baths, we know, because the Saw Hunter Badge refers to “the messengers in the bath.” But this word choice appears to be a bit of misdirection. These are actually baptismal fonts, the sacred vessels used to baptize newborn children.

Although many denominations of Christianity observe baptism, some view the practice as largely symbolic of one’s acceptance of Christ as a personal savior while treating the act of baptism as the cleansing or washing away of one’s sin. Catholicism, though, for centuries has treated baptism as a necessity for spiritual salvation and admittance to heaven. This stems from Christ’s exchange with Nicodemus in the New Testament Book of John, Chapter 3. Nicodemus tells Jesus, “‘Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher come from God; for no one can do these signs that you do, unless God is with him.’ (3) Jesus answered him, ‘...I say to you, unless one is born anew, he cannot see the kingdom of God.’ (4) Nicodemus said to him, ‘How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother’s womb and be born?’ (5) Jesus answered, ‘...unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God.’” (Revised Standard Version Catholic Edition)

Because of Jesus’ rather unequivocal statement that baptism is necessary for salvation, many Christian denominations, including Catholicism, Christian Orthodoxy and Lutheranism, among others, don’t leave fate to chance. Rather than allowing a person to accept baptism at a later time in life, these denominations practice infant baptism shortly after a child is born. For Catholics, this is an edict contained within the Code of Canon Law, which states, “Can. 867 §1. Parents are obliged to take care that infants are baptized in the first few weeks; as soon as possible after the birth or even before it, they are to go to the pastor to request the sacrament for their child and to be prepared properly for it. §2. An infant in danger of death is to be baptized without delay.”

But what happens when a child dies before it can be baptized, whether dying while still in the womb or shortly after birth? This has been a point of uncertainty and ecumenical debate for centuries.

Theologians from as early as the fourth century contended that because dead infants were incapable of any moral act, it isn’t reasonable that they should suffer the punishment of hell. But because these children were never baptized and thus were still stained by the original sin of Adam that applied to all mankind, they could never ascend to heaven. Christian scholars reasoned that there must be a destination for dead, unbaptized infants whose only fault was being conceived into a sinful human race.

Around 370 A.D., the Archbishop of Constantinople, Gregory of Nazianzus, composed an oration on the topic of baptism. St. Gregory reasoned that, “those who fail to receive the gift [of baptism]…perhaps on account of infancy, or some perfectly involuntary circumstance through which they are prevented from receiving it…will be neither glorified nor punished by the righteous Judge.”

It was this rationale that over time led to the hypothesis of a Limbo of Infants, a realm bordering hell where the souls of unbaptized children would go for all eternity. This realm, in theory, would contain the spirits of aborted fetuses, of children who died in the womb, of those who died shortly after birth or those who were still too young to have developed the cognitive capacity for reason. Of great debate for centuries was whether these innocent souls would suffer pain, like the souls in hell, or would simply be deprived of the ultimate glory of heaven and the joy given by the Beatific Vision, coming face to face with God. The prominent 13th century philosopher and theologian St. Thomas Aquinas reasoned that these infant souls would not merely be free from pain; they would be in a state of natural joy, unaware that they had been deprived of the vision of God. Although the Limbo of Infants was never formally adopted as part of Catholic doctrine, the idea persisted for nearly seventeen hundred years until the Church under Pope Benedict XVI officially rejected the concept of Limbo in 2007.

The Messengers of Bloodborne, as we’ve shown, appear to be dead and childlike. And as the Doll tells us, these “little ones” are “inhabitants of the dream.” The Hunter’s Dream is their home, for all intents and purposes. So why are they found in these baptismal fonts and this tree stump? It’s to symbolize that the Messengers aren’t just children; they’re children who died in the womb or shortly after birth, hence before they could be baptized, and they’ve been relegated to this Hunter’s Dream, a Limbo of Infants for these Messengers. Why would the Messengers be the spirits of dead fetuses or newborns? We’ll return to this concept in Part 2.

While we’ve focused so far on what the Messengers are, we need to shift our attention to what the Messengers do. What exactly is their purpose in the game? We receive our first major clue during Bloodborne’s opening cutscene. After we’re administered the Yharnam blood, we seem to lose consciousness and experience a vision or hallucination. The Messengers rise from beneath the operating table and eventually overtake us as our field of vision fades to black. That’s when we hear the voice of the Doll for the first time. “Ah, you’ve found yourself a hunter.” Because the Doll and the Messengers inhabit the Hunter’s Dream, this short scene seems to suggest that the Messengers have somehow latched on to the soul or essence of the player-character and delivered it from Iosefka’s Clinic to the Hunter’s Dream. This sequence provides us with one of the most important insights into the Messengers’ purpose in the lore. They’re not just our companions; they’re psychopomps.

Psychopomps

A psychopomp is a guide to or protector of the soul as it makes the journey from the land of the living to some inevitable afterlife destination. For thousands of years, psychopomps have assumed numerous forms across a variety of cultures and religions, from human figures such as a shaman, to spirit animals such as dogs or deer. But there are other commonly known psychopomps. In Norse mythology, for example, the psychopomps of fallen warriors were the valkyrie. These warrior maidens were responsible for guiding the souls of the dead to Valhalla, Odin’s hall within Asgard, the realm of the gods. In Ancient Hebrew texts, the Archangel Michael is described as the psychopomp to the patriarchs, delivering the souls of Adam, Moses and Abraham from earth to heaven.

How do we know that the Messengers are psychopomps? There are many pieces of supporting evidence, but let’s start with the most basic. Even though it’s called the Hunter’s Dream, this area is overtly portrayed as an afterlife of sorts. Let’s think about it: When we die in the game for the first time, what happens to us? We don’t just start over at some random respawn point in Central Yharnam. We rise up from the ground of the Hunter’s Dream, in a haze, surrounded by gravestones and an endless sky of impenetrable fog. We’re being shown, at least initially, that this is where we go when we die. The Messengers somehow brought us here in the opening cutscene, and the Doll’s voice confirms that. Perhaps more accurately, they guided our soul here, just as a psychopomp would do. But that’s just the beginning.

Although Bloodborne contains about 15 distinct regions, from Central Yharnam to Byrgenwerth to Cainhurst, it’s largely divided between two realms or dimensions: the waking world and the dreamlands. The unsavory regions of the dreamlands include the Hunter’s Nightmare, the Nightmare Frontier and the Nightmare of Mensis. The Lecture Building, according to the Lecture Theatre Key, also is “adrift in the nightmare.” And the dreamlands include the Hunter’s Dream, although it might be slightly unique, as we’ll discuss later on.

The player-character can cross into the dreamlands by touching the dead body of Micolash near Advent Plaza or by carrying the Eye of a Blood-Drunk Hunter while being killed by an Amygdala. But if we want to access the Hunter’s Dream or return to the waking world from the Dream, we need something else: We need the Messengers. Not only does it seem clear that the Messengers first delivered us to the Hunter’s Dream during the opening cutscene, these creatures can be found alongside the mechanisms that we use to travel between worlds. They suddenly emerge at the base of the lamps that allow us to travel to the Hunter’s Dream. The Messengers also reside at the base of the Headstones of Awakening in the Hunter’s Dream, which allow us to reach the lamp locations everywhere throughout the game. If we want to travel to the Dream or to any lamp location, it would seem the Messengers are necessary to make that journey.

During Bloodborne’s development, From Software had implemented a travel system only slightly different from what we receive in the game’s finished product. In earlier drafts, the player-character was supposed to take a seat in a chair and slowly nod off, allowing them to return to the Hunter’s Dream. Although developers eventually settled on lamps instead of chairs, even in earlier stages of development the Messengers appear to have been part of the travel mechanic, as Lance McDonald demonstrated in 2018. The Messengers arise from the ground at the foot of the chairs, just as they do with the lamps in the commercially released version of the game. I think this is important because it suggests that interdimensional travel isn’t contingent upon a certain mechanism. It’s contingent upon the Messengers.

All of this substantiates the idea that the Messengers serve as our spiritual escorts across the boundary of the dreaming and waking worlds. If the Messengers are indeed the psychopomps of Bloodborne, it seems worthwhile to take a closer look at this phenomenon and where From Software might have drawn inspiration from real-world mythology and religion. This is where the psychopomp idea truly takes flight.

Mercury Rising

Although psychopomps manifest in many forms, some of the most widely recognized psychopomps are deities, including the Egyptian god Anubis and the Greek goddess Hecate. But commonly considered the archetype of psychopomps is the Roman god Mercury.

Mercury, along with his Greek predecessor Hermes, was responsible for ushering souls to the underworld. This meant delivering them to the banks of the River Styx, where the next psychopomp Charon would ferry them to Hades. But as with many Hellenic deities and their Roman offshoots, these weren’t the only areas of divine oversight for these gods. In addition to their role as guides to the dead, Hermes and Mercury were the gods of messages, or just commonly known as the messenger gods. They were regularly depicted as wearing a winged hat and winged sandals that allowed them to travel swiftly and shuttle messages or proclamations between the gods. And because Hermes was the only deity in the Greek pantheon who could cross into the underworld and return, he was seen as the intermediary between Hades and Olympus. That’s why Hermes and Mercury were considered the gods of boundaries. In fact, it’s possible that Hermes’ name comes from herma, an ancient Greek term for piles of stones that served as territorial boundary markers or trail markers.

Aside from their roles as conveyors of messages and souls, Hermes and Mercury were the gods of commerce and merchants. Although it’s disputed, it’s possible that the Latin mercari, meaning to trade, may have originated from Mercurius, the Latin name for the god Mercury. Words in romance languages associated with marketplaces, including marche or mercado, might be derived from Mercury.

What does all this mythology have to do with the Messengers? Well, let’s ask ourselves: What are the Messengers responsible for? First, as we’ve discussed, the Messengers seem to usher the soul of the player-character between worlds. They do this in the opening cutscene of the game and presumably every time we travel using the lamps or headstones. This suggests that the Messengers, like Hermes and Mercury, fulfill some sort of psychopomp responsibility within the game’s mythology. But what else do the Messengers do? Just like their name tells us, they deliver messages. The description for the Notebook item tells us, “Leave a note using messengers….Use them to send messages to other worlds.” Here, just like with Hermes and Mercury, the gods who relayed messages between the lands of the living and the dead, the Messengers are responsible for the conveyance of messages between worlds. But what else do the Messengers do? Their vital role, as easy as it is to take for granted, is to serve as the merchants of the game. These bizarre figures who can’t walk or speak, for some inexplicable reason were designed as the vendors of the game. We buy and sell weapons, armor and consumables by interacting with the Messengers—not with Gehrman or the Doll or some human being at a shop; we conduct business with the Messengers. Mercury and Hermes were the gods of shopkeepers and merchants, and the Messenger Baths are the marketplaces of Bloodborne.

Because of their association with messages, commerce, conveyance of souls to the afterlife, and their ability to cross into all planes of existence within the Bloodborne universe, the Messengers appear to be representative of, or somehow intertwined with the mythos of, the god Mercury. Why is that so?

Although there might be much more to it, I think this association with Mercury is to confirm the psychopomp role of the Messengers and simultaneously demonstrate that the Hunter’s Dream and the nightmare regions aren’t just to be seen as alternative planes of existence or dreamlands—we’re supposed to see them as afterlifes for the Messengers, the hunters and the scholars of Bloodborne. That’s what we’ll explore in Part 2. Thanks for watching.

References

Apel, Thomas. “Mercury.” Mythopedia, December 9, 2022. https://mythopedia.com/topics/mercury.

Cain, John. “Soul.” In Encyclopedia of Death & The Human Experience, Vol. 2, edited by Clifton D. Bryant & Dennis L. Peck, 881–83, 2009.

Code of Canon Law: Book IV, Part I, Title I, Chapter III: c. 867. https://www.vatican.va/archive/cod-iuris-canonici/eng/documents/cic_lib4-cann834-878_en.html#CHAPTER_III.

Endres, Fr. David. “Question of Faith: Do We Still Believe in ‘Limbo’?” The Catholic Telegraph, November 29, 2017. https://www.thecatholictelegraph.com/question-of-faith-do-we-still-believe-in-limbo/46903.

Hannah, Darrell D. Michael and Christ: Michael Tradition and Angel Christology in Early Christianity. Eugene, Oregon: Mohr Siebeck, 1999.

Hoppenbrouwers, Toke, Stanislaus Sandarupa and Aurora Donzelli. “From the Womb to the Tree: Child rearing practices and beliefs among the Toraja of Sulawesi.” Wacana 18, no. 3 (2017): 658-91.

International Theological Commission. “The Hope of Salvation for Infants Who Died without Being Baptized.” https://www.vatican.va/roman_curia/congregations/cfaith/cti_documents/rc_con_cfaith_doc_20070419_un-baptised-infants_en.html.

Kugel, Seth. “In Indonesia, a Region Where Death Is a Lure.” The New York Times, July 30, 2015. https://www.nytimes.com/2015/07/30/travel/frugal-traveler-indonesia-death-rituals.html

Pullella, Philip. “Catholic Church Buries Limbo After Centuries,” Reuters, April 20, 2007.

Tahir, M. Dalyan, “Learning Local Wisdom through the Symbols of Ma’nene’ Rituals in North

Toraja: A Semiotic Perspective.” The Journal of Ultimate Research and Trends in Education 2, no. 3 (2020): 108-20.

The Britannica. “Mercury: Myth, Symbols & Facts.” https://www.britannica.com/topic/Mercury-Roman-god/.

Trenchard, Tommy and Aurelie Marrier d’Unienviell. “The Dead Live With Their Loved Ones On This Indonesian Island.” NPR, September 29, 2019. https://www.npr.org/sections/goatsandsoda/2019/09/29/764638760/photos-the-dead-live-with-their-loved-ones-on-this-indonesian-island

Webb, Dom Bruno. “Unbaptized Infants and the Quasi-Sacrament of Death.” The Downside Review, 71 no. 225 (1953): 243-57.

Additional Resources

Lance McDonald. “Bloodborne Alpha Cut Content::Yharnam NPC::Fully Working Warp Chair!” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9xDX6UWpacM

Last Protagonist. “Japanese Retranslation Guide.” https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1NKkhAVz338xavCMiHplN--qxQG63K5kpBFDsbNUlg5g/edit#gid=0

Last Protagonist. “The Old Blood Explained.” See section “Blood, Beasts, and Messengers.” https://youtu.be/CKqGCS5Z9OY?list=PLQnUanUs-C--r07ZH3qD_X8Rwxx8gSoku&t=43

	Blood Vial	輸血液
	Special blood vial that restores HP.	ＨＰを回復する特別な血液
	Special blood used in ministration. Restores HP. Once a patient has had their blood ministered, a unique but common treatment in Yharnam, successive infusions recall the first, and are all the more invigorating for it. No surprise that most Yharnamites are heavy users of blood.	血の医療で使用される特別な血液。ＨＰを回復する ヤーナム独特の血の医療を受けたものは 以後、同様の輸血により生きる力、その感覚を得る 故にヤーナムの民の多くは、血の常習者である

	Blood Vial （輸血液）
	Special blood vial that restores HP.	ＨＰを回復する特別な血液
	Special blood used in ministration. Restores HP. Once a patient has had their blood ministered, a unique but common treatment in Yharnam, successive infusions recall the first, and are all the more invigorating for it. No surprise that most Yharnamites are heavy users of blood.	血の医療で使用される特別な血液。ＨＰを回復する ヤーナム独特の血の医療を受けたものは 以後、同様の輸血により生きる力、その感覚を得る 故にヤーナムの民の多くは、血の常習者である

	Blood Vial （輸血液）
	Special blood vial that restores HP.	ＨＰを回復する特別な血液
	Special blood used in ministration. Restores HP. Once a patient has had their blood ministered, a unique but common treatment in Yharnam, successive infusions recall the first, and are all the more invigorating for it. No surprise that most Yharnamites are heavy users of blood.	血の医療で使用される特別な血液。ＨＰを回復する ヤーナム独特の血の医療を受けたものは 以後、同様の輸血により生きる力、その感覚を得る 故にヤーナムの民の多くは、血の常習者である

Basic Information

Icon	Name	No. Held	Stored	Availability	Opens	Special note
	Astral Clocktower Key	- / 1	- / -	Living Failures	Opens gate to Astral Clocktower	Key to Astral Clocktower, atop the Grand Cathedral

Astral Clocktower Key ❘ 時計塔の鍵	Key Item

In-Game Description Key to the Astral Clocktower at the top of the Grand Cathedral. The caretaker of the tower's numerous patients, known to them only as Lady Maria, made her home behind the giant star-interpreting clock. Note 1: The same in-game description in US & UK versions. ✓ Note 2: Original Japanese text on Original Japanese Item Index page. ✓ Note 1: Different in-game description (right) in US (1) & UK (2) versions (more). ✕ Note 2: Original Japanese text on Original Japanese Item Index page. ✓ Opens Click for full resolution, © Bloodborne Collector’s Edition Guide by Future Press. You'll automatically receive Astral Clocktower Key upon defeating the Living Failures boss towards the end of the Research Hall. Once you have it you'll be able to open the door to the Astral Clocktower that the boss was guarding. At the start of Living Failures battle you'll only have to face one or two of these enemies, but as the fight progresses, more and more will gradually appear in the area. While each one only has a relatively small amount of health and can be killed off, you need to defeat enough of them to deplete their overall shared HP pool. Because they have quite high physical resistance, your best means of killing them is to use elemental attacks, or try to Interrupt them and use Visceral Attacks, since they will still deal significant damage. Once you've killed enough of them to finish the fight you'll automatically get the key, and the Lumenwood Garden lamp will appear at the back of the area near the locked door. Upon entering the Astral Clocktower you'll notice a mysterious figure sat in a chair on the opposite side of the room; approach the chair and inspect the corpse to trigger a cutscene. As soon as that cutscene is over the fight with Lady Maria will begin, so make sure you're ready beforehand. Availability Dropped by (Old Hunters DLC): Living Failures in Research Hall Lumenwood Garden Notes This Item is part of The Old Hunters DLC. Upon starting New Game+ all of the Key Items (except for Badges, Blood Gem Workshop Tool, Rune Workshop Tool, Short Ritual Root Chalice, Workshop Haze Extractor, Yharnam Stone and Ring of Betrothal) you acquired on your previous playthrough will be stripped away and you'll need to collect them again.

Huntsman (Torch & Axe) ❘ 獣狩りの群集	Regular Enemy

Description These denizens of Yharnam started off hunting beasts, but eventually the plague took most of their humanity as well. The fever-like urge to hunt remains, but they themselves have already been infested with the scourge of the beast. Unaware of this fact, they continue to search for prey to hunt and kill. Perhaps through their murky eyes, humans are seen as the true beasts. (Pre-release official description) Overview A basic enemy encountered throughout Yharnam and the surrounding areas. Huntsmen patrolling the streets of Central Yharnam will travel set routes which you can use to either avoid or ambush them; they also sometimes guard fixed positions. These foes are weak on their own, but almost never appear alone - the greatest danger they present is their ability to swarm you in large numbers if you're not careful. Their close-range torch attacks are especially deadly, because they leave almost no time to react and can hit you several times in a row; on the other hand, their weapon attacks have longer reach, but are much slower and more predictable. There are a wide variety of Huntsmen, but they all share some basic traits and can be killed with a few hits from your weapon. The trick to eliminating risk is to separate them and fight them one at a time, using pebbles if necessary. Some, such as the Torch & Shield variant, are more defensive and require a slightly different approach, but most, when fought alone are best tackled by cutting them down before they can attack. The ones that use longer combos, such as the Sickle and Cleaver variants, tend to give you easy chances for landing charged R2 attacks from behind while they recover from their attack string. The Cutlass and Pitchfork variants are the most dangerous, and should be considered the highest threat among a group of them, due to their ability to strike from the back of the group and still reach you. Executioners found in lower streets of Healing Church Workshop. Huntsman's idle animation can separate him from the group. Strategy Avoid standing close to them, because they can use an extremely fast poke with their torch that can easily hit you out of your attacks - instead, stay just outside their melee range and wait for them to act. If they attack with the torch, wait for them to finish swinging and strike during their recovery; if they close in with the axe, quickstep toward them and through the attack, then hit them from behind. They turn around too quickly to use a charged R2 after evading through an attack, so a quick R1 combo will work out better. Be careful when pursuing these enemies, because they can use a multi-hit torch attack while walking backwards, and it's easy to get caught in it if you're overly aggressive. Variants Basic variant found throughout Yharnam. Variant with White Clothes found in Forbidden Woods. Variant with Executioner Clothes found in Healing Church Workshop. Blood variant summoned by Bell Ringer in Yahar'gul. Old Hunter variant found in Hunter's Nightmare. Notes All enemies and bosses (except hunter enemies) have 999 frenzy resistance, despite that they are still vulnerable to such status. The only way to see it without modding is to use Shaman Bone Blade on enemy inflicting frenzy to attack others. [test video] Huntsmen in area surrounding Lower Chapel in Cathedral Ward have different HP pool (194 HP) than rest of the area (197 HP). Huntsmen (Executioners) found in Healing Church Workshop ground streets have different HP and Blood Echoes pool (218/128) than rest of the area (271/142). They wear Butcher Set which can be found as treasure in Hunter's Nightmare. Their attack patterns are the same with the normal version. In groups Huntsmen with torches will perform torch waving animation and shout rare dialogues like "Death to the minister! Death!", "Rip the kid apart!", "Idola will be the judge!", "You! Yes!", "Dammit! Where are you tryin’ to go?" In developer testing Chalice Dungeon was discovered original version of this enemy as seen in Project Beast trailers, for more information go to Save-editing Chalice Dungeons wiki page.

For all models and in-game images visit Gallery wiki page. Pungent Blood Cocktails don't attract this enemy, making the item ineffective. Shaman Bone Blades affect this enemy, making it hostile to other enemies.

Chalice Dungeons [By Esper_Row, with input from the Tomb Prospectors’ Discord]

Getting Started What is a chalice dungeon? A chalice dungeon consists of three or four layers, each containing a minor level culminating in a boss fight. Each layer tasks the hunter to navigate a series of underground ruins and find a lever that opens a locked gate to the boss, so that they may proceed to the next floor and repeat the process until the dungeon’s end. The difficulty of a dungeon is dependent on its depth, which is represented by a number from 1-5, with 1 being the easiest and 5 being the hardest. Chalice dungeons are divided into two categories: fixed dungeons (also called “story dungeons” by the community) and root dungeons. How do I begin dungeon-diving? The first obtainable chalice is the Pthumeru Chalice, which is dropped by the Blood-starved Beast in Old Yharnam. The two Ritual Blood (1) needed to create it are found earlier in the level, on an altar in the church with the crucified beast corpse and horde of beast patients. To use it, conduct the ritual at any of the six altars to the left of the headstones in the Hunter's Dream. This is where you will always be creating dungeons. You’ll be able to obtain all of the remaining chalices for Pthumeru by progressing past this one. Other chalices obtained from the main game are the Ailing Loran Chalice from Amygdala in the Nightmare Frontier and the Great Isz Chalice from Ebrietas, Daughter of the Cosmos in Upper Cathedral Ward, although these will be significantly more difficult and should be saved for much later in your playthrough. What is the difference between a fixed dungeon and a root dungeon? A fixed dungeon can be considered the normal version of a chalice. Its map has set enemy/item placements, layouts, and bosses, all of which remain the same each time the dungeon is generated. Fixed dungeons are generally made once per character to unlock other chalices they contain and make them open to connect to for co-op. A root dungeon will almost always be a different experience every time you create one. When a root dungeon is generated, the game pulls from a list of 100-200 pre-generated dungeon maps for that chalice and spawns one of them. Each map will have a unique arrangement of rooms and differing placements of items, enemies, and bosses. Root chalices are never required for story dungeon progression, but they are important to have for accessing glyphs later on. When should I tackle the fixed dungeons? Depth 1 is scaled to be accessible as soon as you defeat the Blood-starved Beast, so you can begin the journey immediately. Gehrman even encourages the hunter to do so. A +3 weapon is good to have at this point, which should be achievable with the abundance of Blood Stone Shards scattered throughout the early game. Depth 2 is a minor step up in enemy scaling from the previous depth. Most will be comfortable coming here directly after depth 1, although getting a handful of extra levels beforehand is wise. Depth 3 sees a noticeable spike in difficulty and should be saved until after you reach Yahar'gul, Unseen Village in the blood moon phase. A +6 weapon at minimum is recommended. Depth 4 is where the dungeons start to earn their infamy, as this is where the ever popular Defiled Chalice resides. Enemy damage and health modifiers start to rival and even exceed the late game and DLC here, so it’s best to hold off on these dungeons until you reach the endgame in Mensis and max out your main weapon at +10. For the Defiled Chalice in particular, which comes with the twist of a cursed rite, it’s wise to have a high Vitality stat (at least 40 ideally) and multiple Clockwise Metamorphosis runes. Depth 5 amps the enemy scaling even further than depth 4. While the lack of a natural cursed rite makes the depth 5 fixed dungeons less punishing than the Defiled Chalice, you should still expect a decent challenge here, especially from Pthumeru Ihyll. If you choose to ignore the dungeons until after completing the main game and/or DLC, depths 1-3 will largely become a cakewalk, due to their early and mid game difficulty that never scales with story progress or New Game Plus cycles. Making detours into the dungeons throughout a playthrough will provide more gems/upgrade materials for the main story and prevent the monotony of blitzing through five or more easy dungeons all in a row during the endgame. What are ritual materials? Ritual materials are ingredients used to create chalice dungeons. The most basic ones are Ritual Blood and Tomb Mold, which will be required for the majority of dungeons you make. These materials are each separated into five levels, represented by the number in their names. The level of Ritual Blood/Tomb Mold needed always corresponds to the dungeon’s depth, so the depth 1 Pthumeru Chalice requires Ritual Blood (1) and the pattern continues from there. As you descend to lower and lower depths, you will need to gather higher quantities of increasingly rare materials for each dungeon made. If you are following the game’s intended dungeon progression, exploring each fixed dungeon’s layers and side areas thoroughly to find chests with materials is critical. You may occasionally need to farm certain enemies for materials as well. All materials will eventually become purchasable in the Hunter’s Dream from the two messenger’s shops by completing certain fixed dungeons and entering New Game Plus. The only material found exclusively outside of the dungeons is the Living String, which is needed for Pthumeru Ihyll and dropped by the Brain of Mensis on death. As such, it is recommended that you do not enter New Game Plus until you obtain this material, as you will otherwise need to make your way back to Mensis in New Game Plus to obtain it. There is also a common bug associated with the Brain that prevents it from dropping the Living String while in co-op, however it should respawn after reloading the area. What is the Short Root Ritual Chalice? The Short Root Ritual Chalice can be bought from the Insight messenger bath for 10 Insight after completing the first Pthumeru fixed dungeon. It enables use of the Makeshift Altar, which comes with a handful of useful functions. With it, you can perform a quick search to open a random root dungeon you meet the entry requirements for, resonate your bell to be summoned to a host seeking assistance, or invade a dungeon with an active bell maiden as an adversary, all directly from the Hunter’s Dream. This is a great tool for hunters looking to find random dungeons to explore and/or participate with others in, although the game’s age and the altar’s notoriously slow matchmaking usually make for long waiting times between sessions. What are rites? Rites are additional modifiers that can be added to a root dungeon. Each rite makes a dungeon more difficult, but some also improve your rewards for exploring. The lower the depth, the more rites become available. There are four in total that are available by the time you reach Depth 5: The fetid rite will grant a red aura to several enemies throughout the dungeon, increasing their damage output by 35%. On the positive side, these enemies will drop larger amounts of Blood Echoes and more rare items. The rotted rite will replace some enemies in the dungeon with one or a combination of the following new enemy types in every layer: Eye Collectors, who will aggressively summon Mad Ones in groups of three until killed NPC hunters of varying builds, including: Saw Spear hunter wearing the Bone Ash set, Chikage hunter wearing the Cainhurst set, Logarius Wheel hunter wearing the Gold Ardeo Roaming Labyrinth Ritekeepers, each flanked by a small patrol of Pthumerian watchers The cursed rite will halve the hunter’s HP while they remain within the dungeon. It also causes all enemies to drop cursed gems by default, which have much stronger primary effects at the cost of a random negative effect. Like the fetid rite, echo amounts and item drop rates from enemies are improved, but the cursed rite also has a hidden effect that boosts the item discovery of any hunter with an Eye or Milkweed rune equipped by a staggering 1000. While cursed dungeons represent some of the most challenging content Bloodborne has to offer, they are always the most lucrative places to farm for blood gems and echoes. Sinister Rite will add a guaranteed Bell Ringer to every layer of the dungeon. Notably, this rite is only available for separate sinister root chalices and cannot normally be stacked with the prior rites. Ringing either of the Beckoning or Sinister Bells in a sinister dungeon will still spawn a second Bell Maiden, allowing up to two invaders to join at once. This rite provides no tangible improvements to rewards, but it is handy for PvP-centric hunters looking to set up fight clubs or run dungeons with the added twist of multiple invaders. If they are entirely optional, why even bother with the chalice dungeons? Players looking to obtain Bloodborne’s Platinum Trophy must reach the Pthumeru Ihyll fixed dungeon to defeat Yharnam, Pthumerian Queen. Doing so via the intended path will require traversing the four previous Pthumeru fixed dungeons and, unless in New Game Plus, two additional detours into other chalices for necessary materials. More dedicated hunters seek the dungeons for their powerful Blood Gems, which trounce those found in the main game. To give an example, the strongest physical damage gems outside of the dungeons are 22.3% cursed temperings, dropped by Winter Lanterns in the Fishing Hamlet. In depth 5 cursed dungeons, the Merciless Watchers can drop temperings as powerful as 27.2%, providing a substantial leap in damage for any build. Optimizing any weapon in Bloodborne will require varying amounts of time spent farming in the dungeons’ lowest depths. There are, of course, more reasons to go deeper. The chalice dungeons are home to unique enemies and bosses not found anywhere in the base game or DLC, many of which will pose a significant challenge to experienced hunters. Other benefits include finding uncanny or lost variants of each weapon with different gem slots, the strongest versions of most runes from the main game, the Beast Claw trick weapon, two unique sets of attire, efficient farming locations for Blood Echoes, and the allure of finding Bloodborne’s greatest rarities.

Dungeon Navigation How are chalice dungeons structured? As mentioned earlier, a chalice dungeon consists of three or four layers. Each of these will have three distinct sections, commonly referred to in order as the pre-lamp, the main area, and the pre-boss. Finally, a layer will be capped off in an arena with a boss encounter. The pre-lamp is the corridor leading from the beginning of the layer to the layer’s starting lamp. Often, there may be a bronze door or open doorway on one side of the hallway that leads to a side area. These will always contain a well-guarded treasure coffin with rare loot like ritual materials in fixed dungeons or Caryll runes and weapon variants in root dungeons. Although these paths are optional for completing the dungeon itself, their rewards are often enough to make them worth exploring, especially if you are combing through the fixed dungeons. The main area is the middle section of a layer, immediately following the lamp. There will always be a locked gate near said lamp. Your task will be to find a lever within this section to unlock the gate and continue forward. This lever will be found somewhere deep in the main area. Explore diligently and check every corner and closed door to find it. Once you have done so, return to the start of the main area and open the gate to enter the pre-boss. The pre-boss is the corridor leading to the boss arena. Just like the pre-lamp, there may be a side area with a treasure coffin, which will work the same way as a pre-lamp side area. The end of the layer will always have a boss fight. Defeat the boss, proceed to the next layer, and repeat the process until you reach the dungeon’s end. Are there any deviations to this dungeon structure? The chalice dungeons occasionally throw small wrenches in the mix, but the core progression of pre-lamp/main area/pre-boss/boss will always remain the same. The main area can contain its own bonus area and treasure coffin, either behind a bronze door or through a seamless corridor transition. The pre-lamp and pre-boss areas may also sometimes connect to the main area via alternate routes, and in the case of the pre-boss section, this may even allow the hunter to bypass the locked gate and open it from the other side without ever touching the lever. Additionally, unlike the main game, illusory walls are present in two of the fixed dungeons and many of the root dungeons. There is a chest in a doorway blocking my way forward, what do I do? You can break it with your weapon or firearm. This will take several swings, but doing so will let you pass. Unlike Dark Souls II, breaking chests will not damage their items inside. Shotgun firearms like the Blunderbuss are great for breaking chests quickly with their high ammo spread. Sharing and Accessing Glyphs What is a glyph? When a hunter creates a root dungeon, a unique eight character code will be generated for it, visible in the bottom right corner of the dungeon menu. Think of this as a password that can be entered to access that dungeon again at any time. To enter a glyph, interact with any of the six ritual altars and select “Search by Chalice Glyph”. I just made an interesting glyph, how do I make it open to others? Interact with the ritual altar holding said dungeon and select the option to share it. This will open access to other players once you have shared it with either an open or closed privacy setting. What is the difference between a dungeon being open or closed? An open glyph can be entered by any player ringing at the Makeshift Altar, allowing hunters to summon cooperators or be invaded by adversaries directly from the Hunter's Dream. This is especially convenient for hunters looking to quickly help a friend on a lower layer of a difficult dungeon. Bear in mind that it takes much longer on average to be summoned from the Makeshift Altar than from inside the dungeon itself, so be patient when waiting to connect. A closed dungeon can only be accessed by inputting its corresponding glyph at a ritual altar. Hunters will not be able to enter these dungeons with the Makeshift Altar and must instead ring their bells near the host’s proximity on the same layer of that dungeon. Most save-edited farming glyphs are closed. Why was my glyph deleted from the server? Glyphs that are not routinely accessed by other hunters will eventually expire and be removed from the server, presumably to maintain space for others. While we do not fully understand the specifics of how this system works, it typically takes around two weeks of inactivity for a glyph to be purged. Sadly, there is no way to recover a glyph once it is gone. If you want to keep your glyph alive as long as possible, consider sharing it with friends and/or the community on social media to increase the chances of other hunters accessing it. Why don’t I meet the requirements for entering [insert dungeon]? wo conditions must be met to enter any standard root dungeon: First, you must have already obtained the corresponding root chalice for the glyph you are trying to enter. (for instance, pwmf22gu, a classic farming glyph, is a Pthumeru Ihyll, so entering it requires the Pthumeru Ihyll Root Chalice or its sinister variant in hand). Second, you must have previously generated dungeons with all of the same rites as the glyph you want to access. Creating a single root dungeon with the fetid, rotted, and cursed rites all applied is sufficient. There is no need to complete this dungeon, enter it, or even keep it on an altar; making such a dungeon will guarantee that you can enter glyphs with any combination of F/R/C rites, so long as you also meet the first condition. Note: The same rule applies for the sinister rite, therefore you must make your own sinister root dungeon with its rite enabled before having access to any sinister glyphs. This is less important than the other rites, as sinister chalices are never used for farming glyphs. Multiplayer Interactions Is there any difference in how I connect to people for co-op/pvp in dungeons? The core fundamentals of Bloodborne’s summoning system remain the same. The host rings the Beckoning Bell, the cooperator rings their Small Resonant Bell, and both wait to connect. If a Bell Maiden is present, you will be notified of her ringing by a hud message and she will actively search for an adversary to invade your session until she is killed. Passwords carry over as well. The only difference is that potential cooperators and adversaries have the option to search for sessions from the Makeshift Altar for added convenience. Why can’t my friends connect to me in [insert dungeon]? Bloodborne’s bell summoning system is notoriously obtuse and finicky, so there are a number of factors that could be tripping you up. Below is a list of details you can check for troubleshooting: Ensure you all have a matching password. This sounds obvious, but everybody forgets to switch their password from time to time. Set your matchmaking to “Worldwide” if you have not already. Check to be sure the bell symbol under your HP and stamina bars isn’t grayed out; remaining on ladders or unstable ground like certain bridges will cross this icon out and prevent you from connecting. If your cooperator is ringing into an open dungeon via the Makeshift Altar, be mindful that the Makeshift Altar is infamously slow at matchmaking, so do not expect to connect for at least a few minutes most of the time.. If you are in a closed dungeon, make certain you are meeting the following criteria on top of the first two bullet points above: All participants must ring on the same layer of the dungeon to connect. Ring in the same general area as your cooperator(s) (e.g. if they are ringing on the stairs leading to the layer boss, make sure you ring there too). Check what oath runes you and your cooperators are wearing. Executioners and Vilebloods connecting to each other takes demonstrably longer than ringing with any other combination of runes. Hunter of Hunters also appear to take longer to be summoned on average. Do covenants interactions carry over from the main game? Vilebloods and Executioners will still be enemies when summoned onto the same team and Hunter of Hunters can enter as adversaries too. The Milkweed, Beast's Embrace, and Impurity runes are good choices to avoid unwanted interactions like these.

Gem Farming Is farming top tier blood gems from the dungeons worth the effort? While the uptick in damage between story blood gems and depth 5 cursed blood gems is substantial, Bloodborne’s main story is entirely doable for most average players with story gems and top tier chalice gems are often seen as overkill. This generally holds true for early New Game Plus cycles and the DLC as well. If you plan to engage in PvP with veterans, run low depth cursed dungeons, or go all the way to the highest New Game Plus difficulty, then chalice gems will become more important for keeping up with skilled hunters and heavily scaled-up enemies. Otherwise, if you’re only interested in a few casual playthroughs and don’t care about PvP, don’t feel too pressured to optimize. How and when do I get to farm top tier blood gems in the dungeons? All relevant farming glyphs are cursed depth 5 dungeons. To reach them, your priority is to obtain all three of the depth 5 root chalices and create your own root dungeon with all optional rites applied. Meeting these requirements will ensure your access to all farming glyphs for whatever blood gems you seek. Refer back to the final question of the Sharing and Accessing Glyphs section for a more in-depth explanation. I’m farming for [insert gem] and it hasn’t dropped yet, what gives? Patience is a virtue, and when it comes to gem farming, it is also a necessity. Even with the improved drop rates in save-edited farming glyphs, many gem types are still very rare and can take many hours or days of dedicated farming to obtain. What do all of the blood gem effects do? Below is a summary of each primary gem type and what they’re best used for: Tempering: Boosts physical damage at an average rate. These are very useful all-rounder gems that work for any non-arcane build, even if they aren’t always optimal. Adept: Boosts exclusively blunt or thrust damage at a higher rate than tempering. These will be much more situational than tempering gems, but if your weapon deals predominantly or exclusively blunt/thrust damage, these provide a generous boost in damage. As a side note, bear in mind that visceral attacks inflict thrust damage, meaning that thrust adepts will make them stronger while blunt adepts will provide no benefit for them at all. Nourishing: Boosts all damage at a lower rate than tempering. The lower numbers might look less appealing on the surface, but if your weapon has a mixture of physical and elemental damage, these will boost both damage types and sometimes outperform tempering gems. Importantly, blood damage is considered a type of physical damage for the sake of blood gems, so temperings will still boost blood damage higher than a nourishing will provide. Striking: Greatly boosts damage dealt exclusively by fully charged strong attacks. These gems are very situational and gimmicky, but for weapons with already potent charged attacks like the Stake Driver, using these can make for a fun meme-worthy build. Arcane builds using element-converted weapons will see no benefit from Striking gems, as their effects only impact physical charged attack damage. Radiant: Reduces all stamina consumption of a weapon’s moveset. These gems are essentially useless due to the already low stamina consumption on Bloodborne’s weapons across the board and added damage always being preferable. Fool’s: Boosts damage exclusively while the hunter is at full HP at a higher rate than tempering. Fool’s can either boost physical damage alone, like tempering gems, or all damage as nourishing gems do. If you’re confident in your ability to fight unscathed in PvE, fool’s gems can provide a decent chunk of extra damage. In PvP however, they are ill-advised due to factors like latency and the fast pace of fights making it extremely difficult to maintain these gems’ effect against experienced duelists. Poorman’s: Boosts damage exclusively while the hunter is below 30% HP at a higher rate than almost all other blood gems. Like fool’s, poorman’s can also drop as either tempering or nourishing effects. These gems are inherently risky by forcing a glass cannon playstyle, but for very knowledgeable players, especially challenge runners, they are very appealing for providing some of the highest damage possible in Bloodborne. Beasthunter/Kinhunter: Boosts damage exclusively against enemies that are classified as beasts or kin respectively. While these gems appear stronger than tempering gems in raw value, beasthunter and kinhunter effects are calculated after enemy defense is applied to your hits, making them weaker in practice. This on top of their situational applications and difficulty in farming makes these gems unappealing to most. Heavy: Improves the weapon’s strength scaling. Heavy abyssal gems provide such a massive increase in scaling that hunters on high level strength or quality builds will want to get one of them for most of their weapons. Sharp: Improves the weapon’s skill scaling. Due to a lack of any depth 5 boss at layer 3 or lower that drops sharp abyssals on par with heavy abyssals, any available sharp gems are always worse than temperings and should never be farmed. Warm: Improves the weapon’s bloodtinge scaling. For the same reason as sharp gems, these are entirely useless. Cold: Improves the weapon’s arcane scaling. These gems are crucial for arcane builds, as most convertible weapons have low arcane scaling to begin with. Pulsing: Steadily regenerates HP by a small amount every 2 seconds. The regeneration rate is very slow and not worth sacrificing your main weapon’s damage for, but if you are using a build that doesn’t care about gun damage, putting one on your firearm can help save a blood vial or two in a pinch. Murky: Enables the weapon to inflict the slow poison status and improves the build-up rate. The abundance of bosses with high poison resistance renders these situational to begin with and slow poison itself drains HP too slowly to compete with the raw damage provided by other blood gems. Dirty: Enables the weapon to inflict the rapid poison status and improves the build-up rate. The same issue with murky gems applies here, although rapid poison is a significantly stronger effect akin to the Bleed status in other Souls games and can be decent on weapons with fast multi-hit attacks against the handful of enemies that are weak to poison. Fire/Bolt/Arcane: Converts a pure physical damage weapon to the corresponding element and changes its scaling to exclusively arcane. For arcane builds, these gems are important for changing your damage type from physical to elemental and allowing your weapon to scale off of arcane. Bloodtinge: Boosts exclusively blood damage at a higher rate than tempering. While exceptionally tedious to farm in shapes other than circle, these gems are very potent for the tricked modes of the Bloodletter and Chikage while also being a staple for any high damage firearm. What blood gems will be best for my weapon/build? Given the large variety of blood gems, weapons, and possible builds, this is a hard question to give a general answer for. The Best Blood Gems Setups page on the Bloodborne Wiki is a good starting resource for checking what you should be aiming for on each weapon. If you want a more direct answer, you can ask in the Tomb Prospectors’ subreddit or Discord server for input from other prospectors. What are abyssal blood gems? Abyssal gems have the highest rank of any gem in Bloodborne and are greatly sought after by the more dedicated prospectors in the community. Each boss on layers 3 or 4 at depth 5 will have a 33% chance to drop an abyssal gem of their corresponding type. Abyssals are not always the best of their kind and not every gem type can be normally obtained as one, but many builds do require some for optimal damage, especially those incorporating strength and/or arcane. Save scumming is recommended for farming abyssal gems, as a hunter would otherwise need to reset the dungeon and run back to layer 3 or 4 for every farming attempt. Notably, there are a few exceptions to the normal abyssal rule. Pthumerian Descendant at layers 3 or 4 in cursed dungeons cannot drop abyssal gems. Additionally, Descendant and the Pthumerian Elder drop tempering abyssals at layers 1 and 2. These instances are attributed to mistakes or bugs rather than intentional decisions on the developers’ part. What is save scumming? Save scumming involves making a back-up save when farming bosses, which cuts out the need to redo the dungeon after the boss is killed. To start save scumming, proceed through a dungeon to the boss you’re looking to farm, save and quit immediately in front of the boss gate, and upload your save within your console’s cloud settings or on a separate USB drive. Re-enter the game and defeat the boss. If you get the gem you’re looking for, then you are good to move on. If not, go back into the settings and download back the save you just made. This will place you back where you were originally with the boss alive again, letting you repeat the process until you get your desired gem drop. Does item discovery help for farming gems? The answer depends on what you are farming. Discovery has no impact on the quality of gem drops, so its only use is helping those gems drop at all. Since all depth 5 bosses in root dungeons have a 100% chance to drop a gem to begin with, it will not help you with theirs. However, for mobs who regularly have consumables and materials in their drop tables, tacking on an Eye and/or Milkweed rune will make their gems drop more frequently. I see the phrase “Unable to acquire ?GoodName? due to inventory or storage max” while farming, is this something to worry about? No, this is a harmless side effect from save-editing dungeons. It’s a broken drop script attempting to give you an item that does not exist. You can safely disregard this message. What do OoS and OoE mean? OoS stands for out of shape. This refers to when a gem drops in a shape that is not native to the corresponding chalice (radial in Pthumeru, triangle in Hintertomb/Isz, and waning in Loran). The chances of this happening are significantly lower than in the main game, thus OoS gems found in dungeons are very valuable, especially when dropped from bosses. Bloodtinge gems in particular are highly prized as OoS drops for the Bloodletter and Chikage, as these are almost exclusively dropped as circle shape otherwise. The only enemies that drop gems with their own distinct shapes regardless of the chalice are the Beast-possessed Soul (enemy version, not the boss) and mobs spawned by the rotted rite. OoE stands for out of effect. This refers to primary and secondary effects on blood gems that are not native to the gempool of that chalice. In layman’s terms, they are extremely rare effects you will practically never see. For instance, while obtaining a Bloodtinge gem from the Merciless Watchers boss in unedited Pthumeru Ihyll is technically possible, the chance of it happening is 0.008%; an astronomically low possibility that few will ever see. What is a gempool? Each chalice has its own gempool, which determines all of the possible primary and secondary effects each gem dropped can have and their likelihood. In unedited dungeons, Pthumeru will provide gems impacting physical damage and support effects and Hintertomb is mostly the same with a slightly higher emphasis on poison. Meanwhile, Loran leans more heavily into elemental damage and poison gems while Isz is generally a mix of everything, despite its chalices’ item descriptions suggesting mostly arcane effects. With save editing, some players can share dungeons with tweaked gempools that make obtaining certain gems in different shapes much easier than normal and also sometimes improve drop rates altogether. See the following section and question for more information.

Save-Edited Dungeons What is a save-edited dungeon? Save-edited dungeons are made by players with access to a third party save-editing program, allowing them to make limited modifications to a dungeon. Most commonly, save editors are used to create dungeons with improved drop rates for blood gems that would normally be very challenging to obtain. It is important to note that while this is quite beneficial for farming certain gems, it is impossible to manually input custom drop rates into a dungeon with a save editor. At best, we can only work with what is already programmed into the game, so some gems still remain tedious to farm. Additional uses for save editing include: Creating false depth and reverse depth dungeons Stacking multiples of the cursed rite for increased item and blood echo drops Accessing developer test dungeons Changing what enemies are spawned by the rotted rite or spawning all of them at once Forcing a dungeon’s fourth layer open Spawning the Beast-possessed Soul mob and/or the chalice messenger bath What is a test dungeon? Test dungeons are broken and incomplete dungeons that contain significant amounts of cut content, including architecture, mobs, and even bosses that were all left inaccessible in the final release. These provide a unique opportunity to see content that was once planned for the finished game before being scrapped. Those with a save editor are able to recreate these maps as glyphs and share them publicly for the broader player base to explore. While they do not usually provide checkpoints for you to warp back to the Hunter’s Dream, simply falling to your death in one of the many pitfalls of these dungeons will do the trick. Just make sure to spend your echoes before entering if you don’t want to lose them in the process. What are False Depth and Reverse Depth dungeons? False depth dungeons are lower depth dungeons that have been edited to be accessible much earlier than intended. They can be found via glyphs once you have obtained the Pthumeru Root Chalice from Layer 2 of the first fixed dungeon. These allow you to obtain uncanny/lost variants of base game weapons, tier 3 runes, powerful blood gems, and even skip directly into later depth fixed dungeons to unlock the best farming glyphs within hours of creating a new character. Reverse depth dungeons are depth 1-2 root dungeons that have been edited so that enemies drop late game upgrade materials, namely Blood Stone Chunks and Blood Rocks from bosses. These glyphs are vital for farming these rare resources, as the bosses will be scaled for early game health and damage output, making them pushovers for any decent build. Chunks can be farmed from any boss and rocks from the Layer 3 and lower bosses of a reverse depth. Be sure to equip an Eye or Milkweed rune to improve the drop rates of these materials. These dungeons greatly streamline the buildmaking process, cutting down the time investment needed to reach the depth 5 dungeons and making farming easier. However, for hunters venturing into the chalices for the first time, these glyphs will sour the experience by overloading them with a ludicrous amount of echoes that far outpace the game’s intended leveling curve, while also letting them skip large amounts of content entirely. For these reasons, new players should look into save-edited dungeons very sparingly or not at all until a later playthrough. Are there any malicious save-edited dungeons I should be concerned about, and if so, how can I identify them? Unfortunately, there are a few problematic test dungeons that have been made open for anyone to access. These dungeons have no lamps to leave or cracks in the architecture to force a death by gravity, permanently trapping any character that enters. Some of these dungeons can be escaped naturally if playing on the European Game of the Year edition, but they still remain dangerous on all other versions of the game. In January 2022, a glitch was discovered by the community that allows players to confuse the character’s spawn point in dungeons, which can be applied to escape deadly test dungeons. An explanation of the glitch and instructions on how to use it for this purpose can be found in this Reddit post. While this discovery does mean that these dungeons are no longer true softlocks, you should generally avoid any unknown dungeon that has these traits in its menu: Broken descriptions/names with “?PlaceName?” or ?menuText?” text Depth 0, 6, 7, or 8 dungeons Multiples of the same rite applied or has the sinister rite stacked with other rites Glitches, Exploits, and Softlocks I’m trapped in a boss room with a Pthumerian Descendant, how do I get out? See if you have a save file backed up on the Playstation Cloud or on a separate USB drive from before you entered this dungeon; you may lose some progress, but this will let you restore your character to a safe spot. If you don’t have one available, your only option is to use a glitch to force yourself out. You can find guides about how to execute it here. What is the dungeon merging glitch? The dungeon merging glitch was discovered in early 2022 and its applications are versatile. To simplify an extremely complicated exploit, the dungeon merging glitch requires placing one character in a specific spot in a dungeon and using a second character to quit from a co-op or invasion session. When executed correctly, this will cause the first character to be launched into another predetermined dungeon, which retains the gem shapes, effects, and values from the dungeon they were initially set up in. This glitch is quite difficult to explain in short terms, so for a more involved explanation, see the Dungeon Merging tab in the Bloodsheets. This glitch is chiefly used to force the game to provide blood gems that are normally very tedious to farm, such as out of shape abyssals from bosses like Amygdala and the Bloodletting Beast. It also allows one to farm abyssal gems that are normally impossible to obtain, such as flat arcane gems from Brainsuckers and other gem types like adept, fool’s, poorman’s, and many more. The dungeon merging glitch can also be used to escape test dungeons that can otherwise soft-lock players, as explained in the previous section What on earth is the cum dungeon? The infamous cum dungeon, cummmfpk, is a save-edited dungeon created by long-time prospector XTrin that exploits an unfortunate enemy placement and the way Bloodborne progressively loads its level assets. In the pre-lamp side area of this dungeon’s first layer, a tomb prospector NPC is placed directly in the path of a swinging axe that continually damages him. Because the game doesn’t fully load the pre-lamp area until you get close to it, remaining in the hallway outside causes this NPC to remain stuck in place while the axe quickly kills him, providing an efficient, effort-free source of Blood Echoes. The dungeon has also been edited to have multiple cursed rites stacked together, which greatly enhances the amount of echoes obtained. This is why your HP is in double digits territory while inside. For a more visual explanation from an expert on how Souls games work, modder and content creator Zullie the Witch has a short video explaining cummmfpk’s exploit as well. I’m not getting free echoes from cummmfpk, why? cummmfpk’s echo farming exploit works so long as you do not approach the Layer 1 pre-lamp side area. Due to the way Bloodborne gradually loads NPC’s and objects based on distance, if you get too close to that area, it will be further loaded and the NPC hunter that would be killed by repeated axe swings will instead be knocked off and take no further damage. Taking a step or two out from the Chamber of the Seal lamp and looking for the damage numbers in the distance to your left is all you need to do. Miscellaneous Did the community ever figure out what the deal was with Guidance Tier 3 and Revered Great One Coldblood? Both exist in the game’s data and are fully functional, but neither can be obtained without modding on a jailbroken console or a save editor. While both were mentioned as lootable from depth 5 root dungeons by an official guide, a complete exploration of every root dungeon has proven this to be false. Does the Yharnam Stone do anything? A cut set of dialogue for the Hamlet Priest NPC that would have been triggered by having the Yharnam Stone was discovered, but this event was not kept in the final release of the DLC. The stone is best looked at as a testament to conquering the story dungeons and nothing more. Are the chalice dungeons affected by NG+ cycles? Chalice difficulty is never affected by New Game cycles and your progress will not be impacted by going to the next cycle either. If you enter a new New Game cycle, all of your chalices will be on the same altars they were when you completed the game. Can Yharnam, Pthumerian Queen be found in the root dungeons? Yharnam is exclusive to the fixed Pthumeru Ihyll dungeon. Can I get Uncanny/Lost variants of DLC weapons before entering the DLC? DLC weapons’ uncanny and lost variants are only unlocked at chalice messenger baths after you obtain their original versions from the DLC campaign. There is no way to save-edit weapons to appear at chalice merchants earlier than normal. I heard that everything in the dungeons has been found, is this true? With two complete rounds of community mapping for every root dungeon in the books and modders digging into the game’s files for years, it’s safe to say that every major secret in the dungeons has been laid bare. It’s very possible that there are other glitches and exploits yet to be found, but groundbreaking discoveries like new enemies and bosses are a thing of the past.

This is a big question, one that's asked pretty often round these parts. The issue being, the item descriptions on blood gems don't actually jibe with how blood gems work. There are a lot of mechanics at work here, and they differ somewhat between the main game and chalice dungeons. For the purposes of this note, we're going to be talking about chalice blood gems exclusively, and with a focus on Depth 5 Cursed gems. Some of this information may change when the DLC drops, but if you're like me and you're scrambling to get nice gems for your shiny new DLC weapons, this might be helpful! You guys know how much I love lists, so here's one for you. A list of general facts about blood gems to get you started. Some of these have exceptions, which I'll make a note of. I'm not going to go into specific values and bonus pools, because I think half the fun is discovery, and no definitive list of these exists. But the notes I'm going to make here should get you started. After examining a few gem drops, it should all fall into place for you in terms of what you're looking for and where you can find it. Shape is determined by Chalice type, with some exceptions Pthumeru = Radial Isz = Triangle Loran = Waning Some enemies, particularly NPC Hunters, Hemwick Witches, Beast-Possessed Soul, and perhaps others, override the shape rule and usually drop the same shapes no matter where you find them. Their bonus pools might differ in different Chalice types, though! Most Blood Damage and Bloodtinge Scaling gems you'll find will be Circular no matter where they appear, unless they're a rare off-shape drop Note that many enemies are absent from one or more of the Chalice types, which is the real issue in the "ideal imprint" discussions for weapons. The bonuses themselves are not functionally linked to the shape. For example: Watchers appear in Pthumeru and Isz, but not Loran, which is why people recommend 2x Radial 1x Triangle imprints to make use of their 27.2% Physical gems. Getting these gems in Waning is possible, but only as an extremely rare off-shape drop There's always a very small chance for any gem to be the "wrong shape" Rating is determined by Depth Depth 5 starts at 15 to 17 Enemies with red auras, roaming bosses, and NPC Hunters have +1 rating Bosses that are restricted to Layer 1 and 2 have +2 rating Bosses that can appear on Layer 3 and 4 have +3 rating Primary Bonus is determined by Chalice type, and the enemy Most enemies within a given location will have the same Primary pool, so you can reasonably know what you're going to get where, unless the enemy in question overrides the Primary bonus, for example: Undead Giant drops Adept (Blunt/Thrust) Headless Bloodletting Beast drops Heavy (STR Scaling) Keeper of the Old Lords drops Sharp (SKL Scaling) Pthumerian Elder drops Cold (ARC Scaling) Amygdala and Rom drop Nourishing (All ATK) Watchdog of the Old Lords drops Fire Loran Darkbeast and Abhorrent Beast drop Bolt Ebrietas and Celestial Emissary Boss drop Arcane There's always a very small chance to get something completely unexpected Secondary Bonus, if present, is determined by Chalice type, and the enemy Like primary bonuses, most enemies will drop the same secondary bonuses in a Chalice type, unless they override it, for example: Brainsucker always drops huge Flat Arcane as a secondary bonus Loran Cleric always drops huge Flat Fire as a secondary bonus Evil Labyrith Spirit always drops huge Phys. Up Near Death as a secondary bonus Technically, these "secondary bonuses" have values consistent with what you'd see as a primary bonus, but they take the second slot. Like Primary bonuses, there's always a small chance to find something you wouldn't expect otherwise Cursed gems are more powerful, but come with drawbacks Obviously most Cursed gems come from Cursed dungeons, but some rare exceptions exist. Even so, it's probably better to just farm gems in Cursed dungeons. Possible Curses are as follows: Increases stamina costs ATK vs the kin DOWN ATK vs beasts DOWN WPN durability DOWN (increases durability degradation per-hit) HP gradually depletes ATK DOWN Bonus and Curse Multipliers are determined by enemy Some weak enemies have decreased Primary bonuses for no apparent reason, for example: Wandering Madness, a.k.a. "Loot Enemies" Small Celestial Emissary Labyrinth Watchers (the skinny fellows, not the Merciless/Chieftan) Female Beast Patients (the ones with the cloaks) Having a Secondary bonus decreases the Primary bonus Secondary bonuses can be higher on some enemies, at the cost of even lower Primary bonuses. For example: Labyrinth Madman Watcher's Gravedigger (note that these have lower Primary than Labyrinth Madman) Abhorrent Beast Curses can also come in lower values, with a cost to the Primary bonus, on top of the potential cost of having a secondary effect. For example: Celestial Emissary Boss Rom, the Vacuous Spider Pthumerian Elder

Primary Bonuses In general, these are the gems you'll find from enemies in each area unless you've come across something that specifically overrides the area-based primary bonus. Note that you can, rarely, find any primary bonus in any location. Pthumeru Common: Tempering (Physical) Uncommon: Adept (Thrust/Blunt), Heavy/Sharp (STR/SKL Scaling), Striking/Radiant (Charge Atk/Stamina Cost) Isz Common: Tempering (Physical) Uncommon: Fire, Bolt, Arcane Loran Common: Tempering (Physical) Uncommon: Fire, Bolt, Dirty/Murky (Rapid/Slow Poison) Secondary Bonuses This probably isn't exhaustive, but it should give you an idea of what you're looking for. Remember that some exceptional enemies can override the area-based secondary bonus. These are listed in no particular order. Like off-shape and unexpected primary bonuses, you can rarely find any secondary bonus in any location. These are just the "common drops" so to speak, though some are more common than others. Pthumeru Mostly Physically-oriented, note that Open Foes and Charge Atk apply to ALL damage, but can only be found here outside of rare drops +Physical Atk (Flat) +Rapid Poison +Slow Poison +Weapon Durability Up %Physical Atk Up at full HP %Physical Atk Up near death %Charge Atk Up %Atk vs Open Foes Up %Reduces Stamina Cost Isz Overlaps with both Pthumeru/Loran, with some omissions, only place where Flat Arcane exists outside Brainsuckers and very rare drops +Physical Atk (Flat) +Fire Atk (Flat) +Bolt Atk (Flat) +Arcane Atk (Flat) +Rapid Poison +Slow Poison +Weapon Durability Up +HP continues to recover %Atk vs Beasts Up %Atk vs Kin Up %Reduces Stamina Cost %Boosts Rally Potential Loran Mostly Elemental-oriented, note that Isz and Loran both give Beast/Kin Up +Fire Atk (Flat) +Bolt Atk (Flat) +Rapid Poison +Slow Poison +Weapon Durability Up +HP continues to recover %Atk vs Beasts Up %Atk vs Kin Up %Boosts Rally Potential Click here for a (mostly complete) table of CURSED gem values. Some of these might be off by .1 because I used an algorithm to extrapolate the values from a few examples, and I just didn't have examples of all combinations. Prim. 0 Watcher drops Prim. 1 Chests, trash mobs, Loot enemies Gems with a Secondary effect, Sec. 1 Prim. 2 Gems with increased Secondary effect, Sec. 2 Gems with a normal secondary effect and reduced Curses Note that Brainsucker, Loran Cleric, and Evil Labyrinth Spirit use Prim. 1 values for their assigned secondaries, and Sec. 1 for their random primaries. Note that Secondary effects will randomly roll among the 3 values corresponding to the Rating the gem can be. For example Loran Silverbeast boss can roll the equivalent of Rating 17, 18, 19 Secondary effects on its gems. This doesn't necessarily correspond to the Rating of the gem itself, you could have a Rating 17 gem (and the resulting Primary value) with what amounts to a Rating 19 secondary effect. The Flat Physical (and Heavy/Cold) values here don't reflect the special increase to Abyssal gems that landed with 1.07, I still have to work out the mechanics here. These are the "base" values so to speak. The 1.07 change is extra to the normal algorithm for determining gem values.

Index Introduction What is Bloodtinge? General Information Weapons: The Chikage Weapons: Simon's Bowblade Weapons: The Bloodletter Weapons: The Reiterpallasch and Rifle Spear Weapons: Firearms Hunter Tools Gems & Farming Starting a Playthrough & Progression Final Words & Thanks Introduction Hello~ my name is MyHeartsMistakes, you've probably see me around this sub every now and again. I've been playing Bloodborne for a fairly long time. But definitely not as much as others, however I have made a habit of remembering information while I play. I mostly PvP while doing the occasional challenge run on my favorite bosses. I'm making this guide because I see a lot hunters asking for help on bloodtinge builds. Most of my Bloodborne experience has been using a Bloodtinge build, so I hope to impart some fellow hunters with some insight on how to be the best blood wielding hunter a hunter can be. Small Disclaimer: This guide is meant to help people start a bloodtinge build. It will not go over every move each weapon has. I believe the best teacher is experience and it will help you a lot more then what anyone else can tell you. However of course i'll go over tips and weapon combos for every weapon. But if you want to learn about every move in the moveset I suggest checking a wiki. What is Bloodtinge? Firstly Bloodtinge is a stat the governs the amount of blood damage you deal to enemies. The weapons that do blood damage are all firearms, the Chikage, Simons Bowblade, and the Bloodletter. Luckily for us, many enemies have little to no resistance against blood damage. This means that we will be effective on nearly (if not all) the enemies in the entirety of Bloodborne. Some enemies who are particularly weak to blood damage are, everyone's favorite, brain suckers. These guys will die extremely quickly while using the respective blood attacks on your weapon of choice. However, every build is not without its cons. As i'm sure you've noticed, our weapon selection isn't exactly the biggest collection. By creating a Bloodtinge build you will be limiting yourself to about two weapons (or three depending on your build). Make sure you really do like a certain weapon before choosing to make a bloodtinge build. General Information To start you need to understand that bloodtinge weapons have a very odd scaling. In their untransformed state they exclusively with Skill (Chikage & Bowblade) or Strength (Bloodletter). However when transformed bloodtinge weapons will lose all other scaling a convert to pure bloodtinge. This is why bloodtinge requires a much bigger stat investment to actually see results. This is also why 50 Bloodtinge is required to fully use a bloodtinge build. As well as why you should almost exclusively attack with your weapons transformed mode over their untransformed mode. Normally you will attack with your weapon in blood form 90% of the time. However because of this required heavy investment, your early game will be abysmal. But when you do get to the later stages of the game you’ll delete everything. Note: Bloodtinge weapons, when transformed, will knock dogs onto the ground as if you shot them with your gun. Bloodtinge weapons also cannot be buffed by anything, so keep that in mind. Weapons: The Chikage The Chikage is the only bloodtinge weapon included in the main game and is my personal favorite weapon. When transformed, the Chikage will coat itself in blood and be wielded with two hands. However while transformed the Chikage will constantly drain your health at about 0.85% hp per second. This can be easily managed if you just pay attention and get used to the weapon. The Chikage normally is a Katana that scales with the Skill stat. It has a B scaling in skill and a S scaling in bloodtinge. Like what I said before, its normal mode will only scale the skill stat while its blood mode will only use bloodtinge stat. The Chikage will want 50 bloodtinge to truly shine. Here is an example of a good Chikage build: BL 120 VIT 45-50 (required for PvP) END 25-30 (Normally 25, add more if you want) STR 10 SKL 25 (higher If you don’t want arcane or stamina) BLT 50 ARC 7-15 (Only go to 15 if you want use of the hunter tools) That much VIT is pretty much required because on my bloodtinge build, my Chikage can do up to 1000+ damage in a single transformation attack. This means anyone without at least 40+ VIT will be one shotted. As well as helping you manage the health drain in tight situations. Not to mention having lots of VIT is always helpful. The Arcane stat can be helpful to bloodtinge builds, but personally I don’t think it's too great on on them. If you want use of the tools feel free to upgrade that though, just remember you can’t use buff’s on bloodtinge weapons, so the Empty Phantasm Shell will be useless. Tips & Tricks - The Chikage’s bread and butter move would definitely be it’s amazing transformation attacks. The Chikage does 1.6x or 60% more damage on transformation attacks over normal ones. This should be the move that you spam in PvP. To do this do: L1 to R1 R1 to L1 dodge to L1 My normal PvE combo is L1 > R1 > R1 > R1 > L1 or however many R1's it takes till the enemy is almost dead, then finish them with a transformation attack to negate as much health drain as possible. Alternatively you should L1 before your stamina runs out. The L1 > R1 combo has a small step forward as well. This can catch some people off guard. It’s transformation attacks also have insane stagger, especially on hunters. You always want to open with a transformation attack during fights. It can easily stop almost every attack from a weapon. Since it can stop many attacks, you should abuse this and hang back and wait till the enemy attack to get a sweet counter hit while stunning them for a bit. I fought some NPC hunters to demonstrate this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xdWEXGhKgNU https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cQgacMvz61g Final Comments - Pressing L1 after a combo should become instinctive. You want to have as little health drain as possible at all times. Finally I also recommend playing unlocked, the Chikage does so much better unlocked then locked. If you watch the videos above, you can see me playing mostly unlocked. Remember that lock on is a tool. There are times when it’s the right tool for the job and other times when it will actually hinder you. Learning to play unlocked will give you a lot better control with your attacks and the ability to track multiple opponents. Finally, while using the Chikage, you’re going to want to play in normal mode 80% of the time, but use blood mode to attack 95% of the time. You don't really want to use the normal mode unless you have something like 50 SKL which probably won't happen if you're trying to make a build for PvP. If you don't care about PvP though then it doesn't matter. Weapons: Simon's Bowblade Simon's Bowblade is probably the quickest bloodtinge weapon you can obtain in the story. It is also a DLC weapon, so keep that in mind. The bowblade while untransformed acts as a normal sword. It has an S scaling in skill/bloodtinge and while transformed it will shoot arrows using your quicksilver bullets. It costs one quicksilver bullet per arrow, so I highly recommend taking communion runes which will allow to you take more blood vials. Pressing up on the d-pad will provide you with 5 blood bullets at the cost of health (Note: tapping for blood bullets will take slightly less than a blood vial heals, you can use this to heal for small amounts). You cannot go over 5 blood bullets. The bowblade, unlike its other two bloodtinge friends, will be used mostly in its untransformed state. You don’t want to use arrows for every enemy because it would be a waste of bullets. A normal build for a bowblade main would be: BL 120 VIT 45-50 END 25-30 STR 10 (base) SKL 35-50 BLT 40-50 ARC 7-15 (Only go to 15 if you want use of the hunter tools) The bowblade will probably do best in a 50/50 SKL/BLT build. However doing this will force you to sacrifice other stats. I believe the bowblade will shine best while used in the off-hand to compliment your other bloodtinge weapon of choice. Being able to pull out significant ranged damage during fights can be a huge advantage. In my opinion the bowblade’s best move would also be its transformation attacks going both ways. While untransformed, the transformation attack will do a quick backstep while shooting an arrow. This a great for catching people off guard as well as letting you move away. From the bow form the transformation attack will be a long thrusting attack with quite a bit of phantom range. However in PvE be careful of using the bowblade to backstab. While untransformed the bowblade’s charged R2 move is a double spin attack. Since the spin hits twice, you’ll end up knocking the enemy out of the visceral state. However you can backstab someone with a fully charged arrow when transformed. Might be useful in some situations since you can do it from range (incoming co op wombo combos).

Final Comments - You can actually use the monocular to free aim the bow. Good to keep in mind if you’re invading and want to snipe a host or enemy. In bow form the L2 will do a quick slash with a arrow, it does crap damage, but can save you if someone is very close and on low health. Or it can be used like this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LUyI0NPwko4 The bowblade can very easily trivialize and cheese many of the bosses in the game, since most were designed without the idea to actually counter someone with range. If it’s not dealing a lot of damage, it can also be used to throw around aggro for some bosses. For example, Ludwig the Accursed will always target the last person who hit him. By using the bowblade from a range when your host/friend gets low, you can switch Ludwig’s aggro to yourself so they can heal up. Weapons: The Bloodletter The Bloodletter will probably take the longest out of all the bloodtinge weapons to get. It requires you to get almost all the way through the DLC before it can be obtained. However do not let this dissuade you from trying the weapon, as it can be a great weapon! The Bloodletter has a A scaling in strength and a S scaling in bloodtinge, like all the other previous weapons, scales with strength untransformed and bloodtinge transformed. The Bloodletter is normally a mace with the majority of its attacks dealing physical damage and the charged R2 dealing blunt damage. This weapon can deal out a ton of damage and in PvE can stunlock enemies hard, however it suffers heavily from lack of range. To transform the Bloodletter you stab yourself in the chest sudoku style. It will deal around 20% of your health instantly, but will take no more health until you un-transform and retransform it again. (Note: You can kill yourself with the bloodletter for a special death animation of you stabbing yourself.) A normal build for the Bloodletter will look something like this: BL 120 VIT 45-50 END 25-30 STR 25-30 SKL 10-20 (You might want this to be able to use the Chikage or Bowblade in your off hand. Mind you they won’t be great, but if you only use them transformed they should perform fine) BLT 50 ARC 7-15 (Only go to 15 if you want use of the hunter tools) When two handed and transformed, the Bloodletter will really shine. Transforming it will give you a tone of extended range and increase that already high damage. Interestingly enough the attack speed on the Bloodletter doesn’t seem to go down at all even though the weapon gets much bigger. This means you can pull off some great combos. For example the Bloodletter’s R1 combo will do two horizontal sweep followed by an overhead smash with great tracking. Now for the weapons star move: the transformed L2. This move will make you smash your weapon into the ground causing an AoE explosion that deals massive damage to enemies stuck in the entire thing. However this move will also begin to frenzy you. When your frenzy meter fills you lose a big portion of your health. Interestingly the Bloodletters frenzy meter will only do 50% of your health, rather than the normal 70% (remember it frenzies your maximum health, not your current health, so if you’re under 50% hp you’ll die from the frenzy). (Side Note: The transformed charged R2 also has a mini explosion from the tip, gives you a little bit of extra damage + range. Just keep it in mind) Final Comments - Consider bring the Deep Sea rune (frenzy resist) when you use the Bloodletter. It will allow you to frequently use the L2 without much worry of being frenzied. You can find the tier two version (+200 frenzy resist) in the forbidden woods, behind the two big viper sphaggeti tangles in a corner (video location: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LUyI0NPwko4) Also consider holding onto lots of sedatives just in case you need to pop one in a pinch, so you can L2 again. You can unlock sedatives from the bath messengers in the hunter's dream by obtaining the Cosmic Eye Watcher Badge, found in the Upper Cathedral Ward. (Side Note: Apparently you cannot be frenzied by the Bloodletter if you have over 180 frenzy resist. I cannot confirm this though, so be warned.) Weapons: The Reiterpallasch and Rifle Spear The reason I didn't include the Reiter and Rifle spear in my list of bloodtinge weapons was mostly my personal opinion. I don't consider the Reiterpallasch a bloodtinge weapon at all. Yes, it does have bloodtinge scaling, but it's only used on one move. Not to mention that the move is only a gunshot as well. The Reiters gunshot actually has quite high base damage meaning it can be used quite well on a full skill build without any bloodtinge. The weapons I listed were weapons who all (or half) of their damage comes from bloodtinge. Weapons that require bloodtinge to actually be used effectively. This goes for the Rifle Spear as well. However by popular demand I will include a weapon breakdown for these weapons. The Reiterpallasch - The Reiter can be found inside the first room of Castle Cainhurst. It will located in a chest on the right (coming in from the door) corner, should be fairly easy to find. It has an A scaling in skill and a D scaling in bloodtinge. This means it will do much better in an all skill build over a bloodtinge build. The base damage for the gunshot is quite high and at 50 bloodtinge, it can out damage the Evelyn. If you really want to use it, I would recommend using it in the off hand along with Simon’s Bowblade as your main. This is because Simon's Bowblade will also do better in a build with lots of skill, making the Reiter a good choice. Untransformed it will act as a normal Rapier, using mostly thrusting attacks, which Kin are weak to. When transformed it will lose some range and most of its attacks will become slashing. While transformed the R2 will become a gunshot instead of a normal attack. The transformation attacks from untransformed will shoot a quick gunshot along with a backstep (similar to the bowblade). Good for catching people off guard or getting a quick parry. For builds I recommend a full skill build. However if you plan on using it in the off hand, the build for Simon’s Bowblade will work better. This weapon can also be buffed. The Rifle Spear - The Rifle Spear is a spear found in Old Yharnam, meaning it can be acquired quite early on. It has a B scaling in skill and bloodtinge. The spear has a very long reach and is a great choice for a defensive weapon. In its untransformed mode, like the Reiter, it will use mostly thrust attacks. When transformed the spear will be folded back, reducing the range. The transformed L2 will shoot your gun, like how it is untransformed. Something interesting to note is that the transformed charged R2 will make your hunter charge forward a fair distance. You’ll damage someone all the way along as well if you manage it hit them straight on. The bloodtinge scaling is a lot better then the Reiter’s so I believe it will do best on a build similar (or the same as) the bowblade. It also has a D in strength scaling. This weapon cannot be buffed. Final Comments - Like I said before, these weapons are not really “bloodtinge” weapons. They are more “skill weapons with some bloodtinge”. Using them in the offhand to compliment something like the bowblade could be fairly strong. Weapons: Firearms and Tools Firearms are an extremely important part of bloodtinge builds. Since the bloodtinge stat increases bullet damage, your gun’s will become one of the main damage sources in your build. They will do a lot, I mean a lot of damage as well. Using my +10 Evelyn, I will constantly get 400 damage per bullet and when buffed with Bone Marrow Ash, it starts to become a bit ridiculous. We have a couple choices for Firearms, so I’ll list them all here: The Evelyn - This is the go to gun for all bloodtinge builds. It’s also definitely the best gun for bloodtinge builds as well. It has an S scaling with bloodtinge making it very deadly after you get 50 bloodtinge. However it will only out damage the normal Hunter’s Pistol after 21 bloodtinge, so keep that in mind. Side Note: The Evelyn has an extremely long barrel, so the firing animation shows your hunter holding up the gun then shooting it sideways. While this looks really cool, the Evelyn appears to have a lot of trouble hitting enemies point blank. Be careful when you try to parry. The Repeating Pistol - This is some hunter’s prefered bloodtinge weapon, however personally I don’t think it's very good. It will deal more damage than the Evelyn per click, however it uses two bullets per shot. THis means while it does more per click the Evelyn does more per bullet. If you want the most damage out of all your bullets I would use the Evelyn. This is also the weapon used by the Bloody Crow of Cainhurst and as you know, point blank it will hurt. The Cannon and Church Cannon - These are the “hard hitters” in the firearm collection. The cannon uses 12 quicksilver bullets per shot and can be buffed with Bone Marrow Ash. With high bloodtinge expect to oneshot every other player with this weapon, if you get a direct hit. However it requires strength to use, so it should only be used in a STR/BLT (bloodletter) or QUALITY/BLT build. If you want to use the Cannon, I would recommend switching to the Church Cannon. They are very similar weapons, however the Church Cannon only uses 10 quicksilver bullets per shot. This means, if you tap for blood bullets, you can shoot the cannon at least four times. The Church Cannon does less damage than the normal cannon, but it will still easily one shot someone. While locked on the Church Cannon will have less range than the normal cannon, however if you unlock your camera and aim upwards the Church Cannon can actually fire much further then the normal Cannon. The cannon balls from the church cannon also only explode when they hit the ground. This means you can use them to snipe enemies if you are skilled enough: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LNWTdPfonIE&list=PLZ2tFPuPHVZGVZ_3CIuze9-mvEq1D_sWS&index=8 (Side Note: when free aiming with any gun or projectile, you're right analogue stick will control the direction while your left analogue stick or camera will control the height.) These guns are not exactly the best guns for bloodtinge builds, but can work in certain situations. The Gatling Gun - Another one of the “hard hitters” of the bloodtinge arsenal, the Gatling Gun is a rapid fire gun that will shoot about 4 bullets for every 1 quicksilver bullet consumed. You can get a ton of damage out of 20 quicksilver bullets, probably around 2000~. Good for finishing off bosses or normal enemies, but also requires strength to use. Can stunlock hunters pretty hard. (Side Note: By using short bursts in PvP, people will be forced to come close to you, so they won’t get hit by the bullets. Use this to bait players in and then attack them yourself.) Like I said with the cannons, this firearm isn’t the best for bloodtinge builds, but can work in certain situations. It also requires a STR/BLT build. If you have a SKL/BLT build I would not level up strength just for this weapon. Final Comments - You should +10 your firearm of choice at some point, since guns will be a vital point in the amount of damage you deal to enemies. However if you decide to use the Cannon or Gatling Gun, I wouldn’t +10 those. I highly recommend the Evelyn though.

Hunter Tools The main tool that you will use in bloodtinge builds will be Madara’s Whistle. You can obtain this whistle from completing Valtr’s questline or by killing him. If you do his questline/kill him then reload the area and kill the Younger Madara’s twin that come out near the lamp. He will drop the whistle (Side note: You can cheese the twin by running to the elevator and going down, he will just jump down the elevator shaft killing himself). When used, Madara’s Whistle, will summon a giant snake head to come out of the ground and bite everything that was in your area. However it also can hit you as well, it does like 3/4ths of your health if you’re hit by it (at 50 bloodtinge). The whistle is very effective on smaller enemies (especially hunters), because it will knock them high into the air. This gives you time to heal and set up for the next attack. When activated you have about a count of 3 in your head before you can move. While blowing the whistle you will walk and be very vulnerable. However you gain complete hyper armor when you put your lips to the whistle. This means if you see someone running towards you and you know they will attack, start blowing your whistle, they’ll get a few hits off, but if you just dodge back they’ll be hit by snake dealing most (or all) of their health. A good example of this is at the very end of this video where I fought the three Yahargul Hunters (from the Chikage section). I used Madara’s whistle to finish the last hunter off: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xdWEXGhKgNU (Side note: bragging rights: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pJreQHxdDqs) Fun Fact: Madara’s whistle like other hunter tools will keep scaling with bloodtinge past 50 all the way to 99. It’s the only thing that does this though, so I don’t recommend getting 99 bloodtinge just for this tool. It’s not that good on bigger enemies. The other hunter tools like the Old Hunters Bone, Beast Roar, Augur of Ebrietas, are okay, but aren’t very good on bloodtinge builds. You’ll almost never use the OHB and beast roar is very situational. I would put the points into something else. Gems & Farming For gems I would recommend using the “Lost” variant of all the weapons. Bloodtinge weapons actually have a circular slot for a 31.5% bloodtinge attack up gem to be fit inside. Blood damage is affected by the normal 27% physical damage up gems, but if you use your weapon mostly in blood mode (which you should), then grabbing a 31.5% bloodtinge gem will help. Side note: The Bloodletter will do better with the Normal variant of this weapon. The Lost version has a waning slot instead of a circular slot. The only time I can recommend going for the Lost variant is when you’re farming for off-shape gems and you get a waning instead of a radial. Alternatively if you’re feeling extremely masochistic like I was, then you can endlessly farm for 2 off shape 31.5% bloodtinge attack up gems with a good curse. It will take years, but when you get it, your damage will be absolutely crazy. I was pulling over 1000~+ damage with my Chikage from a transformation attack, not even a charged R2. (Remember: Physical damage gems will also affect blood damage. This means they benefit both forms of your weapons, however getting three 31.5%'s will give you a higher AR)

To get these gems and the weapon variants you need to dive into the depth 5 F/R/C chalice dungeons, it will be a grind trust me. If you have any questions about chalice dungeons please look at this FAQ. Here is a spreadsheet with info on player created dungeons with the loot in them: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1syKnSKflHbFiGY4pXkfIeXoMa2Lp9X1aXyme2qaTen4/htmlview?pli=1 Most people go two 27% physical attack up gems, and one 31.5% bloodtinge attack up gem. This will be the easiest way to get maximum effectiveness out of your weapon. To farm the top tier bloodtinge gems most people use the glyph: y592byza. This is located in an F/R/C Great Isz chalice. Here is the farming route: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U6l2lTwJfE8&index=95&list=WL Alternatively you can use: e99tdh9f. Found in a F/C Great Ihyll Dungeon. You need to kill some dogs on the way, so it's slower though. To farm the 27% Physical Radial gems most people use: pwmf22gu (Video guide: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fQUArRwsmZc) To farm the 27% Physical Triangle gems use: 3eukenpk (Video Guide: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9VNoDYWweSU) Since these gems are rating 20 gems, they will be cursed. This can be a really good curse or a really bad curse that will make the gem unusable. The curses are (the “x” is a variable that will be a number ingame): Attack Down by x% - Lowers your total AR from your weapon, making the gem unusable basically. One of the worst curses. HP Gradually Depletes -x Per second - Will constantly drain your health per second. Also makes the gems unusable, one of the worst curses. Attack Down vs. Beasts by x% - One of the more mild curses, good for PvP, but PvE might be a slight problem. One of the better curses to get. Attack Down vs. Kin by x% - Same as the “Attack down vs. beast's” curse. Isn’t that bad and there are notably less Kin than beasts in the game. Weapon Durability Down by -x - One of the better curses for most weapons. However our bloodtinge weapons have some of the lowest durability in the game. The Chikage only has 120 durability and these gems normally lower it by 50~ points. Either your Chikage will break after one fight or you’ll need to endless return to the dream to repair it. Is “technically” a good curse, but I wouldn’t recommend it for the bloodtinge weapons. The Bloodletter (270 durability) will be able to pull it off though. Stamina Costs up by x% - The holy grail of curses. This curse is almost unnoticeable making it the best curse for any gem. This is the curse you’ll be looking for. Gem Combinations - Each weapon has a couple of different gem combinations possible, The tables are read top to bottom, where the weapon variant and recommendation is listed, then gems vertically down. I’ll list the combinations here:

Gem Combinations

The Chikage
Normal (not recommended)	Lost (Recommended)	Lost (Most damage)
27% Physical Radial	27% Physical Radial	31.5% Radial Off-shape Bloodtinge
27% Physical Radial	27% Physical Radial	31.5% Radial Off-shape Bloodtinge
27% Physical Triangle	31.5% Circular Bloodtinge	31.5% Circular Bloodtinge
Simon’s Bowblade
Normal (#1)	Lost (#2)	Lost (Unrecommended)
27% Physical Radial	27% Physical Radial	1.5% Off-shape radial Bloodtinge
27% Physical Triangle	27% Physical Triangle	31.5% Off-shape waning Bloodtinge
27% Physical Radial	31.5% Circular bloodtinge	31.5% Circular Bloodtinge
The Bloodletter
Normal (Recommended)	Normal (most damage)
27% Physical Radial	31.5% Off-shape Radial Bloodtinge
27% Physical Radial	31.5% Off-shape Radial Bloodtinge
27% Physical Triangle	31.5% Off-shape Triangle Bloodtinge

Since the Bloodletter lacks a circular gem slot, the best combination would be using three 27% Physical gems. Getting the three 31%’s will be a huge pain, but if you do your damage will be high.

Starting a Playthrough & Progression Bloodtinge builds usually have a really bad early game, which is why they are normally not recommended for new players who are learning the game. However you obviously really want to make a bloodtinge build since you’ve even bothered to read this far. I’ll give some tips and show what I did for my bloodtinge build. Strategy #1: Slow and Steady - This strategy consists of playing the game normally clearing everything, then after Vicar Amelia either going for Cainhurst or heading into the DLC to kill Simon. This is probably the best strategy because fighting Martyr Logarius won’t be such a burden and you’ll have lots of materials to go on into the game with. It will however, take more time to do since you'll be trying to get everything you can get before Cainhurst. Start by leveling skill (or strength) and vitality. Rush skill (or strength) to its lower softcap (25) ASAP, it will help you take down enemies. As well as giving your first BLT weapon damage once you get it. Since bloodtinge only starts getting good at around 40~, you'll need to rely on the untransformed state for awhile. I recommend starting with the Saw Cleaver or Saw Spear, so you can beat the first few beast bosses quicker, but use whatever weapon you're best at. Strategy #2: The Great Run - This is personally what I did and I can say it was probably a bad (and fun) idea. Basically you go through the game as fast as possible while skipping everything, including the normal enemies, until you get to Martyr Logarius to grab your Chikage. However be warned, I fought Martyr Logarius at level 20~ with a +2 cleaver, so if you’re aren't confident you can kill him low level then I wouldn’t do this. The route I took from start to finish was: Wake up - Get killed by Wolf - Get weapons - Run past everything and light central Yharnam lamp - sprint to Gascoigne by skipping all enemies - Cathedral Ward lamp & back to dream. Buy the Chief Hunters Emblem (level up if you can) - Open plaza gate with Emblem - Vicar Amelia (3) - Run through the woods - Hemwick + Boss + dream - Cainhurst + Logarius If I had to say how long it took me I would say 2 hours…? I didn’t time myself, but it was pretty fast. You can coop as well if you want. Alternatively you can go to the DLC instead of the woods and grab the bowblade by killing Simon.

Final Words & Thanks Wow, that was long, I hope you learned something about the intricacies of bloodtinge. I’ll edit this with more information if I get any. Bloodtinge is my favorite build in Bloodborne and I hope you have fun with it as well. I’m almost impressed you managed to stick with this guide this long, haha. For one last thing, the last build I’m going to give is a Quality/Bloodtinge Build. This will be higher level, but allows you to use all the bloodtinge weapons well and use a lot of the other main game weapons decently. Of course the other weapons won’t be the best, but you can still use them! BL150 VIT 45-50 END 25-30 STR 30 SKL 30 BLT 50 ARC 7-15 This guide doesn't include some information like attack types (strike, blunt, etc), and information on weapon multipliers (R1's deal 1.00x>1.05>1.10x etc). They were in this guide, but they ended up making it really, really long. I just wanted a guide to help people get started. However If you're interested in weapon multipliers and attack types please check this Fextralife links, they are (mostly) accurate. The Chikage | Simon's Bowblade | The Bloodletter I want to give a big thanks to /u/amygdalapls, for providing information about formatting, the bowblade, and gem advice (thanks a lot!). I also want to thank /u/n00exec for providing me with a ton of information on the bloodletter and his quality build (Thanks a lot too!).

Classes & Weapons at Base Level [source]

Table lists all the starting classes and the weapons that can be used by the classes right at base blood level. The four numbers listed below each origin are their starting Strength / Skill / Bloodtinge / Arcane levels. If a weapon isn't here, it's because no origin is applicable to its use. Weapons available to all origins are marked.

Weapon Name	Milquetoast	Lone Survivor	Troubled Childhood	Violent Past	Professional	Military Veteran	Noble Scion	Cruel Fate	Waste of Skin
Starting Levels	12 / 10 / 9 / 8	11 / 10 / 7 / 7	9 / 13 / 6 / 9	15 / 9 / 6 / 7	9 / 15 / 7 / 8	14 / 13 / 7 / 6	9 / 13 / 14 / 9	10 / 9 / 5 / 14	10 / 9 / 7 / 9
Saw Cleaver (All)	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓
Hunter Axe (All)	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓
Threaded Cane (All)	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓
Saw Spear (All)	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓
Burial Blade						✓
Blade of Mercy			✓		✓	✓	✓
Beast Claw						✓
Tonitrus	✓			✓		✓
Reiterpallasch							✓
Hunter Pistol (All)	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓
Hunter Blunderbuss (All)	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓
Torch (All)	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓
Wooden Shield (All)	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓
Flamesprayer	✓		✓		✓		✓	✓	✓
Hunter's Torch (All)	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓
Ludwig's Rifle	✓						✓
Rosmarinus	✓		✓		✓		✓	✓	✓
DLC required beyond this point
Beasthunter Saif			✓		✓	✓	✓
Beast Cutter	✓	✓		✓		✓
Boom Hammer				✓		✓
Church Pick					✓
Fist of Gratia (All)	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓
Piercing Rifle	✓						✓
Loch Shield	✓	✓		✓		✓

Cosplay Builds [source]

Name	Starting Class								Recommended Weapons
Shadows of Yharnam	Professional	30	12	10	25	25	8	60	Chikage, Madaras Whistle
Notes: This is the hyper-aggressive sword wielding shadow. Whoever uses this build should host, to ensure a proper phase three using the Madaras Whistle and a higher HP pool. Proper Chikage HP management is also important.
Shadows of Yharnam	Cruel Fate	35	12	10	23	5	25	60	Flamesprayer, Rakuyo, Fire Paper
Notes: This is the secondary shadow. Use the flamesprayer for zoning and to keep pressure on the invader. Apply the Fire Paper to your Rakuyo in phase two.
Shadows of Yharnam	Waste of Skin	30	9	25	9	7	30	60	Tonitrus, Executioners Gloves
Notes: This is the tertiary shadow. Stay back, use the Executioner's Gloves as a replacement for the fireballs. Don’t use your Tonitrus unless they get close.
Micolash, Host of the Nightmare	Cruel Fate	50	12	10	9	5	84	120	Kos Parasite, A Call Beyond, Augur of Ebrietas
Notes: This is basically just a standard Pure Arcane build. Be sure to use the Kos Parasite without a Milkweed rune so that your bare fists actually do damage.
Impostor Iosefka	Waste of Skin	50	9	10	42	8	50	120	Threaded Cane, Repeating Pistol, A Call Beyond, Augur of Ebrietas
Ludwig, the Accursed and Holy Blade	Cruel Fate	50	12	38	25	5	40	120	Beast Claws, Holy Moonlight Sword, Beast Roar
Notes: This one was a blast to make. Beast Claws for phase one, HMS for phase two. Use the Beast’s Embrace rune.
Lady Maria of the Astral Clocktower	Professional	50	12	10	40	50	8	120	Rakuyo, Chikage
Notes: Maria’s fight is a tricky one to accurately replicate. The first two phases are just her using the Rakuyo Transformed and Untransformed, which is easy. Then the blood attacks come in, which can be mimicked using the Chikage. Then… the blood coming from the Rakyuo catches fire. That’s harder. Originally I entertained using a Fire converted Rakuyo, but that doesn’t work very well. For maximum kosplay, you can either keep using the Chikage, or swap back to the Rakuyo, then apply Fire Paper.
Witches of Hemwick	Cruel Fate	50	12	10	40	5	49	120	Blade of Mercy untransformed, Messengers Gift, Beast Roar, Executioner’s Gloves
Notes: Mad One Weapons: Burial Blade untransformed.

How to Make a Build in Bloodborne [source]

Where Do I Start? So it’s your first time playing Bloodborne. What do you do? When creating a character, the first thing you’re confronted with is your choice of six different starting origins which determine your initial stats. Which one do you pick? Well, on your first runthrough it doesn’t really matter, but I would recommend Military Veteran, since it has good strength, skill, and vitality and leaves Bloodtinge and Arcane low. Which Build Should I Pick? If you’re a first time player, go for what is referred to as a “Quality” build, which is a Strength and Skill Hybrid. This lets you optimize your weapon choices and explore almost anything you want, which is ideal for a newbie. Don’t worry too much about capping your level or being optimized on your first character. If you want to spend a few points into Arcane to try out the Flamesprayer or Old Hunter Bone that's perfectly fine, just don’t level yourself into a corner by spending too many points into unnecessary stats. If you’ve played Dark Souls before and you know whether you like heavy or fast weapons better, choose Strength or Skill accordingly, but be warned that Bloodborne’s combat is much faster paced and mobile than that of Dark Souls, so your favored weapons may change to adapt. Perhaps you’ll want heavier weapons to stagger your enemies to keep them in one place, or use faster, low-stamina weapons for maximum mobility. Builds that focus on Bloodtinge and Arcane as their main source of damage are definitely something to avoid until you have fully explored the game, have researched how to get those characters off the ground, and are confident in your skills, especially Arcane. In the end, the most important thing is experimentation. Try all the weapons you can and then make a build around the playstyle you like the most. How Should I Level Up? There are a few basic rules to leveling in Bloodborne, that, to those new to the Souls games, will be less than obvious. Don’t Level Stats You Don’t Need. This means that if you’re making a physical build, Bloodtinge and Arcane should remain at their base levels. If you’re making an Arcane Strength build, Bloodtinge and Skill should remain at their base (or as close as you can keep them to use the weapons you want), and so on. Learn the Softcaps Softcaps are a concept in Bloodborne and other Souls games that enforces diminishing returns. However, rather than a gradual curve, these returns drop off sharply at set intervals. For Skill, Strength, Bloodtinge and Arcane, the softcaps are 25 and 50, with the maximum for all stats being 99. For Vitality, the softcaps are 30 and 50, and Endurance the only softcap is 40. Upgrading past the second softcap is essentially a waste, and unless your weapon is one of a select few that does not scale with other stats very well (Rakuyo, Blade of Mercy, Whirligig Saw, Amygdalan Arm) reaching the first softcap in the other is more effective than hitting 50 with the main stat. This means that if you’re doing a physical build you’ll usually want to hit 30/15/25/25/minimum/minimum before choosing either strength or skill to specialize in, and invest in Vit whenever you feel like you need more. The second damage softcaps are incredibly severe, with damage per level dropping by a factor of six. The vitality softcaps are the most lenient, and if you have points to spare or are running an uncapped build, investing in vitality past 50 isn’t a terrible decision. Note that if you’re running an arcane build, the softcaps still apply to converted weapons, but the damage of Hunter Tools actually increases per level the higher your arcane goes. These tools don’t have softcaps so much as sweet spots, and they are unique to each one. Endurance Doesn’t Matter If you’ve played Dark Souls, this one will be new to you. In Bloodborne, there is no heavy armor and if you've looked down you'll notice that none of my builds exceed 15 endurance. If you feel like you need/want 20, especially for more stamina demanding weapons like Wheel, Kirk, LHB, or Rakuyo, that's perfectly fine, but more than that is rather wasteful, especially for PvP. Endurance doesn’t see nearly as much of an increase as much as other stats do, to the extent that using a top level stamina rune is equivalent to adding ten whole levels of endurance. In fact, many (if not all) of the weapons in the game are completely viable without needing to level endurance at all. Where Do I Finish? If you’ve looked, most of these builds cap out at Blood Level (BL) 120. Why? Well, the PvP meta is at 120 (though some people like the BL 98 meta), but anywhere from 90-140 will still get matches reliably. More than that won’t really get matches, and under that people either don’t do PvP (willingly, that is) and/or any build at that level isn’t finished. You should finish the base game around 90+, or 105+ if you have the DLC. If you’re running a single stat physical build like Strength or Skill you could take about ten to twenty levels off of this, depending on how confident you are in your ability. What Are The Starting Weapons Like? When you first enter the Hunter’s Dream, you can choose between two firearms and three weapons. The big question is: Which one is right for you? While you can only choose one of each, don’t worry too much about this. You can find an item that lets you purchase all of them from the shop pretty early in the game.

Hunter Pistol: The Hunter pistol fires a single projectile like, well, a normal gun. For a bit of an antiquated firearm, it is quite fast to fire, though its damage (like almost all guns in the game) is negligible. Be aware that in order to hit anything at all (with most any gun, but this one especially) you will need to at least briefly lock on to your target before firing. This can also be used to aggro enemies from range, since your character throws pebbles (and molotovs) like they’re a toddler. Hunter Blunderbuss: This firearm fires pellets like a shotgun in a wide arcing band slightly slower than the pistol. This makes it ideal for dealing with evasive targets, namely other hunters in PvP. While it is not able to reliably aggro or damage targets from range, it is surprisingly responsive and actually can be used to deal some small damage at close range (though this is not recommended) because, well, it’s a shotgun. Threaded Cane: Like all main weapons in Bloodborne, the Threaded Cane transforms between two distinct weapons. The Untransformed version is a small sword-cane. This form is lightning fast, and incorporates plenty of thrust damage (a useful subset of physical damage to which certain enemies are vulnerable), but with the downside of a very short reach. The weapon’s Transformed state is a whip composed of several blades, rather like barbed wire. This form isn’t all that fast (a common misconception), but it consumes little stamina, has good area control, and is serrated, meaning that it deals extra damage to certain large beasts. Overall, this weapon has low rally potential and low damage, (though the speed of the cane can sometimes make up for it) so be careful with it in that regard. Both forms have minimal stagger, but the cane can charge its R2 very quickly so it can be used for that sweet tactical backstab later on. This weapon scales with the Skill stat, reaching a B scaling at maximum upgrade, making it a good choice for builds focused on this stat. Pros: Fast, low stamina use, great area control, serration Cons: Low damage, low stagger, low rally, struggles against bosses Saw Cleaver: The Saw Cleaver is a very unique weapon. It is initially a large serrated blade (rather like a crude oversized meat cleaver) wielded by a long arcing handle connecting to the front of the blade rather than the back. When Transformed, the blade whips out, using the full length of the handle. The untransformed mode is where this weapon really shines. It's good speed, damage, stagger, and fairly low stamina consumption are great, and it comes with a serration bonus to boot. However, the offset to these advantages is that the range is minimal, and there are no lunging thrusts like the cane, forcing the wielder into close range combat. Transformed gains range and stagger but makes big sacrifices in terms of speed. The transformed form’s biggest flaw is its moveset, which consists almost entirely of vertical swings. This weapon has essentially zero crowd control capabilities aside from the very slow R2 which doesn't have great range either. This inability to deal with multiple enemies is a big downside, especially for beginners. However, the L1 transformation attack deals a considerable amount of damage and stagger, and has both speed and range. Pros: Fast, good damage, good stagger, low stamina consumption, serration Cons: No area control, forces fast-paced point blank combat right out the gate, lacking moveset in Transformed mode. Hunter Axe: The Hunter Axe begins as a one handed axe with a gigantic blade, and transforms into a much larger, two handed version. Untransformed has massive stagger, rally and damage, but is slow and has tremendous stamina consumption. Its range is very low and when coupled with its slow speed is a bit tricky to use for beginners, but the charged R2 has insane stagger and damage, and charges relatively fast. Transformed is a truly monstrous two handed axe with massive range, rally, and stagger. Its L2 has good crowd control and it’s charged R2 attack basically turns you into a killer beyblade and will not only stagger but actually send pretty much any enemy that’s not the size of a building flying, and probably just flat out kill any human sized one. The Axe reaches a B scaling in strength at its maximum upgrade level, making it a good choice for Strength-focused builds. Pros: Huge damage, stagger, rally, fantastic range and area control Cons: Heavy stamina consumption, very slow. WARNING: If you use the Axe, you will probably spend most, if not all of your time in its two handed form. You won’t learn how to use your gun, which will be fine at first, but trust me it will come back to bite you in the ass later in the game. This is (in my opinion) objectively the best of the starting choices as a weapon, but unquestionably the worst as a learning tool, which is really what you need when beginning the game. Recommendation? Use the Saw SPEAR. You can get it pretty much immediately, but as an item in the world, not from the shop. The untransformed version has the same great moveset as the cleaver, but the transformed version’s attacks have none of the glaring flaws of its counterpart, and is serrated to boot. It does marginally less damage, but the massive improvement in the transformed state is quite worth it, especially for beginners. Additionally, the spear has better overall scaling, focusing a bit more on skill. In late game, this actually pushes the spear’s damage output past that of the cleaver.

Bloodborne Discord Collected Resources

Many of your fellow Hunters have kindly made/found resources for anyone wishing to make the best of their gameplay experience. We've organized almost everything that's been shared with the server here for convenience. Thanks go to the discord mod team for collecting and organizing all the resources included below. Also you can join the Bloodborne discord with this invitation link.

Undefiled Pthumeru Dungeon (Quick FRC Unlock) ► Khan A guide to using false depth story dungeons to unlock Depth 5 FRC chalice dungeons for farming without passing through all the story chalice dungeons.

Orphan of Kos GIFs Phase 1 & Orphan of Kos GIFs Phase 2 ► Dargonsouls A collection of clips which demonstrate backstab punishes for many of Orphan's attacks.

Bloodborne Weapon Hitboxes ► Emma A collection of hitboxes for Bloodborne including most trick weapons used by the player.

Boss Damage Types ► KitPes Collection of notes regarding types of damage dealt by main game and chalice bosses.

Bloodborne: Let's Talk Lore ► Aegon of Astora A Youtube playlist of Bloodborne playthrough experiences that also discuss its worldbuilding and its game mechanics. Last updated July 2017.

Bloodborne with JSF and Sin ► Sinclair Lore and Jerk Sans Frontieres A Youtube playlist of podcasts discussing various details of Bloodborne's worldbuilding, from NPCs to thematic elements. Last updated October 2021.

Defiled Watchdog Guide ► chaizaeng Some guidance to fighting one of the more challenging chalice bosses, the Watchdog of the Defiled Chalice. Includes recommended weapons as well as images of boss movesets to watch out for.

Weapon AR Comparison with Different Stats ► Ayman A spreadsheet comparing the AR of all Bloodborne weapons when the level for the weapon's primary stat is 50 while the secondary/tertiary stats are base.

Rom: A Comprehensive Guide ► Arti A guide to fighting the base game and chalice boss Rom the Vacuous Spider.

Bloodborne Up Close: DLC Edition ► Jerks Sans Frontieres A series of videos examining the visual details of Bloodborne's enemies and environment, DLC Edition.

Bloodborne Up Close ► Jerks Sans Frontieres A series of videos examining the visual details of Bloodborne's enemies and environment.

How to Make a Bloodborne Mule ► StochasticGD and Crowley A guide to making a BL4 mule character that outlines game progression, chalice exploration, and goodies to pick up to do so and be PvP/co-op ready.

Laurence ► Vic Wraith A guide to fighting the DLC boss Laurence, the First Vicar.

Amygdala: A Comprehensive Guide ► Arti A guide to fighting the base game and chalice boss Amygdala.

Ludwigology ► StochasticGD A guide to fighting the DLC boss Ludwig the Accursed / Holy Blade.

Bloodborne Gem Farming Videos ► Castiel, Forsaken Plague Doctor A playlist of chalice runthroughs showing off the FRC glyphs and layouts most commonly used for gem farming.

Current Patch (1.09) Skips ► Sad A spreadsheet containing all the currently working skips in the game documented with links.

Nourishing Gems AR Comparison ► Ayman A look at different damage values based on Nourishing Gems set in various weapons.

Quality Build AR Comparison ► Ayman A look at different damage values between various Quality builds.

Arcane AR Comparison ► Ayman A look at different damage values based on ARC scaling.

Bloodtinge AR Comparison ► Ayman A look at different damage values based on BLT scaling.

Holy Moonlight Sword Build Info ► cone A guide to optimizing stats and gems for Holy Moonlight Sword. Includes preset stat spreads and glyphs for the recommended gems.

Bloodsheets ► The Tomb Prospectors Spreadsheet with save-edited dungeons, including false depth dungeons, reverse depth dungeons, dungeons with edited gempools, terrible curse dungeons, test dungeons and more!

How To Escape Soft-locking Test Dungeons ► EsperRow Directions for escaping developer chalice dungeons as described in PSA about Glitched/Developer Chalice Dungeons.

Bloodborne Bestiary A roster of Yharnam inhabitants, bosses, and locales.

PSA about Glitched/Developer Chalice Dungeons ► xtrinx Warning against chalice dungeons created by the PSN user mitianshi. They are glitched/developer dungeons that are difficult to leave unless through convuluted means. Look out for any Open Privacy Chalices with empty chalice icons and ?PlaceName?, Depth 0/6-8, or ?MenuText? for text. Glyph knvzjv62 is the currently the most active one. We recommend not visiting the chalice to let the glyph die out. Visit only at your own risk!

BL4 Guide ► Arti A guide on Blood Level 4 runs.

Bloodborne: Theme Run/Cosplay Run List ► Prime A guide to putting together Bloodborne cosplays based on available sets and weapons. Includes instructions for acquiring outfit pieces.

All Sinister Chalices ► The Tomb Prospectors A false depth glyph for all the Sinister Chalices required for FRCs in one location.

The Yharnam Scholars Wiki ► BB Discord Scholars A collection of various lore theories written and run by our own server Scholars.

Bloodborne Japanese Retranslation Guide ► Presance Alternate English translations for Bloodborne, based on the Japanese edition and original Japanese texts.

Bloodborne Bosses: Tips & Tricks ► Tranurz, Boreas & Hayden A comprehensive guide to taking on each and every boss in Bloodborne (including The Old Hunters DLC and Chalices).

Blade of Mercy PvP Damage ► FoxyHooligan A rundown with numerical data on the damage dealt by the Blade of Mercy with varied gem setups.

Best Blood Gem Setups (using edited dungeons) ► XTrin A comprehensive sheet with the best blood gem setups, edited dungeon glyphs and locations for Strength, Skill and Quality.

Logarius Wheel PvP damage ► FoxyHooligan A rundown with numerical data on the damage dealt by the Logarius Wheel with varied gem setups.

Amygdalan Arm PvP Damage ► FoxyHooligan A rundown with numerical data on the damage dealt by the Amygdalan Arm with varied gem setups.

Boom Hammer PvP Damage ► FoxyHooligan A rundown with numerical data on the damage dealt by the Boom Hammer with varied gem setups .

Kos Parasite PvP Damage ► dark_sun_ty A rundown with numerical data on the damage dealt by the Kos Parasite at various level thresholds and with varied gem setups.

Bloodborne Damage Calculator ► FoxyHooligan A helpful damage calculator for PvP. Make sure to save your own copy of the sheet (File -> Make a copy) in order to input your own values.

Build AR calculator ► Khan Extremely useful build maker/stat simulator provided kindly by Khan. Features: Blood gems: You can select the desired bloodgem for your weapon. If the gem isn't available, you can customize your own bloodgem. Double right-clicking on certain gems from the list pops up glyphs. Weapons: Double-clicking weapon icon pops up weapon selection window. You can also check on access route. BL calculator: You can calculate required blood echoes from current BL to target BL. Multiplayer level range calculation and determination of opponent's BL on PvP are also available features.

Gem and Stat based dmg calculations: Chikage and Kos Parasite ► FoxyHooligan Damage calculation of Chikage and Kos Parasite for various moves, with varying gem sets and stats.

Hunter Tools Scaling A snippet from the Arcanist Cookbook. A sheet containing all the scaling values for the Hunter Tools in the game, including the DLC.

Chalice Dungeons Exploration ► The Tomb Prospecors The sheets in this document include all Bloodborne chalice dungeon maps explored by the Tomb Prospectors community, including all 2300 root chalices, with focus on chalice dungeon rarities such as rare enemies, unusual architecture or glitches.

Bloodborne Plot Research ► Micolash An intensive breakdown of Bloodborne text translations and in-depth study into the lore of the game, thoroughly researched and meticulously compiled for the purpose of theorycrafting.

Reference List by Dagdammit ► Dagdammit A list of interesting reads compiled by user Dagdammit#0612 that helps convey the theme employed by Bloodborne lore.

NPC Face Data (sliders) ► Zullie the Witch (compiled by Herne™) Sliders for making the faces of the NPCs from the game (DLC included).

Consumable Duplication Method ► Dankoyster A slightly updated version of the item dupe that's been around since the original Dark Souls, except without the risk of actually using the item.

Bloodborne envmaps ► Dropoff Image textures used to simulate specular reflections, which are seen on smooth surfaces.

Defiled Amygdala strategy ► Thor A comprehensive quick kill strategy by a seasoned veteran of the game. Very handy when going through story chalices.

Cut Dialogue Subtitles ► BellringerKat A script of all the dialogue that was cut from various NPCs in the final version of the game.

Safe Test Chalices ► Zullie the Witch A spreadsheet by Zullie containing all the known Test Chalices that are safe to explore. You do not need to backup savedata prior to exploring these.

Data Mining Thread ► Nova A detailed mega thread on a collaborative effort of all data-mined content in Bloodborne.

Arcane Scaling Tool Damage Test (Base Game only) ► x_stickman_x Damage test on hunter tools with small increments in the Arcane stat ranging from 3 to 99. Only base game tools observed.

A Hunter’s Guide to Damage ► Anon (bb korean) A comprehensive guide to understanding attack rating and attack damage calculations.

Spoiler-free Pocket Guide ► Friendly Man A pocket guide with useful information for newcomers and people who need a quick refresher. Spoiler-free.

Bloodborne weapons per origin ► Asgore Spreadsheet that lists all the starting classes and the weapons that can be used by the classes right at base blood level.

Bloodborne Beasthood Guide ► /bbg/ A basic guide to beasthood, beast claws, and pellets with information regarding statistics and mechanics.

Bloodborne Boss Weaknesses ► Kab A spreadsheet with boss defense stats and weaknesses, including defense modifiers and formulas for chalice dungeon bosses.

The Arcanist Cookbook Various spreadsheets on making Arcane builds with supplementary information on bosses, gems, weapons, tools, and runes.

The Bloodborne Sheets A compilation of spreadsheets mostly on story and root chalice dungeons with special glyphs listed for finding goodies. Extra information on all Bloodborne bosses, armor, weapons, and runes have also been included.

Bloodborne Build Planner ► Juli A comprehensive guide to character creation in Bloodborne. Includes information on stats, weapons, tools, and runes you can use for your builds.

Weapon AR Calculator Instructions and formulas for calculating your weapon damage. Linked at the beginning is a document compiling all Bloodborne weapons' attribute scaling, base damage, and attribute saturation as well.

How to Make a Build in Bloodborne ► Boreas A guide to character stats optimization in Bloodborne. Included with the suggested builds are also the appropriate weapons and tools.

The Chalice Atlas ► GhostlyMire A compilation of chalice dungeon resources put together by the Bloodborne-Wiki and the Tomb Prospectors. Look through here for information on chalice types and their possible loot (glyph sheet linked after the introduction).

Main Story Bosses

Boss & Location	Main Damage Types	Notes
Cleric Beast Central Yharnam	Physical
Father Gascoigne Central Yharnam	Physical	Gunshots deal arc/fire damage (60/40%)
Vicar Amelia Cathedral Ward	Physical
Blood-starved Beast Old Yharnam	Physical	Jump attack deals Blunt damage. Phase 3 poison explosion deals Arcane damage.
The Witch of Hemwick Hemwick Charnel Lane	Physical,  Arcane	Melee attacks deal physical damage and projectiles deal Arcane. Summoned Mad Ones deal Physical damage.
Darkbeast Paarl Old Yharnam	Physical, Blunt, Bolt	All melee attacks in regular mode deal roughly 50% phys or blunt and 50% bolt damage. In “broken” form (without sparks) the bolt part is removed but the phys/blunt part is increased by roughly 30-40%. Damage output in broken form is independent of phase and is comparable to regular phase 3.
Shadow of Yharnam Forbidden Woods	Physical, Fire	All melee attacks from Shadows are physical. Giant snake also deals physical damage.
Rom, the Vacuous Spider Moonside Lake	Physical, Blunt, Arcane	Rom’s body slams deal Blunt damage. Falling meteors are 40% phys/60% arc. Rising ones are 20% phys/80% arc, dealing significantly more damage. Small spiders deal only Physical damage.
Martyr Logarius Forsaken Castle Cainhurst	Physical, Arcane	Melee attacks are purely physical.
The One Reborn Yahar'gul (Blood Moon)	Blunt, Arcane	Also has several weak Physical melee attacks. Vomit and raining crap, as well as bell maiden projectiles, deal Arcane damage.
Amygdala Nightmare Frontier	Blunt, Physical	Vomit, lasers and their explosions deal Physical damage, melee moveset is blunt.
Celestial Emissary Upper Cathedral Ward	Blunt, Arcane	Melee moveset is entirely blunt.
Ebrietas, Daughter of the Cosmos Altar of Despair	Blunt, Physical, Arcane	Head slams, ground and aerial charges, and overhead tentacle slams are blunt, other melee attacks are physical. Lasers and blood vomit deal Arcane damage.
Micolash, Host of the Nightmare Nightmare of Mensis	Arcane
Mergo's Wet Nurse Nightmare of Mensis	Physical	Also has a couple of thrust attacks.
Gehrman, The First Hunter Hunter's Dream	Physical	Gunshots deal Blood damage. Phase 2 buff explosion deals Arcane damage.
Moon Presence Hunter's Dream	Physical	Raining blood deals arcane damage. 1 HP AoE attack technically deals around 28000 physical, fire and bolt damage (in NG).

The Old Hunters DLC Bosses

Boss & Location	Main Damage Types	Notes
Ludwig Hunter's Nightmare	Phase 1: Blunt Phase 2: Physical, Arcane	Bite combo in phase 1 is physical, rest of melee attacks are blunt. Water spray attack deals Arcane damage. Phase 2 sword attacks are 50% phys/50% arc, lightwaves and AoEs are purely Arcane.
Living Failures Research Hall	Blunt, Arcane	Unlike Rom’s meteorites, Failure ones are purely arcane. All melee attacks are blunt.
Lady Maria of the Astral Clocktower Research Hall	Phase 1: Physical, Thrust, Phase 2: Blood, Phase 3: Blood, Fire	Phase 1 damage types are similar to player rakuyo attacks. In phase 2 and 3 all melee attacks deal Blood damage, with flame trails dealing Fire damage in phase 3.
Orphan of Kos Fishing Hamlet	Physical, Arcane, Bolt	All melee attacks in both phases deal mostly physical damage with relatively minor arcane component, the value of arcane damage is constant for all attacks in each phase while the physical part varies between individual attacks. Thrown projectiles and explosions deal Arcane damage.
Laurence, the First Vicar Hunter's Nightmare	Physical, Fire	Phase 1 melee hits are purely physical, in phase 2-3 a relatively minor fire part is added. Flame explosions and AoEs deal purely fire damage.

Chalice Dungeons Bosses

Boss & Location	Main Damage Types	Notes
Undead Giant (Twin Curved Blades) Pthumerian Labyrinth L1	Physical, Blunt	Ground slam, jump and leg kicks are blunt for all three Undead Giant variants.  Forward blade thrusts deal Thrust damage, other melee attacks are physical.
Undead Giant (Hatchet and Cannon) Hintertomb Labyrinth L2	Physical, Blunt, Blood	Cannon shots deal Blood damage. Axe melee attacks deal Physical and cannon melee attacks deal Blunt
Undead Giant (Club and Hook) Lower Pthumerian Labyrinth L2	Physical, Blunt	Hook attacks are physical, club and chain attacks are Blunt.
Merciless Watchers & Chieftain Lower Pthumerian Labyrinth L1	Club Watcher: Blunt, Saw Watcher: Physical, Shotgun Watcher: Blood
Watchdog of the Old Lords Cursed Pthumerian Defilement L2	Physical, Fire	Only jump and charge attack deal both damage types (60/40%). Other melee attacks are purely physical.
Keeper of the Old Lords Central Pthumerian Labyrinth L2	Physical, Fire
Brainsucker Isz Gravestone L1	Physical, Blunt	Some hand swipe attacks are blunt, rest are physical.
Pthumerian Descendant Central Pthumerian Labyrinth L3	Physical
Pthumerian Elder Lower Hintertomb Labyrinth L3	Physical, Blunt, Thrust	Mace (including subsequent explosion), hook and halberd attacks are blunt. Lance, ground spear and crossbow shots are thrust, rest melee attacks are physical. Despite the visible flaming effect appearing when getting hit by all attacks, only fireballs that drop during phase 2 staff spin attack actually deal fire damage.
Maneater Boar Hintertomb Labyrinth L1	Physical
Bloodletting Beast Lower Pthumerian Labyrinth L4	Blunt	Both variants have entirely blunt movesets.
Beast-possessed Soul Ailing Loran L1	Physical, Fire
Loran Silverbeast Lower Loran L1	Physical, Fire, Bolt	Melee attacks are purely physical.
Abhorrent Beast Ailing Loran L3	Physical, Blunt	Only several arm slam attacks of phase 1 deal blunt damage, all other moves are physical. Despite its appearance and blood gem drops this boss deals no bolt damage at all.
Yharnam, Pthumerian Queen Pthumeru Ihyll L3	Physical, Thrust, Arcane	Melee attacks are either purely physical/thrust or have small arcane part. Blood attacks and telekinesis grab deal Arcane damage.

Two Stats Combinations

These following sets are optimized for a combination of the two stats described, which can help against an environment/enemy who uses both types of damage. They will not necessarily be the highest in that particular stat unlike those listed above, but will have the combined total of best resistance across two stats.

Highest STR/ARC Resistance

Part	Piece
Head	Gold Ardeo	50	40	60	40	40	40	70	12	15	13	16
Chest	Executioner Garb	90	120	110	100	110	90	100	53	45	17	45
Hands	Executioner Gauntlets	40	60	40	50	60	50	50	26	24	9	24
Legs	Executioner Trousers	50	70	50	60	60	60	50	30	26	10	26
		Physical Defense				Elemental Defense			Resistance			Beasthood

Highest SKL/ARC Resistance

Part	Piece
Head	Harrowed Hood	60	40	50	40	60	50	50	20	19	2	18
Chest	Harrowed Garb	120	80	90	90	110	90	110	56	58	9	44
Hands	Harrowed Gloves	60	40	40	60	50	40	50	35	31	4	25
Legs	Harrowed Trousers	70	50	50	60	60	50	60	38	33	5	27
		Physical Defense				Elemental Defense			Resistance			Beasthood

Highest SKL/BLT Resistance

Part	Piece
Head	Harrowed Hood	60	40	50	40	60	50	50	20	19	2	18
Chest	Harrowed Garb	120	80	90	90	110	90	110	56	58	9	44
Hands	Harrowed Gloves	60	40	40	60	50	40	50	35	31	4	25
Legs	Harrowed Trousers	70	50	50	60	60	50	60	38	33	5	27
		Physical Defense				Elemental Defense			Resistance			Beasthood

Bloodborne Respec: How To Change Starting Origin [source]

The original resource figured out by Claude on the Tomb Prospectors Discord. Search for your characters name in Advanced Mode to find your spread. I also take off all Runes so my VIT/END read correctly. Here's an example of what Military Veteran looks like at the beginning of a new character. When respecing characters with poor stat distribution, I would start over at BL10 with the most optimized starting origin for whatever I want to build towards. You can use the Quick Mode Blood Echoes cheat to level back up to BL120 or your desired level easily. Military Veteran is one of the most used origins for minmaxed builds.

Here is one of my characters after changing origin to Lone Survivor for a more optimized stat spread at low level. Stats shown here are the proper starting stats for this origin, with correct HP and stamina. Discovery is not affected by any of these bytes. Lone Survivor is actually a poorly optimized origin when compared to MV, but can save you one or two points at a low enough blood level. Use https://mugenmonkey.com/bloodborne and hex to decimal translation sites to properly represent your VIT/END.

Basic Information

The IGN First month long coverage of Bloodborne for February 2015. IGN First schedule was as follow: first week - news every day, while following weeks were about 3 news a week for the rest of the month.

The IGN First was extensively covered on the News Blog on day to day basis. Information displayed on the wiki will follow the same day to day format.

DAY 1 - February 2nd: Bloodborne: The first 18 minutes

IGN Video & Article: [YT] Bloodborne: The First 18 Minutes - IGN First; Bloodborne: The First 18 Minutes - IGN First. The opening 18 minutes of Bloodborne throws you right into the deep-end with a mysterious, nightmarish cinematic. Once you gain control of your character, you'll die at the hands of a vicious beast, explore the bright and colorful hub world, and enter the treacherous town of Yharnam. Note: the capture is from a slightly older build and the game is still under development, so definitely be aware of that if you notice a rough edge or two.

Other Articles: Bloodborne's First 19 Minutes Analysis; Menus, Attributes, Weapons, Mechanics and More [broken]

Discussion: IGN First: Bloodborne - Discussion Megathread - Reddit Thread; Bloodborne gameplay: The Fisrt 18 minutes - NeoGaf Thread

Notable Information: Different post-alpha HUD in the top left corner. Hunter's Dream was named Dream Refuge in pre-release build. Arcane icon is pictured as an apple. Eileen the Crow was situated near caged dogs before Dry Dock in Central Yharnam which makes her easier to find than in retail version of the game.

DAY 2 - February 3rd: Bloodborne Hands-On: We were punished and we liked it

IGN Article: Bloodborne Hands-On: We Were Punished and We Liked It - IGN First by Marty Sliva, Bloodborne’s dark tone and brutal difficulty are readily apparent in the spiritual Souls sequel’s opening hours. The brooding action-RPG is packed with the same barrier to entry, environmental storytelling, and bosses that seem to be ripped straight from the deepest depths of your nightmares that fans of the Souls series loved throughout the past console generation. But for all of the great things that Bloodborne shares with the iconic trilogy, it’s the ways it differed that really impressed me throughout my time with the first two hours of the PlayStation 4 exclusive.

DAY 3 - February 4th: Bloodborne: Exploring its Vast Character Creator

IGN Video & Article: [YT] Bloodborne: Exploring its Vast Character Creator - IGN First; Bloodborne: Exploring its Vast Character Creator - IGN First by Marty Sliva. We're continuing strong through the first week of February's IGN First on Bloodborne with a dip into its robust character creator. Personalizing your wandering hero has always been an important facet of the Souls series, but Bloodborne definitely goes even deeper with a larger suite of customization options.

DAY 4 - February 5th: Inside the Mind of Bloodborne and Dark Souls’ Creator

IGN Article: Inside the Mind of Bloodborne and Dark Souls’ Creator - IGN First by Marty Sliva. Hidetaka Miyazaki is one of the most influential game directors of the last generation, but he’ll never tell you that. Director on Demon’s Souls, Dark Souls, and Bloodborne, he helped put From Software on the AAA developer map by creating beautiful, punishing, and incredibly rewarding games that remind us what it was like to sit in front of our NES’ and chip away at the classics. During our IGN First trip to Tokyo for Bloodborne, we spent a day at From Software and sat down with Miyazaki himself. Our discussion traveled from Bloodborne’s inception, to the rise of speed runs and streaming, and even to which games he’s looking forward to in 2015. Sit back and relax, this one’s a doozy.

+ click to read whole interview | more interviews on its respective wiki page

A candid conversation with From Software’s Hidetaka Miyazaki by Marty Sliva. Hidetaka Miyazaki is one of the most influential game directors of the last generation, but he’ll never tell you that. Director on Demon’s Souls, Dark Souls, and Bloodborne, he helped put From Software on the AAA developer map by creating beautiful, punishing, and incredibly rewarding games that remind us what it was like to sit in front of our NES’ and chip away at the classics. During our IGN First trip to Tokyo for Bloodborne, we spent a day at From Software and sat down with Miyazaki himself. Our discussion traveled from Bloodborne’s inception, to the rise of speed runs and streaming, and even to which games he’s looking forward to in 2015. Sit back and relax, this one’s a doozy. On How Bloodborne Came to Be “To speak precisely on the timing, it was just about when we were wrapping up Prepare to Die when Sony approached From Software," Hidetaka Miyazaki told us. His response to Sony? "Why don't we start talking about next-gen?" But of course, the world of Bloodborne was something that Miyazaki had been thinking about for quite some time. “...the game mechanics, or the gothic theme for example, those were some areas or concepts that were always brewing, and one of the areas that I always wanted to achieve in my career, and I knew that when that trigger was pulled, this was it.” On Inspirations for the Setting The world of Bloodborne is brimming with influences from our own history. From the aesthetics of Victorian London, to the mass hysteria of the Black Plague, it feels familiar while still maintaining an air of mystery. When I asked Miyazaki about his history with...well...history, he responded, “The short answer to your question is...not necessarily did I really study the history during my student years. However, it has always been an area of interest, naturally as you can see with my games. One thing I'd like to emphasize is that because they are areas of interest, and because they have significant roles in human history, there isn't really a specific element that I'd like to pursue or I would like to connect to as an inspiration, specifically because if I did, I would dig too deep into that particular angle of history or incident, and it's more or less a hybrid. I touch these points lightly, intentionally.” On Reading Books Before Playing Games Miyazaki’s love for reading is immediately apparent when you hear him speak. He explained to us, “Growing up, as a kid, I loved to read. I liked to read books that were above my range. I always tried to aim higher and read difficult books. What would happen is, although I could read them, sometimes -- because I was so young -- I couldn't read TOO deep into them. Maybe I would understand half of the story? What would happen is that my imagination would help fill the other half, and that imagination element would just blow up. That's kind of the part I enjoyed as well, filling the gaps of where I didn't understand the readings, where my imagination took me eventually to think that I understood what I was reading.” He elaborated, “It kind of relates to what I'm doing in my creations. In addition to that, I studied Sociolology and Psychology, and, after school, I revisited those themes, and this is the fruit of what you're experiencing now.” When asked if he played games a lot as a kid, his answer surprised. “Growing up, I was restricted at home from playing video games until I reached University. This is a reason why I stumble when I'm asked this question. There was a board game called Sorcery which is one of my favorites and I would often revisit the game. It's not a video game but it definitely stands out in my mind as a game that impacted me.” Unsurprisingly, he elaborated on another physical game he enjoyed, “I've been a fan of Dungeons and Dragons, and for them to have come this far is very meaningful to me.” On How Development on PS3 Informed PS4 Miyazaki began his career developing games for the PlayStation 3. Years later, he’s on a brand-new piece of hardware. We asked him about that leap in technology. “...the PS3, at that time, was revolutionary for introducing the network features and functionality, hence, that kind of explains why Demon's Souls and Dark Souls were designed in those ways. Now, fast forwarding to PS4, the Share feature is obviously adding onto that network connectivity and capability and the sharing of the experience. This is an area which plays a theme in Bloodborne where for example, sharing dungeons will be one of the key factors.”

On Speed Runs and Streaming Beneath the initial layer of extreme difficulty and opaque storytelling, the Souls community has rallied around mind-boggling speed runs and long-form streams of the games. And you know what, Miyazaki is a huge fan of this. When asked if he predicted this community during development, he cheerfully replied, “I'm very well aware of how players are enjoying the speed runs. I would like to correct that I'm nowhere near perfect and that was nowhere near what I was aiming for or expected. That was actually behavior by the consumer base that I did not anticipate. I have watched those and I actually enjoy that kind of...almost...interaction, in some ways and that is also at the core of my thinking or philosophy upon game design.” In terms of streaming the entire game on services like Twitch, he sees both the positives and negatives. “Of course, there are areas or storylines for example that I would like for the users to experience or take away from Bloodborne, but there's always kind of a thought that it would be interesting from my or the team's point of view as well, where the gamers take it and how they get creative and how they want to play.” He continued, “I see it as almost an interaction between the two, in terms of, ‘Oh, I actually didn't think of that, but you took it in a different way and found YOUR way or interpretation of how you would like to enjoy Bloodborne.’” On Bloodborne’s Ties to Demon’s Souls Between the ties to Sony, the faster combat, and the presence of a Nexus-like hub world, Bloodborne definitely feels like a follow-up to Demon’s Souls. When asked, Miyazaki told us, “Just reflecting on your question and the history of my development...it carries the DNA. It carries the DNA of Demon's Souls and its very specific level design. And even in Bloodborne, the upper maps, the maps above ground, are all along the lines of Demon's Souls and very specifically designed.” But that’s not to say there’s nothing new in Bloodborne. Specifically, the procedurally-generated Chalice Dungeon throws a curveball at what most Souls fans expect from the bespoke level design of the games. Miyazaki resumed, “In terms of Chalice Dungeon, yes, there is an element of randomness. However, once, for example, a Chalice Dungeon is created, you can lock that. Once you've locked it, you can go back and play it time and time again and learn it. So, on those terms, it's still along the lines of a Demon's Souls experience. But, we did want to have some sort of variance with a new IP like Bloodborne, to throw something new into the mix.” With a smile, he concluded, “Hopefully, it will resonate with the people and the fans will appreciate it.” On Horror What genre does Miyazaki consider the themes of Bloodborne to fall under? We asked if he was a big fan of horror, and his reply surprised us. “I'm not necessarily a fan of horror genre of movies or books. I do like reading in general but I'm not specific in terms of genres. If I had to call out a genre, I would say dark fantasy. I do like taking things in from text and letting my imagination explore and run with the stories. What you see is the full combination of a lot of those elements combined with the core theme of the game.” On whether he’d ever tackle a lighter, more family-friendly tone in a video game, he smiled and replied, “It's funny you say that because I get asked this question quite frequently, and my answer to this has always been that I've always had an interest in doing something colorful or heartwarming, but no one believes me.” “Admittedly, games like [Bloodborne], which are dark and somber, are kind of my expertise and that's what I go back to, those are my roots and probably something I'll continue doing. However, I've always had an interest in doing something that's more child-friendly or more colorful and lively. For example, games like PoPoLoCrois on PS1, Ico on PS2...those games stand out from my point of view, just as examples, of something I'd like to explore given the opportunities.” On Quickening the Pace of Combat The first thing most people think when they get their hands on Bloodborne usually revolves around the more aggressive-nature of combat. According to Miyazaki, “There are two reasons for this. I wanted to differentiate from the previous series and I wanted to consider the hunt your nightmare theme. Considering the hunt your nightmare theme and the massive challenges in the game, adding the speed element and proactive battles, I thought this was a better match for Bloodborne. I felt that by adding the faster paced proactive combat players would gain a sense of accomplishment by overcoming those battles.”

On How the Hell Multiplayer Works Multiplayer has always been a bit of a mystery in the Souls games. In light of recent trailers that showcased three human players teaming up to fight a single boss, fans theorized that there might be a more streamlined, jump into a friend’s game kind of multiplayer this time around. Well, that’s not the case, as Miyazaki clarified. “You still have to go through the matchmaking process. However, there is a workaround where you can use keywords or a secret word and share them with friends. And of course, you can use Chalice Dungeons where you can share your chalice Dungeon with a limited number of friends.” On His Influence on Gaming as a Whole Despite the monumental success of his games, Miyazaki is a quiet, and humble creator. When asked how he felt about the Souls games being some of the most influential of the past generations, smiled and responded, “I'm very humbled and grateful to even be considered that influential in the industry. I feel that may be a bit exaggerated. I have been influenced by many games in the industry and am grateful and honored to be a part of the games industry.” After a moment of silence, he finished with a laugh, “I often get criticized for not answering this question well *laughter* On Where Games Will Be in Five Years “If I knew the answer to that question I would tell you! (laughs)” On the Rise of Virtual Reality It seems like a trade show can’t go by without news regarding some form of VR, whether it be Oculus, Morpheus, or anyone else. Miyazaki understands the appeal, saying, “I feel that the devices are such impactful pieces of technology that..it's a game-changer by itself, the delivery and the experience. Business aside, from the point of view of a creator, I would like to be a part of that exploration, of that movement and process. Fingers crossed, as an outsider, that it takes off. Still, as a creator, I'd like to be a part of that movement. Looking back at when the PS1 and N64 came out, polygons were the big thing, and suddenly the experience of 3D on your screen was made a reality.” He continued on the future of the technology, “I'm very excited for the possibility of Oculus and Morpheus to explore another phase, a new angle, of innovation, and how could I deliver content, game-specific content. That's something that really excites me.” On His Most Anticipated Games of 2015 We finished off our time with Miyazaki by focusing on life after Bloodborne. Once the game is out the door, what is he looking forwarding to playing? “Just specifically from the game industry point of view, I'm looking forward to E3 for example, and specifically, being domestic developers, games like Metal Gear Solid V...obviously being open world, something new. And Zelda, again open world and a very new approach that they're taking. [Those are] probably the two pillar titles that I'm looking forward to. From a consumer point of view, Evolve is one I want to get my hands on and start playing. Left 4 Dead is something I really enjoyed in the past and I'd like to, if I have the time, explore Evolve as well.” On What’s Next But of course, as much as he’d love to sit down and play games for the rest of 2015, that probably isn’t going to happen. He concluded with a smile, “Realistically speaking, once I've wrapped this, anytime I have extra time on my hands, I will start to create or develop or design something new, because that's the most exciting thing.” Marty Sliva is an Editor at IGN. He is ready to die, die, and die some more in Bloodborne.

DAY 5 - February 6th: Making Bloodborne: Part 1 - Souls Evolved

IGN Video & Article: [YT] Making Bloodborne: Part 1 - Souls Evolved; [YT] Bloodborne Has Shields - IGN News;Making Bloodborne: Part 1 - Souls Evolved - IGN First by Marty Sliva. A highlight of our trip to Tokyo was being able to visit the offices of both From Software, as well as Sony Japan Studio. Through hours of interviews, and some amazing footage from around the offices and Tokyo itself, we were able to put together an intriguing look at the developers took the basic framework of the Souls series, and built upon it on the PlayStation 4 for Bloodborne.

+ click to read whole transcript | Whole Making Bloodborne coverage on its respective wiki page

1. Masaaki Yamagiwa, Producer, Japan Studio: When we started this new project, the idea and core philosophy started by reflecting on the success we had with Demon's Souls. We thought it really delivered a totally new kind of experience to players. By revisiting this collaboration, and creating something for this new piece of hardware, our goal was to deliver another brand new kind of experience to the players. 2. Yasunori Ogura, PR, From Software: I think Demon's Souls is a representative title in many ways from our point of view. Again, we shifted the dynamics of the game design. It's not like we calculated our global success, but it came as result of focusing on a game with a sense of accomplishment. And I think that resonated well with players worldwide. 3. Ryo Fujimaki, Lead Graphic Artist, From Software: Bloodborne was produced with the idea that the world, the characters, and the player will become a single entity, allowing the player to create a world of their own to enjoy. Under this theme, the player progresses through a variety of different situations. Some beautiful and extravagant, while others are dark and depressing. 4. Masaaki Yamagiwa, Producer, Japan Studio: The game is set in a massive and cursed city called Yharnam, which is inspired by 19th century gothic horror traditions. This city had originally been home to an illness called the Scourge of the Beast, and when the hero comes to Yharnam, that plague has really started to spread through the city like a pandemic. So the player becomes a hunter, hunting these beasts, and the story begins from there. 5. Tetsu Takahashi, 2D Designer, From Software: In Bloodborne, I tried to depict the fear or panic people feel when faced with the unknown or something they don't understand. In this period without advanced medicine, plagues and disasters would fall into those categories. Also, I tried to depict the darkness that is born from a damaged psyche. 6. Ryo Fujimaki, Lead Graphic Artist, From Software: Characters in Bloodborne are greatly influenced by the concepts of the Victorian era. The culture and detailed designs of the Victorian era are reflected in the characters, along with a little dash of our own inspiration.

7. Tetsu Takahashi, 2D Designer, From Software: There are the professional hunters who hunt the beasts in Yharnam. They're members of organizations like guilds or the church and they hunt these beasts according to their particular organization's principles. While creating these designs, I thought about how to bring these hunters to life in different ways, through their unique expertise and personal preferences. 8. Ryo Fujimaki, Lead Graphic Artist, From Software: With the PS4's performance, we were able to render precise designs, use new forms of lighting,and add post effects much more freely. 9. Jun Ito, Programmer, From Software: I don't think the basic process for creating a game has changed much, but the memory storage and the number of CPU cores had much bigger increases during the transition from PS3 to PS4 versus the transition from PS2 to PS3. The PS4 is a wonderful device that is very easy to create with. 10. Tetsu Takahashi, 2D Designer, From Software: PS4 allows us to create very detailed graphics which were impossible with the previous hardware. However, it also means that there's a greater expectation for highly detailed designs. 11. Jun Ito, Programmer, From Software: We spent a lot of CPU power on simulating fabric, so all our time and effort as programmers will be rewarded if players feel the world has a softness to it. Up until now we've worked in worlds, that feature a lot of armor, but this time we've created a world full of fabric allowing for ease of movement. 12. Masaaki Yamagiwa, Producer, Japan Studio: One of the underlying core concepts for the game is the intense life-or-death combat, so part of that was making the combat more aggressive and offensive for the player. In coming up with a new combat style compared to Demon's Souls, on thing we really wanted to do was intensify the close-range attacks, and also make the encounters a lot faster paced.

13. Ryo Fujimaki, Lead Graphic Artist, From Software: We focused on the various reactions each character makes, so they can react to the player's actions. To do so, we have to tweaked the game to ensure the player feels well challenged. Most of our focus during development has been on gameplay-related elements, including things like a deep sense of immersion, a great sense of achievement and deadly combat. 14. Masaaki Yamagiwa, Producer, Japan Studio: We wanted these encounters and battles to be so intense that if you just stand and wait, you'll get overwhelmed and killed right away. We wanted to encourage players to not hide and wait, but instead to be more aggressive and proactive in battle. That's why we decided to equip player with a melee weapon and firearm, and not a shield. To add to all that, and encourage players to be more aggressive we have introduced the new Regain system, where players can regain some of their lost health if they successfully counter-attack within a certain window of time. There are shields in the game. However if you're always standing back and guarding, you'll die very quickly. So you have to incorporate it into your strategy of how you play and fight. 15. Yasunori Ogura, PR, From Software: I think for anybody who is involved in game creation or in the creative field, their ultimate goal is to make something memorable or that lingers in the player's memory. How you get there is probably the difference. From our point of view, a lot of people use the word "difficulty" to describe elements of what we do in our games. Sense of accomplishment. Overcoming your fears. A lot of keywords that tie back into Bloodborne are certainly driving factors at From Software. 16. Masaaki Yamagiwa, Producer, Japan Studio: What I really hope players take away from this game is, when we sat down with the team at From Software, one of our biggest goals was to make a game that not only Demon's Souls fans could enjoy, of course, but that new players could get into as well. I think it's going to be a really fun experience for players, so if we can get even one new person to try it out, whether they're more of an action game fan, or an action RPG fan, I think they'll really like it. I'm grateful for the chance to talk about the game and get people excited about the launch. Thank you very much.

DAY 6 - February 9th: Bloodborne Developer Walkthrough: The First 18 Minutes

IGN Video: [YT] Bloodborne Developer Walkthrough: The First 18 Minutes - IGN First. Same first 18 minutes footage, but this time with Sony Japan Producer Masaaki Yamagiwa acting as our tour guide. Discover the secrets of the game's opening, from the creepy cinematic and your first death, to the twisting alleys of Yharnam.

+ click to read whole transcript | [Made for /r/bloodbornethegame]

Masaaki Yamagiwa, Producer, Japan Studio My name is Masaaki Yamagiwa, and I am the SCE Japan Studio Producer for Bloodborne. Today, I would like to walk you through the beginning of Bloodborne. The game begins with the main character arriving in Yharnam for a specific purpose. In this scene you see the character about to get a blood transfusion after signing a contract with the doctor. In the actual game, the contract is signed when you complete the "Character Creation" process. This cutscene is pretty horrific, but it's a very crucial part of the story. For now, let's enjoy the scene. Try to imagine what this could all mean. Okay, now our character is awake. This is where the gameplay begins. We're currently in the Iosefka Clinic. Having undergone a blood transfusion, the main character's memories have become clouded and he has forgotten why he came to the city. The Blood Minister from before is nowhere to be found. All right, let's get moving. Yharnam is a cursed city overrun by the plague of the beast, and beasts like this can be found roaming all over the city. The beast is coming after me now. I had no weapons to fight with, so now I'm dead. This place is called the Hunter's Dream, the dream world of the hunters. This Hunter's Dream serves as the player's home base. Here you can level-up your character, strengthen your weapons, warp to different locations in Yharnam and more. That's just a doll. For now, I'll just say that she's a key character in the game. Something is calling us from the ground. These are "messengers," and they serve the hunters. The player is allowed to choose one trick weapon from three options at the start of the game. Let's go with the saw cleaver. You can of course acquire other various weapons as you proceed through the game. And from a different group of messengers, you can choose from two types of firearms. Let's try the Hunter's Blunderbuss. These messengers give you the Notebook item. This lets you leave behind messages with your messengers to exchange information with other players. Now let's equip the weapons we've received. I'll equip a trick weapon in my right hand and a gun in my left. Actually you can equip up to two weapons per hand to swap between. These are the fountain messengers. You can use the Blood Echoes acquired by defeating enemies to trade for weapons, armor and items here. It's basically an item shop. This is a Headstone of Awakening. It allows you to warp to various places within Yharnam, the real world. Let's leave the dream and go back to the real world. And now we're awake. The lamp to the right of the character is what connects the real world with the Hunter's Dream. There's the beast that killed me earlier. Now that I am armed with my trick weapon and firearm, I should be able to beat it. This time I was able to defeat the beast. When you defeat enemies, you obtain Blood Echoes. A second ago, you could see that enemy's eyes were glowing. That means it stole your Blood Echoes. In this game, you'll drop all your Blood Echoes if you are killed by an enemy. If you return to the place you died, you can get them back. But sometimes a nearby enemy will snatch up your Blood Echoes before you can return. That means that you can win your Blood Echoes back by killing the enemy that took them. Now we are outside. This area is called Central Yharnam. The ominous color of the sky foreshadows the hardships that await you. We're under attack. You can change your trick weapon's form like this. When you Saw Cleaver changes form, its range and swing change as well. To succeed in battle, knowing when to use each form is crucial. Let's pull the lever here. A ladder dropped down, so let's climb up it. We just heard a chilling scream, like a beast howling. It came from that bridge over there. I'm going to try to make my way there. Here's a lamp. If we light it, we'll link this location to the Hunter's Dream. Lamps like this are located throughout Yharnam. Once a lamp is lit, you can access that location any time from the Hunter's Dream. When you see a lit window like this, that means there's someone inside. Get close to the window to hear what they have to say.

This man's name is Gilbert, and he's afflicted with a severe illness. Many of Yharnam's residents have locked themselves inside their homes for fear of the beasts. Keep your eyes peeled for other people hiding like this. Some may even have useful information to aid in your quest. There is an item next to the dead body. You can obtain items by picking them up off the ground or from defeated enemies. Here's and enemy equipped with a shield. You can change your trick weapon's form even during your attack combos like this. Transforming your weapon during combos like this can knock an enemy's shield away, so use your combos strategically to get the upper hand. Here is a mob patrolling the street. These people were originally Yharnam residents who banded together to hunt the beasts but they've started to become beasts themselves. They've lost all human reason and gone mad. They even think you are a beast and try to come after you. I took some damage, so I'll use a healing item called a Blood Vial to recover some HP. Here's another group of enemies. Let's try to move closer without them noticing us. I pulled off a sneak attack. The second attack here is called a Visceral Attack. If you use a charge attack from behind, you can knock the enemy off balance. When the enemy stumbles, time your next attack just right to pull off a Visceral Attack. A giant mob has gathered at the end of the road here, executing a larger beast. There too many to fight head-on, so let's go around. I see an item. Let's go grab it. I just got ambushed. I am sure you Demon's Souls fans out there will enjoy these kinds of surprise enemy placements. And again, attacked from a blind spot. It is very important to remember where enemies are located. This game is designed so that even if you're not that good at action games you can still progress if you learn from your mistakes and hone your strategies. A bell is tolling. It means the beast hunt has begun. A giant mob that was hanging around before has now started to disperse to go back to hunting down beasts. Let's use this opening to get across the street here. The enemy hasn't noticed me yet. Now's my chance. Now let's head down into the street. I'd like to show how to perform a Visceral Attack with a firearm. If you fire your weapon right as the enemy is about to attack, the enemy will lose its balance leaving an opening for you to perform a Visceral Attack. A lot of enemies have left the area already, but there are still quite a few hanging around here. This is one of the tougher spots in Central Yharnam. A lot of players died here during the alpha test and at our consumer hands-on events. It's hard to fight multiple enemies at once, so the trick is to carefully take them down one by one. Here comes a dog. These dogs are tricky because their movements are so quick. The good thing is they're small, so gunshots can knock them away from you. I'll try to use the gun to take care of this dog. I managed to take out the dog. Let's keep up the pace and clear out the rest of the crowd. There's a pesky enemy shooting me from above. Finally made my way across the main street. In the alpha test code, we only had the route down over to the right. But in the full game, there's another path beyond these coffins. The world of Yharnam is very large and complex, with many shortcuts and secret paths like this in each stage. Exploring and finding hidden routes like this is one of the fun parts of the game. Since we're here already, let's jump down and see what's here. I see someone. Let's see what she has to say. She's a veteran hunter. She gave me a Bold Hunter's Mark as a token of gift. This handy item allows you to reawaken at a lamp after dying, without losing your Blood Echoes. The dog is barking next to the house. It must sense someone hiding inside. There are a lot of dogs locked up in cages here. Don't let your guard down. Sometimes a dog will bust its way out of its cage and come attack you. I just opened a shortcut door that was locked from the other side.

I just got ambushed by a guy hiding in the dark, but I was able to use the Regain system to get my health back. The Regain system is a special ability hunters have where you can take damage but get your health back if you counterattack an enemy within a certain amount of time. The Regain system rewards players for being more aggressive and exchanging blow for blow with the enemy. This gate can't be opened from the other side. Actually the area on the other side is where we saw the lamp next to Gilbert's house. So we've opened a shortcut to the very beginning of the stage. Since we've made it back to the lamp, let's take a break and head to the Hunter's Dream for a moment. The door to the house that was closed earlier is now open. There is someone inside so let's go talk to him. This character's name is Gehrman, and he provides hints about the story. Remember to speak with him often, to see what new information he might have. At the fireplace, you can use the Workshop to fortify your weapons. But right now we don't have the materials to upgrade anything yet. Let's use the headstone to return to reality. We've lit two lamps so far, so there are two destinations listed here. Let's go back to where we just came from. I'll take the left route through the open gate. Let's go inside the dark house again. This building has two floors, so let's check upstairs. Now we're on the bridge where those beastly howls came from earlier. A gigantic beast just jumped down from the rooftop. This boss is called the Cleric Beast. This was the beast that was howling when I climbed the ladder earlier. Its weak point is its head. You can switch the target lock between its head and its chest, so I'm going to focus on attacking its head. The boss has a variety of attacks including swinging his arms to the sides smashing down at you, grabbing you, and pouncing on you. The key to beating him is learning his attack patterns and figuring out when he is vulnerable to attacks. I'll try to get closer as I roll to dodge his attacks. I attacked the arm for major damage, and caused him to recoil in pain. Here's my opening to attack and do a lot of damage. Unfortunately, I ended up dying. But I don't want to spoil the fun for you just yet by beating him in this video. I want you to experience this intense boss fight and the huge sense of accomplishment first-hand when you defeat him on your own. I hope you all enjoyed that. It was fun introducing lots of new things about the game. We have much more in store for you in the rest of the game, so I hope you're as excited for the launch as we are. Thank you for watching!

DAY 7 - February 11th: Bloodborne's Gorgeous, Gothic Environments

IGN Video: [YT] Bloodborne's Gorgeous, Gothic Environments - IGN First. Join us on a visual tour of the gorgeous, gothic environments of Bloodborne. We venture far outside the confines of Yharnam and show you some never-before-seen locations that you'll most likely be suffering thousands of deaths across. Bonus: The video is accompanied by a song from the soundtrack that provides a perfect dark, moody tone.

Other Links: Album of Screencaps from "Bloodborne's Gorgeous, Gothic Environments" video.

DAY 8 - February 13th: Bloodborne's Haunting Music

IGN Video & Article: [YT] Bloodborne's Haunting Music - IGN First; Bloodborne's Haunting Music - IGN First by Marty Sliva. Like From Software's games before it, Bloodborne is punctuated with epic, brutal, and memorable boss battles. But while the art and combat design are both part of the reason why these encounters are so iconic, there's an unsung hero to the Souls series: its incredible music. That's why we're happy to debut a behind-the-scenes look at the work that goes into producing one of these tracks. Seeing the song emanate an entire orchestra alongside a choir makes you appreciate the piece even more.

Other Articles: The Otherworldly Music of Bloodborne. Hello everyone, this is Chuck Doud, the Director Of Music for Sony Computer Entertainment Worldwide Studios America. The score was recorded in London at Abbey Road and Air Studios. It was performed by a 65 piece orchestra, a 32 piece choir, and multiple vocal and instrumental soloists. Over 90 minutes of music was mixed at our recording studios here at the Playstation headquarters in San Mateo. The music was composed by in-house composers at From Software as well as the multiple guest composers.

DAY 9 - February 17th: Bloodborne's Devastating Weapons in Action

IGN Video: [YT] Bloodborne's Devastating Weapons in Action - IGN First. To defeat the terrifying beasts in Bloodborne, you're gonna need a variety of awesome weapons. Check out this montage of the tools at your disposal as you slice through the creatures that stalk Yharnam.

DAY 10 - February 19th: Bloodborne Story Trailer

IGN Video: [YT] Bloodborne Story Trailer - IGN First. Discover what plagues the city of Yharnam in From Software's much-anticipated action-RPG.

Other Article: Bloodborne: Story Trailer Hints at Dark Secrets. Today as part of IGN First we revealed our brand new story trailer for Bloodborne, the PS4-exclusive Action RPG from developers FromSoftware and SCE Japan Studio. This trailer introduces some of the characters you’ll meet along the way as you venture into the depths of the cursed city of Yharnam, and hints at some of the dark secrets waiting to be uncovered by brave hunters.

Other Links: Album of Screencaps from "Bloodborne Story Trailer" video.

DAY 11 - February 20th: Bloodborne's Horrifying Monsters and Mini-Bosses

IGN Video: [YT] Bloodborne's Horrifying Monsters and Mini-Bosses - IGN First. From Software has made a name for itself by populating its worlds with some of the most terrifying and memorable creatures to ever haunt a video game. Bloodborne looks to be no different.

Other Links: Album of Screencaps from "Bloodborne's Horrifying Monsters and Mini-Bosses" video.

DAY 12 - February 23rd: Making Bloodborne: Part 2 - A PS4 Exclusive

IGN Video: [YT] Making Bloodborne: Part 2 - A PS4 Exclusive. Sony and From Software detail co-developing Bloodborne for the PlayStation 4 in Part 2 of our behind-the-scenes series.

Other Article: The Making of Bloodborne, Part 2. Today, with IGN First’s special Bloodborne coverage entering its final week, we get to learn more about the collaboration between Japan Studio and From Software that once, long ago, led to Demon’s Souls and now leads to the dark world of Bloodborne. Watch the new video above.

+ click to read whole transcript | Whole Making Bloodborne coverage on its respective wiki page

1. Shuhei Yoshida, President, SCE Worldwide Studios: We have a history in Japan Studio to try new ideas, Japanese "devs" in general are trying to find their own niche so that they can still be relevant to the larger audience than just their home market and the culture that Japan Studio has I believe is good fit in these new situations. 2. Masami Yamato, Head of external development, Japan Studio: The Internal Development group has creators including Fumito Ueda and Keiichiro Toyama in it, and they take plenty of time to develop truly unique and special games. I think they are the pillar of first party development, the bones of Japan Studio. The external Development group functions as the muscle, suggesting the board possibilities of new game experience in a faster cycle. We started this project because we had been hoping to create a new game with Miyazaki-san and From Software since the success of Demon's Souls in Japan and other regions. 3. Shuhei Yoshida, President, SCE Worldwide Studios: Game came out in Japan with pretty low key they are not too much in a marketing of thinking, people actually I clearly remember it was consumers in Japan who bought just the game and found out how great and how deep the game is, despite the insure in very difficulty. 4. Yasunori Ogura, PR, From Software: This is From Software's 26th year in the game industry. Starting off with the PS1 generation. The kind of sense of accomplishment that is at the core of Demon's Souls and Dark Souls is actually something that we strived for in one of our first games, King's Field. So from the very beginning we've tried to make games that retain that core tenet of providing a sense of accomplishment. After the PS2 came around, we started working on a variety of games. But we decided we wanted to go back to those roots, and that how we came up with Demon's Souls. This core tenet is something that I think we'll continue to carry throughout future From Software games.

5. Masami Yamato, Head of external development, Japan Studio: Usually, developers come up to us with their ideas to start a new project. Bloodborne was a bit of a special case. As we had a strong desire to work with Miyazaki-san, we brought the idea to From Software. 6. Shuhei Yoshida, President, SCE Worldwide Studios: There are lots of ideas thrown and discussed between Japan Studio and From Software but when it came to me it was already pitch hard, very dark, kinda dark setup and more moody and beautiful. And what Miyazaki-san talked about, he doesn't necessarily want to make the game harder or more difficult from the difficulty standpoint in rather he would like to players feel that at any time they might die. He wanted to make the battle, combat more active so that players go more aggressive, and risk and reward dynamic view are changed much higher. 7. Yasunori Ogura, PR, From Software: In collaboration with PlayStation to create Bloodborne, from the fan's perspective, I think it probably resembles the development of Demon's Souls. With Demon's Souls, Dark Souls, and this time around with Bloodborne, each game has its own taste, or style, while being similar in various ways. 8. Masami Yamato, Head of external development, Japan Studio: Japan is a very different market and not all games that are successful here do as well globally. To make an analogy, you can go to Kyoto and watch a sunset in that beautiful setting, and you can go to the US west coast and watch the sunset sink into the horizon. Both of them possess their own unique beauty that can touch people's hearts. I think that among game creators as well, there are lots of very talented people, regardless of birthplace, nationality or race, who have the vision to create games that touch people's hearts around the world. And Miyazaki-san is undoubtedly one of those people. He creates games which resonate with people regardless of the fact that they were made in Japan or that there are cultural differences between Japan and other countries. That's why Miyazaki-san's titles are well received all over the world.

9. Yasunori Ogura, PR, From Software: From Software is often thought of as a “different” kind of developer. We don't really think of ourselves as being that different. We just want to make games that are fun and that fans can enjoy playing. That's why we do what we do. I think that vision is very strong. We're very grateful to have partners that enable us to continue to maintain that focus. 10. Shuhei Yoshida, President, SCE Worldwide Studios: Game used to be challenging, game used to really challenge your skills, effort and "creativities" back in the days. And overtime more games have become kinder, more easier in giving hand-holding to consumers and that's all great with broaden audience of new players and casual players. But at the same time there are always the consumers who remember the time we spent a lot of time to understand and solve challenging games, overalls times and Bloodborne and the Souls games are really bringing back those memories of you as a game players, I myself spent hours and hours playing Miyzaki-san's game and I don't regret any moment, not a bit so enjoy.

DAY 13 - February 25th: Bloodborne Month Finale Teaser

IGN Teaser: Bloodborne Month Finale Teaser

DAY 14 - February 27th: Bloodborne's Darkbeast Boss Gameplay

IGN Video & Article: [YT] Bloodborne's Darkbeast Boss Gameplay - IGN First. A lone hunter tries to survive in this first footage of the Darkbeast boss battle.

Other Article: SPOILERS: New Bloodborne Boss Revealed. Today I would like to introduce a brand new boss enemy from the game. Just like in Demon’s Souls, Bloodborne will feature many boss enemies of all shapes and sizes, and there will be a variety of ways to defeat them. So I think you will find that the gameplay in Bloodborne is rich and diverse. I am happy to introduce a new boss character called “Darkbeast.” This electric beast emerges from giant skeletal remains. With lightning coursing through its body, it bombards the player with its erratic and off-speed movements.

Basic Information

This page contains the whole dialogue script for all characters from the game. Subtitle text was extracted by BellringerKat, Audio extracted by JackSparrow420, formatted and compiled by Sophie Pilbeam. Unused subtitled dialogue highlighted in this color. Unused audio dialogue without subtitles highlighted in this color. Characters are in alphabetical order. UPDATE: On Jan 13, 2018 Sanadsk was able to extract files from The Old Hunters DLC.

Isz Glitch Cure [by jrson83]

This guide is intended to help Bloodborne players access the cure to Isz Glitch, that was discovered, but not widely distributed. How to know if a character may be affected by Isz Glitch There are 11 unique coffin items in Isz you can only loot once. The only way to avoid the glitch is to not collect unique items in the coffins of Isz and Sinister Isz root side areas. Looting an item in one will reduce the number of dungeons in the other as well. As you can see below in the table, groups 10 and 11 are marked with ? as these two groups of dungeons are the final Isz Glitch phase. Tomb Prospectors still don’t know for sure why these two groups are repeating and there are only theories. One such theory hints that dungeons in these groups should include loot that's for some reason missing or has been removed but the game is still trying to give you a dungeon that's tied to an item that's no longer in there, and ultimately gets stuck in a loop (aka Isz Glitch). The following text was extracted from a conversation with AzureEvening on Jan 31th 2023. Every dungeon has a list of items to obtain from them, getting these items will reduce your dungeon pool as the game tries to lead you to the ones you are missing. Once you obtain all special chest items, you can then generate any dungeon again. Isz has an item that doesn't exist and thus you can never get, making it so your dungeon list never goes back to being completed. The only two dungeon items that come to mind is Guidance tier 3 rune and Revered Great One Coldblood. Both of these items are in the official Bloodborne guide but are unobtainable in the game by normal means. They still exist in the files though, as it is possible to save edit them into your inventory. They just don’t have any drop table assigned to them. Check the characters inventory for related items Once a weapon is looted, it will be available for purchase from the Bath Messengers. So one way is to check their offer. Once a caryll-rune is looted, it will be available in your inventory. If you did not sell the rune it should be in there. Blood Rocks can be obtained in various locations, so there is no way to tell. Layer 4 Nourishing gem is not a part of glitch, it's a generic treasure that can be looted many times. -- Beastmaster's Damp Blood Gem The groups and related items: Group 0 Ludwig’s Lost Holy Blade Group 1 Lost Kirkhammer Group 2 Lost Threaded Cane Group 3 Great Deep Sea Group 4 Deep Sea Group 5 Great Lake Group 6 Arcane Lake Group 7 Eye Group 8 Blood Rock Group 9 % Arcane gem / % layer 4 Nourishing gem Group 10 ? Group 11 ? Check by play testing Isz chalices Start a testing session and create multiple Isz chalices in a row with your character. Use the Chalice Dungeons Exploration Sheet (Isz or Sinister Isz tab) in combination with the Chalice Dungeon Screenshot Database. The following data from the sheet should help you to determine a characters location: 1. FRC offers 2. Layer 1 - 3 Bosses 3. Notes 4. Main Layout - The starting point when using the screenshot db 5. Bonus Room

Once you have figured out how to use the screenshot database, you should be able to determine the exact ID of your characters dungeon in a short time. The glitch related IDs 1 - 32 are located at the end of the sheets. If you collect every possible coffin while playing through multiple chalices, items that you may have looted already will be replaced by either Madman’s Knowledge or Great One’s Wisdom - this indicates that there is an event flag for each of these items that keeps track of what item you’ve already looted. Check the event flags Hex value Following the next chapter, you should be able to determine the particular hex value within the affected characters savegame. A fully maxed out Isz with the glitch looks like FF C0, which means the character has looted every unique Isz item. Tip: It is easier to cure the Isz Glitch after you looted all items or before looting any. How to cure the Isz Glitch In order to cure a characters Isz Glitch, we have to modify the related flags within the characters decrypted PS4 savegame. The Bloodborne savegame is not static, but we can use 4 bytes as operation starting point to create a Save Wizard Quick Code. 07 00 13 00 The player spawn point can be identified by FF FF FF FF following 4 bytes: The Hunters Dream (spawnpoint): B1 16 20 00 The Hunters Dream (???): A6 16 20 00 The Hunters Dream (???): A9 16 20 00 Needs to be confirmed: Looking at various savegames, the decimal offset between 07 00 13 00 and B1 16 20 00 is static 338. The decimal offset between B1 16 20 00 and the Isz Glitch bytes FF C0 is also static 3169. Calculating the offset between 07 00 13 00 and the Isz Glitch FF C0 bytes: 338 + 3169 = 3507 (dec) = DB3 (hex) [Isz Glitch Cure] 80010004 07001300 - Searches for 4 bytes of 07 00 13 00 once using Default Offset 92000000 00000DB3 - Adjusts the pointer offset by adding a value of 338 + 3169 = 3507 dec = DB3 hex to the pointer D8000000 0100C0FF - Tests if 2 bytes from pointer equal `FF C0`, skips the following code line if operation fails 18000000 0000FFFF - Writes 2 bytes from pointer, replacing `FF C0` with `FF FF` Using Apollo Save Tool library I created a Quick Code which can be applied to a savegame using Save Wizard, Apollo Save Tool library or Apollo Save Tools. Here is an example output when using the patch with Apollo Save Tool library: ❯ ./patcher userdata0000.savepatch 1 userdata0000 Apollo cheat patcher v0.3.0 - (c) 2022 by Bucanero [i] Applying codes [1] to userdata0000... [+] Applying code #1... - Game Genie Code - Applying [Isz Glitch Cure] to 'userdata0000'... - Searching (len=4 count=1) ... - ----- Search 4 bytes ----- - 000000: 07 00 13 00 - ----- Search 4 bytes ----- - Search pointer = 171450 (0x29DBA) - Byte Test (0002AB6D) C0FF = C0FF - Wrote 2 bytes (FFFF) to 0x2AB6D - OK Patching completed: 1 codes applied

Cure the Isz Glitch Start Bloodborne and load the character you want to cure Position the character at the initial spawn point in the Hunter's Dream Use a lamp to transport back into Hunter's Dream. If you accidentally moved the character in the Dream, use a Bold Hunter's Mark to reset to initial spawn. Press Start > Settings > Quit > Close Bloodborne. From here the guide will show two possible solutions: How to cure the Isz Glitch on a regular PS4 How to cure the Isz Glitch on a jailbroken PS4 How to cure the Isz Glitch on a regular PS4 If the character savegame is used on a regular PS4 console, you will need Save Wizard for PS4 MAX Recommended, which unfortunately has to be paid for. Do not buy Save Wizard.online: PS4 Edition, since we need to use advanced mode which is only available in the MAX Edition. Step 0: Preperation You will need the following: A regular PS4 with the characters savegame Save Wizard for PS4 MAX Recommended USB Stick Step 1: Copy the savegame to USB Connect a USB storage device to the PS4 system. Go to Settings > Application Saved Data Management > Saved Data in System Storage > Copy to USB Storage Device. Select Bloodborne Select Copy Step 2: Modify the savegame with Save Wizard Connect the USB storage device to the PC. Run Save Wizard. It should load the Bloodborne savegame from the USB drive. Step 3: Save Wizard Quick Code (experimental) Please follow the tutorial How to Add Quick Code On Save Wizard from xdgmods.com. [Isz Glitch Cure] 80010004 07001300 92000000 00000DB3 D8000000 0100C0FF 18000000 0000FFFF This is experimental and needs to be tested. Remember to always backup your savegame! Step 4: Copy the savegame back to PS4 HDD Connect the USB storage device to the PS4 system. Go to Settings > Application Saved Data Management > Saved Data on USB Storage Device > Copy to System Storage. Select Bloodborne Select Copy How to cure the Isz Glitch on a jailbroken PS4 On a jailbroken PS4 we can use Apollo Save Tool to copy the characters savegame to USB device. The savegame will be decrypted automatically, means we can modify hex values using any hex editor. Step 0: Preperation You will need the following: A Jailbroken PS4 with: Apollo Save Tool latest version HxD - Freeware Hex Editor and Disk Editor USB Stick (extFAT formatted) Step 1: Activate offline account Make sure your offline PS4 account is activated. Run Apollo Save Tool Select User Tools > Activate PS4 Accounts You should see a list with all your accounts. An account is not activated when it has no auto-generated account ID, meaning (0000000000000000) following the username. 3. Select the account > Auto-generated Account ID 4. Exit Apollo Save Tool 5. Restart the PS4 console Step 2: Copy the savegame to USB Connect a USB storage device to the PS4 system. Run Apollo Save Tool > From HDD > Select Bloodborne savegame > Copy to USB Storage Device. The savegame will be copied into the folder: Step 3: Modify the savegame Either using Quick Code (experimental): Download and extract the latest release of Apollo Save Tool library. Copy your savegame userdata0000 - userdata0010 into the Apollo Save Tool library folder. Create a file userdata00XX.savepatch > Copy & paste the following Quick Code: [Isz Glitch Cure] 80010004 07001300 92000000 00000DB3 D8000000 0100C0FF 18000000 0000FFFF This is experimental and needs to be tested. Remember to always backup your savegame! 4. Open a Terminal > Run ./patcher userdata00XX.savepatch userdata00XX. 5. Expect the response Patching completed: 1 codes applied and you should be done. Or by modifying the savegame with HxD: Connect the USB storage device to the PC. Create a backup of the PS4 folder located on the USB device! Open the folder PS4/APOLLO/XXXXXXXX_CUSAXXXXX_XXXXXXXX, you will see multiple files userdata0000 - userdata010. Run HxD goto File > Open > Select the file userdata0000 from the USB device. Go to Search > Find (or press ctrl + F). Select Hex-values tab and enter: 070013. Press OK.

6. Look for 4 FFs, so FF FF FF FF followed by either B1 16 20 or A9 16 20 depending on your characters location. 7. Place the cursor between the last FF and B1. 8. Go to Search > Go to (or press ctrl + G) > Select dec & current offset > Enter 3169 > Press OK. 9. The cursor should be placed automatically at the first char of one FF, followed by 0C. These two bytes represent the flags where the game registers having looted unique items from Isz. They change to FF when you have looted all the items indexed in them. The first one maxes out naturally, while the second one gets stuck on C0 and fails to reach the maximum. 10. Go to Search > Replace (or press ctrl + R) > Select Hex-values > Search for: C0 > Replace with: FF > Press OK. 11. The C0 should be replaced with a red colored FF. 12. Select File > Save Step 4: Copy the savegame back to PS4 HDD Connect the USB storage device to the PS4 system. Run Apollo Save Tool > From USB > Select Bloodborne savegame > Copy to HDD. Conclusion Congratulations, your character is now Isz Glitch free. How to know that the cure has helped Go to Check by play testing Isz chalices section. The only ways to check if the glitch fix worked is to either use the screenshot database or check map IDs of generated dungeons in the save editor. -- Tringun Resources General information. Bloodborne: The Tomb Prospectors The Tomb Prospectors Discord The Tomb Prospectors' Resources, Guides and Studies The Tomb Prospectors Discoveries Isz Glitch related. Isz Glitch, cracked and explained Isz Glitch, cracked and explained (original thread) Isz Glitch and gem farming: an overview of the common 32 Guide to Offline Prospecting (by Grzester23) Offline gem farming guide Prospector exploration sheet of all root dungeons Chalice Dungeons Exploration Sheet Chalice Dungeon Screenshot Database Isz Glitch Cure related. Chalice Flag Unlocking and Isz Glitch Cure by AzureEvening (Dec, 2020) Isz Glitch collection/information at bloodborne-wiki.com Hex editing related. Tomb Prospectors - Hex Research Central Bloodborne Master Spreadsheet (Public) Bloodborne Respec: How to change starting origin Bloodborne - Gems, Rune and Armor HEX ID's Credits All credits go to the authors of the actual articles. The instructions on how to cure the glitch were created by adopting the original Isz Glitch Cure Guide created by AzureEvening. Portions of the guide are created by adopting the original content from Isz Glitch collection/information at bloodborne-wiki.com.

PvP Meta Builds by Che

Name	Starting Class								Che's Notes
Strength
WoS Strength	Waste of Skin	77	9	50	12	7	15	120	13 skill 76 vit if you wanna use cannon
CF Strength	Cruel Fate	76	12	50	12	5	15	120	13 skill 75 vit if you wanna use cannon
Dedicated MaceLetter build	Waste of Skin	71	9	50	9	16	15	120	12 skill 68 vit if you wanna use HMS, Wheel, Whirligig, Gatling Gun
Skill
Skill Vitgouge	Waste of Skin	76	9	10	50	10	15	120
Skill Vitgouge 2nd	Waste of Skin	68	9	18	50	10	15	120	18 strength will give you 600 AR Saw Spear and Reiter
Skill Endgouge	Cruel Fate	50	40	10	50	5	15	120
Reiter Turtle	Cruel Fate Waste of Skin	50	34	11	50	10	15	120
40 End Reiter Turtle	Military Veteran	50	40	14	50	10	6	120
Skill feat. Evelyn	Noble Scion	62	8	10	50	25	15	120
My favourite Rakuyo build	Cruel Fate Waste of Skin	50	20	10	50	25	15	120	Actually really good for any Skill oriented weapon. 2Rak works really good on it
Quality
Standard Strength / Quality	Waste of Skin	64	9	50	25	7	15	120
Endgouged Strength / Quality	Cruel Fate	50	25	50	25	5	15	120
Strength / Quality feat. Evelyn	Noble Scion	47	8	50	25	25	15	120	Probably the best spread for Whirligun
High Strength / Quality	Waste of Skin	49	9	50	40	7	15	120
50 / 50	Military Veteran	47	10	50	50	7	6	120
Standard Skill / Quality	Waste of Skin	61	9	25	50	10	15	120
Endgouged Skill / Quality	Cruel Fate	50	25	25	50	5	15	120
Skill / Quality feat. Evelyn	Noble Scion	47	8	25	50	25	15	120
Strength / Quality for Nourishing HMS	Cruel Fate	50	15	50	25	5	25	120
Skill / Quality for Nourishing HMS and Burial Blade	Waste of Skin	50	9	26	50	10	25	120
Bloodtinge
Chikage, Letter, Bow	Noble Scion	68	8	14	15	50	15	120
2kat	Noble Scion	73	8	10	14	50	15	120
Letter Vitgouge	Waste of Skin	73	9	14	9	50	15	120
2kat Glass Cannon	Noble Scion	45	8	10	14	78	15	120	Going up to 78 Tinge will give you an edge of 40 AR over a 50 Tinge Kage
Lettergun	Noble Scion	71	9	14	11	50	15	120	Take out some points from Vit and put them into End if you wanna go full monkey
Arcane
Arcane Vitgouge	Waste of Skin	83	9	10	11	7	50	120
Arcgouge	Waste of Skin	50	9	10	11	7	83	120	If you're looking for high damage from tools
Arcane VitEndGouge	Cruel Fate	72	22	10	11	5	50	120	Decent build for Kos Parasite as well
Everything Arcane	Waste of Skin	70	9	20	14	7	50	120
Arcane for Nourishing HMS	Cruel Fate	50	15	25	25	5	50	120	48/22/25/20/5/50 is a really good alternative. HMS can be really stamina hungry when 2 handed
My favorite Kos Parasite build	Cruel Fate	54	40	10	11	5	50	120
Kos Gun (or the Chad Arc/Tinge)	Waste of Skin	50	9	10	11	40	50	120
Arcane Vitgouge feat. Evelyn	Waste of Skin	65	9	10	11	25	50	120
Gunglitched Madmans Wheel	Waste of Skin	49	9	25	12	25	50	120
Hybrid
Strength / Tinge	Military Veteran	50	10	50	14	40	6	120	45 vit 45 tinge is a good alternative if you like to play at low vit
Skill / Tinge BR	Noble Scion	47	8	10	50	40	15	120
Skill / Tinge	Noble Scion	48	8	10	50	45	9	120
Standard Blood / Arc	Noble Scion	48	8	10	14	40	50	120	45/45 or whatever. Hit up one of the many arc/cringers if you're looking for a more specific build
Dedicated Letter Blood / Arc	Waste of Skin	48	9	14	9	40	50	120	No Kage, no Saif, no Evelyn. Amazing
Strength / Arc	Waste of Skin	47	9	50	12	7	45	120	Bad build
Dedicated Tonitrus build	Waste of Skin	45	9	50	9	7	50	120
Skill / Arc	Waste of Skin	47	9	10	50	7	47	120
Skill / Arc for Nourishing HMS	Waste of Skin	46	9	16	46	7	46	120
Reiter Rosi	Waste of Skin	47	9	10	47	10	47	120	Make a good use of your bullets
Builds from famous players
OG Drisful's Blood / Arc	Noble Scion	40	8	16	14	46	46	120	Bad build if you're bad
Drisful's 50 / 50	Noble Scion	38	8	10	14	50	50	120
Scorched Knight's Quality	Cruel Fate	50	12	50	38	5	15	120
Ramu's 2kat	Noble Scion	40	8	10	14	83	15	120
Che's QualiTinge	Noble Scion	47	8	25	25	50	15	120	Kage and/or Letter with a decent quality backup
Che's rivisited Arcane VitGouge	Waste of Skin	80	9	10	14	7	50	120	14 skill for offhand thrust Pick
Che's 3HMS	Waste of Skin	47	9	50	32	7	25	120	Hardswapping between Nourishing, Blunt and Thrust
My favourite Quality	Waste of Skin	47	9	50	42	7	15	120	Fits heavy Rakuyo super well

Basic Information

New Players ► Recommended (Late Blood Moon): Player Level 70 - 80 & Weapon Upgrade +9

Timezones	Bosses	Enemies	NPCs	Important Items	Insight
None	► Gehrman, The First Hunter	None	● Doll	● Notebook	+ 1 Encounter Gehrman, The First Hunter
	► Moon Presence		● Gehrman	● Beckoning Bell	+ 3 Defeat Gehrman, The First Hunter
			● Bath Messengers	● Silencing Blank	+ 5 Encounter Moon Presence
			● Insight Bath Messengers	● Old Hunter Bell	+ 5 Defeat Moon Presence
			● Stump Messengers	● Eye of a Blood-drunk Hunter
				● Yharnam Messenger Hat (DLC)
				● Worn Messenger Top Hat (DLC)
				● Messenger Head Bandage (DLC)

Timezones	Bosses	Enemies	NPCs	Important Items	Insight
None	► Gehrman, The First Hunter ► Moon Presence	None	● Doll ● Gehrman ● Bath Messengers ● Insight Bath Messengers ● Stump Messengers	● Notebook ● Beckoning Bell ● Silencing Blank ● Old Hunter Bell ● Eye of a Blood-drunk Hunter ● Yharnam Messenger Hat (DLC) ● Worn Messenger Top Hat (DLC) ● Messenger Head Bandage (DLC)	+ 1 Encounter Gehrman, The First Hunter + 3 Defeat Gehrman, The First Hunter + 5 Encounter Moon Presence + 5 Defeat Moon Presence

Hunter's Dream ❘ 狩人の夢	Location

Description The Hunter’s Dream serves as the base where hunters can purchase items, upgrade their character, repair and upgrade weapons, and more. It's here that you'll find the Doll, and Gehrman a mysterious wheelchair-bound advisor. Use lanterns scattered around Yharnam to return to the Hunter’s Dream at any time. When you die the first time, you end up here. Connections Yharnam Headstone, Frontier Headstone, Unseen Headstone and Nightmare Headstone Bath Messengers Use Blood Echoes to buy items from the Bath Messengers or sell unneeded items. As the story progresses, additional items become available for sale. Buying Items with Insight After gaining 1 Insight, a Messenger appears that offers to trade items for it. As the story progresses, additional items become available for purchase. Workshop Use Blood Echoes alone to repair weapons or in combination with fortification items to fortify weapons. Sufficient Blood Echoes and fortification items are required to make repairs and fortify weapons. After acquiring Blood Gem Workshop Tool, Blood Gems can be fused to and removed from weapons. Up to three Blood Gems can be fused to weapons, each having its own effect, such as improved attack or an increased chance of causing status afflictions.

Storage Items in the player inventory can be placed in storage. Each item in the player inventory is limited by a maximum capacity. Acquired items that exceed the maximum capacity for that item are automatically sent to storage. The icon next to the item you pick up will be a box, indicating it's going to storage. When you die, the game automatically replenishes your Quicksilver Bullets and Blood Vials supplies from your storage. Memory Altar With the proper workshop tools, one can memorize Caryll Runes. Memorizing Caryll Runes yields various effects, including improved character stats and increased capacity for holding Blood Vials and Quicksilver Bullets. Altars & Makeshift Altar Offer items to a Holy Chalice and conduct a ritual to unseal a Chalice Dungeon. With a network connection, you can search for Chalice Dungeons unsealed by other players. As the story progresses, new type of Chalice Dungeons can be unsealed. Inspect the Makeshift Altar to automatically join an unsealed dungeon. In order to use Makeshift Altar player need to acquire Short Ritual Root Chalice item. Stump Messenger Use the Stump Messengers to customize the appearance of messengers that appear in the field. After acquiring a messenger accessory, show it to the Stump Messengers, and thereafter all messengers will adorn that accessory.

World Notes Hunter's Dream | Workshop: To escape this dreadful Hunter's Dream, halt the source of the spreading scourge of beasts, lest the night carry on forever. Hunter's Dream | Workshop Gehrman Spot: Ascend to Oedon Chapel. Hunter's Dream | Workshop Gehrman Spot: A Holy Chalice is said to be enshrined in Old Yharnam, seated in the valley. World Changes Skyboxes during the Day, Evening and Nighttime. Skyboxes during the Blood Moon. Workshop is on fire when you defeat Mergo's Wet Nurse. Skyboxes when Moon Presence descends. Before Yharnam Sunrise ending. After Yharnam Sunrise ending. Doll will occasionally pray there and have unique dialogue line. When Blood Moon is triggered, lighting changes and flowers start to glow.

New Game Plus & Beyond

The main changes in New Game + are the enemy's stats; they all hit much harder and have larger health reserves, so they are more difficult to kill. The increase to their stats is dependent on the area, with earlier parts of the game getting a much bigger increase than later ones, so you'll need to be on your toes right from the start. The values shown in the tables below show you how much enemy stats are multiplied by in each area. More information on New Game + wiki page.

New Game +

Location
Central Yharnam	912	742	86	86	86	86	83	80	93
Cathedral Ward	830	1054	104	104	104	104	98	96	111
Healing Church Workshop	1143	776	104	104	104	104	98	96	111
Healing Church Workshop | Executioner	919	700	104	104	104	104	107	96	96
Forbidden Woods	1213	3660	105	105	105	105	101	98	113
Yahar'gul (Blood Moon)	975	2046	106	106	106	106	102	98	114
Hunter's Nightmare	1209	1472	107	107	107	107	102	99	115
	► Defenses: Physical, Blunt, Thrust, Blood, Arcane, Fire and Bolt. Resistances & Bonuses don't change in further playthroughs.

New Game + Multipliers

Location
[NG+] Central Yharnam	6.080	15.453	1.240	1.240	1.240	1.240	1.240	1.240	1.240
[NG+] Cathedral Ward	4.218	5.461	1.355	1.355	1.355	1.355	1.355	1.355	1.355
[NG+] Healing Church Workshop	4.218	5.461	1.355	1.355	1.355	1.355	1.355	1.355	1.355
[NG+] Healing Church Workshop | Executioner	4.218	5.461	1.355	1.355	1.355	1.355	1.355	1.355	1.355
[NG+] Forbidden Woods	3.967	5.266	1.243	1.243	1.243	1.243	1.243	1.243	1.243
[NG+] Yahar'gul (Blood Moon)	1.883	4.217	1.137	1.137	1.137	1.137	1.137	1.137	1.137
[NG+] Hunter's Nightmare	1.591	4.145	1.118	1.118	1.118	1.118	1.118	1.118	1.118

Beyond New Game +

The increase in difficulty does not stop after your first playthrough - you can keep making things more and more difficult all the way up to your 7th playthrough. Starting with NG+2, subsequent playthroughs have enemy HP and Blood Echoes amounts that scale consistently off of NG+ values, this does not apply to the defences which stay the same as in NG+ (multiplier value 1.00). The Playthrough table shows the multipliers for further rounds of NG+. These are applied to the values in the above table, and not to the game base values.

	NG+2		NG+3		NG+4		NG+5		NG+6
Location
Central Yharnam	975	817	1003	928	1026	1113	1048	1484	1094	1855
Cathedral Ward	888	1160	913	1318	933	1581	954	2108	996	2635
Healing Church Workshop	1223	854	1257	970	1285	1164	1314	1552	1371	1940
Healing Church Workshop | Executioner	983	770	1010	875	1033	1050	1056	1400	1102	1750
Forbidden Woods	1297	4026	1334	4575	1364	5490	1394	7320	1455	9150
Yahar'gul (Blood Moon)	1043	2251	1072	2558	1096	3069	1121	4092	1170	5115
Hunter's Nightmare	1293	1620	1329	1840	1360	2208	1390	2944	1450	3680
HP & Blood Echoes Multipliers	1.07	1.10	1.10	1.25	1.125	1.50	1.15	2.00	1.20	2.50

New Game +

Location
[NG+] Central Yharnam	912	742	86	86	86	86	83	80	93
Central Yharnam	150	48	70	70	70	70	67	65	75
[NG+] Cathedral Ward	830	1054	104	104	104	104	98	96	111
Cathedral Ward	197	193	77	77	77	77	73	71	82
[NG+] Healing Church Workshop	1143	776	104	104	104	104	98	96	111
Healing Church Workshop	271	142	77	77	77	77	73	71	82
[NG+] Healing Church Workshop | Executioner	919	700	104	104	104	104	107	96	96
Healing Church Workshop | Executioner	218	128	77	77	77	77	79	71	71
[NG+] Forbidden Woods	1213	3660	105	105	105	105	101	98	113
Forbidden Woods	306	695	85	85	85	85	82	79	91
[NG+] Yahar'gul (Blood Moon)	975	2046	106	106	106	106	102	98	114
Yahar'gul (Blood Moon)	518	485	94	94	94	94	90	87	101
[NG+] Hunter's Nightmare	1209 ↥	1472	107	107	107	107	102	99	115
Hunter's Nightmare	760	355	96	96	96	96	92	89	103
	► Defenses: Physical, Blunt, Thrust, Blood, Arcane, Fire and Bolt. Resistances & Bonuses don't change in further playthroughs.

Breakable & Normal Weak Points

In Total and Part HP columns you will find value of the base HP without area multiplier. In Bloodborne each entity has own base HP (and NG) value which is then multiplied by the area (or part of the area) multiplier in which enemy or boss is in.

In the HP Percentage column you will find value of how much damage you need to deal to that body part to break it in percentage of total boss HP.

Enemies and Bosses can have multiple weak points which some are breakable (listed with multipliers) and take higher damage while broken while some will have only higher damage multipler the whole time (mainly listed in the notes section).

Main Game Bosses

Boss & Body Part	Total HP	Part HP	HP [%]	Damage X	Damage X after breaking
Cleric Beast | Central Yharnam
Notes: The Cleric Beast's head and all four of its limbs can be injured separately, stunning it and giving you a few seconds to pile on additional attacks; its wounded limbs will also take 50% more damage. Hitting its head with gunshots, thrown weapons or melee attacks will stagger it, allowing you to inflict heavy damage with visceral attacks; it will eventually heal any damaged parts of its body, restoring their defense to normal but also allowing you to injure them again.
Head	2700	20	0.74%	1	1.5
Small Arm	2700	120	4.44%	1	1.5
Large Arm	2700	300	11.11%	1	1.5
Leg	2700	200	7.41%	1	1.5
Darkbeast Paarl | Old Yharnam
Notes: Dealing heavy damage to Paarl's head in a short period of time will stagger him and allow you to perform a frontal visceral attack; repeatedly striking his limbs knock him down and dispel his lightning aura, at which point he'll take 50% more damage until he restores it. Hitting his other limbs can keep him down, allowing for chaining it if you are doing enough damage to his limbs.
Head	1800	130	7.22%	1	1.5
Front Leg	1800	150	8.33%	1	1.5
Rear Leg	1800	200	11.11%	1	1.5
Vicar Amelia | Cathedral Ward
Notes: You can injure her head and all four of her limbs by hitting them repeatedly; doing so will cause her to stumble, and the injured limb will take an additional 50% damage.
Head	2500	80	3.20%	1	1.5
Arm	2500	150	6%	1	1.5
Leg	2500	200	8%	1	1.5
Rom, the Vacuous Spider | Moonside Lake
Notes: While fighting Rom, focus on attacking only one of her sides - these spots can be injured with repeated attacks, after which point they'll take additional damage when hit.
Left Side	1000	250	25%	1	1.25
Right Side	1000	250	25%	1	1.3
The One Reborn | Yahar'gul, Unseen Village
Notes: The large corpse atop its front half, the lower central core of its body and all four of its large arms can be injured once each to knock it down for several seconds, allowing you to let loose with your strongest attacks at no risk to yourself; the large corpse receives heavily-increased damage and is your priority target once you've knocked the boss down.
Small Leg	1800	100	5.56%	1	1.5
Large Leg	1800	200	11.11%	1	1.5
Ebrietas, Daughter of the Cosmos | Altar of Despair
Notes: Target Ebrietas' head with your strongest attacks and do your best to stagger her. She'll expose her head after her ram attacks and Head Smash, so your goal during both Phases should be to bait these attacks from as far away as possible and quickstep in to strike before she lifts her head.
Head	1800	200	22.22%	2	2.5
Legs/Tentacles	1800	200	11.11%	1	1.25

Boss & Body Part	Total HP	Part HP	HP [%]	Damage X	Damage X after breaking
Amygdala | Nightmare Frontier
Notes: Its head will take tremendous damage, even from normally weak sources such as pistols. Focused attacks on its head will eventually stagger it and allow you to perform a frontal visceral attack. Two brighter limbs will take additional damage as well.
Head	2200	300	19.09%	1.4	2.1
Arm 4	2200	200	9.09%	1	1.5
Arm 5	2200	200	9.09%	1	1.5
Arm 6	2200	180	8.18%	1	1.5
Arm 7	2200	150	6.82%	1	1.5
Arm 8	2200	150	6.82%	1	1.5
Arm 9	2200	120	5.45%	1	1.5
Arm 10	2200	120	5.45%	1	1.5
Tail	2200	200	1.82%	0.2	0.3
Legs	2200	100	0.91%	0.2	0.3
Ludwig the Accursed | Hunter's Nightmare [DLC]
Notes: Ludwig's left and right sides can be injured individually and will take additional damage from all attacks thereafter; he will also be temporarily stunned when one side is injured allowing for a few more swings before he recovers. Unlike many other bosses Ludwig will not regenerate damaged limbs, so take full advantage of this and focus on one side for optimal damage or injure them sequentially to keep him immobilized, Repeated blows to the head during Phase 1 will stagger him, at which point you can perform a visceral attack on his face. If you have a Cannon, it can be used with Bone Marrow Ash to attack Ludwig's head and stagger him very quickly. During Phase 2 Ludwig will stagger after sustaining enough damage, at which point a visceral attack can be initiated from the front of his torso. His sides no longer can be injured at this point, but breaking his super armor will cause him to stumble. The transformed L2 attack of the Whirligig Saw is supremely effective for quickly injuring Ludwig's legs, especially when augmented with Fire Paper; during Phase 2 it is one of the fastest and easiest ways to stagger him.
Head	2400	400	16.67%	1	1.5
Side	2400	200	8.33%	1	1.5
Laurence, the First Vicar | Hunter's Nightmare [DLC]
Notes: Target Laurence's head with pistols or the Piercing Rifle to stagger him, then follow through with a visceral attack. Staggering him works in exactly the same manner as with the original Cleric Beast; he will eventually repair the damage to his head, allowing you to injure it and stager him again. You can also injure Laurence's limbs, but unlike most other bosses this will only stun him temporarily and does not actually increase the damage he receives.
Head	2700	60	2.22%	1	1
Arm	2700	150	5.56%	1	1
Leg	2700	150	5.56%	1	1
Moon Presence | Hunter's Dream
Notes: Dealing enough damage to its head will knock it into a stagger state and enable you to follow hrough with a visceral attack; repeated blows to its arms will injure them and cause it to stumble for a few seconds, setting it up for further combos. Any injured part of its body will take drastically increased damage, including its head; it will eventually repair this damage with its Regeneration move, but this will also allow you to stagger it again with focused attacks on its face.
Head	1020	100	9.80%	1	1.5
Front Leg	1020	150	14.71%	1	1.5
Rear Leg	1020	200	19.61%	1	1.5

Chalice Dungeon Bosses

Dungeon Boss & Body Part	Total HP	Part HP	HP [%]	Damage X	Damage X after breaking
Bloodletting Beast | Chalice Dungeons
Notes: Repeated blows to its head will injure it and cause it to stagger, allowing you to perform a frontal visceral attack; all four of its limbs can be injured as well, and will receive 50% more damage afterwards. It will eventually heal any injuries to its limbs or head, but in the process it will make them vulnerable to injury again, giving you more opportunities to perform visceral attacks. During its second phase it will no longer restore its wounded extremities.
Head	1700	100	5.88%	1	1.50
Arm	1700	150	8.82%	1	1.20
Leg	1700	300	17.65%	1	1.15
Watchdog of the Old Lords | Chalice Dungeons
Notes: By hitting its head and each of its four legs separately, these parts can be injured once per fight and will receive 50% more damage as a result. Injuring its head or any of its limbs will also cause it to stumble, opening it to your attacks. You'll need to move out again quickly, though, as it will use a medium range explosion once it has stood up.
Head	2000	400	15%	0.75	2.50
Front leg	2000	80	4%	1	1.50
Rear leg	2000	280	14%	1	1.15
Abhorrent Beast | Chalice Dungeons
Notes: You can injure his arms and head separately; once any of these parts have been injured, they will receive 50% more damage. By striking the head you can eventually stagger him, which will injure the head and open the beast up for a visceral attack.
Head, Legs and Arms	1190	200	16.81%	1	1.50
Rom, the Vacuous Spider | Chalice Dungeons
Notes: While fighting Rom, focus on attacking only one of her sides - these spots can be injured with repeated attacks, after which point they'll take additional damage when hit.
Left side	1000	250	25%	1	1.25
Right side	1000	250	25%	1	1.30
Amygdala | Chalice Dungeons
Notes: Its head will take tremendous damage, even from normally weak sources such as pistols. Focused attacks on its head will eventually stagger it and allow you to perform a frontal visceral attack. Two brighter limbs will take additional damage as well.
Head	1800	300	23.33%	1.4	2.10
Arm 4	1800	300	16.67%	1	1.50
Arm 5	1800	230	12.78%	1	1.50
Arm 6	1800	300	16.67%	1	1.50
Arm 7	1800	170	9.44%	1	1.50
Arm 8	1800	200	11.11%	1	1.50
Arm 9	1800	170	9.44%	1	1.50
Arm 10	1800	200	11.11%	1	1.50
Tail	1800	400	4.44%	0.2	0.30
Legs	1800	150	1.67%	0.2	0.30
Undead Giant (Twin Curved Blades), Undead Giant (Club and Hook) and Undead Giant (Hatchet and Cannon) | Chalice Dungeons
Notes: Twin Curved Blades Variant: By hitting its head and each of its limbs, you can injure these parts separately, which will cause them to take 50% more damage; after some time the specifically injured limbs will have their defenses restored by the Recovery move, though this will allow you to injure them again. You can also stagger it by hitting its left and right legs, opening it up for a visceral attack. Club and Hook Variant: It has several weak points including its head, its legs and a large lump of flesh on its right hip; all of these spots can be targeted for extra damage or additional effects. Undead Giant (Hatchet and Cannon) Variant: They can be staggered by attacking their legs, which will open them to visceral attacks to their head. This can only be done once, and then you'll need to wait until after they have used their limb recovery, indicated by a swirling red particle effect, in order to do it again.
Head	1800	100	5.56%	1	1.50
Arm	1800	170	9.44%	1	1.50
Leg	1800	220	12.22%	1	1.50
Ebrietas, Daughter of the Cosmos | Chalice Dungeons
Notes: Target Ebrietas' head with your strongest attacks and do your best to stagger her. She'll expose her head after her ram attacks and Head Smash, so your goal during both Phases should be to bait these attacks from as far away as possible and quickstep in to strike before she lifts her head.
Head	1620	400	49.38%	2	2.50
Arms	1620	250	15.43%	1	1.25
Tentacles	1620	300	18.52%	1	1.25

Roaming Chalice Dungeon Bosses

Roaming Dungeon Boss & Body Part	Total HP	Part HP	HP [%]	Damage X	Damage X after breaking
Watchdog of the Old Lords | Chalice Dungeons
Notes: By hitting its head and each of its four legs separately, these parts can be injured once per fight and will receive 50% more damage as a result. Injuring its head or any of its limbs will also cause it to stumble, opening it to your attacks. You'll need to move out again quickly, though, as it will use a medium range explosion once it has stood up.
Head	550	400	54.55%	0.75	2.5
Front leg	550	80	14.55%	1	1.5
Rear leg	550	280	50.91%	1	1.15
Abhorrent Beast | Chalice Dungeons
Notes: You can injure his arms and head separately; once any of these parts have been injured, they will receive 50% more damage. By striking the head you can eventually stagger him, which will injure the head and open the beast up for a visceral attack.
Head, Legs and Arms	600	200	33.33%	1	1.5
Undead Giant (Twin Curved Blades), Undead Giant (Club and Hook) and Undead Giant (Hatchet and Cannon) | Chalice Dungeons
Notes: Twin Curved Blades Variant: By hitting its head and each of its limbs, you can injure these parts separately, which will cause them to take 50% more damage; after some time the specifically injured limbs will have their defenses restored by the Recovery move, though this will allow you to injure them again. You can also stagger it by hitting its left and right legs, opening it up for a visceral attack. Club and Hook Variant: It has several weak points including its head, its legs and a large lump of flesh on its right hip; all of these spots can be targeted for extra damage or additional effects. Undead Giant (Hatchet and Cannon) Variant: They can be staggered by attacking their legs, which will open them to visceral attacks to their head. This can only be done once, and then you'll need to wait until after they have used their limb recovery, indicated by a swirling red particle effect, in order to do it again.
Head	540	100	18.52%	1	1.5
Arm	540	170	31.48%	1	1.5
Leg	540	220	40.74%	1	1.5

Enemies

Enemy & Body Part	Total HP	Part HP	HP [%]	Damage X	Damage X after breaking
Church Giant (Axe), Church Giant (W. Ball), Church Giant (Bare Fists) and Church Giant (Flame Fist) | various locations
Notes: There is one move that can be used by all Church Giants, and while they rarely use it, you should always be on the lookout for it. If you're standing reasonably close in front of them they'll sometimes raise their leg up and use a powerful stamp, so powerful that it actually breaks their leg. When that happens you'll be able to see the bone sticking out of their knee, and if you attack it you'll do considerably more damage than normal and have the ability to stagger them. Unlike armed Church Giants both fist versions have also powerful slam attacks with their left or right arm where they break them and you can hit the bone that sticks out of them to make them stagger for a moment, with no visceral opportunity though. Flame Fist Variant: This Church giant is the only one of his kind that can be staggered without having to wait for it break its leg, and there are a couple of ways you can go about it. The first method is to attack his head when he lowers it during or after one of his attacks. Bait him into using an attack that causes him to lower his head so that you can strike it and stagger him; overhead or jumping attacks will generally give you the best chance of hitting his head. Unlike armed Church Giants both fist versions have also powerful slam attacks with their left or right arm where they break them and you can hit the bone that sticks out of them to make them stagger for a moment, with no visceral opportunity though.
Legs	400	40	10.00%	1	1.5
Lost Child of Antiquity | various locations
Notes: While these enemies can be interrupted and staggered, shooting them during any of their attacks (but outside of the interrupt timing window) will knock them onto their backs, where they'll flail about helplessly on the ground for several seconds before getting back up; this offers a prime opportunity to hit them with your strongest attacks at no risk to yourself.
Fluorescent Flower | various locations
Notes: If you have even one Poison Knife, you can throw it at the dangling flower to poison the entire enemy. This shining flower takes additional damage making it prime target.

An Agony of Effort Lore Extra: What Really Happened to Laurence - The Forbidden Lore of Willem and Laurence | Google Docs Link

When we touch the skull on the altar of the Grand Cathedral, we observe a scene that we’re led to believe is the final interaction between Laurence and Willem. But what if I told you that this wasn’t their last encounter and that there’s an untold chapter in their story that’s been hiding in plain sight this entire time?

What I'll present to you today, I believe, will completely upend everything we know about Laurence and his place in Bloodborne’s story. It’ll also solidify beyond a shadow of a doubt the medical metaphor that I’ve argued serves as a central framework for the game.

I was fairly confident about how From Software landed on the name Laurence, and I summarized my thoughts on that matter in a previous episode of this series. But after further investigation, I can say with absolute certainty that I was wrong. Based on the information I’ll share in this supplementary episode, I’ve come to the steadfast conclusion that it was a different real-life source who inspired Laurence’s name. And as we’ll see today, this same real-life source was the inspiration for Laurence’s ultimate fate in the game. There’s a body of evidence that indicates Laurence and Willem ended their relationship under much different circumstances than we thought.

As with any deep lore dive, the process of uncovering this secret won’t be quick or easy. But fortunately it won’t be a slog. As we proceed through this episode, we’ll make several game-changing discoveries that’ll allow us to leave with a remarkable takeaway. Our journey today begins in an unlikely location and with an even unlikelier character. We commence with Dores, the mysterious graveguard of the Forbidden Woods.

A Grave Ordeal

Everything we learn about Dores seems to come from the Graveguard attire set, which we’re told belonged solely to this character. Unlike the hunter attire sets and other Church garb that was worn by many if not all members of these professions or institutions, the Graveguard attire appears to have been worn specifically by Dores. The text of this attire collection is unusual, telling us that two servants of Master Willem went mad after encountering the Eldritch Truth in the labyrinth. The two servants, we’re told, remained loyal to Willem even in madness. One became the gatekeeper, guarding the passageway to the Forbidden Woods with a password. The other, Dores, “became a graveguard of the forest,” the Forbidden Woods. Dores—a grave guard or gravekeeper—was assigned to this post, we can assume, not to tend to the thousands of graves littering the Forbidden Woods. Dores, it seems, was there to prevent people from accessing the area appropriately named the Forbidden Grave, the final accessible site of the Forbidden Woods, which lies on the edge of the College of Byrgenwerth. Dores was guarding this grave as a servant of Master Willem of Byrgenwerth. That’s what the in-game lore would have us believe. So what exactly was going on in this graveyard adjacent to Byrgenwerth? Whatever it was, Willem didn’t want people to know about it. It was forbidden activity that must be kept secret. This seems logical, considering the unnamed gatekeeper in Cathedral Ward serves a very similar purpose to Dores. He prohibits anyone from accessing the Forbidden Woods unless they know the secret password, the sacred adage of Byrgenwerth.

I think it’s fair to say that for most of us, that’s the extent of our knowledge of these two characters, who seem to have little to no bearing on Bloodborne’s larger story. But based on what I’ll show you today, I think we’ve grossly misinterpreted Dores, the gatekeeper and their impact on the story of Willem and Laurence. First, though, we need to do a bit of scene setting. I promise you this will be worth the effort.

Lore Dissection

Let’s recap what we’ve previously concluded about Byrgenwerth. As we’ve noted many times before, “byrgen” is an Old English word meaning burial place or grave. Byrgenwerth, therefore, could be considered the “College of the Grave,” implying that the scholars of this college, this “old place of learning,” as Alfred calls it, were gaining knowledge by studying the contents of graves. That makes perfect sense, considering they were delving into the Tomb of the Gods. As I noted in the final episode of my main series, the proximity of Byrgenwerth to the Forbidden Grave, is a strong indication that the scholars of Byrgenwerth were digging through this graveyard to do their research. It seems reasonable to interpret that this is where they accessed the Tomb of the Gods and encountered this forbidden knowledge that drove Dores and the gatekeeper mad.

As we’ve also discussed at length, Byrgenwerth’s grave exploration is a key part of Bloodborne’s overarching medical metaphor. It’s a dramatic interpretation of real-life medical and surgical research of the 17 and 1800s that cuts through the entire game. In the Georgian and Victorian eras, the primary form of medical research was anatomical dissection. In the major cities of Great Britain, mainly London and Edinburgh which were home to prestigious medical colleges and a number of private anatomy schools, there weren’t enough dead bodies that could be legally obtained so that all the young men training to be physicians and surgeons could perform dissections. To meet this demand for cadavers in these medical and surgical schools, anatomy instructors had to go to extreme lengths—which meant body snatching, digging up corpses from fresh graves. It was incredibly common for anatomy instructors to conscript their students or assistants into this grisly service as part of their enrollment in these sought-after medical programs. But surgeons would often keep a few men or even a gang of body snatchers on retainer who were known as resurrection men or “sack ‘em up men.” The process of body snatching was fairly straightforward. After digging a shaft in the dirt, resurrection men would break open one end of the coffin, remove the body, stuff it into a bag and take it under the cover of darkness to a grateful surgeon or anatomy instructor who would pay them handsomely for their ghoulish goods. This practice was routine for about a hundred and fifty years.

In earlier episodes, we’ve discussed how the uniform-clad students of the School of Mensis are portrayals of the anatomy students of the 1800s who would be draped in darkly colored gowns while performing dissections. Exceptionally important for our discussion today, there are two groups in Bloodborne that are responsible for obtaining bodies for the students of the School of Mensis. The first are the Kidnapper enemies, who deliver freshly killed human subjects in a bag to the Hypogean Gaol. These figures are just like the body snatchers and “burkers” who delivered bodies in bags to anatomy schools. The others are the Yahar’gul Hunters, who are described in their attire set as “kidnappers” who wear this attire to “blend into the night.” These kidnapper figures who blend into the night are just like the real-life bodysnatchers who dug up graves under the cover of night and delivered the corpses in cloth or burlap bags to surgeons at anatomy schools, just like the School of Mensis or the College of Byrgenwerth. The Yahar’gul Hunters are described as “hunters in name only” who “answer to the village’s founders, the School of Mensis.” Just like the hired goons who dug up bodies for early surgeons and anatomists, the Yahar’gul Hunters work on behalf of these scholarly figures of Mensis. It’s a 1-to-1 parallel.

It’s crucial to recap these findings, because the Graveguard set employs some of the same elements, while taking us a couple of steps further. We can reveal these details with a close inspection of the attire artwork, followed by a reading of the item descriptions.

Let’s start with the visual attributes first. Understandably, the most striking feature of Dores’ design is his mask. But this is the spooky, shiny object to distract us from the information-rich details everywhere else in his attire. Let’s focus instead on the Graveguard Robe. Here, we can spot an accessory shared with the Yahar’gul Hunters: a length of rope wrapped around the torso, and hanging off the side at the waist. There’s a reason why both Dores and the Yahar’gul Hunters have this on their clothing. Rope was essential in the body snatching business. You’d need it in some cases to pull up a coffin that had been buried more than just a few feet underground. But body snatchers commonly would loop a rope around the body to drag it out of the coffin, just like the rope we see looped around the torso of these two attire sets. This is the first of several pieces of information that link Dores to body snatching and anatomical dissection. I realize that might seem like a stretch right now, but as we continue, you’ll realize it’s not a stretch in the slightest.

The artwork for the Graveguard Mask and Robe give us yet another valuable piece of information that’s incredibly easy to overlook. These attire pieces, as we can see here, aren’t made of cloth—they’re made of burlap, just like the bags that Bloodborne’s Kidnapper enemies use to bring our body to Yahar’gul. More importantly, it’s just like the bags that the real-life resurrection men would have used to transport bodies to anatomists. Let’s return to the Graveguard Mask for a minute. In addition to the ghostly face, the unusual shape of this mask gives it an occult, ritualistic aesthetic. But the pointy edges that poke out on the sides of the Graveguard Mask have always seemed strange to me. Then I realized why they look like this: The Graveguard Mask is a burlap sack. The pointy edge that we see on our left is the bottom corner of the bag. The stitching in the middle of the mask is just like you’d use to sew up the sides of the burlap sack. Suddenly, the ghostly face of the Graveguard Mask makes much more sense. With rope tied around the body and a burlap sack thrown over its head, Dores is supposed to look like a dead body being pulled from a grave. So, with a quick inspection, we’ve already discovered two game-changing details about Dores. But we’re just getting started.

The item description for the Graveguard Kilt and the Graveguard Manchettes contains a sentence that the other items in the attire set don’t have: These articles of clothing are “Covered in the blood of untidy rituals.” If you recall from the final episode of my Agony of Effort series, I put forth a good bit of evidence that Bloodborne’s rituals are code for anatomical dissection. It’s one of the main takeaways of the series, and one that I knew would be hard for many players to accept. I won’t regurgitate the entire segment from that episode, but I noted that many of the ritual materials of Bloodborne are labeled in their item descriptions as “body parts.” More importantly, several of these ritual materials are body parts displayed in glass containers filled with fluid, just like the diseased tissues and internal organs that real-life anatomists of the 17 and 1800s would have removed from cadavers during dissection and then preserved in jars filled with alcohol solutions.

The Graveguard Kilt and Manchettes are telling us that the game’s rituals are bloody and untidy, much like the process of dissecting a corpse would be. But the Graveguard Robe is the linchpin of this metaphor. Its description states, “Countless bloodied ritual tools hang from its back,” meaning the back of the robe. Even not knowing what these tools are, this description tells us that these rituals aren’t just bloody ordeals; they require certain tools for the job. When we look at the attire artwork again, we’re able to see these ritual tools that are referenced in the robe’s description.

The largest and most recognizable ritual tool on the back of the Graveguard Robe is a bone saw. These were commonly used in amputations, as we discussed in Bite-Sized Bloodborne #3, but they were a traditional tool in the dissection kits of the 17 and 1800s. The other instruments here are a little harder to identify. Let’s go left to right:

First, we have a metal tool that looks incredibly similar to bone forceps found in U.S. Civil War medical kits of the mid-1800s. Bone forceps also would have been used in dissections of the 1800s and are still in use for dissections today.

Next, we have a retractor, perhaps what’s known as a deaver retractor. This would be used to pull back the openings of a large, deep incision in the chest or abdomen. The pair of hooked instruments to the right are also antique retractors used in surgery and dissection.

And lastly, we have what appears to be either a probe or a penfield dissector tool.

The ritual tools of the graveguard are tools that real-life anatomists would have used to dissect bodies in the 17 and 1800s.

You might be wondering, what about the big hook and the handaxe that we see here. Are those dissection tools? No, they’re not. But in terms of the hook, I think it’s like the burlap bag and the rope on the torso of the Graveguard Robe. It’s a tool for body snatching. An 1896 article in the leading British medical journal The Lancet describes the use of large hooks in the body snatching business. After resurrection men dug a shaft, “...the coffin was lugged up by hooks to the surface, or, preferably, the end of the coffin was wrenched off with hooks while still in the shelter of the tunnel” (187). As for the handaxe, I’m not sure. Axes really weren’t used in surgery or dissection because they were inaccurate and didn’t produce the clean cuts of saws or incision knives. Axes also weren’t used to open coffins in the act of body snatching. As medical researcher Frederick Waite noted in a historical review of body snatching in the 1800s, “use of [an] ax or hatchet made too much noise for safety.” A hook, crow bar or auger would have been the tool of choice because it would allow body snatchers to break open the coffin much more quietly and not arouse suspicion.

Continuing our examination of the Graveguard attire, on the front side of the robe we find a satchel containing what might be another bone saw and the handles of large forceps. We don’t get a full view of these tools, so it’s hard to say precisely what they are. But the concept art for the Graveguard attire shows a bone saw and what might be two blades of surgical scissors that have been separated.

To summarize what we’ve revealed so far, we’ve seen that the graveguard Dores went into the Tomb of the Gods alongside the man who would become the gatekeeper of Byrgenwerth. Dores’ attire is equipped with tools for bloody, untidy rituals. And the instruments that were used in these rituals are the tools that body snatchers would have used to obtain corpses, and that anatomists would have used to dissect them. If we’re supposed to apply these details to Bloodborne’s narrative, then seemingly every bit of information we can obtain about Dores indicates that he was a body snatcher who engaged in or assisted with anatomical dissection. This is critical.

Dissection is a popular theme in Bloodborne and especially for the figures of the Forbidden Woods, which include the Madaras Twins. As we can observe if we summon him or if we kill Valtr, the Younger Madaras Twin is dressed in the Butcher attire set. We learn from its attire description that, somewhat like Dores, the Madaras Twins were “denizens” of the Forbidden Woods. And just like Dores’ Graveguard attire, the Butcher set worn by the Madaras Twins contains a bevy of references to anatomical dissection, both in its artwork and its text. As I pointed out in Part V of my Agony of Effort series, the item descriptions for the Butcher attire tell us that the twins “dissected their beast prey, to support the villagers in their forbidden research.” Obviously, we see the word “dissected” in the English and Japanese text. But beyond that, the visuals of the set are indicative of dissection. The Butcher Garb contains a sullied apron like those worn by early anatomists, while the Butcher Mask is modeled upon a Medieval executioner’s hood. The Younger Madaras Twin also carries the Hunter’s Axe, which is wielded, according to its item description, by those who wish “to play the part of executioner.” This isn’t a coincidence. In Great Britain, the bodies of executed criminals were the primary source of cadavers that anatomists were allowed to dissect in the mid- to late-18th century, following the implementation of the Murder Act of 1752. The “prey,” if you will, of real-life executioners were convicted criminals who would be hanged and then dissected for medical research. The “forbidden research” of the Forbidden Woods seems to be a reference to anatomical dissection, which also might shade how we interpret the Forbidden Grave. As a final point on the Butcher attire, Last Protagonist notes in his Japanese retranslations that the name for this attire in its original Japanese isn’t the Butcher set; it’s the Dissection set. He even notes that the Japanese word in the title of this attire set “literally [means to] separate viscera’ and is more commonly taken as ‘autopsy’ or ‘dissect.’” There’s a common theme here in the Forbidden Woods, as we can see.

Thus far, Dores fits perfectly into Bloodborne’s central medical metaphor which primarily focuses on body snatching and anatomical dissection. But there’s one more thing I think we have to consider, and if you’ll forgive the grandiosity of the statement, I think it’s a revolutionary idea that upends our long-held notions of the game’s plot while solidifying my argument for Bloodborne’s hidden meaning.

When we speak with Alfred in Cathedral Ward, he gives us a brief history of the College of Byrgenwerth. As we’ve discussed, Byrgenwerth can only be accessed through the Forbidden Woods and is immediately adjacent to the Forbidden Grave. Alfred tells us, “Once, a group of young Byrgenwerth scholars discovered a holy medium deep within the tomb,” referring to the Tomb of the Gods or the labyrinth. Alfred goes on to say that the discovery of this holy medium “led to the founding of the Healing Church, and the establishment of blood healing.” Within the lore community, the term “holy medium” has often been interpreted as a substance, such as the Old Blood, a Great One or some other remnant of the Great Ones. It’s also often assumed that these young Byrgenwerth scholars that Alfred mentions included Laurence and possibly even Gehrman and Maria. But there’s no information in the game that directly or even really indirectly links these named characters to this group from Byrgenwerth that went into the tomb. Additionally, there’s no direct evidence that the holy medium they found was the Old Blood or something related to the Great Ones. So, who exactly were these “young Byrgenwerth scholars,” and what exactly was this “holy medium” that they discovered? I think we have the answers to these two questions.

Let’s focus first on what the scholars discovered. For that question, we need to turn to the Japanese text. Aruki Mania has released dozens of videos over the last five years examining the game’s original Japanese and comparing it with Bloodborne’s official English text. I’ve previously cited his work from his Translationborne series. In one of his videos from 2017, which I’ve linked in the description, he points out that while the English version uses the term “holy medium” to describe whatever it was that the Byrgenwerth scholars discovered in—and retrieved from—the Tomb of the Gods, the original Japanese uses the term “seitai,” which can be interpreted in a couple of ways. The most common translation for seitai is Eucharist, meaning the bread and wine that Christians consume during Communion. This translation certainly gives a divine or godly aura to whatever was found in the Tomb of the Gods. And that’s important, as we’ll find out. But seitai can also mean simply, “holy body,” which can be interpreted in a much more literal sense. The term is used to describe the physical body of Christ or the bodies of emperors, who in Japan, are believed to be of a divine bloodline. This opens up the possibility that the Byrgenwerth scholars didn’t just bring back some divine substance; they delved into the tomb and brought back a dead body.

Alfred also tells us that this “holy medium” or “holy body” is “venerated in the main cathedral.” As we know, the thing that’s venerated in the main cathedral is the beastly skull of Laurence. This is why Last Protagonist has suggested that the holy medium was the body or skull of Laurence.

That obviously sounds strange and runs counter to the popular sentiment in the lore community. But it’s hard to argue with the text-based evidence. And after what I’m about to show you, I’m confident you’ll agree that this is the correct interpretation.

The Real Laurence

Laurence, as we know, underwent some sort of beastly transformation and became the first cleric beast. Because Laurence was somehow associated with the establishment of Blood Healing, a practice that ends up transforming a large number of humans into beasts, there are certainly many correlations with Robert Louis Stevenson’s story, Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, as I’ve previously discussed. I had assumed that this was the main inspiration for Laurence and that his name was also derived from sources associated with the anesthesia-like Healing Blood that became Laurence’s long-term legacy. While I don’t reject my earlier conclusions about the influential role of Jekyll and Hyde on Bloodborne’s beastly transformation and the Healing Blood, I now know that my conclusions about Laurence’s naming origins were completely and utterly wrong. Please allow me to correct the record with this bit of history.

In the late 1750s, an Irish-born clergyman, suffering from pulmonary tuberculosis and a troubled marriage, found a new calling. From his home in Sutton-on-the-Forest, a tiny village near York in the far north of England, he wrote and self-published a series of comic novels that almost overnight made him a celebrity in London and a star in the literary circles of England and France. The novels, The Life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy, Gentleman, were of a satirical styling that was both endearing and controversial at the time. But, at least for our purposes, it isn’t so much the literary works of this man that connect him to Bloodborne. Instead, it’s the details of his life and, more importantly, his death.

Laurence Sterne became vicar of Sutton-on-the-Forest in the late 1730s and performed vicary duties for nearby Stillington as well. It was after 20 years in the clergy and only after advancing into his mid-40s that Sterne tried his hand at writing, becoming an almost instant success. Unfortunately for Laurence Sterne and his readers, his tuberculosis worsened rapidly in 1768 shortly after Sterne published what would be his final work, A Sentimental Journey. He died in March of that year and, despite his modest fame, was buried in a paupers’ graveyard in Hanover Square in London. That’s when matters turned to the macabre.

Two days after Sterne’s burial, body snatchers dug up his corpse, transported it almost 60 miles north and sold it to anatomists at the medical college at Cambridge. There, Sterne’s remains were dissected by professor of anatomy Charles Collignon. Although there are differing accounts of the events that day, someone in the audience recognized that the body on the dissecting table was that of known author Laurence Sterne. It wasn’t enough to stop the dissection and the accompanying lecture, but it certainly changed the destination of Sterne’s remains after the procedure was completed. Typically, dissected bodies—or the miscellaneous pieces of it—would be buried unceremoniously near anatomy schools, prisons or workhouses. Or they could just be cremated. But that’s not what happened with Sterne’s remains. According to biological archaeologists Jenna Dittmar and Piers Mitchell, it’s believed that a student or faculty member retrieved Sterne’s remains after the dissection and returned them to London for burial. Believe it or not, we haven’t reached the strangest part of this story.

I think the amateur historians from the blog The London Dead captured it best in their entry on the strange saga of Laurence Sterne: Following the dissection, “Sterne’s corpse was discretely returned to St. George’s Field sans head according to some who reckoned that Dr. [John] Parsons or Dr. Collignon hung onto the skull as a souvenir.”

It’s believed that Charles Collignon, the anatomy professor who performed the dissection, wanted Sterne’s skull as part of anatomy collection that he would go on to amass over the years. It was the first collection of its kind at Cambridge, and many of its preparations remain at the medical college today as part of the Duckworth Collection. More than 250 years after the dissection of Laurence Sterne, no one can say for certain whether his skull is one of the hundreds at Cambridge, as many researchers insist, or whether it indeed was returned to St. George’s Field in London all those years ago. Many of the graves at the old cemetery were relocated in the 1960s to make way for a commercial development. The Laurence Sterne Trust and its curator Kenneth Monkman hoped to help facilitate the transfer and reinterment of Sterne’s remains, and they received permission to search for his remains at the grave marked by his headstone. To their bewilderment, they found several skulls in and around the grave, including one whose cranium had been sawn completely off—a telltale sign of dissection.

In short, Laurence Sterne died, and his body was removed from its grave and dissected. His head was removed, and it’s possible that its cranium was sawn completely off. And more than two centuries later, no one really has a clue what happened to the missing skull of Vicar Laurence.

The similarities between the 18th century author, Laurence Sterne, and the former scholar of Byrgenwerth, Laurence, are hard to ignore. They share the same name with the same spelling. They share the same vicar title. Their heads were somehow removed after death so they could be kept on display. And there’s a strong implication in the item Laurence’s Skull that his human skull is lost and can’t be found.

These similarities also strongly indicate to us that just like the body of Laurence Sterne, the body of Laurence, the First Vicar, might have also been removed from the grave and dissected.

This is what Alfred was telling us. This holy medium, or holy body, that was found in the Tomb of the Gods and brought back, was the body of Laurence. This body, or at least what remains of it, is what is venerated in the Grand Cathedral. Laurence, according to what Alfred is telling us, is the origin of blood healing. It wasn’t Queen Yharnam. It wasn’t Ebrietas. It was Laurence.

The body of Laurence being this holy entity also makes the other translation of seitai seem completely appropriate. As we discussed earlier, seitai is most commonly translated as Eucharist, the bread and wine symbolizing the body and blood of Christ, that are consumed in the religious ceremony of Communion. By consuming this symbol of dead but divine flesh and blood, Christians make spiritual contact with Christ. Compare that with Laurence, whose bodily remains are found in a religious sanctuary, the Grand Cathedral. He’s considered a messianic figure within the Healing Church, a quasi-religious organization led by clerics and nuns. Body snatchers were called resurrection men because they brought bodies out of the grave, just like in Christian theology Jesus rose from the dead and disappeared from his tomb. Laurence being resurrected, so to speak, is yet another Christ-like quality that From Software seems to be leaning into by playing on the literal and lingual symbols of body snatching. Whereas Christ resurrected, Laurence was resurrected.

We’ve answered the question, what was the holy medium or holy body that this group of Byrgenwerth scholars discovered in the Tomb of the Gods. It was Laurence. But we still haven’t answered the question, who were the Byrgenwerth scholars that made this discovery?

I don’t think we can answer this question with absolute certainty, but I think we can come very close. If Laurence was the holy medium that was found in the tomb, then clearly Laurence wasn’t part of this group of scholars that made this discovery. So who were they? I think it might have been Dores and the gatekeeper. That might sound ludicrous at first, but let me show you several things and have you look at some well-known features in the game with a completely different perspective. I’d ask you to hold your judgment until then.

We know for certain that Master Willem, the head scholar at Byrgenwerth, sent or even accompanied a small group of his servants into the labyrinth. The Japanese text leaves open the possibility that he led this group into the tomb. These servants were Dores and the man who would become the gatekeeper. As we’ve already shown in great detail, everything about Dores is associated with body snatching and dissection. It therefore seems a very safe bet that Willem sending or accompanying Dores into a tomb was for a very specific purpose: to snatch a body for dissection. This tandem of Dores and the future gatekeeper could have been merely servants, much like the hired body snatchers that surgeons and anatomy instructors of the 18th and 19th centuries often relied upon. But as I mentioned before, it wasn’t at all uncommon for medical colleges and anatomy schools to push the burden of obtaining bodies onto the medical students. A fictional but still accurate depiction of this very thing is the plot of R.L. Stevenson’s short story The Body-Snatcher. Two of the senior medical students in this 1884 story are tasked with obtaining bodies at the insistence of their head master, who is referred to only as Mr. K—---. The work takes them by night to remote graveyards in the countryside near Edinburgh, where they dig up what they believe is a farmer’s wife and start to bring it back to the medical school in their horse-drawn carriage. Although they’re called servants in the Graveguard attire, could Dores and the gatekeeper have been scholars of Byrgenwerth following the orders of their head master?

Removing Laurence’s body from the tomb is one thing. Dissecting is another. How do we know that Laurence’s body was dissected? Because the game tells us so. The Surgery Altar in the Hunter’s Nightmare, as I said in Part XIV of my Agony of Effort series, is a monument to the art of dissection. That’s not hard to figure out. But there’s a very important detail that takes on a new and exceptional significance after what we’ve discovered about the real-life influence for Laurence. The desiccated corpse on the table is missing the top of its skull. I previously thought that the Surgery Altar was just a scene or symbol to underscore the importance of anatomical dissection to Bloodborne’s story and underlying metaphor. But after further review, I don’t think that’s true. I think this sculpture captures a moment in time in the Bloodborne story. It depicts the dissection of the body of Laurence. As we noted about the corpse of Laurence Sterne, his head was removed in a dissection and, quite possibly, the top of the cranium was sawn off. This is identical to the body on the table of the Surgery Altar. In order to activate the elevator for the Surgery Altar, we have to obtain an item called the Eye Pendant, which we find resting in the hand of Laurence, the First Vicar, in his cleric beast form in the other Nightmare Cathedral. We have to bring it back and place it in the skull of a dissected body on the Surgery Altar. This directly links Laurence to the dissected body on the table. When we use the elevator device, the platform directly below the Surgery Altar shows the waking world altar of the Grand Cathedral upon which Laurence’s beastly skull resides. We’re supposed to associate Laurence’s skull with his dissection.

It’s crucial to note that the device used to activate the elevator is the Eye Pendant. Its description tells us that we need to “Grant eyes to the surgery altar skull.” This is the same phrase that Micolash uses in his famous line, “Grant us eyes, grant us eyes. Plant eyes on our brains to cleanse our beastly idiocy.” By putting eyes on this corpse’s brain, by granting it eyes, we’re putting an eye into the cavity of a dissected body. This is exactly what I meant when I said earlier in this series that the term “Eyes on the inside” means a surgeon’s or anatomist’s ability to literally see inside the human body during a surgical operation or dissection.

But that’s not all. There’s another major piece of this puzzle I think we’ve completely misinterpreted. Once we obtain the item Laurence’s Skull from the lower level of the Surgery Altar, we can return to the Nightmare Cathedral and use it to revive Laurence. When we do, he returns to life, and we see him close his hand that was previously holding the Eye Pendant, as if he recognizes that it’s been removed. It was—we placed it in the skull of the dissected body on the Surgery Altar. He then places his other hand not on his eyes but on the top of his head. This is the moment that Laurence realizes that his head was removed. He’s now aware that hunters took his remains from his grave and dissected them. He’s not overcome with guilt from his own actions. He’s outraged at what others did to his body.

Much like I had assumed the Surgery Altar was just a signal to emphasize the concept of dissection, I thought the same thing about the unique posture of Laurence’s burning Cleric Beast body in the Nightmare Cathedral. Here again, I was wrong. As I’ve pointed out many times, Laurence’s corpse is positioned to look exactly like “From Nature,” a plaster cast of a dissected body by Scottish surgeon and anatomist John Goodsir made in 1845. This isn’t an accident. It’s a deliberate design choice to scream to us that Laurence was dissected. It also has the side benefit of conveying the symbol of Christ from Michaelangelo’s Pieta, which was also the inspiration to Goodsir’s “From Nature.”

That’s not all that the Surgery Altar shows us. There are three figures surrounding the body. As many have long assumed, the figure leading this dissection ritual appears to be a young Master Willem, who’s wearing a distinctive hat similar to the one we see him wearing on the balcony overlooking the Moonside Lake. He’s accompanied by two assistants. Not one. Not three. Two. The same number of servants he sent into the labyrinth. Maybe this is Dores and the gatekeeper. There’s not enough information to make that conclusion with complete confidence. But there are a few things worth noting. We know from the Graveguard attire descriptions that these two characters went mad after going into the Tomb of the Gods and coming into contact with the Eldritch Truth, which means some sort of arcane knowledge. The concept of madness is almost omnipresent in Bloodborne, but there’s something that connects madness almost across the board: Madness is the result of coming into contact with the arcane, meaning the unknown internal features of the human body. People who come into contact with dead bodies in the tombs or engage in dissection rituals afterward lose their minds. For just a few examples:

The Ritual of Mensis, which I’ve argued is a reference to anatomical dissection, is performed by “madmen who toil surreptitiously.”

The player-character gains arcane knowledge by consuming the contents of a dead man’s skull, receiving “Madman’s Knowledge.”

The Madman’s attire set is worn by Healing Church Tomb Prospectors who “can’t withstand the weight of the old knowledge.”

Those who “delve into the arcane fall all-too-easily into madness,” so they must take Sedative, a liquid medicine developed at Byrgenwerth.

Lastly, “The bell-ringing woman appears to be a mad Pthumerian” having come into contact with the cosmos. These women ring their bells and bring enemies back to life. They resurrect the dead.

One of the figures in the Surgery Altar is holding a bell over the corpse of Laurence. Like the mad bell-ringing women, these chime maidens, they’re figuratively resurrecting Laurence, to use the parlance of 18th century body snatchers—or resurrection men.

A final point. I anticipate many people will find it hard to accept this idea that the body on the table of the Surgery Altar is that of Laurence. How could this be Laurence, when we know that his skull looked like this? To that, I would say: The game already gives us three versions of what Laurence’s skull or body could be. We have his beastly skull in the waking world. We have his Cleric Beast form, which as we well know doesn’t seem to accurately reflect the nature of his beastly transformation in the waking world. And finally, we have the item, Laurence’s Skull, which shows a fairly standard human skull many years after death. In a sense, it’s almost like Miyazaki is playing upon the mystery of the skull of Laurence Sterne. In the case of Sterne, there are three possible outcomes. Sterne’s skull might have been returned to a grave in London almost entirely intact. Alternatively, it might have been reinterred with the top of the cranium sawn off. And finally, it might still be residing in a collection at Cambridge. The ambiguity of Laurence’s skull in the game matches the uncertainty of the fate of Laurence Sterne’s skull in real life.

If you’re still not sold on this idea, let’s look at one final thing. Bloodborne’s opening cinematic shows the hunter hacking his way through the beasts of Yharnam before abruptly changing the setting. We see the hunter emerge in a dark location carrying a torch. This place is abandoned. The candles are extinguished. There’s no one here. But at last we see a familiar site, followed by the skull of Laurence. I had always assumed this cinematic was showing us the Grand Cathedral. But I don’t think that’s true. The hunter is walking through narrow corridors that don’t exist in the Grand Cathedral. I think this cinematic is showing us Laurence’s tomb. This is where the scholars of Byrgenwerth discovered the holy body of Laurence and brought his remains to the surface. This is the holy medium.

The cathedral containing the Surgery Altar appears to tell the story of Laurence in three acts. At the entrance to the cathedral, there’s a monument to Laurence, showing his recently deceased human body wrapped in a bag or perhaps a death shroud, having been removed from the grave. From there, it was taken elsewhere for further investigation, to be dissected, as we see on the Surgery Altar. Presumably years later, Laurence’s skull, removed long ago, becomes the holy medium upon which the Healing Church was founded.

Laurence’s story has been in front of our eyes the whole time. And it’s far more detailed and unexpected than we could have imagined. We just needed the medical metaphor to see it. Thanks for watching.

References

Dittmar, Jenna M. and Piers D. Mitchell. “The Afterlife of Laurence Sterne (1713-68): Body Snatching, Dissection and the Role of Cambridge Anatomist Charles Collignon.” Journal of Medical Biography 24, no. 4 (2016): 559-65.

“Giants of History Find a Place to Rest in Coxwold.” The Gazette & Herald, August 8, 2002. Accessed December 16, 2022, at https://www.gazetteherald.co.uk/news/6665794.giants-of-history-find-a-place-to-rest-in-coxwold/.

Green, Carole. “Laurence Sterne.” BBC, March 13, 2009. Accessed December 15, 2022, at https://www.bbc.co.uk/northyorkshire/content/articles/2009/03/11/laurence_sterne_profile_feature.shtml.

Pseudonymity, P. “DIE-jesting stURNe’s BURIALLs.” In Shakespeare’s Hamlet in an Era of Textual Exhaustion, Edited by Sonia Freeman Loftis, Allison Keller, and Lisa Ulevich, 199-243. Taylor & Francis Group, 2017.

Rolleston, Sir Humphry Davy. The Cambridge Medical School: A Biographical History. Cambridge: University Press (1932).

Stevenson, Robert Louis. The Body-Snatcher. 1884. Pall Mall Gazette. https://archive.org/details/talesfantasies00stevuoft/page/86/mode/2up?view=theater

“Thomas Wakley, The Founder of ‘The Lancet’: A Biography.” The Lancet 148, no. 3804 (1896): 185-87.

Waite, Frederick C. “Grave Robbing in New England.” Bulletin of the Medical Library Association 33, no. 3 (1945): 272-94.

Additional Resources

Aruki Mania’s “Translationborne 13: Thirsting and Starving for Blood.” https://youtu.be/q6diILIDuWA?list=PL5X6GrUkKqPsGvzd1ykSJe6wFpkvCrn8g&t=371

Last Protagonist’s “Fear the Old Lore 2.2.” https://youtu.be/GLyIT7F2634?list=PLQnUanUs-C-8zuZCf_tiTM6WJN6sET7mP&t=7808

An Agony of Effort, Part III - The Animal Within (The Beastly Scourge) | Google Docs Link

An Agony of Effort, Part VII The Vicar & The Blade (Laurence & Ludwig)

Laurence and Ludwig, fallen heroes of the Healing Church, are perhaps the most tragic figures in a story populated almost entirely with tragic figures. Although From Software exercised literary license in crafting these characters, they weren’t cut from whole cloth. Based on what we’ve discussed in this series, as well as some additional evidence we’ll reveal today, we can say with confidence that From Software drew inspiration from two historical figures—and the literary adaptation of one of those figures—to give life to these two foundational members of the Healing Church.

Before we can reveal the real-life inspirations for these characters, we have to briefly recall several key points I’ve made in this series. Point 1: Healing Church = Royal Infirmary In Part VI of this series, we discussed the ways in which the Healing Church serves as a parallel to the Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh, arguably the world’s leading surgical hospital of the 19th century. It’s where Victorian author and poet William Ernest Henley sought and received treatment for tuberculosis in 1873, and where he became friends with famed author Robert Louis Stevenson. As I’ve argued throughout this series, From Software used Henley’s personal story and the literary works of both Stevenson and Henley to develop the main story of Bloodborne and several of its leading characters. Point 2: Hunters = Surgeons Throughout this series, and especially in Part VI, I’ve shown how From Software portrayed hunters as a metaphor for Victorian surgeons and anatomists, none more explicitly than the Healing Church hunters who are explicitly described as doctors. This is the core tenet of the game’s medical metaphor. And finally, Point 3: Healing Blood = Anesthesia In Part II of this series, I laid out the evidence showing that the Healing Blood, the central item in the game and the basis for the Healing Church, is meant to represent the intoxicating and addictive anesthetics of the Victorian era, primarily ether and chloroform.

When we view hunters as Victorian surgeons, the Healing Blood as an 1800s anesthetic, and the Healing Church as the Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh, other pieces start to fall into place fairly quickly. With that said, let’s turn our attention first to Laurence, the first vicar and founder of the Healing Church, then we can move on to Ludwig.

As we discussed in the second video of this series, Robert Louis Stevenson’s Gothic horror tale, “The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde” served as the basis for the Healing Blood. In Stevenson’s short story, doctor and chemist Henry Jekyll experiments with chemical agents in his attempt to create curative substances. But in the process, he discovers certain agents that possess intoxicating, addictive properties that he can’t resist, and one of his concoctions transforms him into the repugnant Edward Hyde. Stevenson almost certainly based his story on the unsettling tale of American dentist and chemist Horace Wells, who experimented with ether and chloroform in the late 1840s, which caused a violent behavioral transformation and prompted him to take his own life.

In “The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde,” Stevenson describes Mr. Hyde not just by his violent and antisocial behavior but by his unique appearance which is completely different from Dr. Jekyll’s. Although popular adaptations of the story later depicted Hyde as a sleek and flamboyant figure—somewhat like Gehrman during his boss fight—in the original tale Hyde is referred to much differently. Stevenson characterizes Hyde as a troglodyte, meaning a cave man or primitive ancestor to humans. Stevenson describes Hyde three times as “ape-like” in appearance. That’s how Hyde was depicted in the 1931 film “Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde.”

This is what we’re supposed to see in Laurence’s beastly skull in the Grand Cathedral, with its uniquely simian appearance. Unlike the Scourge Beasts or even Vicar Amelia and their canine physiognomy, Laurence’s transformed skull matches the description of the ape-like Mr. Hyde. Lore hunter JSF pointed out this detail years ago, but wasn’t sure what it might mean. It was and is an important observation. As I’ve repeatedly said and shown in this series, Stevenson’s “Jekyll and Hyde” was the inspiration for the Healing Blood. But critically, this detail allows us to understand that the ape-like Mr. Hyde, a beastly figure into which Dr. Jekyll transformed, was almost certainly the inspiration for Laurence. As we just noted, the theory is that Robert Louis Stevenson based his characters Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde upon Horace Wells, a pioneer of early anesthesia. If we start to connect the dots, we could argue that Laurence—the founder of the Healing Church and its champion of the anesthesia-like Healing Blood—was indirectly inspired by Horace Wells, a real-life physician driven to darkness and death by his addiction to ether and chloroform. We discussed in Part 4 of this series that Laurence got his name, in part, from Lauriston Place, a street in Edinburgh where the Royal Infirmary was relocated in 1879. This makes perfect sense, considering the Healing Church was inspired by the Royal Infirmary. But we can now look at two naming inspirations side by side: From Lauriston and Horace, we get Laurence.

Although there’s this ape-like physical skull that we associate with Laurence that remains in the waking world on the altar of the Grand Cathedral, his soul or consciousness is manifested in the Hunter’s Nightmare as the burning corpse of a Cleric Beast. We find this corpse resting on the altar of the Nightmare Cathedral.

It’s not surprising that many people have suggested that Laurence’s statuesque appearance is similar to Michelangelo’s Pieta, which depicts Mary cradling the dead body of Christ. Laurence of course is a Christ-like figure in some superficial ways, in that he sought to save humanity with the power of divine blood that possibly could help them transcend their human bonds and ascend to another plane of existence, just as Christ’s blood in the form of his martyrdom provides spiritual salvation and delivery to heaven for his followers. But Pieta isn’t the direct artistic inspiration for Laurence’s pose in the Nightmare Cathedral. Instead, just like pretty much everything else in the game, the inspiration comes from Edinburgh’s medical community in the 1800s. Housed in the Surgeon’ Hall anatomical museum is a plaster cast titled “From Nature” or “Cast From Nature.”

Although the work was inspired by Pieta, the piece is not Renaissance art. It’s a plaster cast of a partially dissected body, as captured by Edinburgh anatomist John Goodsir in 1845. Flaps of incised skin are folded back on the upper chest. We can see much greater similarity between Laurence and “From Nature” than we can between Laurence and Pieta, from the protruding ribs, to the back-leaning head to the identical positioning of the arms and legs. Not to mention, there’s no Mary figure in either “From Nature” or the altar containing Laurence’s cleric beast body. The only major difference is the direction they’re facing. This further reinforces Bloodborne’s use of the term “beast” to represent dissected bodies, or cadavers, also known as bodies drained of blood, while further underscoring the point I’ve been trying to make throughout this series: Bloodborne is meant to depict the nightmarish experience of Victorian-era illness and disease and the dehumanizing nature of medical research, surgery and addiction. The Edinburgh medical community, as well as the lives and works of William Ernest Henley and Robert Louis Stevenson are the soul of Bloodborne. This just further reinforces this conclusion.

Before we finish this section on Laurence, let’s examine one more thing. One of the more confusing items in the game is the key item called Laurence’s Skull. The item description is a swirling tempest of seeming contradictions: “Skull of Laurence, first vicar of the Healing Church. In reality he became the first cleric beast, and his human skull only exists within the Nightmare. The skull is a symbol of Laurence's past, and what he failed to protect. He is destined to seek his skull, but even if he found it, it could never restore his memories.”

This item description is exceptionally difficult to follow, but we’ll give it a try. At some point in the Bloodborne universe, Laurence was a scholar at Byrgenwerth. He discovered a special medium, the Old Blood, that had remarkable properties. It alleviated pain and provided a euphoric intoxication. He saw great promise in the substance and wanted to bring it to the masses, which was a noble aspiration. But the Healing Blood that he crafted was too seductive. Just like Dr. Henry Jekyll, Laurence was unable to resist the temptation of the intoxicating substances he had refined. He lost himself in the drug and transformed into something else. Just like Dr. Jekyll permanently transformed into the ape-like creature Edward Hyde, Laurence transformed into an ape-like beast whose skull we find on the altar of the Grand Cathedral. Laurence, the man, was forever lost when this beastly transformation occurred. He could never transform back into his human form. When the item Laurence’s Skull tells us “the skull is a symbol of Laurence's past, and what he failed to protect,” it means the past is Laurence’s human past, and what he failed to protect was his humanity. In “Jekyll and Hyde,” Dr. Jekyll had relied on a serum to transform him into Hyde, and another serum to transform him back into Jekyll. But eventually, the latter serum stopped working. The fading remnant of Dr. Jekyll’s consciousness within the physical form of Edward Hyde was trying to formulate a serum so that he could transform back into his human self, but it was never going to be possible. Laurence, his consciousness trapped in the Hunter’s Nightmare, is destined to seek his human skull, a symbol of his past, a symbol of his humanity, the thing he failed to protect. But it no longer exists in the waking world. In that world, there is no Laurence anymore. There are no human remains of Laurence. There’s just a skull of an ape-like beast that Laurence became. That’s what the item Laurence’s Skull means.

Ludwig, the Holy Blade With Laurence’s origins made much more clear, we can turn our focus to Ludwig. We learn from the Yharnam Hunter attire and the Sword Hunter Badge that Ludwig was the first hunter of the Church, therefore he would have come after the Old Hunters of Gehrman’s era. Let’s recall two of our main premises that we discussed earlier: 1) Bloodborne’s hunters are metaphorical representations of Victorian era surgeons, and 2) the Healing Church is meant to represent the Old Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh. If these assumptions are accurate—if what I’ve argued throughout this series is true—then there should be clear-cut evidence substantiating this: That the real-life parallel for Ludwig would have had to have been a surgeon from the Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh in the Victorian era. Furthermore, if my insistence that the personal story and poetry of William Ernest Henley was indeed a major influence on the game Bloodborne, then we should expect to see a linkage between Henley’s poems from “In Hospital”—the book of poetry about his two-year stay at the Royal Infirmary—and Ludwig, a character inspired by a real-life surgeon of the Infirmary. Guess what? We do.

There are two vital pieces of information that allow us to pinpoint the true inspiration for Ludwig. The first piece comes from Bloodborne; the second comes from Henley’s poetry. Let’s start with the evidence from within the game. It’s an item that we don’t directly associate with Ludwig by name. But it’s obviously an item exclusively affiliated with Ludwig. It’s the Hunter Chief Emblem. The Hunter Chief Emblem is an item that provides the player easier access to Cathedral Ward, the home of the Healing Church, in the early game. But the emblem’s practical application is virtually irrelevant here. It’s the item name and description that are important. Let’s talk about the item name first. There are two important things to keep in mind about the word “chief.” First, throughout all of Bloodborne, the word “chief” appears only once: It’s in the Hunter Chief Emblem. It’s not in any item descriptions, lore notes or pieces of dialogue. It’s only on the Hunter Chief Emblem. Second, the lore hunter Last Protagonist confirms in his exhaustive Japanese retranslations that the word “chief” is correct, meaning there wasn’t a mistranslation in the original version, or some other more appropriate term that should’ve been used instead. The word “chief” in Hunter Chief Emblem is accurate.

Both of these are HUGELY important, as we’ll see momentarily. As for the item description, it states, “The main gate is shut tight on nights of the hunt, and could only be opened from the other side with this emblem. In other words, the captain's return, and this emblem, determined the end of the hunt.” The item bears an emblem we’re led to believe is the icon the Healing Church. We see this emblem on the Cathedral Ward gate, and we can see that it is almost identical to the Communion Rune, which we see throughout the Healing Church’s Research Hall. This tells us that the Hunter Chief Emblem belonged to the captain of the Healing Church hunters, not just any band of hunters. It didn’t belong to Gehrman’s Old Hunters or the Powder Kegs. This belonged to the captain or chief of the Healing Church hunters. Although the Sword Hunter Badge tells us that “Ludwig was the first of many Healing Church hunters to come,” within Bloodborne, there is only one figure who is named or alluded to as the leader of the Healing Church hunters: It’s Ludwig. We know from the Yharnam Hunter attire that Ludwig recruited hunters, implying he organized, trained and equipped them. We learn from the Radiant Sword Hunter Badge that this key item was carried by Ludwig’s successors or heirs to his will, suggesting that they venerated him as a leader. The spoken words of Ludwig, the Holy Blade, solidify this conclusion. After we defeat Ludwig in the Hunter’s Nightmare, he asks “Are my church hunters the honorable Spartans I hoped they would be?” as if they were his disciples or soldiers. He’s clearly being depicted as the leader or captain of these Healing Church hunters. It makes sense, then, that Ludwig, the first Healing Church hunter and commander of these “honorable Spartans” is the Hunter Chief to whom the Hunter Chief Emblem first belonged. Even if it was handed down over the generations, Ludwig is the only hunter we can individually identify as the owner of this emblem at some point in the history of Bloodborne.

With that in mind, we can turn to the other critical piece of evidence, this time within the literary works of William Ernest Henley. As we discussed in much greater detail in the first video of this series, Henley spent two years in the Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh, from 1873 to 1875, where he underwent successful surgery on his right leg to remove infected tissue caused by tuberculosis of the bone. He wrote more than two dozen poems that were later consolidated into a book of poetry titled “In Hospital,” which captured his experience undergoing Victorian era surgery and his lengthy recovery in the Royal Infirmary. In three different poems from “In Hospital,” Henley refers to an unnamed surgeon at the Royal Infirmary as “The Chief.” He even titles one of the poems as simply “The Chief,” and dedicates this piece entirely to this surgeon. He describes this person as “the professor” who makes rounds with nurses, surgical staff and medical students scurrying along behind him, following his every word and instruction. As multiple literary historians have confirmed, and as basic logic would lead us to conclude, the surgeon that Henley referred to as “the Chief” was Sir Joseph Lister, chair of clinical surgery at the Royal Infirmary from 1869 to 1877. I realize that sounds extremely odd based on the figure we encounter Ludwig, the Accursed in the Hunter’s Nightmare. But stick with me for a few minutes and I think you’ll be surprised.

It’s not an overstatement that Joseph Lister was arguably the most important surgeon of the 19th century and remains one of the leading figures of medicine in the last 300 years. Lister developed and popularized what was known as the antiseptic surgical technique that revolutionized the preparation of surgical spaces and disinfecting of incisions. As head of surgery at the Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh, Lister also brought on a host of Nightingale Nurses, those who were formally trained in the nursing profession. These changes under Lister represented a period of modernization and improvement in the quality of medical care and surgery that had never been seen in a major hospital, and it triggered a mass transformation in medical care in the United Kingdom, Europe and America. Lister also ushered in a period of heavy reliance upon the new, seemingly miraculous anesthetics of his day, which further emphasized the Royal Infirmary’s step into the modern era. These anesthetics, ether and chloroform, are the Royal Infirmary’s version of the Healing Church’s Healing Blood.

Lister performed the surgery that saved William Ernest Henley’s right leg from amputation. As head of surgery at the Royal Infirmary at the time, and as Henley describes in his poems from “In Hospital,” Lister made rounds in the Infirmary to appraise surgical incisions and oversee the application of fresh bandages, soaked in carbolic acid. In the poem titled “Staff-Nurse: Old Style,” Henley says of the infirmary’s matronly nurse, “They say ‘The Chief’ himself is half-afraid of her.”. In the poem titled “Clinical,” Henley writes: “Hustles the Class! And they ring themselves Round the first bed, where the Chief (His dressers and clerks at attention), Bends in inspection already.

Because we know that Henley repeatedly referred to Joseph Lister as “The Chief,” and because we know that Bloodborne’s hunters are meant to represent Victorian era surgeons, we can confirm that the Hunter Chief refers to Lister. And because we know that the Hunter Chief is Ludwig, we can deduce that Lister was the inspiration for Ludwig.

It’s clever that the Hunter Chief Emblem is a piece of cloth, or handkerchief. Surgeons in the mid to late 1800s would have had two uses for cloth handkerchiefs. Prior to the surgery, they would douse a handkerchief with ether or chloroform and hold it by the patient’s nose to administer the anesthetic. This would have started the surgery. Once the surgery was complete, the doctor would use the cloth to wipe the blood from his hands. That’s why, according to the Hunter Chief Emblem item description, the presentation of the Hunter Chief Emblem signifies the end of the hunt. It’s the end of the surgical operation.

In the base game of Bloodborne, we find the NPC named Edgar in the Nightmare of Mensis. He’s wearing the Student Uniform and wielding Ludwig’s Holy Blade and the Rosmarinus—and yes, that’s the correct pronunciation. Edgar’s wielding of these weapons is meant to have us associate the Holy Blade with the Rosmarinus. Let’s examine why.

Joseph Lister, of course, was best known for his antiseptic method, which involved dousing bandages in carbolic acid, or phenol, and cleaning his hands and surgical tools in phenol as well. But he was famous for spraying vaporized carbolic acid in the surgery room in an effort to disinfect the air. The device he used was called a Listerizer, which is what Bloodborne used as the basis for the Rosmarinus, which is said to spray “a cloud of sacred mist.” Lister eventually abandoned use of the sprayer because it didn’t have any impact on infections and, ironically, it just badly irritated the eyes and sinuses of the surgical staff. I think that’s why the item description of the Rosmarinus includes the line, “Oh, fair maiden, why is it that you weep?” We’re meant to associate the Rosmarinus, much like the Listerizer, with Ludwig’s Holy Blade and thus Ludwig, who is based upon Joseph Lister. Both weapons are Healing Church weapons. As I’ve noted in this video and throughout this series, the Healing Church was based on the Royal Infirmary, which is where Lister developed and utilized the Rosmarinus-like Listerizer.

There’s some additional evidence to support the conclusion that Ludwig was inspired by Joseph Lister. First, let’s look at Ludwig’s Holy Blade. Lister, who inspired Ludwig, was a leading surgeon. The weapon of a surgeon, of course, would be a scalpel. Ludwig’s Holy Blade, as noted in its item description, is a silver sword. Silver was the preferred metal for early scalpels. It’s resistant to oxidation and is one of the least chemically reactive metals known to man, making it a valuable material in early medicine. We can think of Ludwig’s Holy Blade as Lister’s silver scalpel. We’ll come back to the item description for Ludwig’s Holy Blade in just a few minutes, because there’s another interesting takeaway.

All of Ludwig’s dialogue also appears to relate to Joseph Lister, often drawn from the verses of William Ernest Henley’s “In Hospital” collection. When we enter Ludwig’s arena in the Hunter’s Nightmare, we encounter something that no other boss in the game receives: a spoken introduction. A bloodied corpse speaks to us, warning of the approaching monster. “An unsightly beast... A great terror looms! Ahh... Ludwig the Accursed is coming. Have mercy... Have mercy upon us…”

Note the nature of this dialogue. The corpse is warning us of Ludwig’s approach. He says “Ludwig the Accursed is coming.” This text and From Software’s decision to include this sort of a boss introduction scene seems to be modeled off of the first paragraph of Henley’s poem titled “Clinical,” which is dedicated in its entirety to Joseph Lister. And just like the introduction of Ludwig, which speaks of this oncoming, looming figure, Clinical begins with the approach of the intimidating chief surgeon. Through the corridor’s echoes, Louder and nearer Comes a great shuffling of feet. Quick, every one of you, Strighten your quilts, and be decent! Here’s the Professor.

Although Lister would become one of the most influential and transformative figures in the history of surgical practice, he wasn’t without his critics during his lifetime. Among them were his Scottish contemporary James Young Simpson, as well as American surgeon Samuel Gross. We saw Gross and his assistants in action in the previous video, in the painting by Thomas Eakins, titled Gross Clinic. Unlike Lister and his surgical assistants who practiced with great attention to cleanliness and disinfection, Gross roundly rejected Lister’s antiseptic method. He, and many other physicians, didn’t put any stock into the germ theory of disease, which Lister had embraced after studying the work of French scientist Louis Pasteur. This context allows us to understand Ludwig’s dialogue after the player has defeated him, assuming we’re wearing church attire. Ludwig asks us: “Tell me, good hunter of the Church, Have you seen the light? Are my Church Hunters the honorable Spartans I hoped they would be?”

Whether we answer yes or no, Ludwig mentions his critics. If we say yes, he responds, “Ah, good...that is a relief. To know I did not suffer such denigration for nothing.” If we say no, he responds, “Oh, my. Just as I feared. Then a beast-possessed degenerate was I, as my detractors made eminently clear.”

Before we finish with Ludwig, it’s important to jump back to Ludwig’s Holy Blade. There’s one other big takeaway. The item description tells us that the Healing Church workshop of Ludwig departed from the ways of Gehrman’s Old Hunter Workshop. This indicates to us that the character Gehrman, as the first hunter and founder of the Old Workshop, likely represents more primitive surgical techniques in the decades if not century prior to Joseph Lister. For a good while, I wondered whether Gehrman was supposed to mirror Sir Robert Liston, a legendary and at times infamous surgeon of Edinburgh who practiced in the decades before the arrival of anesthetics.

Liston, not to be confused with Joseph Lister, was a leading surgeon of the early 1800s and taught at the University of Edinburgh medical school where he mentored the next generation of surgeons including Joseph Lister and a man we’ll discuss in an upcoming video, James Young Simpson. Liston was known for his flamboyance, confidence and—most importantly—speed. Surgeries prior to the antiseptic method, and prior to Victorian anesthesia, had to be performed quickly if the patient were to stand any chance of survival. Death from blood loss of course was a significant concern, but infection was the major killer. The longer a wound remained open, the more likely it was to turn septic. Liston reportedly was able to amputate a leg within three minutes and reveled in the challenge. It’s perhaps no coincidence that an old hunter technique was quickening, as we see in the item, Old Hunter Bone. It improves the speed of the hunter. The item itself appears to be a femur that has been severed, as in an amputated leg. Looking at Gehrman’s weapon, the Burial Blade, we naturally see a scythe that he uses to behead the player-character in the so-called “Yharnam Sunrise” ending. But the artwork for the Burial Blade depicts the untricked weapon’s handle as the bones of the lower leg. It’s supposed to look like a limb that’s been amputated, a Liston special. Also note that the Old Hunter Trousers contain a double belt wrapped around the leg to prevent beast blood from creeping up the leg. It’s also meant to depict a tourniquet belt that would’ve limited blood loss during an amputation.

I now believe that this is just supposed to link Gehrman with the old surgeons who would have performed amputations, not necessarily Robert Liston in specific. There are a few reasons why I changed my mind on this relationship, which I’ll discuss in the final videos of this series.

In the next video, we’ll take a closer look at the village of Hemwick. Although Hemwick and its charnel lane are often overlooked for their lore significance, we’ll see how they strongly reinforce Bloodborne’s connection to the work of William Ernest Henley. The village of Hemwick is not what it seems.

Welcome to the Cursed Land. The moon is close. It will be a long hunt tonight... Hidden amongst the furthest reaches of the treacherous eastern mountains, this city lies in seclusion. Forgotten. Cursed. An affliction has cursed the city for countless ages, an endemic nightmare known only as the Scourge of the Beast. Those afflicted by this sickness lose all sense of reason, transforming into what can only be described as beasts. Night after night, “hunters” arise to cleanse the streets of these horrors.

Introducing Bloodborne, action RPG from renowned Japanese developer FromSoftware, makers of the hit Demon's Souls and Dark Souls series, exclusively on the PlayStation®4 system. Face your fears as you search for answers in the ancient city of Yharnam, now cursed with a strange endemic illness spreading through the streets like wildfire. Danger, death and madness lurk around every corner of this dark and horrific world, and you must discover its darkest secrets in order to survive. A Terrifying New World: Journey to a horror-filled gothic city where deranged mobs and nightmarish creatures lurk around every corner. Strategic Action Combat: Armed with a unique arsenal of weaponry, including guns and saw cleavers, you'll need wits, strategy and reflexes to take down the agile and intelligent enemies that guard the city's dark secrets. A New Generation of Action RPG: Stunningly detailed gothic environments, atmospheric lighting, and advanced new online experiences showcase the power and prowess of the PlayStation(R)4 system. Ever-changing Chalice Dungeons to Explore: Use holy chalices to gain entrance to a network of vast underground ruins, filled with traps, beasts, and rewards, to explore and conquer. These generated dungeons offer brand new challenges to master, and can be uploaded or shared with friends.	Current Wiki Schedule Adding datamined Rally values to each weapon's attack in Attacks Properties. Incorporating info into the PvP techniques page from Tech Guide 2 video by SK. Checking server erased glyphs in Caryll Runes (done) and Chalice Glyphs pages. Weekly Maintenance: checking for broken links, going page by page (now 1021) for fact checks, typos, grammar errors and design updates.
	Recently Updated Pages Vitality Endurance Bloodtinge Arcane Offensive Stats Level Stats Old Hunter Bone Blood Echoes Insight Strength Skill	Most Visited Pages Best Blood Gems Setups Chalice Dungeons Flow Chart Individual Blood Gems Old Hunter Summons Top-tier Farmable Gem Chalices The Old Hunters Modded Save Save-editing Chalice Dungeons HUD Icons Data Mining Progression Guide Guidance

Need more beginner tips or want to uncover Chalice Dungeons visit FAQs section. If you want to learn more about what means what on your screen and game mechanics go to Game Mechanics section. Bloodborne does not allow manual saves. Any time something happens, the game will auto-save. The game will also periodically auto-save even when nothing is going on.

Strength Equipment Requirements

Requirement	Weapons	Requirement	Firearms	Requirement	Shield & Torches
6		6		6	Torch, Hunter's Torch
7	Blade of Mercy, Threaded Cane, Saw Spear	7	Hunter Pistol, Hunter Blunderbuss, Fist of Gratia	7
8	Reiterpallasch, Saw Cleaver, Simon's Bowblade	8		8	Wooden Shield
9	Hunter Axe, Beasthunter Saif, Church Pick	9	Ludwig's Rifle, Evelyn, Piercing Rifle	9
10	Rifle Spear, Chikage, Burial Blade, Rakuyo	10	Repeating Pistol	10
11	Beast Cutter	11		11	Loch Shield
12	Tonitrus	12		12
14	Beast Claw, Bloodletter, Boom Hammer	14		14
16	Kirkhammer, Ludwig's Holy Blade, Holy Moonlight Sword	16		16
17	Amygdalan Arm	17		17
18	Stake Driver, Whirligig Saw	18		18
20	Logarius' Wheel	20		20
27		27	Church Cannon	27
28		28	Gatling Gun	28
30		30	Cannon	30

Arcane Equipment Scaling

Weapon	Scaling Base (+0)	Scaling (+1)	Scaling (+2)	Scaling (+3)	Scaling (+4)	Scaling (+5)	Scaling (+6)	Scaling (+7)	Scaling (+8)	Scaling (+9)	Scaling Max (+10)
Amygdalan Arm	D	C	B	B	B	B	B	B	B	A	A

Bloodtinge Equipment Scaling

Weapon	Scaling Base (+0)	Scaling Max (+10)		+0	+1	+2	+3	+4	+5	+6	+7	+8	+9	+10
Bloodletter	B	S	Detail ►	B	B	B	B	A	A	A	A	A	A	S
Cannon	E	D	Detail ►	E	E	E	E	E	E	D	D	D	D	D
Evelyn	B	S	Detail ►	B	B	B	A	A	A	A	S	S	S	S
Gatling Gun	E	D	Detail ►	E	E	E	E	E	E	E	D	D	D	D
Hunter Blunderbuss	D	A	Detail ►	D	C	C	B	B	B	B	A	A	A	A
Hunter Pistol	D	A	Detail ►	D	D	D	C	C	B	B	B	B	B	A
Chikage	C	S	Detail ►	C	B	B	B	B	A	A	A	A	A	S
Church Cannon	E	D	Detail ►	E	E	E	E	D	D	D	D	D	D	D
Ludwig's Rifle	E	D	Detail ►	E	E	E	E	D	D	D	D	D	D	D
Piercing Rifle	D	A	Detail ►	D	D	D	C	C	B	B	B	A	A	A
Reiterpallasch	E	D	Detail ►	E	E	E	E	E	D	D	D	D	D	D
Repeating Pistol	D	B	Detail ►	D	D	C	C	C	B	B	B	B	B	B
Simon's Bowblade	C	S	Detail ►	C	B	B	B	B	A	A	A	A	A	S

An unmodified retail copy of Bloodborne runs on the Playstation 4 at 1080p resolution, and targets a frame rate of thirty frames per second. Although the game is fully playable and supported on the more powerful PS4 Pro and Playstation 5 consoles, performance remains locked to that of the Playstation 4. The game's performance targets can be unlocked through the use of patches created by Lance McDonald, which can be installed on Playstation 4 systems that have unofficially modified firmware. This allows for Bloodborne to be run at a much faster and smoother sixty frames per second, but at the cost of reducing the game's resolution to 720p. While Lance McDonald's patches can also allow the game to target sixty frames per second while retaining its 1080p resolution, the Playstation 4 lacks the necessary processing power to make this a feasible way to play Bloodborne. It is, however, possible to achieve this performance target using the superior processing power of the Playstation 5. The YouTube channel Digital Foundry has access to footage of Bloodborne running at both 1080p and sixty frames per second on a modified Playstation 5 that is using the patch created by Lance McDonald. This cannot presently be accomplished using a retail PS5, as the necessary firmware patches and cracks are not available. Performance remains smooth and consistent when running the game like this on Playstation 5 hardware, with encounters notorious for causing performance issues, such as the particle effect-heavy Blood-starved Beast fight, almost never dropping below sixty frames per second. The only instance of noticeable dropped frames occurred in the encounter with the Suspicious Beggar's Abhorrent Beast form, although Digital Foundry clarified that, as the footage was not recorded by them, it is possible the dropped frames were a glitch caused by the recording itself.

While the frame rate can be increased through patches, Bloodborne's native resolution remains capped at 1080p, even on Playstation 5 hardware. This inspired Digital Foundry to create a hypothetical demonstration of what Bloodborne running at an upscaled 4k resolution of 3840 x 2160 pixels. The project use Topaz Video Enhance AI, which contains multiple AI models that produce different results. Using an AI to upscale Bloodborne caused a number of issues that are normally present during AI upscaling, due to Bloodborne's heavy use of antialising, specular aliasing, and chromatic aberration. This results in an image with a lot of visual "noise" and unnatural lighting that AI upscalers are not used to dealing with, and required a large amount of tweaking to produce a clearer image. Digital Foundry ultimately upscaled approximately forty minutes of footage to 4k, and presented it side by side with the original 1080p capture. The resulting footage looks much smoother and lacks obvious pixelation, but also softens the details on some textures, making them appear less distinct. According to Digital Foundry, it is unlikely that Bloodborne could ever run at a resolution above 1080p, as it was built specifically for the Playstation 4 and cannot simply be patched to run differently on the Playstation 5. A complete overhaul of the game would be required to have the game run natively in 4k, in which case a complete remake, similar to the 2021 remake of Demon's Souls, is a more likely outcome.

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.

Basic Information

This page contains embedded praske's spreadsheet of bosses and enemies values for Main Story and Old Hunters Expansion.

Use D-Pad Left and Right buttons (click into the spreadsheet) if you want to move table for more stats.

All bosses and enemies are sorted by their names alphabetically.