Movement

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page revision: 15, last edited: 02 July 2017

Pressing circle while holding a direction on the analog stick will cause you to roll or quickstep. If you are locked-on to the enemy, you will quickstep, and you'll roll if you are not locked-on. There's no major difference between rolling and quickstepping.

During the middle of your roll or quickstep, you'll be invincible. The period of time in which you can't be hurt is called your "invincibility frames," or "iframes." You may instinctively want to dodge away from enemy attacks, but in many cases it's actually better to dodge through them thanks to your invincibility! This minimizes the time that you spend in contact with the enemy's attack and moves you into a better position.

Rolling and quickstepping costs 10 points of stamina. With shields being extremely unreliable in Bloodborne, this is your primary defensive technique. Aggressive play is good, but always try to save a bit of stamina to escape after your attacks.

If you just press circle without pressing a direction on the left analog stick, your character will perform a short backstep. This backstep has no invincibility frames at all. On the other hand, if you hold back on the left analog while pressing circle, you'll perform a longer backstep, and it will have the invincibility frames of a normal roll! Either way, your backstep will cost 10 points of stamina.

So why would you ever use the short backstep? The main reason to do so is that you can perform special R1 and R2 attacks from the short backstep, and sometimes these moves are very useful. Attacking from the long backstep is just like attacking from a frontstep. Look at your chosen weapon's attack multipliers carefully and decide if using the short backstep is worthwhile. Both short and long backsleps have the same stamina cost; it's usually better to use the long one and have the invincibility frames.

Hold circle while moving to dash instead of walking. This will drain your stamina, but dashing is much faster than walking. This is a critical movement technique in Bloodborne. The enemies are all fast and aggressive, so staying mobile is vital for survival. You can perform special Dashing Attacks by pressing R1 or R2 while dashing.

You can also jump by pressing circle while dashing. It's tricky at first, but you need to hold circle to dash and then quickly let go and press it again to jump. The command can be awkward, but jumping can let you take some very interesting shortcuts in some areas. Be warned that this will fail if you are very low on stamina. Also note that you can run in circles to build up speed for a jump.

When fighting against other players, attacks that are fast and cover a lot of ground are very useful Dashing attacks, in particular, are great against human opponents. They're quick and hard to react to; unfortunately, the enemy can see them coming easily if you just dash forward. Luckily, there is a way to start a dash without it being obvious.

Lock-on to the enemy, hold down the circle button, and strafe to the side. Just before you want to attack, begin moving forward and then quickly press the attack button. If done with proper timing, the enemy won't even see your character begin dashing before the attack starts!

Pressing UP and R2 at the same time will prompt you to leap forth and deliver a jump attack. The main point for this technique is its long range; be careful, though, as you'll be wide-open if you miss! Judge the distance carefully and use good timing to surprise your enemy.

Falling short distances will not harm you, but if you fall too far you'll take damage. Falls from great heights will outright kill you.

When your character lands after falling a long way, there will be a moment where you can't move; you can avoid this by rolling or backstepping just as you land. Alternatively, you can perform a special plunging attack by pressing R1 while falling. Finally, the Beast Rune has a hidden effect that lessens fall damage; you can use this to your advantage if you want to literally get the drop on the enemy.