Bloodborne guide: final boss and treasure hunting

Our Bloodborne guide takes you through one last dungeon crawl before we face off against the ultimate big bad.

Bloodborne is about to end. There's just a little more optional dungeoneering to get through before we face off against - but you didn't really think I'd tell you, did you? Anyway, skip down to the next page if you don't want to do this last bit of treasure hunting - but trust me, it's worth it.

Before we go on, let's go back to the Mergo's Loft: Middle Lantern. Go outside and up the stairs on the left. Look on the right to spot a lift in the corner. Take it down, but jump off to land in an opening in the shaft part way down. Go down the hall here and you'll eventually come to a chest with an Infected Organ. Once you've grabbed it, go outside and run on past the nasty Brain Trust waiting for you when it turns its back.

There are two more Brain Trust enemies to avoid. Watch them carefully from the left side; when the nearest one moves to the right side of the bridge, sprint for the building ahead, popping a Sedative to deal with the inevitable Frenzy. Move away from the doorway in the next room to shield yourself from the gaze of the Brain Trust outside.

In this room you will need to face four Spiders with Human Faces (side note: oh for god's sake), who are best battled individually if you have the Pebbles handy. Once they're dead, go through the doorway and continue along the path into another room. There's a hole on the right here which you should avoid as you cross to the far end; pass through the doorway here to find and activate a lever. Go back now and fall through that hole.

Make your way back to the Mergo's Loft: Middle Lantern, and cross the bridge back towards the Micolash boss arena. Take the stairs on the left down, and then the following set of stairs, moving forwards out of the mist. Go down the circular stairs until you reach an intersection. First, go further down the stairs to fight a number of Tiny Gents and a Lady Gent, then grab a Moon Rune and some Sedatives.

Return to the intersection and take the right path - it was the left one when you were on your way down. Take this path until you run into the mist again; keep on straight ahead and down two flights of stairs in a row before turning right. Hug the left wall closely to spot a small passage, and open the gate here with the key you found after the Micolash battle.

Beyond the gate, follow the path around to collect a Madman's Knowledge and a Damp Bloodtinge Gem. Go up the stairs and you'll find four Great One's Wisdom items and an Arcane Damp Blood Gem.

Normally at this point you'd be instantly fried by a Brain on the left, but the lever you pulled moved it out of sight. Drop down into this area and grab a Blood Rock. You'll need this to upgrade a weapon to +10. Go through the opening and drop down to the bridge below to end up back in the castle.

Go up the stairs ahead and you'll end up in a big room. Look left to spot two Spiders. Look across to see a Brain Trust and a chest. Sneak around the Brain Trust and grab the Choir Bell out of the chest, then just quietly sneak on out of here again; there's no point fighting these fools.

Go back to the Mergo's Loft: Base Lantern and go further inside the castle. Take the lift up, then go down the stairs to that room with the holes in the floor. You'll see there's now a lift in the middle of the room. Get in and go down. It looks like there's no floor ehre, but you can walk. Go forth and find the Brain, and kill it; it doesn't fight back. You'll receive a Living String.

Now, I know I said this before, but this really is your last chance to go do anything else you need to do before you fight the final boss. When you're ready, go back to Hunter's Dream and we'll do what we need to do.

How to beat the final boss

Bloodborne ends where it began - arguably - in Hunter's Dream. Return here and don't mind the flames as you apply that Blood Chunk to your favourite +9 weapon to bring it to +10.

Speak to the Doll and she'l;l direct you to go have a chat with Gehrman, the NPC you met here earlier. You can find him behind the newly-opened gate at the end of this area.

Gehrman will offer you a choice. If you accept his offer, the game ends. Congratulations: that's ending one.

Assuming you refuse his proposal, you'll begin a battle with the final boss, who just happens to be:

Gehrman, the First Hunter

Oh my gosh the twists and turns. Gehrman, obviously, is a Hunter, which means you're in for a challenge.

You can use standard Hunter tactics on him; wait for him to attack, dodge forward, and counter-attack (one hit with a slow weapon, up to three with a quick one) before he gets away from you. You can also use the geometry to your advantage; if you manage to put his back against the wall, where he can't get away, you can hit him until your stamina is low.

Going on the offensive is your best bet here; that's what Bloodborne is all about. Don't let him put you on the backfoot and the defensive. Don't make this a fight for your survival; make it a fight for his.

Gehrman fights with a scythe which you almost certainly haven't seen before. Most of his attacks are three hit combos, and you can dodge forwards and through the last one to put yourself in a position to return the favour. Gehrman's attacks reach further than you're likely expecting, so be aware of that.

There's one attack in particular you should watch for; if he puts his scythe behind his back, pause for a half beat and then shoot him for a Countershot stun and Visceral Attack. If you fire too soon you'll just stagger him; not as cool. Firing too late is, uh, not great; it has no effect, and as you need to be quite close to get the Visceral Attack in, you leave yourself open to serious trouble. Better earlier than late.

At half health Gehrman swallows a Beast Blood Pellet, which makes him even deadlier: his attacks hit harder and he can teleport around the place. At this stage it is absolutely vital that you do not get caught on the geometry, so stay clear of the walls.

Gehrman also gets a new move and it is awful. If you see him jump into the air, dodge and dodge and dodge and dodge until it is over, as even the wind of his passage will damage you.

Honestly, this isn't that hard if you remain aggressive - and especially if you've been leveling to face Chalice Dungeons or the harder optional areas. When you win, you get the Old Hunter Badge.

Enjoy the ending, and then you'll be dropped right into New Game Plus. Congratulations! It is over!

Or, for some of you, it isn't. Well, well; someone's been a clever Hunter. Stay tuned for details of something extra special still to come.

Back to Bloodborne guide and walkthrough.