[Top 10] Best Bloodborne Bosses We Love Beating

Updated:

26 Nov 2021

As you progress through many areas in Bloodborne, you’ll notice that enemies will become progressively more dangerous. This is because the game naturally has to increase the difficulty as you play, and the ultimate tests of difficulty are the bosses, extremely powerful enemies that require strategy and skill to defeat. Bloodborne has some of the most difficult bosses out there, and this article will cover some of the best bosses in the game and why we like to go toe to toe with them again and again. This list will also cover some of the bosses from the Old Hunters DLC.

10. Vicar Amelia

Vicar Amelia is a high-ranking member of the Healing Church, who succumbs to the beastly scourge to become a terrifying behemoth of a wolf-beast. She is definitely the first real test of skill for many players, but she is also a classic Bloodborne boss. In terms of gaming practicality, Vicar Amelia is quite a simple boss with a straightforward moveset and an excellent aesthetic, which makes it a pleasure to fight her even after the first time. The fight is quite fun and defeating her is satisfying. As a player gets more experience, they will employ different tactics to slay the beast, such as limb breaks and stun locking. Nonetheless, Amelia is a timeless boss worthy of respect.

9. Ebrietas, Daughter of the Cosmos

This is one of my top 3 favorite bosses in the game. Ebrietas is almost the ultimate representation of the extreme nature of the Great Ones in Bloodborne. She is a completely different concept from other beastlike bosses, and fighting her makes you feel like you’re fighting a primordial, alien force. In terms of combat, she uses various flailing tentacle attacks when you’re close, as well as a charge, lasers, blood spewing, and an AOE attack that gives her a damaging aura. Taking her on when you’re supposed to feels like a real challenge and I absolutely love fighting her every playthrough. The giant noodle face is awesome and many other players love her! She is a Great One and weak to Bolt and Thrusting damage.

8. Shadows of Yharnam

The dark Shadows guarding the secrets of Byrgenwerth are a trio of very aggressive enemies that employ the use of maces, swords, and pyromancy. Usually this is one of the most difficult fights in the game for new players, so you might end up dying more than you intend to do. The tricky part of the fight is keeping an eye on each Shadow and coordinating your attacks so that you don’t get hit by any of their overlapping attacks. The thing that makes this boss very fun to play against is the need for perfect execution. As you master the fight, however, you’ll find that playing defensively and choosing your attacks wisely will come almost as second nature… until the giant snakes roll in and you lose all hope for progress :(

7. Darkbeast Paarl

More often than not, players will kill the Blood-Starved Beast and routinely fall prey to the Kidnappers that spawn in Cathedral Ward when you progress towards Amelia. Don’t look at me like that, I know you know the feeling. Anyway, if one is to die to the Kidnappers, they’ll be transported to a limited version of Yahar’Gul, the Unseen Village, which is frankly terrifying for someone who isn’t expecting it. If you roam around, you’ll find Eye Collectors, enemies, a weird nun and a hole in the wall slightly bigger than your character. As you move through the hole, you’ll find Darkbeast Paarl, sleeping. The fight itself is trivialized by targeting his limbs specifically, but, if you choose to fight him properly, the fight is more like a dance... with the real boss being the camera. If you know you know.

6. Martyr Logarius

Martyr Logarius is the crusty old dude sitting in a throne near the end of the Cainhurst area. This boss has my preference for the coolest introduction cutscene in the base game, simply because it’s so ominous. The fight itself is quite fun, since you have to dodge his volleys of magic and relentless sword/scythe attacks, all while trying to be careful not to fall off of the roof. This is definitely one of the fights that never gets old, seeing as the boss doesn’t really have a cheese tactic to take advantage of. You fight him, or you die. The added fun element is all of the lore that he carries, hiding Queen Annalise behind his throne. You go through the entire game reading items and lore mentioning the martyr, but later you find out that he’s an actual boss, and that’s awesome.

5. Father Gascoigne

Here we come to one of the toughest bosses a player will fight when just starting out. Father Gascoigne is the type of challenge that tests your basic grasp of how the game works, since he is easily punished by parries and counter attacks, as well as items. He is very aggressive, so fighting him is almost akin to a dance, and it’s extremely satisfying to finally defeat him. He also serves as a great introduction to the basic premise of the game: you will be fighting people, as well as the result of the scourge on the very same people, which gives you a better attachment to the characters in general.

4. Ludwig the Accursed/Holy Blade

The next 4 bosses are the hardest in the game, objectively. And there in no better way to start than with the absolutely terrifying abomination that is Ludwig the Accursed. You find his arena at the end of the river of blood, a corpse pile of still-writhing victims. His cutscene introduces him as a great terror, looming over the lives of everyone present. The fight in general is insane, since Ludwig’s behavior is unpredictable at best. As soon as the player enters the arena, he will already be on them, biting, slashing, slamming, jumping, anything you can think of. The closest thing he can be compared to is a feral animal, with only the intent to kill. When you eventually whittle him down to 50% HP, a cutscene will play, showing him regaining sanity and equipping the Holy Moonlight Sword. This is one of the most perfect boss fights you can find in games because the combination of a feral monster, the recollection of sanity, the drastic change in behavior is a flawless representation of what the Hunt can do to a Hunter.

3. Lady Maria of the Astral Clocktower

The corpse sitting in the chair in the Astral Clocktower is indeed, better left alone. Lady Maria is a master combatant with years of experience slaying beasts, and men alike. This fight will test your sanity, skill, and controller integrity. When starting the battle for the first time, you’ll notice that Lady Maria is quite reserved in her attacks, with a moveset that isn’t too hard to parry or avoid. As the fight progresses, however, she will have two more phases: one with long-range blood attacks, and the other boosting the blood attacks with more range, and fire! Some of her attacks are downright unfair, but can be dodged with much practice. She is extremely difficult to deal with, but doing so will grant you satisfaction and access to the nightmare of the Hamlet.

2. Laurence, the First Vicar

The only optional boss of the DLC, Laurence, the First Vicar is a monstrous, fiery Cleric Beast on steroids. As far as sheer offensive potential, Laurence has the most unique attacks out of any boss, so he is unpredictable, aggressive, and extremely stress-inducing. His aggression will force you to take a more calculated approach to killing him, since missing attacks or getting hit by him at a bad time is almost guaranteed to one-shot you. Trust me, I’ve been there. What makes Laurence fun is that he is unfair. Painfully unfair. His second phase has some of the most glitchy attacks you can find, which can hit you seemingly out of nowhere. That’s why, when you finally understand his moveset and defeat him, it feels like a weight is lifted from you.

1. Orphan of Kos

Now, I am going to stress that when it comes to difficulty, Laurence and the Orphan of Kos are very similar. However, due to the higher mobility and glitch-prone attacks, I’ll give the top spot to the Great One manchild. Some will tell you that this guy is the hardest boss in the Soulsborne series, but I can tell you that it isn’t the case. Most bosses are subjective in difficulty, it all depends on the player. The general consensus is that the Orphan is in league with the most difficult bosses in the series, such as Gael, Nameless King, or Isshin, the Sword Saint.

What makes him so hard to beat is his incredible aggression. He will not, in any circumstance, relent in attacking until you’re dead, and that goes double in his second phase. The second phase was some of the most mind-numbing stress I’ve had to go through, mainly because the bastard won’t stop jumping and slinging his projectiles at you, making it very hard to approach him. He encompasses all of the elements that make a good boss, from his attacks, to his movement, to his phases. Everything about the Orphan fight is basically peak FromSoftware, and it shows. This is why defeating the Orphan of Kos is one of the most satisfying feats you can achieve in the game.