Bloodborne offers around twenty transformation weapons in its base game, along with those from the DLC The Old Hunters. Each weapon has two forms, a distinct moveset, and scalings that radically influence character builds. Choosing a weapon is not just about comparing raw damage numbers: it involves a playstyle, distance management, and an attack rhythm that shape the entire game.
Scalings and Character Build: What Really Determines a Weapon’s Power
Competitors often list weapons in order of preference without explaining why the same weapon can seem mediocre or overpowered depending on the build. The answer lies in the scalings, those letters (S, A, B, C, D, E) that indicate how much a character’s stat amplifies the weapon’s damage.
A weapon with a B scaling in Strength and D in Skill will reward a character who has invested heavily in Strength. Conversely, applying this weapon to an Arcane or Skill-focused build will yield disappointing results. Scaling matters more than base damage once the character is beyond level 50.
So-called “quality” weapons (which scale well in both Strength and Skill) offer appreciable versatility. Ludwig’s Blade, for example, benefits from a balanced dual scaling that makes it effective across a wide range of builds. In contrast, the Chikage derives its power from Bloodtinge, a stat that few players naturally invest in, making it a niche but formidable weapon in its context.
If you are looking for the weapon guide for Bloodborne with detailed locations, it complements the understanding of scalings to guide your initial choices.
Weapons from the DLC The Old Hunters: Access Sooner Than You Think
The DLC becomes accessible after defeating Vicar Amelia and obtaining the item that opens the Hunter’s Nightmare. Many guides suggest waiting until the end of the base game to venture there, but several weapons can be retrieved very early in this area, sometimes without facing any DLC bosses.
Weapons Obtainable Without Boss Fights
The Circular Saw can be found by descending from the lantern at the Nightmare Church and then jumping to the area under the blood river. A Strength-focused character can thus change weapons within the first minutes of the DLC, without any mandatory confrontation.
The Meat Cleaver and the Hunter’s Axe are also placed in the environment and can be retrieved by running through the areas, provided you know their locations. This accessibility makes them concrete options for an initial run in the DLC.
Weapons Locked Behind Major Obstacles
Not all weapons in the DLC follow this logic. Two cases illustrate the varying difficulty:
- The Holy Blade of Ludwig requires defeating Ludwig, the first boss of the DLC, a fight renowned as one of the most difficult in the game. This weapon with Arcane and physical scaling is often considered one of the best in the game, but it must be earned.
- The Rakuyo requires descending to the bottom of the well in the Fishing Village and eliminating two fish-men in a confined space. This optional fight is notoriously punishing, even for high-level characters.
- Other weapons depend on specific quest progressions, meaning a rushed player might miss them if they do not explore every nook and cranny of the DLC.
Starting Weapons in Bloodborne: A Choice That Shapes the First Ten Hours
At the beginning of the game, the player chooses between three weapons: the Hunter’s Saw, the Hunter’s Cleaver, and the Threaded Cane. This initial choice is significant, as access to other weapons requires either accumulating Blood Echoes or progressing through advanced areas.
The Hunter’s Saw remains the most recommended option for a first run. Its short form attacks quickly, its long form offers reach, and it deals bonus damage against beasts, which make up a large portion of the enemies in the first half of the game. This bonus, related to the “saw” type, does not appear in the displayed statistics, which misleads players who only compare numbers.
The Hunter’s Cleaver, in its transformed form, provides access to wide sweeping attacks that hit multiple enemies. On a Strength build, it becomes an effective crowd control tool. The Threaded Cane, more technical, shines in whip form for its considerable reach but requires an investment in Skill to perform well.
Blood Gems: The Hidden Damage Multiplier
The weapon itself is only part of the equation. Blood gems, inserted into the slots of each weapon, can dramatically increase damage. A decent weapon equipped with the right gems will outperform a theoretically superior weapon without gems.
The best gems come from maximum depth chalice dungeons, an endgame content that many players overlook. Physical percentage gems are the most versatile and suit the majority of non-elemental weapons. Elemental gems (fire, lightning, arcane) radically transform a weapon’s behavior by replacing its physical damage with elemental damage, which nullifies Strength and Skill scalings in favor of Arcane.
This system means that a weapon like the Hunter’s Saw, available from the start, remains viable until the very end of the game if properly gemmed. No weapon in Bloodborne becomes obsolete with the appropriate investment in gems and levels.
Choosing a weapon in Bloodborne is as much about gameplay feel as it is about numerical optimization. A player who enjoys the fast pace of the Repeating Pistol will derive no pleasure from the Kirkhammer, even if the latter has higher raw damage. Testing multiple options, including those from the DLC that can be retrieved without boss fights, remains the best way to find the weapon that suits one’s style.
