Bloodborne: 5 Tips For Fighting Gehrman (& 5 For Fighting The Moon Presence)
Most players know what to expect when they start a FromSoftware Souls-like game. They are full of frustrating enemies, cool items and weapons, and more than a few infuriating boss fights. 2015's Bloodborne was no exception to this trend, especially in the "infuriating boss" department.
Two of Bloodborne's most infuriating bosses come at the very end—like, the very, very end. They are Gehrman, The First Hunter and the curséd Moon Presence, and both are harder than a barrel of diamonds. So, to any players brave enough to face these foes in battle, here few tips and tricks to help even the odds.
10 Gehrman: Get A +10 Weapon
In order to beat Gehrman, players are really going to want to bring a +10 weapon to the fight. He is fast and he doesn't allow players to rack up damage by piling on hits, so it's best to make each and every hit count. But, if players really want to make this fight easier on themselves, they'll come in wielding a heavy +10 weapon like the Hunter's Axe—even though some aren't huge fans of this weapon.
Heavy weapons and strength builds can charge up their attack while backstabbing, initiating a huge knockback effect and opening a window to deal damage. While it's not the only strategy to defeat the first hunter, it is definitely one of the more dependable.
9 Gehrman: Use Your Firearms And Bring a Few Blood Vials
Another way to deal dependable damage to Gehrman is to interrupt his gnarly scythe swings using trusty firearms and visceral attacks. The Blunderbuss and Hunter's pistol are great options for this battle, and players who have invested in their blood tinge stat will feel their hard work pay off here. Not all of his attacks are vulnerable to interruption, however, and, if the scythe goes back vertically, it's best to beware.
Players might also want to stock up on all the blood vials they can carry, as they will be healing a lot, and, if they want to stock up on extra silver bullets and molotov cocktails, that wouldn't be such a horrible idea.
8 Gehrman: Watch Out For When He Glows
There's a rule that of thumb that can be used in pretty much any video game throughout the history of mankind: whenever a boss starts glowing, it's best to stay on your toes. Gehrman is a prime example of this rule, as, about halfway through the fight, he begins glowing green.
When Gehrman glows, regular attacks no longer stagger him, interrupting his attacks with firearms becomes impossible, he is much harder to knockback, he will use an AOE attack that can kill in one shot, and he will be even more aggressive than he was before. In this stage, it's best to just keep dodging and resist the urge to attack more than twice before getting ready to evade.
7 Gehrman: Dodge Forward
Especially in the later stages of this battle, Gehrman unleashes a diverse portfolio of fast, incredibly damaging attacks, some of which have a wide area of effect. In almost all of these instances, it is advisable for the player to dodge towards Gehrman as opposed to away.
Dodging forward is the safest way to avoid the blast radius of his AOE attacks, especially the one where he swings and blows up the ground in front of him, and it sets the player up to get in a hit before getting to dodge the next swipe.
6 Gehrman: Don't Get Greedy
There are many times in this fight when Gehrman will stand still. There are also many times in the early stages of this fight where players will stagger him and try to land a large combo. In both of these cases, players are setting themselves up to get absolutely wrecked.
Whenever Gehrman is attacked while standing still, he will initiate his AOE one-shot kill attack. Whenever players get too greedy and try to land too many hits, he will use his lightning speed to recover and swing that scythe like there's no tomorrow. Regardless of his actions, players should stay mobile, avoid walls, and don't try to hit him too many times in a row.
5 Moon Presence: How To Unlock
The lore of Bloodborne is pretty gnarly, as evidenced by the way players have to unlock this hidden, final boss. They must consume three pieces of Umbilical Cord before fighting Gehrman, and then, after defeating the first hunter, they will be treated to a battle with this awful squid-like manifestation of the blood moon.
The Umbilical Cord pieces themselves are not too hard to find. Players can find one after defeating Mergo's wet-nurse, one in the abandoned old workshop, one after killing Arianna's baby in the Tom of Oedon or killing Arianna herself in Iosefka Clinic after killing Micolash, and one dropped by Iosefka herself—or potentially Iosefka's imposter—if players kill her after defeating Rom the Vacuous Spider.
4 Moon Presence: Dodge Behind
The Moon Presence, like many large bosses of this stature, cannot be parried interrupted. Plus, it's attacks are wide, sweeping, and do quite a lot of damage. Luckily, there's a classic strategy that can save the day: dodging behind. If players simply dodge behind the Moon Presence while it's swinging its limbs, they can actually deal a surprisingly large amount of damage.
If they manage to already be behind the moon presence when it flashes red—more on that in a moment—they might find that the fight is shorter than they imagined.
3 Moon Presence: Get A +10 Weapon
It should come as no surprise that this boss fight will also be much less infuriating with a +10 weapon. However this fight doesn't benefit from having a giant axe or mace. No, this battle is a simple matter of needing to deal a lot of damage as quickly as possible. But, some players may not even know how to unlock a +10 weapon, so here's a quick, jumbled guide on how to do so:
In order to get a blood rock, the item that lets players upgrade a weapon to +10, players will need to travel to Mergo's Loft: Middle Lantern, and head up the stairs to the left. There, after taking a lift, jumping off said lift into an opening, dealing with brain trusts and spiders, pulling a lever to lower a brain, going back to Mergo's Loft: Middle Lantern, returning to where they fought Micolash, going down a bunch of stairs, and fighting Tiny Gents and a Lady Gent, players will be able to find a blood rock and upgrade their weapon.
2 Moon Presence: Wreak Havoc At The Red Flash
Similar to glowing, red flashes also tend to be bad news. The Moon Presence's red flash fits the mold, as, upon this flash, all of the player's health will be drained. However, this red flash is also an opportunity, as the Moon Presence will be vulnerable to a truly extensive combo.
On top of this vulnerability, players will also earn back their health with each strike landed, so this is a rare opportunity to simply mash the attack button.
1 Moon Presence: Don't Reinvent The Wheel
Despite being the final, hidden boss of Bloodborne, the Moon Presence is far from the most difficult fight in the game. If players properly equip themselves for Gehrman, stick to their skills, and follow the very simple strategies laid out above, they should finish this incredibly difficult game with a slightly uncharacteristic sense of ease.
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