Image: FromSoftware
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Reviewed by Benjamin Barr
Fans of FromSoftware’s legendary action RPG series, Dark Souls, are no doubt also familiar with their Victorian gothic horror game, Bloodborne. This PS4-exclusive Japanese RPG has many of the same hallmarks FromSoftware games are known for, but it also has several unique features that give it its own identity even through the best weapons in bloodborne.
One of the biggest things that players have praised is the action-forward gameplay that rewards more aggressive behavior than Dark Souls and its sequels typically allow. Several of the weapons are designed with this new approach in mind — including adding guns to the off-hand — but which are the best?
We’ve gone through every weapon in Yharnam to make this list of the best weapons in Bloodborne. Let’s get started!
20 Most Powerful Weapons in Bloodborne Ranked
Are you ready to wake from the hunter’s dream? It’s time to list all the most powerful weapons in Bloodborne!
20. Beast Cutter
Location: Nightmare Grand Cathedral
Starting off our list of the best weapons in Bloodborne is the Beast Cutter. This savage sword looks like half the jawbone of a dinosaur strapped to a windy grip, sporting a long row of jagged teeth along one side.
It’s a trick weapon introduced as part of The Old Hunters expansion. It’s more or less the strength-based equivalent of the Threaded Cane. We like the Beast Cutter for its long range, stagger, and massive arc, which all add up to one of the game’s best PVE weapons. As the name suggests, its serrated edge also makes it particularly useful against beast-type enemies.
19. Kirkhammer
Location: Purchased from the Messengers
What if instead of drawing the sword from the stone, Arthur just picked up Excalibur, stone and all, and started smashing in his enemies’ skulls with it? That’s basically the Kirkhammer.
It’s a trick weapon with two forms. It starts as a slim, silver sword, but it transforms into a massive stone hammer with the original sword’s hilt sticking out of the pommel. The sword version is considered a Righteous Weapon, meaning it does an extra 50% damage to “enemies of the Healing Church.” The transformed hammer version doesn’t have this bonus, but it has great stagger and decent AOE in exchange.
18. Bloodletter
Location: Underground Prison
I hope you’ve got your tetanus shot — next up on our list is the Bloodletter! It’s another trick weapon from The Old Hunters expansion, so its starting form is a little lackluster compared to the finished product. It starts as a one-handed mace that transforms into a massive, two-handed morning star. This thing looks like someone wrapped twenty railroad spikes in rusty barbed wire and welded them onto a bowling ball, which they then welded onto a staff.
It deals massive bloodtinge damage when transformed. The catch? The transformation comes at the cost of your character’s health.
17. Cannon
Location: Forbidden Woods
One of the big changes Bloodborne made from the Souls games was dropping shields in favor of guns in the off-hand. Guns are your main tools for parrying and creating openings to attack enemies with your melee weapon. Alternatively, you could just blast enemies with a literal cannon instead.
The Cannon is just what it sounds like — a large, silver barreled cannon that looks like you wrested it off the side of Blackbeard’s ship. It’s one of three strength-based firearms in the game and one of only two that use explosive projectiles. It’s handy against giant bosses, but it uses twelve Quicksilver Bullets per shot, making it wildly impractical for most basic gameplay.
16. Kos Parasite
Location: Orphan of Kos (drop)
Want to use a living parasite that will turn you into a nightmarish fungus monster like something out of The Last of Us? Good news. You can! Kos Parasite is yet another trick weapon added in The Old Hunters DLC. It starts as a big, nasty tentacle on your right arm and transforms into a multitude of tentacles you can dual-wield — fun!
It can cast a multi-hitting arcane attack in exchange for two Quicksilver Bullets and has some of the best stagger in the game. You won’t be winning any beauty contests, though.
15. Beast Claw
Location: Ailing Loran Chalice or bought from the Messengers
Speaking of arms with a unique aesthetic, the Beast Claw is next up on our list of the best weapons in Bloodborne. This trick weapon consists of a pair of old, withered bones held together with some linen, but the transformed mode shifts your arms into giant, bestial claws like those of the very werewolves you’ve been battling.
The starting form of the Beast Claw acts like a basic claw weapon, but the real power is unleashed when you go into beast mode. This makes your attacks both more powerful and incredibly fast.
14. Tonitrus
Location: Purchase from the Messengers
Looking for one of the best arcane weapons in Bloodborne? Allow me to introduce you to the Tonitrus. This trick weapon’s inventory picture might just look like a regular mace, but that ball at the end lights up like a Tesla coil as soon as you tap L1.
The Tonitrus is the only weapon in the game that can use bolt damage without using special items like Bolt Paper or Blood Gems. It’s good for both strength/arcane and pure arcane builds since it hits like a truck, and that bolt damage can light up your enemies like Christmas.
13. Churchpick
Location: The Hunter’s Nightmare
Like the Kirkhammer, the Churchpick is another trick weapon handed down from the Healing Church. It starts out looking like a tiny lance, but it can transform into a wicked-looking lance/scythe combo.
One of the really cool things about this weapon is that it gets a boost both for being righteous like the Kirkhammer and serrated like the Beast Cutter. It has excellent range and is especially useful against enemies who are weak to thrust attacks, like the Brain Sucker or Celestial Mob.
12. Boom Hammer
Location: The Hunter’s Nightmare
Next up is another trick weapon from The Old Hunters expansion. With a name like Boom Hammer, you know it’s going to be good. It’s a little more industrial looking than some of the other weapons on this list, with a massive, steel meat tenderizer for a head and some very sharp-looking blades coming off the back.
This hammer isn’t just good for smashing, though. Transforming it also sets the head ablaze, adding fire damage to your next swing. This costs roughly double the stamina, but it’s useful for fights where you really need to make each hit count. Adding fire to your slam attack also adds some wicked AOE.
11. Blade of Mercy
Location: Purchase from the Messengers
The Blade of Mercy isn’t as flashy as some of the other weapons on this list. It is a trick weapon, but the only real trick is that it can split into two. So how did it make number eleven on our list? Well, in its split form, these blades are incredibly fast. R1 attacks actually speed up as you use them, so a skilled player can whittle down an enemy’s health in no time.
This is the blade(s) you’ll want if you’re thinking about doing a traditional rogue/assassin build. Get behind your target and chip away at them with lightning speed.
10. Burial Blade
Location: Purchase from the Messengers
You’ll have to beat the game if you want to get your hands on this beauty. You can only buy it from the Messengers after defeating Gehrman, the First Hunter, one of the three possible final bosses in the game. The Burial Blade starts as a curved sword and transforms into a scythe that would make the Grim Reaper himself proud.
It has some truly impressive crowd control capabilities due to its long range and the wide arc of its swing. This reaches its maximum potential with its R2 attack, which has one of the longest attack ranges in the game and can even send a few bosses flying!
9. Saw Cleaver
Location: Starting weapon from the Messengers
The Saw Cleaver is one of the three starting melee weapons you get to choose from the Messengers at the beginning of the game. It doesn’t have as much power as the Hunter Axe, but it’s much faster, and its extended form gives it plenty of reach. It is a large, folded saw blade wrapped in strips of linen, which flips out like a pocket knife into a two-handed weapon.
It’s also classified as a serrated weapon, making it ideal for fighting the beast-type enemies that hang around the starting area.
8. Threaded Cane
Location: Starting weapon from the Messengers
If you’re going for a dexterity build, you’re definitely going to want to start with the Threaded Cane. Not only is it the best starter for that playstyle, it’s actually one of the best Dex weapons in the game. It’s a trick weapon that starts as a silver cane and can transform into a vicious, barbed whip.
One of the best things about it is that its cane form is classified as a Righteous Weapon while its whip form is considered a Serrated weapon. This gives it a 20% bonus to two different enemy types so long as you match the form accordingly.
7. Simon’s Bow Blade
Location: Fishing Hamlet
Are you a fan of projectiles? Simon’s Bowblade is a trick weapon from The Old Hunters DLC that starts as a one-handed sword and can transform into a large, silver recurve bow.
Each shot in bow form consumes one Quicksilver Bullet. It has “S” ranked scaling as both a skill and bloodtinge weapon (the blade does physical damage while the bow does bloodtinge damage). Being able to attack from range is valuable in a number of situations where you don’t want to get close to your enemies, but the blade holds its own in close quarters too. You can even snipe them from a distance by pairing the bow with the Monocular.
6. Rakuyo
Location: Fishing Hamlet
The Rakuyo is one of the best skill weapons in Bloodborne. It starts as a twin-bladed sword (think Darth Maul’s lightsaber), but it’s also an Old Hunters trick weapon that splits into a long saber in the primary hand and a parrying dagger in the off-hand.
This weapon is incredibly fast when joined together as each attack alternates between the two blades making for a tiny window between strikes. Using them in dual-wield mode is even more deadly. You can alternate thrusts for as long as your stamina allows, and the L2 button unleashes a deadly double-spin attack.
5. Holy Moonlight Sword
Location: The Hunter’s Nightmare
Not every weapon in the game looks like Kos Parasite or the Bloodletter. Some of them can actually be quite beautiful. The Holy Moonlight Sword is an Old Hunters trick weapon that transforms from a plain, one-handed silver sword to a two-handed greatsword with a blade that radiates blue-green light. It’s not all about the looks, though. There’s a reason it’s number five on our list of the most powerful Bloodborne weapons ranked.
The Holy Moonlight Sword has a 50% righteous bonus for all attacks and a 50%–70% arcane bonus, depending on which form you have it in. This thing is the beauty and the beast!
4. Whirligig Saw
Location: Near the Nightmare Church
The Whirligig Saw looks like someone bolted two circular saw blades to a staff. It transforms from a simple mace to what Fextralife describes as a “buzzsaw-on-a-stick.” Despite its inelegant design, however, it’s one of the best strength weapons in the game.
This monstrosity will rip through your enemies like nothing. It’s classified as serrated in its two-handed form, and pressing and holding L2 will unleash continuous buzzsaw attacks, stun-locking enemies for as long as your stamina holds out.
3. Evelyn
Location: Cainhurst Castle or Sold by the Messengers
As you might have noticed from our list so far, there aren’t a lot of guns that stand out as being particularly special. Most of them are fairly interchangeable with others of a similar type. The Evelyn is one notable exception.
It’s one of only three pistols in the game, and its stats blow both the Hunter Pistol and the Repeating Pistol out of the water. Not only does it have the highest bloodtinge scaling of any firearm in the game, it also gets the most bang-for-your-buck with each Quicksilver Bullet.
2. Chikage
Location: Purchase from the Messengers
Chikage is a katana that becomes a two-handed weapon when it’s “imbrued with blood.” This coats the blade in a thick layer of blood that seems to supernaturally extend its length.
It deals physical damage in its one-handed mode and blood damage when transformed. It’s one of the most powerful weapons in the game, with its blood-form scaling at “S” ranked bloodtinge, though there’s a risk to this mode as well. It drains you of roughly 0.85% HP per second. It also has a “quickdraw” attack you can use when transitioning between modes, which is completely unique.
1. Ludwig’s Holy Blade
Location: Purchase from the Messengers
Few weapons in Bloodborne compare to Ludwig’s holy blade. It’s a trick weapon that starts out as an ordinary broadsword and can turn into a massive, two-handed, silver greatsword that would be enough to make a Final Fantasy character nod their head in approval.
The ordinary one-handed version of the sword has good range and speed, while the extended version enhances the range and damage at the expense of speed. Both forms deal an additional 50% righteous damage. Ludwig’s Holy Blade isn’t the best weapon because it’s the best for any one build. It excels in every area.
The Hunt is On
Thank you for reading our list of the twenty most powerful Bloodborne weapons ranked. You might also enjoy our lists of Dark Souls III and Sekiro bosses ranked. Be sure to follow High Ground Gaming for more news, reviews, and lists like these.
Happy gaming!
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