In my last post, ‘You Died Part One’, I talked about some of the easiest Bloodborne bosses I’d faced on my first run through of the game. Now it’s time to talk about the hardest ones, the big bads that had me throwing my controller across the room and swearing angrily at the screen! Specifically, what follows is a countdown from the seventh hardest to the single most difficult in my first play through of the game.

 

7- Mergo’s Wet Nurse

The design of Mergo’s Wet Nurse is incredible. She wields six scythes with such flawless and flowing movement that I couldn’t help but be captivated by her elegance. I must admit that I was genuinely scared of this boss, I felt under-levelled and underprepared. For some players Mergo will be their final stand between the end of the game, yet once you study her attack patterns she becomes easy to read and she’s not too much of a threat. At around half way though the fight Mergo casts a spell and a dark purple mist falls upon the battlefield. It is here that I had my troubles with Mergo. Whilst still trying to deal damage to Mergo I now had to avoid her ghostly doppelganger who spawns beside me to deliver one attack and then simply vanishes once more. Mergo’s Wet Nurse is a fun fight and one of my favourites in the main game. For a potential end game boss though, the difficulty fell drastically which left a slightly disappointing taste in my mouth.

 

6- Amygdala

The Nightmare Frontier is an optional area of the game with a very annoying optional boss. With a humongous amount of health and high defense I was aghast when I saw I was only dealing damage to Amygdala’s tail as high as 11 or 12. Any attempts to attack her face were pointless as most of the time she holds it high above your Hunter. Once I found that attacking her hands was the way to go I was ecstatic! Unfortunately, due to Amygdala’s large size and long arms it’s almost impossible to get through this fight damage (and death) free. Timing is key in this fight and after many attempts I learnt the key to beating her; get enough damage on her head and she’ll fall, opening herself up for a visceral attack. Rinse and repeat and this fight is not as bad as it initially seems.

 

5 – Ebrietas Daughter of The Cosmos

Ebrietas is another Great One, locked up in the Upper Cathedral. This optional area is diverse and rather testing with two boss fights, this one being much harder than the fight against the Celestial Emissary. Ebrietas is one tricky boss. She uses both her massive body and frenzy attacks to whittle down the player’s health. Her headbutt attack killed me in one hit at least five times and her magic wielding abilities got me the other times I failed. The trick for Ebrietas is to stay close to her, for me this tactic worked out well and eventually granted me success. Yes, her tentacles will occasionally clip a quarter of your health, but she won’t charge at you from across the arena with her head bowed at great speed. It’s important not to get greedy in this battle, as you’ll be punished greatly. As well as being a Great One, The Daughter of the Cosmos is the only Great One who wants to coexist peacefully with humans. This made me feel like a monster for brutally slaughtering the only Great One who didn’t intent to hurt anyone.

 

4- Gehrman the First Hunter

After spending the entire game sitting down and counselling you during your Hunt, Gehrman the First Hunter becomes a potential end game boss. Hunter on hunter fights in Bloodborne are often exhilarating and coordinated with speed and grace. Gehrman is a real threat, with perfect counter attacks and a real determination to execute you. I found the only way to win this fight was to keep on the move. In a few encounters I found myself getting greedy and that’s where I died. Once Gehrman the First Hunter has been whittled down to half health, he gains boosted speed, shortens his weapon and pulls out a blunderbuss. At this stage he will also hold out his hands and stare at the sky, I mistakenly thought I had found a glitch and continued to stand next to him and attack away. This was not a glitch. I was obliterated in a massive AOE attack that killed me instantly. After that experience, I was more careful with my timing and after a ten-minute fight I executed The First Hunter.

 

3- Rom The Vacuous Spider

I never thought that a fat misshapen spider would cause me so many problems. I had heard rumours about Rom and therefore was apprehensive going into this boss fight. And wow it was a lot harder than I ever expected it to be. My first issue with Rom the Vacuous spider was her army of arachnids that she summons upon entering the fight. The spiders for me were my biggest issue. If you get trapped by a group of them they will stunlock you to death, if you stand still for too long you’ll be susceptible to a bombardment of attacks, and with the amount of damage these annoying arachnids do you, you don’t want that to happen. The second problem with Rom’s fight is Rom’s own magic. Her arcane blasts can come from both the sky and the ground underneath you, and are only avoidable if you sprint away from the boss you’re trying to defeat. Finally, the third thing I struggled with was Rom herself; every time you get close enough to her to get in a hit, she body slams you to the ground, taking most of your health at the same time. I hated fighting Rom. In the end my winning tactic was to run in with the cannon, take a shot and run away like a coward before her mass of spiders could take me out.

 

2- Martyr Logarius

With my main fear in the main game being users of arcane magic, I did not relish in the fact that I would have to fight Martyr Logarius. When I finally made it to the top of Cainhurst Castle I was nervous to say the least. Martyr Logarious was a real problem for me just as I suspected. With fast attacks, long ranging arcane moves and incredible speed I found myself either running away from his tracking attacks or running towards him just as he jumps to another part of the arena, hoping to get one or two hits in before running away in cowardice once again. After a few attempts of being careless with my health in an attempt to kill Logarious quickly I realised that my battle tactic would have to change to a more strategic one. I eventually killed this pesky boss after some numerous attempts but my experience was so harrowing that I don’t see myself hurrying back to Castle Cainhurst in future play throughs.

 

 1- Father Gascoigne

After an initial struggle with the first boss of the game, the Cleric Beast, I felt so triumphant and confident that I naively thought I would find the rest of the game a breeze. I was very wrong. After my first defeat to Father Gascoigne I simply brushed my death off as lack of knowledge and tried again. I had so much trouble with facing a boss as fast and as nimble as me and with little to no success in getting a parry I felt way over my head. My death counter stumbled into the tens and then the twenties with little improvement with each death. I really hated that a boss this early on in the game (the first mandatory boss) was so difficult. I had little problem in getting Gascoigne down to half health, but I just could not get past his Werewolf stage. I really did think that this would be all of Bloodborne that I would ever see because I just couldn’t get past him. On my thirty-fourth attempt (yes it really did take that long), and equipped with as many molotovs as I could hold I somehow managed to kill Father Gascoigne. I have never felt so relived in my entire life. Screw you Father Gascoigne, screw you.

 

So, what do you think? Let me know which Bloodborne boss you hated (or loved) the most! Stay tuned for my ranking of the DLC and Chalice bosses and remember that there’s more from me on SquareXO every Tuesday.