Bloodborne guide: everything you need to know to conquer Yharnam and escape the nightmare

Bloodborne guide

A Bloodborne guide is basically a must because the game is hard. Infamously hard. If you’ve never donned your hunter’s hat and set foot in the cursed world of Yharnam before, you’ve got a challenge of epic proportions in front of you. Whether you’re jumping into the Gothic challenge for the first time, or heading back into the deathly town because you’re picking it up as one of the PS5 PS Plus Collection games, you need to be prepared for one thing: death.

Some would argue that Bloodborne is harder than any other game in the SoulsBourne genre. If you're going to survive The Hunt and slaughter your prey, you’re going to need to master all the mechanics and tools From Software has smuggled away in the hardcore title. You’ll need to learn pacing, rhythm, how to parry, when to attack, what to avoid, and how a good offense – more than anything else – is your best defense. It’s a long process, but we’ve got everything you need to tip the scales in your favor.

Bloodborne guides

If you're looking for help with Bloodborne, you’ve clicked through to the right page. Below, we’ve collected all of our expert guides that have been constructed fine-tuned by some of the best Bloodborne players out there. Whether you just want to know how to get started, want tips for specific bosses, or need to know where to find all of the Caryll runes, you can find the answer to all Yharnam’s secrets below. 

Bloodborne Starting Class

When you begin a Bloodborne playthrough, you need to select the 'origins' of your character to determine your class and initial stats distribution. There are nine to choose from, and if you want to pick the class that's right for you then visit our best Bloodborne class guide.

Bloodborne Beginner Tips

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If you're just starting out, there are some easy traps to fall into. For example, you're supposed to die in the first room, so don't let that put you off! For spoiler-free tips to get you up and running, here are some handy Bloodborne tips.

Bloodborne Expert Tips

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Mastered the basics of Bloodborne? Then it's time to start upping your game. To learn about Insight, Runes, Covenants, and more, get our Bloodborne expert tips. This is obviously for players who think they're ready and not to be rushed into lightly. 

Bloodborne Bosses

As with the Dark Souls series, the main challenge in Bloodborne is defeating its many bosses, to receive new items and open up additional areas. If you want to take down every boss, we have a video walkthrough for each encounter in our Bloodborne bossesguide.

Bloodborne Weapons

Every Hunter is armed with both a Trick Weapon and a Side Arm, and there's a huge variety of them to find from scythes to flamethrowers. If there's a particular weapon you want to track down, you can find it using our best Bloodborne weapons guide.

Bloodborne Attire

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There are various armor, or attire items you can equip, providing different stat buffs as well as a cosmetic makeover for your Hunter. Find complete sets of outfits and dress for success with our best Bloodborne attire guide.

Bloodborne Caryll Runes

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If you're familiar with Dark Souls' rings then you'll understand Caryll Runes straight away. You can equip up to three of these stat boosting and weapon enhancing items at a time, so pick up the ones that best complement your style with our Bloodborne Caryll Rune locations guide.

How to access Bloodborne: The Old Hunters DLC

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So you've bought The Old Hunters DLC and downloaded it - you can just jump straight into that new content, right? Well, no. You have to reach a certain point in the story and complete a couple of actions first, so if you're trying to find it we'll show you how to access The Old Hunters, Bloodborne's DLC expansion.

Bloodborne: The Old Hunters DLC Tips

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The Old Hunters ramps up the difficulty once again, as well as introducing a new area and NPC Hunters you can summon to fight alongside you. If you want to pointers to get prepped for it then here are some Bloodborne: The Old Hunters tips.

Bloodborne: The Old Hunters DLC Bosses

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A new area means new bosses, and The Old Hunters DLC adds five more tough battles to content with. If you're struggling to survive these encounters, we have video walkthroughs for each fight in our Bloodborne: The Old Hunters bosses' guide.

Iain Wilson
Guides Editor

Iain originally joined Future in 2012 to write guides for CVG, PSM3, and Xbox World, before moving on to join GamesRadar in 2013 as Guides Editor. His words have also appeared in OPM, OXM, PC Gamer, GamesMaster, and SFX. He is better known to many as ‘Mr Trophy’, due to his slightly unhealthy obsession with amassing intangible PlayStation silverware, and he now has over 500 Platinum pots weighing down the shelves of his virtual award cabinet. He does not care for Xbox Achievements.