5 hardest bosses from Bloodborne, ranked

Bloodborne is possibly my favorite game out of all the FromSoftware titles I have played, second only to Elden Ring. Its dark, dreary esthetic is reminiscent of the classic Dark Souls, but with a new coat of paint in the form of a Victorian setting.

Bloodborne’s gameplay is focused on fast-paced action, urging players to go on the offensive with its rally mechanic and the exclusion of shields (the two shields present do not count for obvious reasons). The boss fights are quite difficult and generally consist of man-beast hybrids or some sort of Lovecraftian horror.

In this list, I’ll rank the top five hardest bosses from the game based on my own experience and the challenges I faced. The title features many Eldrich monstrosities as bosses, although even the humanoid ones pose quite a hurdle more often than not.

Without further ado, let’s take a look at five of the hardest bosses from Bloodborne.

Note: This article reflects the writer's opinion.

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Ranking 5 most difficult boss fights in Bloodborne

5) Father Gascoigne

Now, you might be saying that Father Gascoigne is easy, and there are far harder bosses in the game. But I ask you, did you find him easy when you first picked up Bloodborne and were still coming to terms with the controls and the lack of a shield? Because I didn’t.

Being used to slower enemies, the fact that Gascoigne can move as fast as the player character is a complicated aspect to wrap your head around. He wields the Hunter Axe weapon, which also incidentally deals the most damage of all the starter weaponry in the game.

However, it is the transformation that will truly get you. Even after knowing that he was going to turn into a werewolf, the sudden change in gameplay still took me by surprise.

This is a recurring trend in Bloodborne, one which the game is incidentally trying to teach you - that beast enemies are unpredictable and pose a considerable challenge.

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4) Ebrietas, Daughter of the Cosmos

As Bloodborne is steeped in various Lovecraftian horror elements, you’ll be facing many such monstrosities. One such creature is Ebrietas, Daughter of the Cosmos, an Old One that was left behind in the physical plane. As this is an optional boss fight, you know that FromSoftware is going to make the encounter nail-bitingly hard.

Ebrietas’ sheer size and unfathomable shape are intimidating enough, but her numerous tentacles make it very hard to discern her attack patterns. She also packs quite a punch, able to decimate half your health in a single hit, so getting the dodge timings right is essential in this fight.

Ebrietas has one of the largest health pools of all base game booses from Bloodborne, which means that chipping away at her health is one long, arduous task. Even if you do take shortcuts by attacking its rump, getting hit by those frenzy attacks can one hit-kill you if you do not have enough health.

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3) Gehrman, the first hunter

Gehrman is the second-to-last main boss of the game (provided you choose not to be released from the Hunter’s Dream). He is the wheelchair-bound man who had been assisting you up till now, but who inexplicably gets up and starts wielding a massive scythe. If you haven’t been paying attention to Bloodborne’s lore, this fight might be confusing as well as hard as nails.

As the name suggests, Gehrman was the first Hunter and accordingly moves like one, with lithe motions that are, to be honest, quite spry for a man who hasn’t used his legs for a while. He can switch between two forms of his weapon and has a few supernatural area-of-effect attacks that can immediately kill you.

You can try to stun him using a parry, although the window for this is quite short for most of his moves. The unevenly steep hill you fight him on also does no favors, as Gehrman starts the fight with the advantage of the high ground. This is a battle of attrition, which might be odd for many Soulsborne veterans, as those are generally reserved for large opponents.

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2) Laurence, the First Vicar

An optional boss that you find in Bloodborne’s Old Hunter’s DLC, Laurence is one of three legendary figures who have gone to ruin and inhabit the Hunter’s Nightmare. And while Ludwig is a tough fight, I personally found Laurence much more of a challenge, particularly because of the narrow arena.

It doesn't help that Laurence is basically a glorified Cleric Beast, an enemy that hits hard and has a ton of health. However, in an added gimmick, he is also on fire, meaning that all his attacks deal extra fire damage. However, it is the small arena that really hampers the player.

There is very little room to escape if you need to quickly regroup and rethink your strategy, as Laurence can quickly close in distances, and it is a relatively small space. His second form makes it even worse as you have no choice but to get in close to finish him off, as he constantly leaks fire from both ends.

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1) Orphan of Kos

And to cap it all off is the Orphan of Kos. I don’t think anyone will be disappointed that his guy has taken the top spot, as he is clearly meant to be the final boss of the game, appearing at the very end of Bloodborne's DLC.

Regardless of what weapons you’re using, or your playstyle, it is a natural step to be taken by surprise by this pale, lanky-looking humanoid creature.

The lore behind it is also pretty interesting, and you’ll have plenty of time to reflect on it as it kills you again and again. It employs one of the oldest and classic combinations seen in FromSoftware bosses, of moving like a butterfly and hitting like a freight train.

In its second phase, it becomes a tad bit faster (if that is even possible) and gains access to new attacks that make it a threat even from a distance. There is no room for error in this fight; you’ll have to go in with your best equipment or prepare for defeat.