Bloodborne: The Old Hunters Tips - Access, Bosses, and Weapons

Bloodborne: The Old Hunters is FromSoftware-developed DLC for Bloodborne, published by Sony Interactive Entertainment. It is not a standalone game: you need access to the base Bloodborne game, The Old Hunters add-on, or the Complete Edition bundle that includes both.

Content warning: The Old Hunters is mature-rated horror action content with blood and gore, violence, and nightmarish imagery. This guide stays non-graphic and focuses on gameplay.

This is a first-clear tips guide for players who already understand Bloodborne’s base combat, leveling, weapon upgrades, lamps, shortcuts, Insight, and boss structure. The base game, The Old Hunters add-on, and Complete Edition can appear as separate PlayStation listings or entitlements. Store, PS Plus, streaming, regional, and ownership details can change, so confirm access on your account before troubleshooting in-game entry.

Essential Tips

1. Confirm the DLC Before Chasing the Entrance

The base game alone is not the same thing as The Old Hunters.

If the Eye of a Blood-drunk Hunter never appears, first confirm that your account can access the DLC. The standalone add-on, the Complete Edition bundle, and a base-game subscription entitlement are different storefront states, and PS Plus streaming has extra add-on limitations.

2. Enter Late, Even Though the Door Opens Early

The DLC unlocks after Vicar Amelia, but it is tuned much harder than that timing suggests.

For a normal first clear, treat Blood Level 80 and a +9 right-hand weapon as a sensible readiness target. Skilled players can scout earlier, but trying to fight the DLC straight after Amelia turns the first area into a wall of hunter enemies, beast patients, traps, and punishing bosses.

3. Use the Official Access Route

Do the base-game trigger, collect the item, then let the Amygdala take you.

Defeat Vicar Amelia, examine the altar in the Grand Cathedral to move the world state to night, return to the Hunter’s Dream, and pick up the Eye of a Blood-drunk Hunter from the messengers. From the Cathedral Ward/Oedon Chapel lamp, leave through the left exit, move to the right-hand side of the square, and trigger the Amygdala event to reach the Hunter’s Nightmare.

4. Light the First Lamp Before Exploring

Your first job in the Hunter’s Nightmare is securing a way back.

Once you arrive, find and light the first lamp. After that, the DLC can be reached from an Awakening Headstone in the Hunter’s Dream. Do not start a long item run before you have that return point.

5. Open Shortcuts Before Fighting Everything

The first area is built to punish straight-line clearing.

Hunter’s Nightmare enemies hit hard, and some ordinary-looking encounters can feel like minibosses. If you are underleveled or just scouting, run for lamps, gates, elevators, and shortcuts first. Then return with a repaired weapon, stocked vials, and a route you understand.

6. Grab Early Weapons, But Do Not Rebuild Blindly

Several DLC weapons appear early, but upgrades still matter.

The first zone can yield weapons such as Beast Cutter, Boom Hammer, Amygdalan Arm, and Whirligig Saw if you are willing to explore or sprint past threats. Pick them up, test their movesets in the Dream or safer areas, and only spend Blood Stone Chunks or a Blood Rock once the weapon fits your stats and playstyle.

7. Treat Key Items Like Progression Gates

The DLC route uses more than boss kills to move forward.

The nightmare chapel area contains a key item needed for later progression, and the optional Laurence fight also depends on returning with the right trigger item. If a chapel, altar, elevator, or corpse looks unusually staged, search it before leaving the area.

8. Use Old Hunter Summons as Help, Not a Plan

NPC helpers can buy space, but they will not solve every boss.

The Old Hunter Bell and League-related summons can make some fights more manageable, especially offline. They cost Insight and can die quickly against the DLC’s strongest bosses, so use them to create openings rather than relying on them to carry the whole fight.

9. Learn the Broad Boss Route

The DLC is more linear than the base game once you commit to it.

Ludwig blocks the path into the Research Hall. The Living Failures and Lady Maria sit at the top of that route, and Maria opens the way toward the Fishing Hamlet and Orphan of Kos. Laurence is optional and is best treated as a late return fight unless you specifically want that challenge earlier.

10. Handle Research Hall Patiently

The Research Hall is a vertical maze, not just a combat hallway.

Expect locked doors, elevators, dangerous patients, dark rooms, and shortcuts. Before rushing to the next boss, make sure you understand how the stair/elevator layout loops back and whether you have found the key routes that connect the lower chapel area.

11. Use the Arena Against Living Failures

The flowerbed is cover, not decoration.

The Living Failures fight keeps spawning enemies into one shared health pool. Use the central structure to break lines of sight, isolate one or two targets, and shelter from the meteor attack instead of chasing every body around the arena.

12. Save Your Calm for the Last Two Bosses

Lady Maria and Orphan of Kos punish panic in different ways.

Maria plays like a fast hunter duel with escalating range and pressure. Orphan of Kos is more erratic and aggressive, especially after the transition. In both fights, the goal is to learn safe punish windows rather than force long combos because you almost won the last attempt.

Combat Tips

1. Repair and re-gem before each boss push: The DLC assumes your main weapon is close to endgame strength, and weak gems or a damaged weapon make every mistake last longer.
2. Carry a familiar weapon and a test weapon: Use your upgraded main weapon for progress, then test DLC weapons once you can afford upgrades.
3. Respect hunter enemies: Many DLC hunters have dangerous trick weapons and can chain damage fast; pull them into better terrain instead of dueling every group in place.
4. Stay close enough to punish Ludwig: His first phase can overwhelm you with movement, while the sword phase punishes players who sit at projectile range.
5. Do not lock on by habit against Laurence’s second phase: Free camera control can help you avoid crawling fire trails and bad angle traps.

Resource Management

1. Blood Vials: Stock up before long DLC sessions; boss learning attempts can burn through supplies quickly.
2. Quicksilver Bullets: New firearms and tools can drain bullets fast, especially the Gatling Gun, so keep bullets for parries, emergency shots, and planned tool use.
3. Insight: Summons are useful, but Insight is still a resource. Spend it deliberately when learning a boss or testing a route.
4. Upgrade materials: Do not scatter Chunks across every new weapon. Push one reliable weapon first, then invest in DLC favorites.
5. Blood Rocks: Treat any Blood Rock as a build commitment until exact current-patch availability is verified.

Hidden Mechanics

Mechanic	What It Does	How to Use
Eye of a Blood-drunk Hunter	Enables the Amygdala transfer into the DLC after the night trigger	Check the Hunter’s Dream messengers after Vicar Amelia and the altar cutscene
Oedon Chapel grab	Sends you to the Hunter’s Nightmare	Leave left from the Cathedral Ward/Oedon Chapel lamp and move to the right side of the square
DLC lamp/headstone	Makes the new area reachable from the Hunter’s Dream	Light the Hunter’s Nightmare lamp immediately after arrival
Old Hunter Bell	Allows NPC hunter summons in supported areas	Use it when the summon cost is worth the learning space
Chapel key items	Open later routes or optional boss access	Search staged chapel/altar spaces before moving on
Insight Shop patch behavior	Later updates changed some Insight Shop material access	Confirm your installed patch before planning Blood Rock routes around old advice

Common Mistakes to Avoid

• Entering the DLC immediately after Vicar Amelia and trying to fight every enemy fairly.
• Forgetting to examine the Grand Cathedral altar before looking for the Eye of a Blood-drunk Hunter.
• Leaving the Hunter’s Nightmare before lighting the first lamp.
• Running past shortcut levers and elevators while chasing one more item.
• Upgrading every new DLC weapon before testing whether the moveset fits your build.
• Spending a Blood Rock before deciding which weapon will carry the rest of the run.
• Letting Old Hunter summons replace basic boss learning.
• Fighting the Living Failures away from cover during the meteor attack.
• Treating Lady Maria like a slow beast boss instead of a hunter duel.
• Staying locked on through Laurence’s second phase when the camera is making the fire worse.

Summary

Bloodborne: The Old Hunters works best when you treat it as late-game Bloodborne, not a side area that happens to unlock early. Confirm DLC access, enter with an endgame-ready weapon, follow the Vicar Amelia and Eye of a Blood-drunk Hunter route, secure lamps and shortcuts, test new weapons before upgrading them, learn the Ludwig-to-Orphan boss path, and leave Laurence and exact weapon/stat optimization for a dedicated route.