Best Weapons for Strength and Skill Based Characters in Bloodborne

Bloodborne is an unforgiving game. If you’ve played a Dark Souls adventure you know how things work, but if you’re new to the series, there are two main ways to play these kind of games. You either go for a tank-like heavy hitting character, or take the quicker, lower damage warrior.

Not sure which weapons work best in Bloodborne? Don’t worry, we’ll break things down into the two categories that most players choose. Whether you’re into skill-based weapons or simply achieving as much damage as possible, we’ll let you know which weapons work best.

Not sure if this style of game is for you? Read our full Bloodborne review before buying a copy. Want to create the best hunter? We have all the info you need in our complete character creation guide.

Strength

A large portion of players will lean towards a tank-like damage-dealing build based on Strength. The weapons in this category rely mostly upon the Strength attribute for damage scaling. They’re also a bit slower to use. Don’t worry because speed isn’t everything. It’s more about the size of your blade, and how much blood it can rip from your enemies.

If your main focus is Strength, you’ll want to build a class featuring either the Kirkhammer or Ludwig’s Holy Blade. Both weapons feature smaller speed-based versions, but in long-form, each one offers a larger, slower version of the weapon that packs even greater punch.

Kirkhammer

The Kirkhammer is one of our personal favorites. The short-form is a double-edged sword that is great for lunge attacks, and striking enemies down with precision and speed. In long-form, however, this weapon morphs into a large oversized stone hammer that crushes anything in its wake. You can purchase it for only 3,000 Blood Echoes after you’ve obtained the Sword Hunter Badge by defeating the Cleric Beast.

Ludwig’s Holy Blade

This trick weapon is much like the Kirkhammer in two ways. First, it is much smaller and faster in its short-form, and also takes on a slower yet more damaging style when moved into long-form. If you’re looking for style and speed without compromising damage, this is the weapon you’ll want to employ. But a weapon of this power level isn’t easy to obtain, and you’ll need to obtain the Radiant Sword Hunter Badge by defeating the Blood-starved Beast and ascending Oedon’s Chapel. After you’ve met the requirements, you can purchase this weapon from the Bath Messenger in Hunter’s Dream for only 20,000 Blood Echoes. A small price to pay for power.

Skill

While a large portion of players will ultimately flock to strength and high damage, there are quite a few players out there who will choose to go with the quick, stylized action found only in a Skill drawn character build.

Skill-based classes are all about speed and style. You may not think much of that last one, but there is quite a bit of style involved in how to twirl the Threaded Cane. If you want to make the most of your speed and still be able to deal quite a bit of damage, use the Threaded Cane and the Blade of Mercy.

Unlike the Strength build where we offered two great weapons, we’re technically offering one in this case. The Threaded Cane isn’t an end-game style weapon, and after you’ve used it for a while, it’ll feel underpowered. Because of this, you’ll want to switch to the Blade of Mercy. Of course, if you’re not really a fan of the way the Blade of Mercy works, you could always use the Threaded Cane forever, but that would require quite a bit of upgrading on your part.

Threaded Cane

This skill-based weapon is one of the first you get to choose from when you initially visit Hunter’s Dream. In its short-form, it is a cane with a speedy and short-range of attack. However, if you switch it over to its long-form, the Threaded Cane becomes a whip with an extended reach that will usually keep enemies from getting close enough to attack. Just remember not to get too aggressive with it and you’ll be fine. It starts with a base attack of 76, which is somewhat lower than the other starter weapons, but don’t let that scare you away. The speed of the Threaded Cane more than makes up for the loss in damage.

Blade of Mercy

At a cost of 40,000 Blood Echoes, this single bladed weapon, which transforms into dual daggers, is a bit underwhelming at first. It only boasts 60 attack damage, but you have to take into account that said damage is split between the two daggers when the weapon is in long-form mode.

Currently there are three ways to meet the requirement to unlock this weapon inside the Messenger store. Either kill Eileen the Crow, complete her quests, or let her die during any of her quests. Completing either of those three objectives will reward you the Crow Hunter Badge, which will then unlock this weapon within Hunter’s Dream. In addition, a high amount of endurance is suggested if you plan to take advantage of this weapon’s attack speed.

Although we love Bloodborne, games like it are not for everyone. Tired of dying while trying to level up? We have you covered with our in-depth guide to farming Blood Echoes, and how to level up quickly.