When you wake up from the "dream," check the chair to the right to find a note telling you to seek paleblood to transcend the hunt. There's a door to the far right that cannot be opened from this side, but there's nothing else of interest in the room. Head to the left and exit through the door, then make your way downstairs.
Check the floor in the room ahead to find two notes on the ground that educate you on basic control functions. Proceed into the next room where a Nether Beast awaits on the far side. This enemy is very difficult to kill in your current state if you don't know the combat system yet, but don't worry, we have the tips you need to beat it! You can also run past him and up the stairs into the next room. As long as you get through the doors at the top as quickly as possible, the Nether Beast will stop following you. But you want to kill it, so let's do that!
Get close enough to the enemy to get its attention, then back away to the other side of the room. The goal here is to wait until the beast stands up on its hind legs and uses a long-reaching lung attack. Avoid this, then immediately move around behind it and use a Charge Attack (hold R2). With proper timing you'll hit the Charge Attack to the backside of the Nether Beast and stun it. Follow with a normal attack (R1) to finish it off. If you miss, back away and repeat the process.
Head into the next room to find more helpful hints on the floor, and a corpse in the far left corner. Search the body to obtain two Blood Vials, then proceed up the stairs and through the door ahead. Search the body just ahead to the left to find 10 Quicksilver Bullets. Head through the gate to the left to enter Central Yharnam.
There's a Walking Henchman off to the far right, but before you engage him, head down the stairs ahead and search the body to the left to obtain four more Blood Vials. Get the attention of the Walking Henchman, then head back into the courtyard you just came from. Fighting here gives you more room to move around and avoid the Henchman's attacks. Wait for the Henchman to strike, dodge, then attack with your normal attack combo. At the conclusion of your combo, back up or dodge backwards to avoid a counterattack from the Henchman. Normally this comes in the form of a stab with the torch in his right hand.
Defeat the Walking Henchman and then head back to where you first encountered him. There's another gate to the right that can't be opened yet. Head left to find a device that lowers a ladder to the right. Operate the device, then search the body just behind it to obtain two more Blood Vials. Before you head up the ladder, continue to the left to find two Agile Henchmen.
Immediately run back to the courtyard. This should separate the Agile Henchmen so you only have to fight one at a time. With the first one down head back to their spawn point to engage the second. Defeat both Henchmen, then look in the far left corner to see an item on a dead body behind a casket and some other objects. Attack the casket to break it, then search the body to obtain six Molotov Cocktails. Climb up the ladder and light the Central Yharnam lamp ahead, then use it to reach Hunter's Dream.
If you haven't already been here, head up the stairs straight ahead to find gifts from the messengers on the ground. The first gift allows you to select your trick weapon. Choose from the Saw Cleaver, Hunter Axe or Threaded Cane. The Saw Cleaver will likely be your first choice, but the Hunter Axe inflicts more damage at the cost of speed. The Threaded Cane should be reserved for more skilled hunters, as it requires a bit more finesse to use properly.
The second gift is your firearm secondary attack. Choose between the Hunter Pistol and the more durable but far less damaging Hunter Blunderbuss. If you're just starting Bloodborne, the Hunter Pistol should be your firearm of choice because it's the easier of the two to wield. The third gift is a notebook that allows you to leave messages for other players via the game’s online functionality.
Collect your weapons, then use the pause menu to equip them in the arms slot. Your primary weapon will go in the first slot on the left, while the firearm goes in the third slot. You can also use this opportunity to equip the Molotov Cocktails you picked up earlier if you haven't already. They go in the Quick Items slots on the bottom row of the pause menu.
If you continue up the stairs, you'll enter the house where you can store items, upgrade and repair weapons, and access other features that are not yet available. To the left of the stairs is a doll that has no purpose at the moment. To the left of the doll is a path that leads to a fountain where a Bath Messenger awaits. You can buy and sell items here, but at the moment you don't have enough Blood Echoes to do much. When you're ready to leave, access the Yharnam Headstone to the right of where you first appeared and select the 1st Floor Sickroom option.
Head up the stairs and interact with the door to speak to Iosefka. At the end of the conversation you'll receive Iosefka's Blood Vial. At this point, you can either go back through the Hunter's Dream to select the Central Yharnam option, or make your way back to where you were before. Keep in mind, the enemies respawn after visiting the Hunter's Dream, but with your new weaponry they are much easier to kill now.
When you get back to the previous lamp, approach the window to the left of the red lantern just ahead. Speak to Gilbert inside who will give you the Flamesprayer weapon if you talk to him twice. Now head around to the right and down the stairs. Search the body ahead to obtain eight Pebbles the continue down the path to the right. As you approach the end of the bridge, another Agile Henchman attacks from behind the rubble to the right. Continue to the right and down the next flight of stairs.
Around the next corner you'll find an Agile Henchman sitting on the ground and a Shielded Henchman just behind him. Take them both out, then continue down the stairs to the right. There are a plethora of Henchmen that patrol the walkway below (usually in groups of four to six), plus another one that sits behind the first carriage on the right. If you go left when you get to the bottom of the stairs you'll likely run into a patrol, but beyond that is an area blocked by crates and other objects to the left just after the fire (don't touch the fire, it hurts -- surprise!).
You can remove the blockade with a few swift attacks, but there's a Hooded Bruiser in the area. Unlike the other enemies that die in just a few swings, the Hooded Bruiser will take much more effort to bring down. In fact, your normal attacks don't even stun him. If you wish to take on the Bruiser, lure him out onto the main path, get close enough for him to attack, dodge and then use a Charged Attack. If you can connect the Charged Attack from behind it will stun the Bruiser, allowing you to inflict significant damage. Defeat the Bruiser and search the body to find to find one Tempering Blood Gemstone (upgrade your weapons).
Head in the other direction (or just go straight from the stairs if you wish to skip the Bruiser) and take out any nearby patrols, then head up the stairs just before the carriage to find four Molotov Cocktails behind the well. Go back to the lower level and up the stairs behind where the sitting Henchman was located (just after the carriage on the right). Go left when you reach the top of the stairs, then look to the right up the next set of stairs to find a body on the ground. Be careful as you approach the body. Another Henchman lies in wait around the corner to the right. He attacks as soon as you get close to the body. Take down the enemy and search the body to find one Blood Stone Shard (upgrade your weapons).
Head back down the stairs and to the right to find another Henchman waiting for you just ahead. Keep moving down the path, but stay on the upper level. There's a staircase ahead to the left that leads back down to the lower level, but it's filled with Henchmen that you don't need to engage just yet. Take care of the one remaining Henchman on the upper level, then search the corpse to the right (near the stairs) to find five Quicksilver Bullets.
Now you can head down to the lower level via any of the previous stairs. When you approach the large bonfire, not only are several more enemies and a Hound waiting for you, but Henchmen with projectile weapons are on the upper level to the left and just beyond the bonfire. Back up to get closer to the stairs you initially came down if you feel overwhelmed. This puts you out of the line of sight of the projectile enemies and makes the battle a bit easier.
Once you've cleared the bottom level, you will find a corpse just in front of the large door at the end that holds two Blood Vials. Collect the items and then head to the upper level to the right of the bonfire to find more enemies and a corpse that holds a Coldblood Dew (350 Blood Echoes). Keep moving to find another corpse near the end of this upper path that holds two Blood Vials.
Move through the tunnel ahead and destroy the debris immediately to the left after you exit. Behind the debris is a body that holds a Blood Stone Shard. Continue to the end of the path, then head down the stairs to the right. To the left you'll find three Crazed Crows that attack in a frenzy, then lay idle long enough for you to finish them off. There are three caskets standing upright just behind the Crows. Attack them to reveal a corpse that holds two Oil Urns.
Collect the item, then head to the far side of the area to find a Brick Brute banging on the gate. Let him get close enough to initiate an attack, then dodge away and attack from the side or behind (preferably with a Charge Attack). As soon as he recovers from his attack, back away and repeat the process to finish him off. Behind his original location are two corpses that hold four Molotov Cocktails and a Torch.
Turn around and head up the stairs to the right. Ignore the enemies up the second set of stairs for now and make your way to the gate on the far right. Just in front of the gate is a corpse that holds another Coldblood Dew. Turn around and head up the second set of stairs to engage the enemies in the upper area. There are two Hounds and multiple Henchmen here, one with a projectile attack, so be careful. Focus on the Hounds first but stay on the move to avoid the projectile attacks.
There's a bench on the far left side of the area. A corpse sits in front of the bench holding six Blood Vials. Collect the items and head up the stairs on the far side to reach the bridge above. To the right are two Nether Beasts. You want to avoid fighting them both at the same time, so toss a Molotov Cocktail at the closest one, then back away to lure it out. Don't go down the stairs because you'll end up fighting in a narrow area that will not give you the freedom you need to dodge the Nether Beast's attacks.
Take down both enemies, then turn around and look in the far right corner to find a body that holds a Blood Stone Shard. Head down the stairs across from the stairs you just came up, then clear the debris to the left to find another body that holds a Blood Stone Shard. On the opposite side is a body that holds 10 Pebbles. Clear the debris at the far end of the path to find one more body with another Blood Stone Shard.
Go back up the stairs and continue down the path beyond where the Nether Beasts were located. Watch the stairs to either side as Henchmen may hear you and run up. If you continue moving straight ahead you'll eventually reach the Cleric Beast boss battle. For now, head down the next set of stairs to the left and take out the Henchman on the stairs (if he didn't attack already) and the two Henchmen in the dark room ahead. The first is located near the door, with the second on the far side of the room with the corpse. Search the body to find another Coldblood Dew. You may want to equip your Torch here so you can see better (it goes in the second slot for your off-hand weapon).
Head down the stairs near the entrance to find another Henchman on the bottom floor. At the end of this room is a Wheelchair Blunder who will not hesitate to shoot you. Don't let the wheelchair fool you, attack him immediately. Pick up the two Pungent Blood Cocktails (attract beasts) on the body ahead, then inspect the note on the cabinet in the corner.
Open the door in the corner opposite the stairs and head up the stairs ahead. Take down the Henchman and examine the body at the top of the stairs to find another Blood Stone Shard. Make your way up the next flight of stairs and open the gate to return to the lamp that leads back to the Hunter's Dream. You now have a shortcut that allows you to avoid many of the enemies you just fought if you happen to die (which is, of course, unlikely).
You can head back to Hunter's Dream now, but it will respawn all of the enemies. For now, head back to the bridge where the Cleric Beast boss battle is fought. Near the end of the bridge is another Brick Brute surrounded by three Crazed Crows. Toss a Molotov Cocktail at the group to take down the Crows in a single attack while simultaneously inflicting approximately 50 percent damage to the Brute. Finish off the Brute, then continue down to the end of the path to engage the Cleric Beast boss.
While the battle mechanics against most normal enemies differ from Dark Souls, the boss battles start off relatively similar. The Cleric Beast looks fearsome and stands tall, but you don't have much to fear. Get close to the Cleric Beast and stand there long enough for it to reach an arm back just before it strikes. When you see this, quickly move behind it and go to town with your normal attack. As long as you can stay behind the Cleric Beast you'll avoid its big attacks. At most you'll take minor damage from a few small attacks as it turns. When the Cleric Beast finally turns to look in your direction again, move behind it once more and repeat the process.
If you find yourself at a distance, watch out for the Cleric Beast's jumping attack. It will jump high into the air and land on your current position. When you see it jump, wait a brief moment, then dodge repeatedly until it lands. If you dodge too soon the Cleric Beast will still land on top of you, so it's important to wait briefly before you dodge.
Once you've depleted a good portion of the Cleric Beast's health, it will begin to rage. At this point move away and let it rage for a bit. The Cleric Beast will use far-reaching swiping attacks several times in rapid succession. It may even slam one hand into the ground, then pull it back out. Both the slam and the retraction inflict damage if you're too close, so make sure you keep your distance during this portion of the battle.
When the rage subsides, move back into position and attack from behind the Cleric Beast until it goes into rage again or succumbs to your attacks. Be very careful not to stand in front of the Cleric Beast at close range. It will grab you with one hand and inflict massive damage to your hunter. Avoid this attack at all costs.
It's also important to keep a close eye on your surroundings. It's easy to get stuck between the side walls, the objects that line the walls and the Cleric Beast. If you happen to get stuck, remove the camera lock-on and dodge away from the wall repeatedly until you're free. If you're stuck too long the Cleric Beast will have all the time in the world to drain your health.
Upon defeating the Cleric Beast you'll find a Great Bridge lamp in the middle of the area. Light the lamp, then head back to Hunter's Dream if need be. Fighting the Cleric Beast has given you Insight, which means you can now level up your character. It's recommended that you head back to Hunter's Dream despite the fact that enemies will respawn.
To continue your journey right away, head back to our ultimate Bloodborne walkthrough and boss guide. If you'd like to jump right back in with the next part, we can show you how to Find the Tiny Music Box and Defeat Father Gascoigne
