Bloodborne Secret Boss Guide: How to Beat the Moon Presence

So you’ve made it. You have survived the hunt and faced the First Hunter, and he to has fallen to your blade, adding another notch to your belt. Victory, as difficult as it may have been to obtain, sure is sweet. But what’s this? You managed to obtain and consume all three sections of the Umbilical Cord, and now something sinister is stirring. You look up to the sky and see a beast like none other descending from the very moon that has haunted you throughout the entire nightmare.The Moon Presence is here, and it will not go down without a fight.

The fight with the Moon Presence begins immediately after your battle with Gherman, the First Hunter. This means that you will be at the same health, with the same resources left, and probably not in a good situation. But, don’t worry, let yourself be killed, and when you enter the fight again, you will only have to face Moon Presence, except this time with a full stock of gear.

The Moon Presence boss is quick and powerful. It has a sort of second phase that it goes in and out of, but if you play smartly, you’ll have no trouble. Bring a powerful weapon and some Fire Paper, which seems to really boost the damage output against the Moon Presence. A healthy stock of Blood Vials and perhaps the Hunters Bone will help if you find yourself becoming too overwhelmed by the Moon Presence.

There are a few moves you need to watch out for during this battle. The Moon Presence is something like a cross between one of the large beasts you’ve combated (Cleric Beast, Vicar Amelia) and a Great One (Amygdala), so its move set is very similar. It will lunge across the area towards you in order to close any distance. It will also use a combo of quick powerful slashes, and a jump attack that pins you down for the kill. It has an AoE attack that drops damaging blood from the sky, but it’s easily dodged with a back step or a roll.

For this fight, you’re going to want to get close and stay relatively close. Always dodge to the side in order to get a clear shot of the ribcage during your fight with the Moon Presence. You will sometimes even be granted the opportunity to get behind. Pull of 2-3 hits then continue to dodge. This boss doesn’t like you being so near, so it will constantly claw and turn to try and put you in front of its face. Just keep your wits about you and you’ll be fine.

After taking down about one third of the Moon Presence’s health, the beast will gain two game-changing abilities. One is the summoning of orbs that negate your ability to heal to a certain extent. While active, you will not be able to use any recover items and will have to rely solely upon Regain. This isn’t too big of a deal since you want to keep close anyway, but it may induce quite a bit of panic once the Moon Presence uses its other new ability.

The second new ability is a doozy, but can easily be countered, so pay attention. The Moon Presence will cover its mouth as if to vomit, and then will let out a screech with a bright red flash. Your hunter’s HP, no matter how high it is, will be reduced to 1. Seems kind of cheap right? But in exchange for using this ability, the Moon Presence is completely vulnerable for about 5-7 seconds. You can easily hit the boss and regain most, if not all, of your health.

After using this move the Moon Presence becomes a bit more aggressive, so play it safe and dodge often. After a relatively short battle (and a surprisingly simple one), you will claim victory and truly defeat the Nightmare plaguing Yharnam. Or perhaps something new as risen? Face the Moon Presence if you want to find out the truth.

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