So, in the end, it all comes down to this. Your mentor, the wise old hunter who guided you through the nightmare, the man who dared to allow you to dream is the last thing in your way. The scene for the final battle of Bloodborne is beautiful, rivaled only by some of the Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice boss arenas.
Gehrman is potentially the final boss of the game, so he’s as hard as you’d expect him to be. As a hunter, the first hunter, he has a deadly arsenal of weapons and tricks at his disposal. Players have to learn through trial and error how to read his moves. This guide should ensure that you go into the fight as prepared as possible.
A Man Of Many Weapons
Gehrman wields the Burial Blade, a large two-handed scythe that can have its handle removed to become a one-handed curved sword, a pistol, and a blunderbuss. He frequently switches between two-handing the scythe and one-handing the sword with a firearm in his off-hand, so be watchful.
He is fast and very aggressive which leaves you little room to breathe. The good news is that, during the whole fight, Gehrman is vulnerable to being parried. Players just need to learn the timing necessary to open him up for visceral attacks.
One attack that’s easy to punish is when he draws the scythe back and charges it up for a long swipe. Get as many visceral attacks in as possible as they will allow you to deal massive damage, making the fight a lot easier. Be warned though: as a fellow hunter, Gehrman can visceral attack you, too. Don’t charge straight at him when he has one of his guns out as he’s sure to stagger you.
Rely On Consumable Items When Needed
You should try and bring a level ten weapon to this fight as you’ll need every tool at your disposal to best the first hunter. Also, make sure you upgrade your firearm as much as you can to have a better chance of staggering him. He uses quickening to make his dodges lightning fast, so use any items you can to give yourself an edge.
You can use the Old Hunter Bone to create the same effect his quickening does. Fire Paper will help you to do more damage here, too, so stock up on that. He’s also weak to Arcane damage, so the Tonitrus or the Blades of Mercy will be useful against him. For yet more assistance, equip runes that give you extra HP when you do visceral attacks and runes that boost your health and stamina.
Match His Pacing And Avoid Going Berserker
After about half his health is gone, he’ll enter a second phase where he’ll be even more aggressive and use some new attacks. One is a devastating area of effect attack that can one-shot most players. He’ll stand still and glow a bit, but do not go in to attack him. Just back away, let the attack fire, then charge in.
Another new attack will see him leap into the air and fire a shockwave at you. Dodge through him so that you end up just behind him when he lands. This will dodge his attack and enable you to hit him a few times when he lands.
The Ultimate TL;DR
For this fight, you have to match the pace set by Gehrman. Get your visceral attacks in as often as possible and stay out of the way of his more telegraphed attacks. For the most part, staying near him and moving constantly will allow you to avoid his hits while constantly inflicting damage.
Just keep your playstyle fast and aggressive so that you can regain health without burning through your blood vials and you can take him down. Good luck, brave hunter.