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One day, you’re a righteous and goodly warrior fighting to protect the citizens of Yharnam from the beastly scourge, and the next, you’re a huge, hideous horse-mutant with an anger management problem. That’s what happened to Ludwig The Accursed, one of the primary bosses in Bloodborne’s Old Hunters DLC. With a hulking size, surprisingly quick attacks, and a boss theme that makes this fight decidedly intimidating, Ludwig can be one of the most difficult bosses in the game.
However, if the correct conditions are met, defeating Ludwig can lead to a reward that is well worth it, the Holy Moonlight Sword, a staple of Fromsoftware’s products and one of the best weapons that Bloodborne has to offer.
Updated by Henry Moore on March 5, 2022: We've overhauled this guide to give you all the information you need to know about Ludwig the Accursed and his Holy Blade and Moonlight Sword. Here's where to find him and what you need to beat him and snag that sweet loot for yourself.
Who Is Ludwig And Where To Find Him
Bloodborne, like all Souls games, isn’t exactly forthcoming with its lore. Let’s start at the beginning, then: Ludwig was a zealous warrior who became the first of the Healing Church’s hunters. He founded the Healing Church Workshop (upon which the Hunter’s Dream is based) and is spoken of highly by some NPCs in the main game (Gehrman himself, for instance). The hero who led the way became known as Ludwig, The Holy Blade, and the hunters who came after him were also referred to as Holy Blades. The events of Bloodborne unfold after Ludwig’s time, but in the DLC The Old Hunters, we encounter the sorry creature he ultimately became: Ludwig the Accursed.
To find and fight this legendary Yharnamite, you will need to enter the Old Hunters DLC. To do this, play through the main story until you have defeated Vicar Amelia in the Cathedral Ward. From here, return to the hunter's dream to find an item named The Eye Of A Blood-Drunk Hunter. Following this, return to the Cathedral Ward and head out the left door into the graveyard. In the graveyard there should be some items hidden behind a grave, if you have already picked them up go and stand in the same spot. Once standing here you will be hoisted into the air by an invisible foe and, if installed, the DLC will begin.
Once in the Old Hunters DLC, you will be greeted with a twisted version of the Cathedral Ward. Head up your usual path to Vicar Amelia’s boss room, before entering the church, however, turn right into a dimly-lit cave. Now, follow the path of this area, it is relatively linear by souls standards, traversing through a river of blood inhabited by truly horrifying insectoid enemies, until you come to a ladder, climb this and keep moving forward. Eventually you will come to another cave entrance, enter to find a blood-filled church, this is where you will find Ludwig.
How Do You Beat Ludwig The Accursed?
The Old Hunters itself is notorious for being a step above the main game in terms of difficulty, and Ludwig the Accursed is often regarded as one of the hardest bosses in the whole game. He deals huge damage and is incredibly aggressive, and midway through the battle, he becomes an entirely different opponent.
You encounter Ludwig the Accursed in an area called the Underground Corpse Pile, early in the DLC, very close to the Nightmare Church lamp. You’ll be thankful that there’s a lamp very close by, because this boss (mandatory to progress in the DLC) can be a major roadblock.
It’s a real test of your mastery of the fundamentals of Bloodborne’s combat. Watch and react, target its weak points (its limbs are breakable, as is its head, which will grant a visceral attack opportunity), do not get greedy. It has a deceptive mix of slow and telegraphed attacks and quicker ones, but its wide, sweeping range means that you can get a real advantage if you stay beneath/behind it. Not at a distance that will trigger that mule kick, though.
Take advantage of its weakness to fire if you can, and watch for it to pause and screech for a moment. That’s the tell for its charge attack, which is fully capable of one-shotting you.
Once you get its HP down to half, the Ludwig adopts an entirely different form? A cutscene plays in which he discovers the Holy Moonlight Sword, seems to communicate with it, and regains much of his sanity and composure. From then on, you’re fighting Ludwig, the Holy Blade, who stands tall and fights by slashing his blade in 3-4 hit combos for the most part.
The key thing to remember, again, is to remain close and dodge through his quick, sweeping attacks, rather than away from them. As before, attack when you stagger him (you can concentrate on particular sides to get multiple staggers, or keep hitting a ‘broken’ limb for the extra damage), but do not get greedy: he has some devastating AoE attacks at his disposal, which are telegraphed by his raising his blade.
How To Get Ludwig's Holy Moonlight Sword
The reward for beating Ludwig can be easily missed. Once you have defeated this foe, his head will actually remain sitting in a pool of blood in the boss arena. Speak to Ludwig for some interesting Lore, eventually, he will start to let out a horse-like screech. This wailing will not end, so attack Ludwig's head, and he will drop the Holy Moonlight Sword.
In its transformed mode, the weapon makes heavy use of the often-neglected Arcane stat, boasting special moves that allow the player to fire beams of Arcane. Ranged damage is a huge asset in PvE (the AI of the enemies tends to mean that they just can’t handle it), and can be incredibly effective against human players as well.
One last pro tip: after winning the battle, don a church-related piece of garb and answer ‘Yes’ to the question his disembodied head asks you (“Are my Church Hunters the honorable Spartans I hoped they would be?”). Nothing will change, and you’ll get the sword either way, but it’s just polite. Poor guy.
General Tips
- Do not enter this fight in the early game.
- Dodge into his attacks, not away from them.
- Try and stay as close to his legs as you can.
- Try and stagger each of his limbs.
- Use fire.
- Watch out for his scream.
- Be very careful of his AoEs, they will usually kill you in one hit.