Bloodborne is pretty tough, and finding the best weapons is the only way to beat it. Finding some of these unique weapons can be tricky and may involve defeating some hardcore bosses. Still, if you want the best weapons, you have to put in the work! (With the exception of one incredibly useful starting weapon, of course, but more on that later.)
These Bloodborne weapons are key to tackling some of the most difficult areas in the game. They’re also really fun to play around with and may encourage you to mix up your battle tactics.
Whether you favor uncanny weapons, big heavy hitters, or trick weapons, there’s a weapon hidden in the depths of Yharnam that will suit you perfectly.
Best Bloodborne Weapons, Ranked
There are dozens of weapons in Bloodborne, but some hold the title of being the best weapons in the game. This is down to their strength, their transformed power, and the cool lore behind them. Here’s a rundown of the best Bloodborne weapons!
10 – Bloodletter
The Bloodletter was added to the game with the Old Hunters DLC. It’s a brutal weapon, and doesn’t come without a cost: using it in tricked mode drains HP.
This prevents it from being higher on the list in terms of useful weapons, but it can deal massive damage, and interesting to play around with. It also requires a lot of effort to obtain it in the first place, but again, it’s a fun challenge.
Bloodletter Story
The Bloodletter was used by Brador, the Healing Church Assassin. It draws upon blood ‘from the inner reaches of one’s body and soul’ and gives some insight into the beliefs of the isolated Brador. You can only obtain it by defeating Brador.
How to Get the Bloodletter
You can get the Bloodletter after defeating Brador, which involves finding the underground cell key and giving Brador a visit. Brador isn’t that happy to see you, but defeating him is worth the time, especially if you’re trying to collect as many weapons as you can.
9 – Burial Blade
The Burial Blade is an imposing-looking weapon! It’s one of the best trick weapons, and the scythe-like design is genuinely daunting to look at.
It has an incredibly powerful charged attack and works well for harder bosses. However, it’s only available by defeating Gehrman, which can trigger the end of the game. This means you won’t get much chance to enjoy it before starting over with New Game +.
Burial Blade Story
The Burial Blade, of course, belongs to Gehrman, the first hunter. It is said to have fallen from the heavens and is considered to be a precious weapon.
How to Get the Burial Blade
You can obtain the Burial Blade from messengers, but only after defeating Gehrman. It costs 60,000 blood echoes, so a decent chunk of echoes, but well worth it.
8 – Blade of Mercy
The Blade of Mercy is a skill-based short sword and is good for players who prefer dodging and swift attacks to big heavy blows. It’s a sword/dual-blade combo, and it’s ideal for more experienced players.
It’s a skill/arcade hybrid weapon, and you can deal some bigger damage by focusing on quick-step attacks. It’s an excellent example of a weapon suited to more advanced players.
Blade of Mercy Story
The Blade of Mercy is a special weapon, passed down through generations of hunters. It’s one of the oldest weapons in the game and is designed for quick-step attacks.
How to Get the Blade of Mercy
You can get the Blade of Mercy from messengers after gaining the Crow Hunter Badge. It costs 40,000 Blood Echoes.
7 – Church Pick
The Church Pick is worth a mention because it’s incredible when transformed. Players can use this weapon to go for some excellent stunlocks.
Added with the Old Hunters DLC, its two forms are very fun to play around with, and pretty satisfying if you can master it.
Church Pick Story
The Church Pick is a trick weapon from the Healing Church and appears to be very old. It appears as a sword, but in it’s transformed state, it turns into a war pick.
How to Get the Church Pick
Here’s how to get the Church pick, one of the more unique weapons in the game. Defeat the hunter wearing the Yahar-Gul set, and they will drop it.
It’s not too much of a tricky battle, and you can even trick him by attacking him through the door, then leaving and coming back again, which resets his AI. A bit cheaty, maybe, but it does make the process easier, and gives you access to a very cool weapon.
Of course, you can take him on as the game originally imagined instead, and it doesn’t take too long to learn how to defeat him.
6 – Kos Parasite
Now, the Kos Parasite is not the most practical Bloodborne weapon. Design-wise, though, it’s killing it. Lashing out with enormous tentacles, this is one of the most unique trick weapons in the game.
You have to equip the Milkweed Caryll Oat Rune first. This transforms you into a celestial Kin, unlocking unique animations and a small increase in item discovery.
The Kos Parasite itself is difficult to get hold of but well worth playing around with, even if it’s just to witness your character flailing around in their new form.
Kos Parasite Story
Described in the game as an ‘atypical weapon’, it is supposed to stimulate phantasms living inside a lumen wood.
How to Get Kos Parasite
The Kos Parasite is dropped by the Orphan of Kos, which is the toughest boss in the DLC. Considered by many to be the last boss of the DLC, it’s more of a late-game weapon, and it’s a good idea to work your way up to this battle before jumping in.
5 – Rayuko
We have to talk about Rayuko as one of the best weapons in the game. It starts as a twin-blade to a dual-wield weapon, so tricky to master, but it’s worth it for the huge amount of damage it can deal when you get it right.
Rayuko is similar to the Chickage, but a fully-upgraded Rayuko has the edge. It takes effort to upgrade it fully, however: it requires a lot of materials which may take a while to collect. A long investment, perhaps, but a worthy one.
Rayuko Story
In terms of story, Rayuko is said to have been wielded by Lady Maria of the Astral Clocktower, a trick sword she preferred because it doesn’t feed off blood.
However, Lady Maria eventually abandoned the weapon by throwing it into a well. An excellent opportunity for players to go digging around for it, then …
How to Find Rayuko
You can find Rayuko after defeating one of the Shark Giant enemies. These enemies are located – unsurprisingly – at the bottom of the well in the Fishing Hamlet. A spooky area to explore, with some tough enemies testing your skill.
These are very difficult to fight, but it’s definitely worth the time investment to get hold of one of the most powerful weapons in the game.
4 – Holy Moonlight Sword
A signature sword in the FromSoftware games (it made its first appearance in Dark Souls), the Holy Moonlight Sword was introduced with The Old Hunters DLC, making it one of the best DLC weapons.
It switches in it’s transformed state from a one-handed weapon into a two-handed Greatsword, and it’s incredibly hefty and powerful while still being fun to use. It’s a good weapon for Arcane builds, too.
Holy Moonlight Sword Story
The Holy Moonlight Sword is said to have been discovered by Ludwig. It ‘channels the abyssal cosmos’ and is supposed to be incredibly rare – even catching a glimpse of it is unusual. So it’s an excellent weapon from a lore perspective.
How to Get the Holy Moonlight Sword
You can get the Holy Moonlight Sword can be found after defeating Ludwig, the Holy Blade. Upon defeating Ludwig, you’ll find his head.
You have a few options from there: you can kill the head to gain the sword, talk to the head wearing church attire and choose the dialogue option ‘yes’ to get the sword, or talk to the sword, choose ‘no,’ and go back later to gain the sword from Simon the Harrowed.
Defeating Ludwig, the Holy Blade is pretty difficult. Starting at a crawl and eventually rising to create a devastating shockwave, it takes a lot of practice to get the hang of each stage of the battle and will put your fighting skill to the test. It’s absolutely worth it but be prepared for a decent fight.
It’s also important to note that you can miss getting it, which means you’ll lose out on one of the best Bloodborne weapons – if you’ve already killed Lawrence, you won’t be able to get the Moonlight Sword.
3 – Whirligig Saw
Let’s start off by saying that the Whirligig Saw is one of the most visually striking – and horrifyingly brutal – weapons in Bloodborne. A rotating disc covered in razor-sharp metal ‘teeth,’ you can use this brute force to kill the toughest of enemies.
It’s strong even in its untransformed mode, and once in its transformed state, it allows you to hold L2 to keep eating away at your enemies until your stamina runs out. Absolutely brutal, but so good, especially against tougher opponents.
The Whirligig Saw is an excellent trick weapon, and like the Beast Cutter, it’s particularly good when it comes to fighting beasts. Upgrading it does take a lot of work, but it’s worth it for the brute force it provides.
Whirligig Saw Story
The Whirligig Saw is a unique weapon, said to have been used by Valtr, an Old Hunter known as ‘The Beast Eater.’ The weapon’s famous strength against beasts is well known.
How to Get the Whirligig Saw
To get one of the best trick weapons in Bloodborne is actually pretty simple. It’s found near the Nightmare Church – travel downstairs and drop into the canal, and keep following the path. Eventually, you’ll come across a body, and searching it will reward you with the Whirligig Saw.
2 – Hunter Axe
The Hunter Axe is an incredible starting weapon, and it’s a good all-rounder. It packs some incredible damage, and it’s versatile: it can be used for anything from big boss fights to clearing a horde of enemies quickly.
It’s not just a good early-game weapon – it’s actually one of the best in Bloodborne.
The variety makes it a super popular weapon, and if players are trying to reduce their reliance on Blood Vials, it’s a good one to go for, thanks to the high Rally potential.
This means players must have quick reflexes, but it’s worth mastering. Its two forms are both effective.
This will slow you down, but it does have a very powerful attack combo.
Hunter Axe Story
The Hunter Axe is also used by Father Gascoigne, but he has a different moveset when he uses it.
Other than that, it doesn’t have a huge amount of lore behind it. It’s known for hunting and, as such, works brilliantly against beasts.
How to Get the Hunter Axe
You can choose the Hunter Axe is a starter weapon at the beginning of a new playthrough.
It’s an excellent choice when it comes to primary weapons, and many players feel it has the edge over the other two choices (the Saw Cleaver and Threaded Cane).
You can also buy a Hunter Axe after getting the Saw Hunter Badge, but this involves killing a giant pig (and this being Bloodborne, it’s more difficult than you might think.)
One trick is to charge at the pig before he has a chance to turn around – this is easier if you use the ladder to find a way around him, giving you the advantage of a surprise attack. Tackling the pig is definitely a good idea if you skipped the hunter axe at the start.
1 – Ludwig’s Holy Blade
Okay. If you like the Hunter Axe, it’s worth stepping up with Ludwig’s Holy Blade. It’s just incredibly strong, and will make tackling the harder bosses in the game much easier.
It has incredible potential for some ruthless combos, and it feels incredibly satisfying to use.
This is one of the best trick weapons, starting off as a one-handed longsword and transforming into a greatsword, which is obviously much slower, but can strike with hefty damage if you can land it right.
Ludwig’s Holy Blade Story
Ludwig’s Holy Blade is used by Healing Church hunters. First belonging (perhaps unsurprisingly) to Ludwig, the first hunter of the church, it suggests that the Church knew that they had some pretty horrifying beasts to contend with.
How to Get Ludwig’s Holy Blade
You can get Ludwig’s Holy Blade by spending 20,000 echoes after you have the Radiant Sword Hunter Badge.
This can be done fairly early in the game. As soon as you’ve killed the Blood Starved Beast, you can head to the healing church to pick up the badge. Then it’s a case of raising 20,000 echoes.
The giants in the Cathedral Ward are a good call for gaining a good chunk of echoes. You can also look for the Doll Set, which you can sell for a whopping 35,000 echoes. You can find these in the Abandoned Old Workshop, and it’s a trip worth taking if it ultimately ends with you gaining Ludwig’s Holy Blade.
Bloodborne: The Best Weapons in the Game
Hopefully, this has given you a list of weapons to aim for if you’re new to Bloodborne. There’s a wide range of weapons to find, and not all of them are straightforward to get hold of.
Some of them are hidden so well that it’s easy to miss them; others act as your hard-earned reward for defeating some of the hardest bosses in the game.
Ludwig’s Holy Blade is a tough one to beat, but honestly, the best weapon will depend on your play style. Picking anything from these ten will give you a pretty good advantage and will enable you to tackle some of the hardest areas of the game with ease. That, combined with your incredible battle skill, will see you through.
Well, it’ll be a little bit easier, at least.
Megan is a freelance writer based in Somerset, England. She writes about videogames, books, and pop culture.
