Special attacks in Bloodborne - combat guide Bloodborne Guide

Here you can learn some basic and advanced moves and combos helpful in Bloodborne combat.

Last update: 06 March 2018

In Bloodborne, you can perform several special attacks. These actions are not only nice looking, but also make the gameplay easier for you in a lot of situations. You should learn when can you use the attacks to quickly and more effectively kill the enemies.

Stopping an attack + finishing strike

A very useful move that allows you to immediately stop an enemy attack and stun him. You can perform it on enemies that are of similar size as the hero. In the case of larger enemies, stunning them using guns may be impossible. A rifle is better for doing that than a pistol, because of the shot dispersion. In both cases however, the action is the same.

1. Approach the enemy from the front and aim at him.

2. Wait until he starts to prepare his attack. It is usually signalized by raising the weapon above the head.

3. Shoot ([L2]). If the enemy kneels down, it means that the attack was successful and if he continues to attack, you were slightly late. It is important to shoot when the enemy is in the process of performing his attack.

4. Quickly come close to the enemy and perform a quick attack ([R1]). When you do it perfectly in time, a short animation will appear and the enemy will receive a lot of damage. In the case of weaker enemies, they will be killed instantly. As for stronger hunters, it will surely not be enough to finish the fight.

You can also perform a finishing move on a stunned enemy of bigger size. This type of enemies can be stunned using strong attacks or other factors, individual to some bosses (for example in the case of Darkbeast Paarl, you can stun the opponent by hitting his legs). Just remember to approach the enemy from the head because you can perform a finishing move only from this side.

Approaching the enemy from behind + finishing move

This attack is similar to the previous one and it also ends with a finishing move. To perform this action, you only need a weapon and an enemy facing his back at you.

1. Slowly (!) approach the enemy facing his back at you. You cannot be seen or heard by the opponent (hold left analog button lightly when walking towards the enemy).

2. When you're close (do not come too close, because touching the opponent will ruin your plan), charge your attack to the maximum ([hold R2]). After a while (the edge of your weapon will start glowing), the attack will be performed automatically.

3. The enemy will kneel down. You can approach him and use a quick attack ([R1]) to perform the finishing sequence.

Remember that you can use this technique on moving enemy as well. You just have to lock the target, slowly come close to it and attack with full power. It will stun the enemy and allow you to perform execution. You should use this strategy as frequently as you can, because of the high damage it provides.

Jump + attack

This move will also be helpful when you want to shorten the distance between you and the enemy and to break their protection (shields). Using this technique, you can very quickly cover quite a long distance and attack the enemy. The hero jumps forward and strikes with his weapon above his head.

1. Lock the target.

2. Move forward and perform strong attack ([R2]) simultaneously.

Learning this technique requires to move the left analog and press the button responsible for attack simultaneously. You can use this attack when you want to finish an enemy without coming close to him and risk being hit.

Note: In most cases, hunters dodge this move and counterattack.

Quick weapon transformation

Have you ever wanted to transform your weapon during the fight and risked being attacked during the process? There is a quick way of doing this which doesn't require you to stop your sequence of attacks. The weapon will be transformed and you will perform the next hit.

1. Perform an attack. If you are transforming the weapon from short to long, it can be both quick or strong attack. Otherwise, this technique won't work every time (use a quick attack in this case).

2. When attacking, transform your weapon ([L1]). Thanks to such move, the hunter will finish the first attack, the weapon will be changed and another strike will follow.

You can also transform your weapon fluently a few times in a row. Just keep performing quick attacks ([R1]) and switching weapons one after another ([L1]). This way, the hero will keep attacking and switching weapons.

Air Attack

In some situations, you find yourself above the opponent, e.g. a cliff or atop a ladder. Normally, you take damage after you jump off, but you can kill two birds with one stone by jumping off on the opponent below.

1 Lock the camera on the opponent below.

2. Jump off, while having a weapon equipped.

3. While in mid-air, execute a quick attack ([R1]). Your hunter drops onto the opponent and kills him.

Situations, in which such attacks can be used are rare but, familiarity with such attack can make exploration easier and allows you to attack by surprise.