While our previous Bloodborne guides have actually focused on later bosses in From Software’s new PS4 exclusive, demand has been high enough that we thought it best to go back and cover the game’s early bosses as well. Since the game is billed as a Souls spiritual successor – meaning it is very challenging – some players might be having trouble getting past the first bosses and therefore have never even seen the Blood-Starved Beast or Vicar Amelia.
So, for those players, we’re going to the very beginning: the Cleric Beast. Bloodborne’s first true boss is, like all other foes, no pushover, but he’s fairly simple once players know what they’re doing. The first boss in any Souls game, be it Dark Souls or Demon’s Souls, is meant to be a type of skill check – a chance for players to evaluate how prepared they are for the looming challenge. Cleric Beast is no different.
Once players approach the edge of the bridge in Central Yharnam, the Cleric Beast will jump out from the background. From here, there’s no turning back; it’s either kill or be killed, and chances are lots of players are going to be killed. But, there is an easy way to deal with the Cleric Beast boss fight, and we have some helpful tips.
The best way to approach the Cleric Beast boss fight in Bloodborne is to avoid locking on. It may seem weird at first, but manual movement lets players get right up against Cleric Beast’s legs and backside without worrying about awkward camera angles. And getting right near his hips is key.
Once there, players will want to focus on doing as much damage as possible, while dodging the Cleric Beast’s occasional swipe attacks. Because players are so close, there’s a good chance their dodges will actually negate any potential damage from the boss, and they will be free to start hacking away anew. However, if the Cleric Beast does land a hit or two, try to regroup and heal before diving back in.
Depending on the player’s level and weapons, the Cleric Beast should lose health at a regular pace, but there is a way to play a little safer and do more damage. For this strategy, players will want to get far back from the Cleric Beast and lock-on. Once that’s done, fire off a few pistol or shotgun blasts directly towards his face. If aimed correctly, the gun blasts show stagger the Cleric Beast and leave him vulnerable to a visceral attack with R1. These devastating attacks do more damage than any other attack, but only trigger when an enemy is staggered.
After landing a visceral attack, however, the Cleric Beast will retreat and try to heal his wounds (not actually regenerate health), so move back to the first strategy until he has fully recuperated. Get next to his hips and slash away like before.
At a certain point, usually when the Cleric Beast is at about 30% health, the Bloodborne boss will start to get very aggressive. He will swing wildly and move unpredictably, which makes either of the prior strategies a little less viable. It’s still possible to stagger him, but chances are players will be out of bullets by then.
So for this final stretch, players will want to break out their Molotov Cocktails and Oil Urns and toss them at the Cleric Beast. Because most creatures in Bloodborne are weak against fire, the molotovs should do a lot of damage, and the oil urns should boost that damage even further. Hit the Cleric Beast will just a few of them and he should be done for.
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After that, players can activate the next lantern and a helpful checkpoint a little deeper into the Central Yharnam area. Now go use those Blood Echoes to level up and prepare for Father Gascoigne, who is far less of a pushover when compared to the Cleric Beast.
Do you have any helpful tips for beating the Cleric Beast? Did Bloodborne’s first boss give you trouble?
Source: VaatiVidya