One aspect of Bloodborne that helps to make it one of the strongest in the FormSoftware catalog is the way that even its currency mechanics can interact directly with the rest of the game. This is exactly the case for the Witch of Hemwick, a boss encounter that allows the player to make a rare adjustment to difficulty in a FromSoftware title depending on how much of the Insight currency is held when challenging the boss.
The Witch of Hemwick isn't even the only time when Bloodborne uses Insight to alter the difficulty of encounters, although it is one of few boss encounters to change depending on how rich the player is. What helps to make the fight even more memorable is the way that players can make the trek through Hemwick Charnel Lane easier or harder in the same way as the boss fight itself.
Bloodborne's Insight Summons Mad Ones
The key trick to the Witch of Hemwick fight is the way that the bosses will summon spectral enemies known as Mad Ones throughout the fight. Interestingly, the Witch of Hemwick, or Witches since there are two of them, aren't capable of dealing too much damage themselves, instead relying on these Mad Ones to attack on behalf of the Bloodborne bosses. In fact, for players unfamiliar with the trick, it can be easy to assume that there is no way to win while fighting for a while, as the encounter appears to send out endless enemies - killing them does little to nothing in the way of beating the boss.
These Mad Ones being summoned surprisingly isn't simply a standard effect of the Witch of Hemwick boss arena either, nor is it the Witches themselves that actually summon them. The factor that determines whether or not the player will have to face off against a horde of Mad Ones while hunting down the invisible Witches is how much Insight they have when entering the arena. Additionally, to help make Hemwick Charnel Lane stand out against other sections of Yharnam throughout Bloodborne, a healthy dose of Insight can also cause these enemies to appear outside of the boss room.
Having anything above 15 Insight in Bloodborne when heading into Hemwick Charnel Lane will pull these Mad One enemies out of the boss arena and send them stalking the player throughout the level itself. However, a quick remedy for this issue is to spend as much Insight as possible before running into Hemwick Charnel Lane in the first place. This strategy can also extend into the Witch of Hemwick boss fight, as a lack of currency will also affect the Mad One spawns within the boss arena.
Enter the Witch of Hemwick Without Insight to Simplify the Fight
Similar to the Hemwick Charnel Lane area that proceeds the Witch of Hemwick boss fight, reaching below a specific threshold of the currency will stop the Mad Ones from spawning at all. In the case of the boss arena, this means walking in without any Insight at all. Of course, this can be difficult on the initial attempt, considering that challenging the boss for the first time will always reward the player with at least one Insight. This is also the case for the boss encounters at the end of any area in Bloodborne's world.
In order to actually fight the Witch of Hemwick without any Mad Ones in the arena, the player will have to enter the fight, then leave in order to spend the gained Insight before coming back to challenge the boss again. It's an extra step for an otherwise simple boss, but the payoff is in the way it trivializes the Witch of Hemwick. However, it is a good habit to not keep too much Insight, as it can make other parts of Bloodborne's Yharnam more difficult as well.
Bloodborne is available now for PS4.