Bloodborne: The Old Hunters walkthrough and guide: How to start and complete the DLC
Our complete guide to The Old Hunters DLC.
Yharnam beckons once again in The Old Hunters. Bloodborne's new - and only - expansion takes players beyond the brink of madness, delving deep into the lore of this Lovecraftian city and serving up a sizeable challenge in the process.
If Father Gascoigne gave you trouble and the Shadow of Yharnam proved too much, you might not be quite ready for what awaits in The Old Hunters, an add-on that introduces new tools, new enemies and new areas.
Even if you've got the stomach for the next round of encounters, you might still find the following The Old Hunters walkthrough useful as you work your way through the twisting corridors and blood-tinged swamps.
Bloodborne: The Old Hunters walkthrough
On this page
Bloodborne: The Old Hunters - Eye of the Blood-drunk Hunter, Old Hunter Bell, The League
Accessing the DLC, joining the League, and taking your first steps inside Hunter's Nightmare.
Other pages:
Bloodborne - Hunter's Nightmare, Oedon's Chapel, Twisted Yharnam, Grand Cathedral
Explore Hunter's Nightmare, get the Old Hunter gear and unlock the sealed gates.
Bloodborne - Boom Hammer hunter, Beast Cutter, Church Executioner, Eye Pendant
Kill the Boom Hammer hunter, bag the Beast Cutter weapon, and kill the Church Executioner.
Bloodborne - River of Blood, Turret traps, Firing Hammer Badge, Old Hunter Top Hat
Survive the turrets, kill the grenade-throwers, and get the Firing Hammer Badge.
Bloodborne - Bloodlickers, Amygdalan Arm, Constable's Gloves, Oedon's Chapel shortcut
Beat the Bloodlickers and best the Blood-Starved Beast once more.
Bloodborne - Beyond the bridge, Beasthunter Saif, Constable's Trousers, Constable's Garb
Unlock the Constable items, kill the red-eyed Hunter, and get the Beasthunter Saif.
Bloodborne - Cannon Executioner, Butcher set, Madaras Twin summon, Nightmare Church
Kill the Executioners, get the Butcher gear and light a new lamp.
Bloodborne - Whirligig Saw, summon points, Henriett summon
Grab the Whirligig Saw, find useful summon points, and prepare for your first boss battle.
Bloodborne - Ludwig the Accursed, Underground Corpse Pile, Holy Moonlight Sword
Defeat Ludwig, the first boss in The Old Hunters.
Bloodborne - Underground Cells, Brador, Fist of Gratia, Surgery Altar
Survive the underground cells, find Brador, then track down the Surgery Altar.
Bloodborne - Research Hall, Patient Room 2, Patient Room 4, spiral staircase
Explore the Research Hall, and eliminate the threat in Patient Room 2.
Bloodborne - Laboratory Floor 5, Brain Fluid, pressure plates, secret passage
Look around Laboratory Floor 5 and grab some Brain Fluid while you're at it.
Bloodborne - Laboratory Floor 2, Saint Adeline, Blood of Adeline, raising the staircase
Explore Laboratory Floor 2 and say hello to Saint Adeline.
Bloodborne - Underground Cell Key, Balcony Key, Blacksky Eye, Yamamura Set
Bag some essential items for yourself, including the Yamamura gear.
Bloodborne - Living Failures, Astral Clocktower Key, Lumenwood Garden lamp
Kill the Living Failures and light the new Lumenwood Garden lamp.
Bloodborne - Lady Maria, Astral Clocktower lamp, Celestial dial, clock face
Beat the Lady Maria boss and light up the Astral Clocktower lamp.
Bloodborne - Fishing Hamlet, village well, shark attack, shortcut
Explore the Fishing Hamlet and survive the shark attack.
Bloodborne - Harrowed Set, Lighthouse Hut lamp, Simon's Bowblade, Inner Chamber Key
Unlock the Harrowed set and get hold of some essential items.
Bloodborne - Brador fight, Bloodied Arm Bands, lantern trap, Beast Hide Garb
Survive the first of Brador's invasions and unlock some new loot.
Bloodborne - behind the lighthouse, caves, Snail Kin
Surviving the caves and those creepy snail-like creatures.
Bloodborne - Bloodied Trousers, Winter Lanterns, Rakuyo, Blood Rock
Bag some more items and kill the Winter Lantern creatures as you approach the final fight.
Bloodborne - Orphan of Kos, Great One, Kos Parasite, Coast lamp
Kill the Orphan of Kos boss and light yourself one last lamp.
Bloodborne - Laurence the First Vicar, Milkweed rune, Church Cannon, Beast's Embrace
Lay rest to Laurence the First Vicar and wrap up the last loose ends.
How to start The Old Hunters DLC
Welcome hunter! Welcome once more to Yharnam - land of gothic spires, fabulous hats and endless torment. You can, of course, expect all three (in considerable doses) as you enter From Software's soul-crushingly tough Bloodborne expansion, The Old Hunters.
To access The Old Hunters, however, you'll want to be sufficiently prepared. Firstly, at the very least, you'll need to have defeated Vicar Amelia at the Grand Cathedral and interacted with the altar after the fight.
Due to the expansion's extreme difficulty though, it's recommended that you progress through as much of the main game as possible before delving into the new content (our Bloodborne walkthrough can help with this.)
Regardless of where you start, however, high level hunters are likely to struggle at times!
Bloodborne: The Old Hunters walkthrough
Once you've investigated the altar, Yharnam will be plunged into twilight, unlocking the items needed to access The Hunter's Nightmare (as the new area is known). To retrieve the items, you'll first need to return to the Hunter's Dream. Next, collect the Eye of a Blood-drunk Hunter from the Messengers on the ground at the foot of the steps, close to the Doll's usual resting spot.
You should also grab the Old Hunter Bell lying just outside the workshop, further up the steps - which will only be visible if you're carrying at least one Insight. The Old Hunter Bell enables you to summon the help of powerful NPC hunters at specific markers placed around the new content area, at the cost of one Insight per summon.
Locating the Hunter's Nightmare headstone
There's one last thing to note here: once you've accessed the Hunter's Nightmare for the first time and illuminated the lamp in the starting area, you'll be able to fast-travel to it via a brand-new headstone located in the Hunter's Dream. It can be found at the top of the steps running alongside the Chalice Dungeon headstones - on the right-hand side, just outside the workshop. More locations will be added to the headstone as you progress through the new area.
Joining The League
Before continuing, you should also consider joining Bloodborne's new guild, known as the League. This will add additional, and extremely helpful, NPC summon points to the new content area.
To enrol in The League, locate the Frontier Headstone in the Hunter's Dream and warp to the Forbidden Woods. Once you materialise at your destination, make your way inside the windmill to the right. Note that you'll need to complete the first portion of the Forbidden Woods area in order to access the windmill, as its entrance is locked from the other side.
Inside the building, you'll spot a man standing against the wall to the right. Speak with him and he'll introduce himself as Valtr, Master of the League. Agree to join the League and you'll receive the Impurity Caryll rune. Equipping this rune at the Memory Altar in the Hunter's Dream will enable you to see additional summon spots while in the Hunter's Nightmare.
Talk with Valtr again and he'll tell you about Vermin. When you've managed to collect Vermin from a defeated opponent during your travels, you should crush it in your inventory. Once one Vermin has been crushed, return to Valtr in the Forbidden Woods and speak with him again to receive the League Staff weapon and the fancy League Oath gesture. Note that you don't need to collect Vermin in order to access the Hunter's Nightmare.
Accessing the Hunter's Nightmare
When you're ready to explore the Hunter's Nightmare, return to the Hunter's Dream (if need be) and use the Yharnam headstone to make your way back to the Cathedral Ward.
Once you materialise at the lamp, descend the steps ahead and take a left at the bottom. Make your way down the next flight of stairs and turn right when you emerge out into the night air. Approach the lone tree standing behind the gravestones ahead and locate the corpse nearby. When the creature's hand swings down, let it grab you and - after the cutscene is complete - you'll be transported to the Hunter's Nightmare.
- The next part of our walkthrough explains how to start safely exploring Bloodborne's Hunter's Nightmare region.