Bloodborne: Forbidden Woods, find the White Church Garb and survive the poisonous caves

This article explains how to Forbidden Woods, find the White Church Garb and survive the poisonous caves in Bloodborne, following on from Blood of Arianna.

If you're interested in more advice, our complete Bloodborne walkthrough and for the DLC our The Old Hunters guide and walkthrough can help.

We made a Pungent Blood Cocktail from Bloodborne

At the bottom of the stairs, take a left and then go along the path until you come to a Frenzied Henchman. These guys are pretty similar to their vanilla namesakes, but they're a bit bigger and fight a bit harder. Stun them with your gun to take some of the sting out of fighting them.

Head up the hill on your right until you come to a corpse. Take the Twin Blood Stone Shard from it, then head to the corpse in the centre of the trio of possible paths. As you get near it, you'll be attacked by a Henchman. Kill him, then grab the Pebbles from the body.

How to navigate Bloodborne's Forbidden Woods

Don't take the left-hand path for now, and instead go straight along the intersection and go up the hill. Sneak up on the Brute wandering around here, and use your Charge Attack to make light work of the battle. When you get to the end of this path, you'll be able to loot some Adept Blood Gemstone and Madman's Knowledge items.

Make your way back towards the junction, then take a right until you come to the Forbidden Woods lamp. Light it, then look for a cell to your right. Nearby are a pair of Crazed Crows. Kill them, then take the Antidote from the corpse they were hovering around.

Go up the bridge by the lamp, then kill the Henchman on the bridge, as well as his gun-wielding friend a little further along. Next, take a left and look for a body by a gravestone - take the Twin Blood Stone Shard from it.

Go back to the main path now, but make sure you stick to the left-hand side of the road as you reach the big pile of lumber. If you travel along the centre of this path, you'll be hit by a big spiky log that will very possibly kill you. If you stick to the left, you won't trigger the trap.

On your right is a Frenzied Henchman, while further on down the hill are half a dozen Henchmen and a pair of Hounds. Kill the first lone enemy, then head towards the cliff just behind him. Throw a Pebble at the pack below, which will draw the Hounds to your position. Kill them if they don't succumb to the nearby fire, then make your way down the hill towards a corpse which holds Thick Coldblood.

From this position you can see the two nearest Henchmen. Use a Pebble again to draw their attention, then kill them when they get near you. Let them come to your position, so you don't draw the attention of the rest of the pack.

When they're dead, go back up to that cliff edge from a little earlier on and then jump down towards the nearest remaining Henchman. Should you see an icon above your head at any point, it means you're covered in oil, so avoid any sources of fire while you finish off this fight. When everyone's dead, take the Quicksilver Bullets, Blood Vials and Twin Blood Stone Shard from the bodies on the ground.

Carry on a bit further on down the path until you come to a wide open area. On your right is some tall grass which contains a secret path. Just further on is an Imp and a trio of those Crazed Crows. Make sure you pick off the Imp first, then tackle the Crows.

Where to find the Tonsil Stone in Bloodborne

Make your way back to the open area, and then carry on in the other direction until you see an area with a hill covered in yellow flowers. Walk through them until you can spot a Frenzied Henchman. Kill the enemy, then take a look at the smouldering house on your right to get some Beast Blood Pellets from a corpse inside. Now take a look along the left-hand path until you come to another corpse - take the Thick Coldblood from it.

Carry on left after grabbing this item until you come to another corpse. Take the Quicksilver Bullets from it, then look for a house with a red lantern over the door. Approach it, then talk to the man inside in order to receive the Tonsil Stone item - this is required to get inside an area by the Grand Cathedral.

Where to find the White Church Garb

If you go to the rear of this house, you'll find a Hound and a few of its friends in cages. Kill the free beast first, then destroy all the locked-up doggies before they can break out. Now go down the path that's just tot the right of the cages until you come to a Crazed Crow and another pair of Hounds. Go up the ladder to the rear of the house and climb up it until you're on the roof. Kill the three Crazed Crows up here, then loot the White Church Hat, Surgical Long Gloves, White Church Trousers/Dress and White Church Garb.

While you're probably wearing better defensive gear right now, this new equipment you've just picked up is great at protecting your character from poison, so don't be tempted to chuck any of it away - you'll need it later.

For now, return to those Hound cages, then carry on along the other path and into a cave. Go down the ramp, then look around to where a corpse is. Take the Antidotes from it, then keep walking on and go through the narrow section. When you reach the bigger room up ahead you'll have to fight Poison Worms and Reapers. The former are a bit fiddly to deal with because of their size, but they do drop pretty quickly.

How to survive the poison caves in Bloodborne

More bothersome is the poisonous gas hanging over the floor. Should you have to move into it, be very quick and be wary of anything moving around. Those worms are very hard to spot in this muck, so use that White Church gear if you're really struggling.

When you reach the room you should be able to use a Pebble to draw the attention of a Reaper. Make sure you fight it near the entrance point, so you don't get caught up in that poison. When it's dead, go around to the right where there's another corpse holding Frenzied Coldblood. There should be two more Reapers left at this point - one off in the distance wandering around, while his friend takes a breather over on the left.

Stick to the cavern wall and approach the stationary Reaver. If you do this, you should be able to get a lock on the Poison Worms as you approach. Chuck a Molotov Cocktail into the pack, then pick them off from a position of relative safety.

Getting stuck into this fight will probably drag the Reaper into play. Pull it back to the entrance using Cocktails and Pebbles, then return to where it was sitting when you're done. Watch out for another load of Poison Worms over to your right - again, lure them out of the poison to make the fight much easier.

To the left of this little island is a bit of land that's free of the gas. Make your way towards it, then approach the rear wall until you can see a corpse over to the right. Head towards it, take the Nourishing Blood Gemstones, then go back to that small island.

Towards the middle of this cave is a bit of land that glows green. The corpse to the right of this patch contains Dirty Blood Gemstone items. Over to the far right of the cave is another cave, but just before that is another patch of land with another body on it. You may also be able to see a Reaper wandering around here. Kill it, and deal with any more of those Poison Worms that are still remaining.

When everything's dead, take the Frenzied Coldblood from the body, then make your way into that smaller cave. Look for a path on your left that will lead you to a ladder, then climb up it, before climbing the next ladder you come to as well.

In the cemetery, take the Coldblood Dew from the corpse in front of you, then use the device on your left to get the gate opened up. This will take you back to the very start of Bloodborne, while the door on you left will return you to Iosefka's Clinic.

Turn all the way around and then go through the gate that's in the right-hand corner. Now go down the stairs on your left, but be ready to fight the Infected in the next courtyard. When it's dead, take the Madman's Knowledge from the nearby corpse, then climb the ladder that's on the left-hand side of the well. Finish the Crazed Crows ahead of you and to your right, and also kill the next load of them on the roof in front of you.

Head into the building when you reach the end of the roof, but just be aware that a portal may open as you approach. Take a left to face your first Cranium Creature. These enemies aren't too tough to kill, but just don't let them grab hold of you - they can take a chunk of health off if they get you in their grips.

How to kill Iosefka

Carry on into the next room until you see a chest. Take the Communion rune from it - this lets you carry more Blood Vials. Now leave the room and go along the corridor to the opposite room. If you want to fight Iosefka by going left, you can do so, but note that once she's dead you won't get any more items from her.

If you decide to kill her, use a fast weapon and smack her three times before dodging to one side - after three whacks, she'll use a tentacle attack. She'll burn through Blood Vials during the fight, but just keep this strategy up and she'll soon drop. Once she's dead, you'll be rewarded with the Oedon Writhe rune which grants you a pair of Quicksilver Bullets from visceral attacks.

- Read on for the second part of our guide to the Forbidden Woods.

- Head back to the index page to browse all of the entries in our Bloodborne complete walkthrough.