Bloodborne Bosses in Order: Every Fight From Cleric Beast to Moon Presence

Bloodborne doesn't hand you a map, a quest log, or a boss list — it hands you a lantern and a bad feeling. That's why so many hunters go searching for Bloodborne bosses in order only after they've already wandered into Father Gascoigne underleveled and undersupplied. Knowing the intended sequence of Bloodborne bosses in order does more than satisfy curiosity: it tells you when to explore, when to upgrade your weapon, and which fights you can safely postpone until your build comes together.

Below is the full progression, broken into the base game, the optional fights, The Old Hunters expansion, and the Chalice Dungeons — with the prep work that makes each one survivable.

Bloodborne Bosses in Order: The Base Game List

The base game contains 17 bosses, but only seven of them actually block your progress (eight if you count the final duel). The rest are optional encounters that reward exploration with weapons, runes, Chalices, and the Insight you'll need later. The table below follows the natural encounter order most players hit, though everything from the Darkbeast onward can be shuffled around.

A few notes on that sequence. Cleric Beast is almost always the first boss new players meet, but you can walk straight past the Great Bridge and fight Gascoigne instead. Meanwhile, Rom is the real pivot point of the game: defeating Rom triggers the Blood Moon, which reshuffles enemy placements across Yharnam and opens up Yahar'gul properly.

Mandatory vs. Optional: Which Fights You Can Skip

If your goal is simply to finish the game, you can trim Bloodborne bosses in order down to a very short list: Gascoigne, Vicar Amelia, Shadows of Yharnam, Rom, The One Reborn, Micolash, and Mergo's Wet Nurse. Everything else is a detour — a very profitable detour, but a detour.

Here's what each optional boss actually gives you, so you can decide whether it's worth the evening:

Two of those are effectively mandatory in spirit. The Witch of Hemwick unlocks runes, which are a core part of any serious build, and the Blood-Starved Beast opens the entire Chalice Dungeon system. Community reports consistently name those two as the optional fights most worth doing early.

A quick tip for the Witch fight: the Mad Ones she summons scale with your Insight. Walk in with zero Insight and the arena is noticeably emptier — a trick plenty of players only learn on their second playthrough.

The Old Hunters DLC Bosses in Order

The Old Hunters adds five bosses and, in typical FromSoftware fashion, they sit a full difficulty tier above the base game. You access the expansion by letting the Amygdala outside Oedon Chapel grab you while you hold the Eye of a Blood-Drunk Hunter, which appears in your inventory after you've beaten Vicar Amelia.

Ludwig is the wall most players hit first, and he's a good argument for finishing the base game before touching the DLC. Laurence is easy to miss — he's tucked away behind an elevator in the Hunter's Nightmare version of the Grand Cathedral — and he's essentially a fire-themed remix of the Cleric Beast with a much nastier second phase.

Lady Maria is the crowd favorite. She's fast, she's parryable, and she punishes panic-rolling harder than almost anything else in the game. Orphan of Kos, by contrast, is widely considered the hardest fight in Bloodborne, and community reports suggest most players should be well past level 90 before attempting it.

Chalice Dungeon Bosses in Order

The Chalice Dungeons run on a separate progression track, and they're the part of Bloodborne that most players either love or skip entirely. They're generated from Chalices you earn from bosses, with Depth determining difficulty. Depth 1 is gentle; Depth 5 is not. The Defiled Chalice, in particular, halves your maximum HP — a modifier that turns normally manageable bosses into genuine nightmares.

If you're chasing the Platinum, the Chalice route is unavoidable. If you're not, dipping into the first two Pthumeru dungeons is still worthwhile — the Blood Echoes and Blood Gems you find there make the late-game bosses noticeably easier.

Tips for Tackling Bloodborne Bosses in Order

Order alone won't save you, but preparation will. These habits make the difference between a two-attempt boss and a two-week boss.

• Upgrade one weapon, not five. Blood Stone Shards are plentiful, but Twin Shards and Chunks are not. Pick a weapon with serrated damage — the Saw Cleaver and Saw Spear both qualify — and commit.
• Bank Blood Echoes before a fog gate. Spend them on levels or Blood Vials rather than carrying a small fortune into a boss arena where you'll lose it.
• Learn the parry window on hunter-type bosses. Gascoigne, Lady Maria, and Gehrman all punish dodging but reward a well-timed firearm.
• Use Numbing Mist on healers. Vicar Amelia and several Chalice bosses heal themselves, and this item shuts that down.
• Buy the Bold Hunter's Mark. It's cheap, and it saves you a corpse run when a fight goes sideways.

For players who want the official rundown of the game itself, the official Bloodborne page on PlayStation.com covers the base game and its setting.

FAQ

How many bosses are there in Bloodborne?

There are 17 bosses in the base game and 22 total once you include The Old Hunters. Of those, only seven base-game fights are strictly mandatory, with Gehrman and the Moon Presence depending on which ending you pursue.

What is the correct order for Bloodborne bosses in order?

Follow the required path first: Father Gascoigne, Vicar Amelia, Shadows of Yharnam, Rom, The One Reborn, Micolash, and Mergo's Wet Nurse. Slot the optional bosses in whenever you feel underpowered — Cleric Beast early, Witch of Hemwick and Blood-Starved Beast before Rom, and Cainhurst or the Nightmare Frontier before the finale.

Can you skip bosses in Bloodborne?

Yes. Cleric Beast, Blood-Starved Beast, Witch of Hemwick, Darkbeast Paarl, Celestial Emissary, Ebrietas, Amygdala, and Martyr Logarius are all skippable. Skipping them costs you runes, upgrade materials, and in some cases entire systems like Chalice Dungeons.

Which Bloodborne boss should you fight first?

Cleric Beast is the traditional first fight and sits right before the Great Bridge in Central Yharnam. If you're confident, you can skip it and head straight to Father Gascoigne — but the badge drop from Cleric Beast makes the early shop noticeably better.