Bloodborne Weapons List: All Trick Weapons and Firearms Explained for New Hunters
Our full Bloodborne weapons list breaks down trick weapons, firearms, Uncanny and Lost variants, scaling, and Blood Gem slots so you can pick a build.
In Bloodborne, the weapon in your hand decides far more than your damage number — it sets your reach, your stamina rhythm, and how you answer a charging beast. That is why any useful Bloodborne weapons list has to go past raw attack values and explain how each weapon actually feels to swing. The guide below covers trick weapons, firearms, variant versions, and the upgrade rules that tie the whole system together.
New hunters often treat the starting trio as a difficulty slider, but the truth is simpler: pick the move set you enjoy. Nearly every weapon in Bloodborne can carry you to the end of the game if you build your stats around it and upgrade it properly.
Trick Weapons vs. Firearms: How the Bloodborne Weapons List Is Split
Trick weapons occupy the right hand and sit at the center of combat. Each one has a standard form and a transformed form with a genuinely different move set, and the transform attack you trigger mid-combo usually hits harder and staggers more than a plain swing. Firearms fill the left hand and spend quicksilver bullets, so they are a resource rather than a fallback.
| Slot | Category | Examples | Primary job |
|---|---|---|---|
| Right hand | Trick weapon (standard form) | Saw Cleaver, Hunter Axe, Threaded Cane | Fast, low-stamina pressure |
| Right hand | Trick weapon (transformed) | Kirkhammer, Ludwig's Holy Blade, Whirligig Saw | Reach, stagger, crowd control |
| Left hand | Parry firearm | Hunter Pistol, Hunter Blunderbuss, Evelyn | Setting up visceral attacks |
| Left hand | Damage firearm | Cannon, Church Cannon, Repeating Pistol | Burst and finishing blows |
| Left hand | Utility firearm or shield | Flamesprayer, Rosmarinus, Loch Shield, Fist of Gratia | Chip damage, defense, free stagger |
| Item slots | Hunter Tools | Beast Roar, Old Hunter Bone, A Call Beyond | Arcane utility (costs bullets) |
That split matters because the two halves of the Bloodborne weapons list solve different problems. A trick weapon handles sustained damage and crowd control; a firearm buys you a parry, a burst of damage, or a few seconds of breathing room. Experienced players swap between both slots constantly instead of committing to a single loadout.
Rally ties the system together. After you take a hit, landing attacks quickly restores part of the health you just lost, and every weapon carries its own hidden rally value. High-rally options like the Hunter Axe and Burial Blade reward pushing forward after a trade, while low-rally weapons ask you to disengage and heal.
Core Trick Weapons at a Glance: The Heart of the Bloodborne Weapons List
Think of the table below as a shortlist tool rather than a stat sheet — exact attack values, durability, and gem layouts live on each weapon's own page. Use it to narrow your options before you spend rare upgrade materials.
| Weapon | Damage focus | Scaling lean | Transformation | Why hunters pick it |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Saw Cleaver | Physical | Strength / Skill | Folding saw, short ↔ long | Serrated bonus vs. beasts, fast R1 chain |
| Saw Spear | Physical | Skill-leaning | Spear ↔ extended saw | Serrated in both forms, strong thrusts |
| Hunter Axe | Physical | Strength | Axe ↔ two-handed halberd | Charged spin attack, excellent rally |
| Threaded Cane | Physical | Skill | Cane ↔ whip | Long reach, wide sweeping arcs |
| Kirkhammer | Physical | Strength | Sword ↔ hammer | Blunt stagger, breaks enemy poise |
| Ludwig's Holy Blade | Physical | Strength / Skill | Sword ↔ greatsword | Righteous greatsword form, very versatile |
| Chikage | Physical / Blood | Bloodtinge | Katana ↔ blood blade | Huge blood damage, drains HP while transformed |
| Blade of Mercy | Physical | Skill | Single ↔ twin blades | Devastating quickstep attacks |
| Burial Blade | Physical / Arcane | Skill / Arcane | Scythe ↔ curved blade | Sweeping arcs, strong rally |
| Whirligig Saw | Physical | Strength | Mace ↔ spinning saw | Serrated shredder against beasts |
| Rakuyo | Physical | Skill | Twinblade ↔ sword + dagger | Fast combos, high skill scaling |
| Holy Moonlight Sword | Physical / Arcane | Strength / Skill / Arcane | Greatsword ↔ moonlit blade | Ranged arcane beams |
| Simon's Bowblade | Physical / Blood | Skill / Bloodtinge | Sword ↔ bow | Ranged bloodtinge damage |
| Bloodletter | Physical / Blood | Strength / Bloodtinge | Mace ↔ blood blade | Self-damage transform, frenzy burst |
| Amygdalan Arm | Physical / Arcane | Strength | Club ↔ living arm | 17 Strength (C) / 9 Skill (E), long reach (DLC) |
| Beast Claw | Physical | Strength | Claw ↔ double claw | 14 Strength (D) / 12 Skill (E), pairs with Beast's Embrace |
A few weapons sit outside the main damage conversation. The Kos Parasite only works properly with the Milkweed rune equipped, and the Beast Claw becomes a completely different animal once you add Beast's Embrace. Community reports also flag hidden tags such as Serrated (extra damage against beasts) and Righteous (extra damage against certain foes), neither of which appears on the in-game stat screen.
Firearms and Hunter Tools: The Other Half of the Bloodborne Weapons List
Firearms are easy to overlook, but a good parry tool changes fights more than a few points of attack rating ever will. Match the firearm to your build: bloodtinge characters lean on Evelyn, strength builds enjoy the Cannon's burst, and arcane hunters get more from sprays and Hunter Tools.
| Firearm | Type | Bullet cost | Best used for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hunter Pistol | Pistol | 1 | Fast, reliable parries |
| Hunter Blunderbuss | Shotgun | 1 | Wider parry window, spread stagger |
| Evelyn | Pistol | 1 | Bloodtinge-scaling damage |
| Repeating Pistol | Pistol | 2 | Quick burst damage |
| Ludwig's Rifle | Shotgun | 1 | Longer-range parries |
| Piercing Rifle | Rifle | 1 | Hitting several enemies in a line |
| Cannon | Cannon | Heavy | Massive single-shot burst |
| Church Cannon | Cannon | Heavy | Arcing explosive shots |
| Flamesprayer | Spray | Continuous | Fire chip damage against beasts |
| Rosmarinus | Spray | Continuous | Wide arcane mist coverage |
| Fist of Gratia | Fist | None | Free stagger without spending bullets |
| Loch Shield | Shield | None | Blocking arcane attacks and projectiles (DLC) |
| Wooden Shield | Shield | None | Physical blocking, weak to arcane |
Hunter Tools are the exception to the hand-slot rule: they live in your item slots, not your left hand, and still consume quicksilver bullets. Beast Roar, Old Hunter Bone, Empty Phantasm Shell, Tiny Tonitrus, Executioner's Gloves, and A Call Beyond all reward arcane investment, and they scale with the Arcane stat rather than your weapon's attack rating.
Uncanny and Lost Variants: The Hidden Layers of the Bloodborne Weapons List
Every trick weapon exists in three versions: Normal, Uncanny, and Lost. They share the same move set and base damage — what changes is the shape of the Blood Gem imprints and where you find them. Normal copies come from the main game and The Old Hunters, while Uncanny and Lost copies are generally Chalice Dungeon finds, and player experience suggests those drops are chance-based rather than guaranteed.
| Weapon | Normal imprints | Uncanny imprints | Lost imprints |
|---|---|---|---|
| Amygdalan Arm | Radial / Radial / Triangular | Radial / Radial / Waning | Radial / Triangular / Waning |
| Beast Claw | Radial / Triangular / Radial | Radial / Waning / Radial | Radial / Triangular / Waning |
Why chase a second or third copy? Because gem shapes decide which bonuses you can stack. Radial gems are the most common and easiest to farm, while Triangular and Waning slots open the door to rarer effects. If your build depends on a specific gem type, the "worse" version of a weapon may actually be the better one for you.
Upgrade Paths and Build Tips for Your Weapons
Weapon fortification happens at the Workshop in the Hunter's Dream, and you handle it yourself — there is no blacksmith NPC to visit. Each upgrade step raises base damage and requires a specific material tier.
| Material | Upgrade range | Typical source |
|---|---|---|
| Blood Stone Shard | +1 to +3 | Early Yharnam enemies, Bath Messenger |
| Twin Blood Stone Shards | +4 to +6 | Mid-game enemies and chests |
| Blood Stone Chunk | +7 to +9 | Late-game areas, Chalice Dungeons |
| Blood Rock | +10 | Rare, limited per playthrough |
- Respect the soft caps. Strength, Skill, Bloodtinge, and Arcane all give diminishing returns after 25, with a second cap near 50.
- Match your gems to your stats. A physical gem on a bloodtinge weapon wastes a slot; check what actually scales.
- Watch rally, not just damage. Aggressive players get more value from high-rally weapons than from a slightly higher attack rating.
- Exploit hidden tags. Serrated weapons chew through beasts; Righteous weapons perform better against specific enemy types.
- Test before you commit. Swing a new weapon in the Hunter's Dream to feel its stamina cost and transform timing before spending Chunks.
- Remember there is no respec. Stat points are permanent, so plan your requirements early — the Amygdalan Arm's 17 Strength requirement is a real commitment.
If you want the publisher's own overview before diving deeper into builds, the official Bloodborne page on PlayStation is a solid starting point.
FAQ
What is the best weapon in the Bloodborne weapons list? There is no single best pick. The Saw Cleaver and Ludwig's Holy Blade are the most forgiving for newcomers, the Chikage and Bloodletter shine for bloodtinge builds, and the Whirligig Saw is a beast-shredding favorite for strength characters. Choose the move set you can execute consistently.
How many trick weapons are in Bloodborne? Community counts put the total at 26 trick weapons — 15 in the base game plus 11 from The Old Hunters expansion. Each one also exists in Normal, Uncanny, and Lost versions, which pushes the collectible count much higher.
Do Uncanny and Lost weapons deal more damage? No. They share identical base stats with the Normal version. The difference is which Blood Gem shapes fit into their slots and where you have to farm them, which is why community reports treat them as build-specific sidegrades rather than upgrades.
Can you respec in Bloodborne? No — stat allocation is permanent, so plan ahead. Check a weapon's minimum requirements before investing, since a poorly planned spread can lock you out of the Bloodborne weapons list you actually wanted to use.
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