Bloodborne Boss Guide: Ludwig Guide (The Old Hunters)
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You can get two safe hits after dodging, Ludwig will move around to you quickly and initiate a new attack. He has two different jump attacks to watch for, the first is much easier as you can see Ludwig when he jumps if you look up, meaning you can accurately time your roll, the second is pure chance, I just recommend you wait about a second or two then start rolling like crazy and hope for the best.
His charge is another very dangerous move, hell make distance himself and roar to initiate this move. Back up while he winds up. Once his charge starts strafe and dodge to the left, if you backed up enough you should be close to where he finishes his charge. If you get hit roll and heal.
Management of space is very important here, you want to stay close to him but make sure you can see his full body to properly read his attacks and only get super close for your attacks. This is very much so a thing of feel but you dont want to be far away as that makes Ludwig more likely to do his jump and charge attacks.
Watch out for rage attacks as well as they can trap you and will kill you, just space out for these as much as possible, theyre a great opening for healing if you can avoid them safely. It should be noted that most attacks will only give you an opening for one heal. So get that and dont be greedy.
If youve already had a slew of attempts you should have already noticed that Ludwig is great at catching and punishing you for your greed.
Theres a few more things to watch for but this should help you a lot with the first phase, if you feel like you get this but cant quite make the second phase consistently then using beast blood pellets should help greatly.
The second phase has a few notable differences. First being the big add sword, it gives Ludwig a lot of range. However he is also now a lot less mobile, meaning getting behind him gives you a much bigger opening for hits than the first phase. Caution us still advised.
The sword is pretty easy to avoid when slashing across and those should be used to move into Ludwig and get your hits in.
The thrust however is a bit harder, same for the slams, as such more caution should be applied. The AoEs are very telegraphed and as such play safe and get distances, two backward dashes should be fine for when Ludwig strikes his sword down and with the huge magic slam strafe to the left and then dash right as it comes down, the slam has really strong tracking to be aware of.
Ludwig still has a move to create space between you in this phase. Closing distance is a good idea but I suggest approaching a trying to bait an attack, then using that to fully close the distance. (This is mainly due to that dangerous thrust Ludwig likes to do at a distance) That being said if you find a more comfortable approach go with that.
Generally the second phase is slightly less aggressive, with easier to read attack patterns. A lot of the things that work for the first phase will work here. After breaking enough limbs you should get a chance to visceral. Doing this gives a great heal window. Of you break Ludwigs head this will give you another visceral. Ive had the visceral attacks in one fight so they happen fairly reliably.
Final notes are good luck, and dont use tonitrus, its a weapon designed to be used on kin (white/grey blood. And Ludwig us a certified beast, so if you want some extra damage a weapon with a serated edge, and fire paper will work great. Ludwig is a tough fight and as such patience is necessary, knowing is half the fight, perseverance is the other.\r\n
Date: 2023-12-10
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Comments and reviews: 29
-ZaediusRA1000
Hey you guys, I have a few tips for this fight since he raped me over and over again I'd like to spare you the same troubles.
Loadout
Tomb Prospector Set: Good arcane and physical (blunt primarily) damage resistance.
Weapon: Whirligig Saw (transformed)
Summon Henriett
Beast Blood Pellet (SUPER IMPORTANT)
Throwing Knives
Fire Paper
Loch Shield (optional)
Tactics
1st Phase, You want to nuke the first 25% of his HP asap and when he gets his spit and charge attack take him at the the last third of the room near the stairs. His charges will run him into a corner and you can chain multiple swipes at him and use your rally potential to somewhat -tank- him with Henriett's help. His hitboxes kind of glitch on the stairs meaning he will swipe INTO the stairs and not AT YOU, meaning you can dodge once instead of twice to get out of reach and get back into the fight sooner.
Ludwig will ONLY stagger if you do multiple L1 transform attacks but to avoid doing that the beastblood pellets will help you cross the damage threshold necessary to multi stagger him super fast. I could chain a 5000-6000 dmg combo on him that way.
2nd Phase.
HUG HIM,
Don't be greedy but with the sword swipes dodge in the direction they came from. You will roll under the blade rather than away from it because the hitbox is super wide. Now Henriett will probably die soon so make the most of her being a damage sponge to damage him as much as you can. Do not do the L2 attack as it doesn't build up beasthood fast enough. Do R1 spams and dodge all the time. Do 2x an R1 and dodge through whatever combo he's doing. When he raises his sword you must be close to him and dodge out of the way as soon as you get up from his initial knockdown and spam R1, no charged R2. You want him to STAGGER as much as you can.
Hope this helped hunters,
Good hunt to all!
reply
Hey you guys, I have a few tips for this fight since he raped me over and over again I'd like to spare you the same troubles.
Loadout
Tomb Prospector Set: Good arcane and physical (blunt primarily) damage resistance.
Weapon: Whirligig Saw (transformed)
Summon Henriett
Beast Blood Pellet (SUPER IMPORTANT)
Throwing Knives
Fire Paper
Loch Shield (optional)
Tactics
1st Phase, You want to nuke the first 25% of his HP asap and when he gets his spit and charge attack take him at the the last third of the room near the stairs. His charges will run him into a corner and you can chain multiple swipes at him and use your rally potential to somewhat -tank- him with Henriett's help. His hitboxes kind of glitch on the stairs meaning he will swipe INTO the stairs and not AT YOU, meaning you can dodge once instead of twice to get out of reach and get back into the fight sooner.
Ludwig will ONLY stagger if you do multiple L1 transform attacks but to avoid doing that the beastblood pellets will help you cross the damage threshold necessary to multi stagger him super fast. I could chain a 5000-6000 dmg combo on him that way.
2nd Phase.
HUG HIM,
Don't be greedy but with the sword swipes dodge in the direction they came from. You will roll under the blade rather than away from it because the hitbox is super wide. Now Henriett will probably die soon so make the most of her being a damage sponge to damage him as much as you can. Do not do the L2 attack as it doesn't build up beasthood fast enough. Do R1 spams and dodge all the time. Do 2x an R1 and dodge through whatever combo he's doing. When he raises his sword you must be close to him and dodge out of the way as soon as you get up from his initial knockdown and spam R1, no charged R2. You want him to STAGGER as much as you can.
Hope this helped hunters,
Good hunt to all!
reply
polygon
I always found his first phase to be a lot easier thsn his second phase. :/
I'd definitely suggest listening to his screaming in his first phase. A lot of his attacks have unique screams tied to it, so it helps to anticipate what attack he's about to do. His charge attack is definitely one of the hardest to dodge. It's all about timing and how far/close he is to you. I found dodging to your left to be a lot better when he chsrge attacks you. I tried my right a couple times, but you get dragged by one of his twitching legs.
Just an fyi, do NOT -tuck underneath him- as this guy says. Ludwig WILL use his stomping attack, and it will kill you. Fast. The best you can do in this fight is get in and out fast. Chip damage is your friend. Don't be greedy.
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I always found his first phase to be a lot easier thsn his second phase. :/
I'd definitely suggest listening to his screaming in his first phase. A lot of his attacks have unique screams tied to it, so it helps to anticipate what attack he's about to do. His charge attack is definitely one of the hardest to dodge. It's all about timing and how far/close he is to you. I found dodging to your left to be a lot better when he chsrge attacks you. I tried my right a couple times, but you get dragged by one of his twitching legs.
Just an fyi, do NOT -tuck underneath him- as this guy says. Ludwig WILL use his stomping attack, and it will kill you. Fast. The best you can do in this fight is get in and out fast. Chip damage is your friend. Don't be greedy.
reply
polygon
When I first started the Old Hunters, I knew about the bosses, but I didn't know which order you fight them in. Because the first boss you face in the Dark Souls dlc is much easier than the others, I just assumed Living Failures would be the first boss. So I ran around until I found a big cave filled with blood and body parts, which looked like the place to find them. I stepped in and a bloody corpse popped up telling me to help them. Sounded like a 'living failure' as far as I was concerned. Then it said Ludwig was coming, and I realised I had just made a massive mistake.
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When I first started the Old Hunters, I knew about the bosses, but I didn't know which order you fight them in. Because the first boss you face in the Dark Souls dlc is much easier than the others, I just assumed Living Failures would be the first boss. So I ran around until I found a big cave filled with blood and body parts, which looked like the place to find them. I stepped in and a bloody corpse popped up telling me to help them. Sounded like a 'living failure' as far as I was concerned. Then it said Ludwig was coming, and I realised I had just made a massive mistake.
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-cloudnine4187
Respect for the tips but for me this stragerty was hell, started doing trial and error with each weapon until I got to the kirkhammee. hammer goes bonk bonk and Ludwig goes stagger stagger. took lots of damage but my build was strength and damage reduction. find the weapon that works for you and yeah the tips were helpful especially for the legs with most weapons. but hammer just went right in his face and bonk bonk.
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Respect for the tips but for me this stragerty was hell, started doing trial and error with each weapon until I got to the kirkhammee. hammer goes bonk bonk and Ludwig goes stagger stagger. took lots of damage but my build was strength and damage reduction. find the weapon that works for you and yeah the tips were helpful especially for the legs with most weapons. but hammer just went right in his face and bonk bonk.
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polygon
I have fought this boss five times and can't get anywhere near and I am at level 149 with high vitality. I don't mind a challenge in gaming but some of the bosses in Bloodborne are too hard. I must have had almost 100 tries at Watchdog Of The Old Lords in the cursed dungeon before I beat it and maybe 40 attempts before I beat Amygdala in the same dungeon. This is definitely a game that wears you down.
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I have fought this boss five times and can't get anywhere near and I am at level 149 with high vitality. I don't mind a challenge in gaming but some of the bosses in Bloodborne are too hard. I must have had almost 100 tries at Watchdog Of The Old Lords in the cursed dungeon before I beat it and maybe 40 attempts before I beat Amygdala in the same dungeon. This is definitely a game that wears you down.
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-sierraandrews9921
One thing that I want to add that he seemed to not realise himself, is in his second phase, when he does his Huuuge aoe with the charged up sword. Get as clost to him as pos after the initial blast (or through it if u've got the HP to spare) as it is much easier to ddge and the effect comes out in a cone. As well it leaves him 100% open to be wailed on while he is doing the attack.
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One thing that I want to add that he seemed to not realise himself, is in his second phase, when he does his Huuuge aoe with the charged up sword. Get as clost to him as pos after the initial blast (or through it if u've got the HP to spare) as it is much easier to ddge and the effect comes out in a cone. As well it leaves him 100% open to be wailed on while he is doing the attack.
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-Masterchief3590
I am almost 4 years late, but what helped me was:
First form: Dodge to player left (Ludwig's right side) and hit him in his blind spot.
Second form: dodge to player right (Ludwig's left side) and there is a great blind spot there too.
Took me through hours and over 100 blood vials, but I got em.
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I am almost 4 years late, but what helped me was:
First form: Dodge to player left (Ludwig's right side) and hit him in his blind spot.
Second form: dodge to player right (Ludwig's left side) and there is a great blind spot there too.
Took me through hours and over 100 blood vials, but I got em.
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-mynameisgeoff2025
As much as some people in these comments are mocking this guide. I will say after taking on board some of the tips I had him beat in a few tried. First phase dodge away and then dodge back in and then second phase just get as close as you can and keep it that way unless he does a charge attack.
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As much as some people in these comments are mocking this guide. I will say after taking on board some of the tips I had him beat in a few tried. First phase dodge away and then dodge back in and then second phase just get as close as you can and keep it that way unless he does a charge attack.
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-marvjrb0531
I'm typing while i play i stick too his right side most of the time and i dodge his big swings and dodge forward and hit few times with burial blade. only thing that's making it hard when he does the massive charge attack which is hard to avoid. I just beat him just now while i type this: )
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I'm typing while i play i stick too his right side most of the time and i dodge his big swings and dodge forward and hit few times with burial blade. only thing that's making it hard when he does the massive charge attack which is hard to avoid. I just beat him just now while i type this: )
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-MerkinMuffly
I had the most trouble with this guy of all the bloodborne bosses, died countless times, finally beat him with one of the in game NPCs helping me. I then beat Maria in one try and Child of Koss in 3 tries. Must be my gaming style or something because everyone says Ludwig isn't that hard.
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I had the most trouble with this guy of all the bloodborne bosses, died countless times, finally beat him with one of the in game NPCs helping me. I then beat Maria in one try and Child of Koss in 3 tries. Must be my gaming style or something because everyone says Ludwig isn't that hard.
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-Taika_talvi
I had the patience to master Sekiro but the dodging in Bloodborne is a mystery to me.
It feels like the hitboxes are way too big and there's a weird delay going on. No idea how it works. I just stick to the bosses ass and R1 them to death. Sadly, that works like a charm in this game.
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I had the patience to master Sekiro but the dodging in Bloodborne is a mystery to me.
It feels like the hitboxes are way too big and there's a weird delay going on. No idea how it works. I just stick to the bosses ass and R1 them to death. Sadly, that works like a charm in this game.
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-AmrikazNightmar3
It's funny because I've beaten Ludwig and the whole DLC a few years ago and, I have to say, Ludwig was very unmemorable for me, simply because I beat him so quickly. Now, he absolutely destroys me and I often wonder how I ever destroyed this monstrosity.
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It's funny because I've beaten Ludwig and the whole DLC a few years ago and, I have to say, Ludwig was very unmemorable for me, simply because I beat him so quickly. Now, he absolutely destroys me and I often wonder how I ever destroyed this monstrosity.
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-horst1214
If there-s one piece of advice that I-d give, it-s do the chalice dungeons before you do the dlc because I went into the Ludwig fight at level 115 and I completely destroyed him within seconds and I-m only now finding out that he-s supposed to be really hard.
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If there-s one piece of advice that I-d give, it-s do the chalice dungeons before you do the dlc because I went into the Ludwig fight at level 115 and I completely destroyed him within seconds and I-m only now finding out that he-s supposed to be really hard.
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-XxsuperstudlyxX
He's hard on NG or NG+. But on NG+5? Near impossible, if you take counter damage half of this guy's movesets are a one shot or close to it. From literally made it near impossible to cheese the game by being overleveled. Ludwig is harder than Kos imo
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He's hard on NG or NG+. But on NG+5? Near impossible, if you take counter damage half of this guy's movesets are a one shot or close to it. From literally made it near impossible to cheese the game by being overleveled. Ludwig is harder than Kos imo
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-jpcchanel7002
If you are blocked on this boss like I was in NG+, you can summon Valtr, Valtr's summon sign appears in the Blood River of the Hunter's Nightmare, just before the cavern to fight Ludwig. You must equip the Impurity Rune to be able to summon him.
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If you are blocked on this boss like I was in NG+, you can summon Valtr, Valtr's summon sign appears in the Blood River of the Hunter's Nightmare, just before the cavern to fight Ludwig. You must equip the Impurity Rune to be able to summon him.
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-known3617
Ludwig is right up there with the pthumerian descendent for real. Like for some reason those two bosses are able to one shot you even with 50 vitality and 350 physical defense and 500 damage reduction like what the hell.
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Ludwig is right up there with the pthumerian descendent for real. Like for some reason those two bosses are able to one shot you even with 50 vitality and 350 physical defense and 500 damage reduction like what the hell.
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-xalted5207
Beat him on my 6th or 7th try and is easily my favorite fight in the game. The challenge is perfect, the accomplishment you get is perfect, the cut scenes and scenery were perfect. As you can tell I just love this boss
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Beat him on my 6th or 7th try and is easily my favorite fight in the game. The challenge is perfect, the accomplishment you get is perfect, the cut scenes and scenery were perfect. As you can tell I just love this boss
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-DallyLama93
This isn't a guide. Most that people will get from this is that if you have enough HP or Endurance you can just tank all attacks and ignore his mechs. Try doing this boss on BL4 and see how well you do.
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This isn't a guide. Most that people will get from this is that if you have enough HP or Endurance you can just tank all attacks and ignore his mechs. Try doing this boss on BL4 and see how well you do.
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-nyoom9814
FINALLY BEAT HIM TODAY 80 OR SO ATTEMPTS
look up hitless videos and just copy their movements
listen and memorize audio cues
when hes up on the roof start running
dont get greedy
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FINALLY BEAT HIM TODAY 80 OR SO ATTEMPTS
look up hitless videos and just copy their movements
listen and memorize audio cues
when hes up on the roof start running
dont get greedy
reply
-Band3rz
These Ploygon boss battles are pretty crap, basically, just a boss fight commentary, doesn't tell you much help that isn't already obvious to anybody that has fought the boss once
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These Ploygon boss battles are pretty crap, basically, just a boss fight commentary, doesn't tell you much help that isn't already obvious to anybody that has fought the boss once
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-krisspadron6386
Just soloed on my 5th try and I'm pretty sure I got incredibly lucky since I only got hit once in the second stage and he just kept on missing while I was wailing on him
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Just soloed on my 5th try and I'm pretty sure I got incredibly lucky since I only got hit once in the second stage and he just kept on missing while I was wailing on him
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-mushroom_man_jpg
Idk why but in these videos the boss is always super passive and leaving lots of room to attack. But when I fight them they just attack constantly with no breaks
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Idk why but in these videos the boss is always super passive and leaving lots of room to attack. But when I fight them they just attack constantly with no breaks
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-chrislaverick6413
Dude, this is ludwig on reg game, when its new game +4 every hit is half your hp bar, you have to be damn near perfect, oh and his health is at least doubled
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Dude, this is ludwig on reg game, when its new game +4 every hit is half your hp bar, you have to be damn near perfect, oh and his health is at least doubled
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-moviegooner49
Just did it on my 4th try. With a lot of help from the guy (forget this name. You can find him close by the entrance of bossfight.
Next The first Vicar!
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Just did it on my 4th try. With a lot of help from the guy (forget this name. You can find him close by the entrance of bossfight.
Next The first Vicar!
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polygon
This guy is a nightmare in NG+3 makes me tempted to just Cannon glitch him. So I can get to the more fun Lady Maria fight.
Edit: I boom hammered him to death.
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This guy is a nightmare in NG+3 makes me tempted to just Cannon glitch him. So I can get to the more fun Lady Maria fight.
Edit: I boom hammered him to death.
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-karmani23
This video has given me a lot of confidence to beat Ludwig. If after getting hit so so many times this guy can beat this boss I am sure I can! Thank you-
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This video has given me a lot of confidence to beat Ludwig. If after getting hit so so many times this guy can beat this boss I am sure I can! Thank you-
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-PIPIpupuImillegal
Im playing Bloodborne 6 years after this video and this guy its raping me making a lot of damage my pj is lvl 90 maybe im low lvl for hin idk
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Im playing Bloodborne 6 years after this video and this guy its raping me making a lot of damage my pj is lvl 90 maybe im low lvl for hin idk
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-jwake4803
Ahhh so I'm supposed to DODGE his attacks! I was under the impression that I was supposed to purposely get hit by them. Good boss guide guys!
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Ahhh so I'm supposed to DODGE his attacks! I was under the impression that I was supposed to purposely get hit by them. Good boss guide guys!
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-sireoccult6624
There is no direction you can attack him from he won't counter in some way and everything he does has insanely absurd tracking.
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There is no direction you can attack him from he won't counter in some way and everything he does has insanely absurd tracking.
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