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The Amygdala is one of the most fearsome bosses in Bloodborne. There are lesser versions of the Amygdala scattered all around the world; however, most of the players see them as obstacles and not something worth fighting. However, we’ll be talking about the Great One version of the Amygdala for this guide.
A “Great One” is an elite being in Bloodborne, and their motives and nature are unknown. There are six Great Ones that a player can engage in combat during their Bloodborne playthrough. Without further ado, let’s get started on the guide.
Bottom Line Upfront: Amygdala is a slow-moving boss with a highly telegraphed skillset. Patience is the key to this fight; wait for the perfect time to punish the Amygdala and utilize Fire and Bolt Papers to trivialize the fight. Don’t get too greedy with your combos; one or two or even three hits are fine, don’t overcommit, as this will lead to your death in the boss fight.
How To Get To The Amygdala
The Amygdala is on the Nightmare Frontier, a dangerous and trap-filled environment. During the peak of Bloodborne, there were many Hunter invasions in the area, plus a few AI-controlled hunters. It is worth noting that the Amygdala is only an optional boss and is not a requirement to progress through the game’s main story.
- You need to beat Vicar Amelia (She is not optional, so this won’t be a problem.)
- Go to the Forbidden Woods.
- Scour the Forbidden Woods to find the Tonsil Stone.
- After getting the Tonsil Stone, teleport to the Yahar’gul, Unseen Village.
- From the Unseen Village lamp, go up the stairs that eventually lead to the lesser Amygdala hanging from the wall.
- Let the Lesser Amygdala Grab you, and it will teleport you to the 1st floor of the Lecture Building.
- Run up to the door at the end of the hallway, and it will lead you to the Nightmare Frontier.
- Upon entering the Nightmare Frontier, turn left outside the cave.
- Hug the right wall until you get to the ledge and jump down from it.
- Turn around, and you will see another cave-like structure. Run up to it and step on the switch that activates the elevator.
- Exit the elevator, turn left, and then right until you get near the poisonous puddle. Then right again to run up into the Amygdala’s boss area.
For a more clarified version of the guide, check these videos out!
Here’s how to get the Tonsil Stone and how to use it:
Here’s how to get to the Amygdala’s boss area:
The Amygdala’s Moveset
Stomp– The Amygdala stomps either leg on the player, dealing heavy physical damage. A player can avoid this move by rolling away from its legs. You can dodge towards the legs if you have good I-frame timing and punish accordingly.
Exploding Laser– The Amygdala will fire one blue laser in front, which does no damage; however, the laser’s path will explode, and the explosion will deal massive amounts of damage. It’s easy to dodge this, dodge to the left or the right, close in on the Amygdala, and get a hit or two in.
Acid Discharge– The Amygdala will spit a pool of acid on the ground. Avoid the puddle of acid, and move towards the Amygdala to punish it.
Low Arm Swing– Uses the front arms to sweep the ground, and the Amygdala also has a variation in which if the player is close to it, it will follow up with another sweep plus a palm smash.
Flailing Combo– If the Amygdala feels like doing this, get ready to heal. This combo is an RNG-based attack that is tough to dodge and can even hit players standing behind the Amygdala’s legs.
Forward Palm Thrust– The Amygdala does two palm strikes (right and then left), then it does an AOE (area of effect) smash in front of it. This combo is the best attack to punish the Amygdala since it lowers its front arms and head, which happens to be its weak points. Be careful because magic spheres will follow in the second phase after this attack.
Arm Smash– Lifts arms to smash the area in front of itself. Move to the side or the Amygdala’s rear to dodge this attack. Punish the head afterward.
Jump– The Amygdala leaps high into the air, damaging almost the entire area around its landing spot. To dodge this, either spam the roll button away from it or time your I-frames correctly and dodge towards him for more punishment attacks.
Downward Pincer Swipe– Arms raised upwards with hands pointed down, and the Amygdala smashes the space beneath it with one pair of arms. The Amygdala repeats this attack in quick succession (RNG-based).
Strategies to Fight The Amygdala
A Call Beyond
Players can tame the Amygdala by using a Hunter Tool called A Call Beyond. Upon usage, A Call Beyond summons small homing missiles which follow the Amygdala. A big downside of this is that it costs seven Bullets to use. If you will be using this strategy, make sure you have enough Quicksilver Bullets.
To alleviate the high QS Bullets consumption, use Formless Oedon to increase the capacity of your QS Bullets. Alternatively, you can invest in gathering Oedon Writhe to replenish your QS Bullets mid-battle.
Players can acquire this Hunter Tool in the Lumenflower Gardens in the Upper Cathedral Ward after defeating the Celestial Emissary.
There are five variants of Formless Oedon:
- Players can find +1 on the Celestial Mobs in the Forbidden Woods
- +2 on the Lower Pthumeru Root Chalice or Sinister Lower Pthumeru Root Chalice
- Oedon Chapel Dweller drops the +3 version.
- +4 is on the opposite side of the entrance after unlocking the elevator in the Cathedral Ward.
- +5 is on the Pthumeru Ihyll Root Chalice (RNG)
You can also further enhance this by using an Empty Phantasm Shell, which increases the arcane damage of your QS Bullets, an elemental weakness of the Amygdala.
Safest Method
Besides the cheese with A Call Beyond Hunter Tool, players who don’t want to go through the trouble of gathering the requirements for that strategy can opt to stay under the legs, preferably at the tail-end of the Amygdala. Begin whacking whenever you see an opening, be wary that this method will take quite a bit of time. Stay still whenever the Amygdala makes a jumping attack, and it won’t hit you. A counterattack to the head after this move will deal lots of damage.
You can also empower your weapons with Bolt Paper or Fire Paper to imbue your weapon with bolt or fire, making your weapon effective against the Amygdala.
Arcane Cheese Strategy
I personally never tried an arcane build with Bloodborne; however, upon watching a video of a cheese strat for Amygdala, I found that it makes the boss fight trivial with little to almost no resistance at all.
The strat requirements:
- Executioner’s Gloves
- At least 20 Arcane
How to get the Executioner’s Gloves
The Executioner’s Gloves is in a secret location at the library of the Cainhurst Castle.
- Go up to the second floor of the library.
- Continue forward, then on the last corner, turn left.
- Continue forward again until you see an opened window.
- Go through the open window.
- Carefully navigate downwards.
- Go through the door, then head right.
- At the farthest end, a chest contains the Executioner’s Gloves.
Here’s a video showing how to get the Executioner’s Gloves:
Now, what do you do after acquiring the Executioner’s Gloves? That’s easy. Go to the Amygdala boss fight location, spam the Executioner’s Gloves which lets out three homing projectiles, and profit from the dead Amygdala in a minute and a half. Remember that you still have to dodge attacks as this method is not foolproof.
Here’s a video showcasing this strategy on the Amygdala:
Returning At A Higher Blood Level
It’s never a bad idea to return to the Amygdala once you grind those blood echoes. Don’t be ashamed if you’re not “Good Enough” or can’t “Git Gud” to beat it at a low Blood Level. Remember, the Amygdala is an optional boss; you can always return to it after you’ve leveled up a bit more, and you can now take in a few more hits before going down.
According to Redditor BellumOmni, his go-to place to start farming Blood Echoes is in the Forbidden Woods. He starts from the first lamp until he reaches the cannon, which provides about 30K echoes and the addition of Blood Vials and QS Bullets. This method is very effective since you can fight the Amygdala and have access to the Forbidden Woods after killing Vicar Amelia.
A Few More Tips
The Main Amygdala boss fight is not that difficult, although it does hit hard when you’re unprepared to roll out of the way. Here are a few more tips to help you with this fight:
- Opt to not stay under the Amygdala’s body if you want to deal max damage and shorten the length of the fight. This strategy has a con and a strength to it. Its strength is it lessens the time to fight the Amygdala, therefore, lowering the chances of you making a mistake over time, and its con is it has a high skill ceiling; consequently, you need to know the moveset of the Amygdala, its tendencies, and even its “tells” to out best this beast.
- Don’t be too greedy. It seems that once you hit the head of the Amygdala, you’d be gutting in for more hits to finish the fight fast. This strategy increases the risk of you getting one hit by the Amygdala.
- When he vomits acid, be very patient and use the time to heal yourself instead. Don’t rush in like a mad man, as this will instantly kill you.
- When he uses his body slam attacks or any slam attacks, pay attention to the head of the Amygdala and try to position yourself near it without getting caught in the attack. Rinse and repeat, and it will quickly get you the early advantage throughout the fight.
- After multiple failed attempts, take a break and cool your head off. Multiple failed attempts will take a toll on you, so make sure to get some water or get something to eat after a while. I swear this tip is what made me persevere through SoulsBorne games. I would’ve probably chucked the game away and never played it again if I did not do this.
Frequently Asked Questions
Question: What Level Should You Be to Fight The Amygdala?
Answer: I would recommend being at least Blood Level 60 to have a decent chance of beating the Amygdala after a few attempts. For an over-leveled run on this boss, Blood Level 80-100 would be great, and you’ll be able to easily beat this boss in no time while giving you the opportunity to trade a few hits with the boss.
Question: Is The Nightmare Frontier Optional?
Answer: The Nightmare Frontier is a secret area in Bloodborne and also optional, meaning that you don’t have to go through the area in order to progress through the Bloodborne’s mainline story quests.
Question: Can You Get To The Nightmare Frontier WIthout Tonsil Stone?
Answer: You can get into the Nightmare Frontier by killing the One Reborn and touching the body in the room in front after. Go straight to the first floor, and you should be at the Nightmare Frontier later.
In Conclusion
There are multiple ways to defeat the Amygdala; it all comes down to personal preference, either through cheesing the boss, playing safely, or going for a high-risk, high-reward playstyle. Just remember to memorize its moveset, how to dodge all of its attacks, and be patient; you’ll eventually get past this optional boss.
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