Bloodborne Doll Character Guide

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JT was playing video games before he could talk. He’s all for some competitive FPS when he’s hanging out with his friends, but there isn’t any type of game JT isn’t down to try. He believes there’s no better way to tell a story or share a message with the world than through a video game.

A Peculiar Doll

A creation designed to assist Hunters’ journey through Yharnam, the Doll is a recreation of Gehrman’s lost love Lady Maria. While Gerhman likely created the Doll to keep the memory of his favorite student and lost flame alive, he has since grown apathetic towards the animated being.

Greeting — The Doll is as courteous as she is unsettling. Photo by JT Hussey.

Regardless, the Doll projects a warm, loving personality and remains a faithful companion throughout our epic quest. Even if we’re confined to a wheelchair or turned into a squid, the Doll doesn’t hesitate to project gentle affection or give warm cuddles.

Awakening the Doll

After our first death or resting at a lantern, we awaken in the Hunter’s dream where we first encounter the lifeless Doll. In this state, the Doll remains unresponsive and can’t channel our blood echoes until we’ve gained at least one insight. Luckily we can revive her after gaining insight through two methods:

Path A: Encountering Cleric Beast

Time: 8 min

Difficulty: Medium

Each time we encounter a boss, we gain one insight, as seen in the eyeball in the top right of the screen, which awakens the Doll and bath messenger merchants. Luckily we find the first boss rather quickly if we know where to look.

Beastly Foe Ahead — A beastly foe is waiting to ambush us from behind this coffin. Photo by JT Hussey.

Starting from the Central Yharnam Lantern, head right and descend a set of stairs. As we continue down the linear path and cross a small bridge, an enemy jumps out behind two wooden coffins. We can quickly dispatch this foe with a charge attack from our axe, then either take the left ledge down or follow the stairs past two unaware enemies to the main street.

Passing By — A small patrol passes through here, so take care not to linger. Photo by JT Hussey.

As we reach the beast-infested streets, we’ll have to run fast to avoid packs of deadly foes. I advise dodge rolling past any tightly packed enemies, and sticking to the left side of the street as we approach the mass of enemies burning an accountant-turned-werewolf. This method enables us to sneak past the large group of foes and head up the stairs without trouble.

Avoid the Crowd — We can avoid this dangerous crowd by sticking to the stairs at our left. Photo by JT Hussey.

Unfortunately, a rifleman beast notices us regardless of our efforts so we’ll have to make a mad dash for the exit after reaching the top of the stairs. Avoid running in a straight line, or the sniper will hit us from afar, forcing us to restart our attempt.

DOdging Bullets — I never knew dodging bullets was this easy! Photo by JT Hussey.

After that risky situation, we’ll find ourselves on a mostly safe path until we encounter a dog guarding a water fountain. While dealing with the dog is no trouble, the group of enemies patrolling ahead can easily stun-lock us to death. I advise waiting atop the preceding stairs and dealing with each enemy one by one until it’s safe to proceed.

Dealing with Foes — Hold these stairs and deal with each foe one at a time. Photo by JT Hussey.

Once we’ve cleared out the enemies ahead, we can proceed unharmed to the bridge to the cleric beast. This bridge contains two shortcuts we can open on our left to reach the Central Yharnam lantern, as well as a rock dropoff that takes us to a set of sewers to get to Father Gascoigne. I advise opening the two shortcuts and then proceeding to the Cleric beast to gain a single insight.

Fight: Cleric Beast

Fast and wrathful, the cleric beast can prove a formidable opponent for low-level players. Luckily, if we practice a few tips, we can eliminate this foe without much hassle:

Fighting Cleric Beast — If we want to keep out blood echoes, we’ll have to defeat this horrendous beast. Photo by JT Hussey.

Molotovs: These fiery consumables work wonders against the holy foe, primarily when used with oil urns. I advise saving 4-5 of these to take off a good third of their health and stay safe from a distance. Beware that standing too far from the Cleric Beast triggers its charge attack, so pay attention to the beast before throwing.

Throwing Molotovs — Molotovs excel at staggering this grotesque foe. Photo by JT Hussey.

Hug their Backside: The cleric beast can deliver some punishing attacks upfront but cannot attack us from behind. I advise sticking to their backside whenever possible to avoid harassment and preserve our blood vials for later battles.

Avoiding Attacks — Hugging the cleric beast’s behind is the surest way to avoid most of his attacks. Photo by JT Hussey.

Charged Attacks: Most weapons have charged attacks that can stun lock enemies and stagger bosses. Utilizing our weapons charge attack can stun the Cleric Beast into submission and quickly end the fight. I recommend delivering this attack from behind to avoid getting hit before we deliver the blow.

Dealing Massive Damage — Employ the Hunter Axe’s charged attack to deal massive damage and stagger this boss into oblivion. Photo by JT Hussey.

Whether we succeeded in fighting the Cleric beast or died and warped back to the Hunter’s Dream, we’ll now find the Doll reanimated and ready to channel our blood echoes. If we were unsuccessful in the previous boss fight, we can increase our character’s health and strength to ease the next attempt.

Path B: Consuming Madman’s Knowledge

Time: 14 min

Difficulty: Easy

If we’re worried about losing any blood echoes in our possession during the boss battle, we can gain insight from consuming a Madman’s Knowledge instead. This consumable is relatively scarce early on, so we’ll have to head tread through a rat-infested sewer to get it.

Instead of confronting the Cleric beast, we can take the small rock dropoff or the shortcut we opened earlier to reach a dog-infested area. Despite being locked up, these dogs will break out of their cages within seconds, so hurrying past these mangy mutts is imperative.

Reach the Sewers — We can take the rock dropoff on the right of the Cleric Beast’s bridge to reach the nearby sewers. Photo by JT Hussey.

After running past those hounds and passing the Lonely Old Women’s house, we can head down a rose-colored stairway to greet a beastly foe at the stair’s bottom. I advise delivering a charged blow with the Hunter’s Axe to knock them down and then jumping into the sewers below.

Run by the Dog — Run past this dog and down the stairs to find a beastly enemy lying in wait. Photo by JT Hussey.

At the bottom, we’ll find a set of rats gathered around an item. Run past these foes, claim our precious madman’s knowledge, and sprint the other direction with a horde of foes hot on our tail.

Claim the Knowledge — Those three rats are munching on our Madman’s Knowledge. Photo by JT Hussey.

Once we dead end at the intersection, take a right under a set of corpse-covered rafters, then another right into a sewer crawling with the undead. This area is relatively safe so long as we keep moving, so take care not to linger for too long.

Keep Running — Just keep running until the foes chasing us give up. Photo by JT Hussey.

After that adrenaline rush, stop yourself from heading through the murky tunnel. A giant pig with a dangerous appetite lies in wait, so unless we want to become pig chow, head up the ladder to exit that foul sewer.

Go Up the Ladder — Take the ladder to exit; the other route contains a giant man-eating pig. Photo by JT Hussey.

We’ll find ourselves just before the bridge to Father Gascoigne and the cathedral ward. Instead of continuing onward, take the elevator on our left to reach the shortcut we opened earlier for the cleric beast. From here, we can retrace our steps to the lantern and safely enter the Hunter’s Dream without losing any echoes.

After consuming a Madman’s Knowledge, we can now interact with the Doll and level our character with all the echoes we saved. Well done!

Interact to Level Up — With the doll awake, we can channel blood echoes to level up and increase our strength. Photo by JT Hussey.

Abandoned Hunter’s Workshop

Within Yharnam, we can find an abandoned version of the Hunter’s Workshop with the real-world version of the Doll, the Doll’s apparel, and a particular item that triggers unique dialogue from the Doll. We can only access this area after we’ve killed the Blood Starved Beast in Old Yharnam, thus opening a new door in the Cathedral Ward.

Starting from the Cathedral Ward lantern, take the rightmost door and head up the elevator to reach the healing workshop. We’ll find ourselves in a small room with a wheelchair huntsman, so take care to dispatch the beast from behind before his minigun rips us to shreds.

Take the Elevator Up — Take an immediate right from the Cathedral Ward Lantern then take the elevator up. Photo by JT Hussey.

After that small fight, head outside across the bridge to the healing workshop. A beast charges upon our approach and two riflemen attack us from above, so hurry to find shelter beneath the workshop’s roof. Instead of heading into the workshop, cling to the left of the tower until we find a small stone drop-off.

Proceed Forward — Look out for the two riflemen above then proceed along the tower’s left and drop down into a new area. Photo by JT Hussey.

After heading down and through the nearby door, we’ll find ourselves in an empty chamber covered with rafters. Instead of descending to the chamber’s bottom, look for a rope trailing down the breadth of the room. This rope leads to the entrance of the abandoned workshop so prepare to jump from the topmost rafter to reach this area. Be warned that the fall will kill us if we miss so spend any blood echoes before jumping.

Surviving the jump grants us access to the door leading to a near identical version of the Hunter’s Dream. From here, we can collect the Doll’s outfit from a nearby chest, a third of the umbilical cord for the childhood ending, and find the Doll’s form and hair ornament within the workshop. Presenting the Doll with this particular ornament triggers an unusual reaction from the cotton avatar, stating that we brought her joy for the first time.

Abandoned Old Workshop Discovered — We discovered the real world version of the Hunter’s Workshop! Photo by JT Hussey.

Key Relationships:

Gehrman, The First Hunter (Creator/Lover) – After losing his beloved student, Gehrman created the Doll as a perverse way to keep her memory alive. However, Gehrman’s affection for the Doll waned after some time, and he passed her off to new Hunters. We find Gehrman inhabiting the Hunter’s Dream and fight him at the game’s climax.

Lady Maria of the Astral Clocktower (True form) – The Doll’s inspiration and true identity; Lady Maria was an old Hunter that studied under Gehrman, serving Yharnham and the Byrgenwerth scholars. Unfortunately, Maria and her hunter compatriots committed atrocities against the Orphan of Kos great one and the surrounding fishing hamlet that plagued her mind, driving her to suicide.

We can find her disturbed spirit within the Hunter’s Nightmare and put the tormented Hunter to rest after a grueling boss fight. Returning to the Doll with a fragment of Maria’s remains triggers her memory, prompting a unique line of dialogue.

Our Character (Caretaker) – Our most trustworthy friend and the only means of leveling, the Doll cares for our character when no one else will. If we obtain the Childhood ending (turn into a great one) or reject ending (get confined to a wheelchair), the Doll takes care of us and cradles us for warmth. Even if we get the sunrise ending (die in the Hunter’s dream), the Doll visits our grave on future playthroughs to put our spirit to rest.

Notable Quotes

Doll Confessing — My eldritch heart can’t process this kind of affection. Photo by JT Hussey.

First meeting: “Hello good Hunter. I am a doll, here in this dream to look after you.”
Caught naping: “[Suprised gasp]…Ahh, welcome home, good hunter. I must have drifted off. What is it you desire?”
On past hunters: “Over time, countless hunters have visited this dream. The graves here stand in their memory. It all seems so long ago now…”
Channeling echoes: “Very well, let the echoes become your strength. Let me stand close. Now shut your eyes…”
Parting remark: “Farewell, good hunter. May you find your worth in the Waking world.”
Top 10 Anime Confessions: “Would you ever think to love me? Of course… I do love you. Isn’t that how you made me?”
Triggering her memory: “I-I can’t remember, not a thing, only…I feel…A yearning…something I’ve never felt before.
After Killing Lady Maria: “Moments ago, from some place, perhaps deep within, I sensed a liberation from heavy shackles.”

FAQs

Question: How do I Awaken the Doll?

Answer: Gathering a single point of insight from encountering the cleric beast or Father Gascoigne will reawaken the Doll within the Hunter’s dream. Alternatively, we can consume a Madman’s Knowledge to awaken the Doll if we don’t want to risk losing our blood echoes in a boss battle.

Question: Who Made the Doll?

Answer: Gehrman, the man in the wheelchair residing within the Hunter’s Dream, created the Doll to remember his lost lover and favorite student. Unfortunately, Gehrman’s gradually grew bored of his creation and abandoned her.

Question: Can I Kill the Doll?

Answer: Yes, you can kill the Doll (you monster) as revenge against her challenging real-world counterpart. However, returning to the Hunter’s Dream revives the Doll, enabling us to keep leveling.

Question: Who is the Doll’s True Identity?

Answer: The Doll resembles Lady Maria, Gehrman’s dead student, residing within the Hunter’s Nightmare. The two share identical appearances with opposing personalities; the Doll is gentle and kind, while Lady Maria is a cold-blooded killer.

Conclusion

Well done, brave hunter! We succeeded in reviving our cotton friend to make the trek through Yharnam much more bearable. Although eldritch foes may trouble our progress, we now have the power to grow stronger and overcome our enemies in due time.

Doll Costume — All Yharnamites shall fear the wrath of the Doll! Photo by JT Hussey.

Even if she isn’t a real person, we can show our affection by roleplaying as the Doll, bringing her signature dress and hat to Yharnam. These beasts shall grow to fear the fury of an angry handmaid!