Ludwig Bloodborne Guide

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Ludwig, the Accursed, wields one of the most popular weapons in the SoulsBourne series, the Moonlight Sword. Ludwig is one of the Old Hunter’s DLC bosses.

Bottom Line Upfront: Ludwig has the combined moves of the most demanding bosses in the Chalice Dungeon; however, he is a bit easier.

We recommend going for the threaded cane as it can help deal more damage with his first phase, and its long-range can help Ludwig in check. Since Ludwig is aggressive, keep him in front of you, and never back yourself up against the wall!

Ludwig’s Moveset

First Phase (Without Holy Blade)

This moveset will only feature moves that Ludwig would most likely perform when he is in front of you. Again, I highly recommend staying in front of him to lessen the variety of attacks you’ll have to deal with through this first phase.

Jumping Hand Slam– When you enter Ludwig’s boss room, this is the first attack he usually does. This move can be dodged by either quickstepping towards him or backstep away from him.

Horizontal Slash-A horizontal slash that spans from your left to your right side. The easiest way to avoid this is by staying back; however, you can dodge towards the left through his hand if you know how I-frames (invincibility frames) work.

Horizontal Strike– Ludwig usually does this as a follow-up attack after the horizontal slash. It is quick and has a small wind-up, so you better be prepared to punish this by dodging into his body, or a safe way of avoiding this is by backstepping.

Diagonal Slash to Horizontal Slashes– Ludwig winds his right hand for a diagonal slash then slashes the ground horizontally. Ludwig will perform a diagonal slash (left to right player’s side), then horizontal slashes (right to the left), and sometimes combos another horizontal slash (left to right). The best way to punish this attack is backstepping during the diagonal slash and staying back during his first horizontal slash. If Ludwig decides to go for a second horizontal slash, quick step into the left side, going through his legs, remove the lock-on and punish accordingly.

Two-Bite Lunge Combo– Ludwig begins snapping his jaws twice and then lunges forward. Just be careful with this attack since this is tricky to dodge. Backstep during his bites, then quickstep into him to avoid the lunge.

The Jumping Attack– A signature attack where Ludwig will jump onto the ceiling, stay there for a few seconds, and perform a body slam to your current position. Take heed as this attack can one-shot you if you’re under-leveled or don’t have a good armor set. There are a few ways to dodge this attack:

  1. Count to four and a half when he jumps onto the ceiling and then quickstep to any direction.
  2. Observe the blood dropping from the ceiling. There should be two sets of blood drops, one the second set of blood drops; there’s half a second window before he performs the slam. You can either time your quickstep with this or start sprinting after the second set of the blood drop.
  3. Listen to his scream; if the scream is about to come to a halt, hit the quickstep button to dodge the body slam successfully.

Lunging Dash Attack– Ludwig usually does this when you’re far away in front of him. You can see Ludwig winding up during this lunge attack. Observe his hand (left player side), seemingly getting ready for the lunge. After the second time, Ludwig puts this hand down, prepare to quickstep to the left to dodge the lunge.

Spray Attack– Ludwig has two variations of the spray attack, one with a low radius and the other one with a much wider radius.

  • If Ludwig does the low radius variation, quickstep to the left, and you’ll easily avoid the attack.
  • The wider radius attack has a different wind-up, so you’ll be able to distinguish this from the low radius spray. If Ludwig does this variation, quickly backstep, then immediately quickstep to the left, and you’ll be able to I-frame your way out of this attack.

Second Phase (With the Moonlight Sword)

For the second phase, we highly recommend you not to lock on Ludwig so you can perform rolls. The best way to deal with Ludwig in this phase is by staying close to him, being patient, and waiting for him to finish his attack string. Although this would take more time, it is much safer since Ludwig is unpredictable at this phase.

I would heavily recommend you exploit only two notable attacks for this phase.

Moonlight Sword Ground Thrust– This move is relatively simple to dodge, and Ludwig heavily telegraphs this move. You have to run sprint away from him once you see him grab the Moonlight Sword with both hands before he stabs it into the ground.

Moonlight Sword Raise to Ground Slam– Ludwig will hold the Moonlight Sword with both hands and raise it into the air, and then he will slam the Moonlight Sword to the ground, dealing massive AOE damage in front of him.

  1. Similar to the ground thrust attack, when Ludwig raises his Moonlight Sword into the air, run away from him.
  2. After the AOE damage around him is about to disappear, you need to sprint towards his backside and punish accordingly quickly.

Cheesy Strat to Deal With Ludwig

The Flaming Whirligig Saw

This video serves as the guide for this cheesy strat against Ludwig.

  • Weapon Needed: Whirligig Saw
  • Buff Needed: Fire Paper & Beast Blood Pellet
  • Summon: Old Hunter Henriett

How to Get the Whirligig Saw

  1. Starting at the Lamp in the Nightmare Church, travel down the stairs. Head up to the slope on the right-hand side and continue heading up until you see a group of hunters and quickly sprint through them. Once you get to a junction, head right until a dog comes in to stop you from your tracks, then slide down the slope onto the stairs.
  2. Run up to the top of the stairs until you can see a giant fireball rolling towards you. Dodge the fireball, then continue up to the next platform, head right again until you see an opening to a canal-like area. Once you exit out of the canal, there are hunters with loaded guns waiting for you at the end; remember to use the obstacles as shields to get past them.
  3. Just follow along the straight area until you get to the house where there are a lot of hunters, bait them into attacking you so they can move out of the door in front of the house. Once you’re inside the house, go right, there should be an opening that drops you straight to the field filled with blood. Hug the left side until you see the stairs and go up the stairs.
  4. Optional Step: Once you get atop the stairs, don’t spam the rolls; time the rolls to the enemy’s bullet projectiles. Keep heading right onto the church-like corridor, and unlock the door that will serve as a shortcut from the Nightmare Church Lamp.
  5. Run across the bridge and go down the stairs again—Head through the cave opening where a spider-like creature with a large red sac will greet you.
  6. Once you get inside the cave-like opening, run around the huge debris, and you should be able to see a ladder. Do this very quickly as there are lots of enemies here that can kill you while you’re climbing the ladder.
  7. Atop the ladder, climb up the slope, drop into the blood field graveyard again. Be careful of the guy with a giant cannon. Run towards the building, and light up the Lamp.
  8. Run down the stairs next to the Lamp, and drop down to the right side. There should be another opening, run through the opening, and at the end of the path, the whirligig saw should be there.

For a visual representation of this route, check out this awesome video by GawdLikeMatt.

I got through most of Bloodborne by utilizing this weapon at an early stage of the game because it is extremely powerful.

Where to Get Fire Papers?

Fire Papers imbue your Whirligig Saw with flame elemental, proving to be a more significant threat to Ludwig. There are a few ways to obtain fire papers throughout Bloodborne.

  1. You can acquire three Fire Papers from Alfred in the Cathedral Ward if you decide to help him.
  2. Two Fire Papers in the First Section of Old Yharnam
  3. After gaining the Radiant Sword Hunter Badge (Located inside a chest in the Healing Church Workshop), players can purchase Fire Papers directly from the Bath Messengers in the Hunter’s Dream.
  4. Sometimes drops from Labyrinth Watchers.

Here’s a great guide to obtaining the Radiant Sword Hunter Badge:

Where to Get Beast Blood Pellet?

Using a Beast Blood Pellet grants players the Beasthood buff, which increases your maximum physical damage. This buff synergizes greatly with the Fire Papers, as you’d be dealing more damage to Ludwig with your Whirligig Saw. Here are a few ways to get Beast Blood Pellets.

  1. Sometimes drops from the Wolf Beast.
  2. Beast Blood Pellets scarcely drop from the Carrion Crow.
  3. It is a quest reward for the two suspicious beggars in the Iosefka’s Clinic and Oedon Chapel. Completing both quests grants you a total of four Beast Blood Pellets.
  4. Six of these are at the bottom of Old Yharnam, near the Blood-Starved Beast.
  5. Players can also find eleven of these throughout the Forbidden Woods.
  6. One in the Nightmare of Mensis
  7. After obtaining the Cosmic Eye Watcher Badge, players can purchase this through the Bath Messenger in Hunter’s Dream.

Here’s a video guide showing how you can get the Cosmic Eye Watcher Badge:

Summoning Old Hunter Henriett

The summoning location for Old Hunter Henriett is at the bottom of the staircase near the Nightmare Church. Her primary purpose is to distract Ludwig while we keep damaging Ludwig with our empowered Whirligig Saw.

Another alternative to Old Hunter Henriett is the duo of Valtr and the Younger Madaras Twin. The player must join The League and equip the Impurity Rune to summon them.

Whirlygig Character Build

Here is the recommended character build for the Whirlygig Saw. Although this is not required, it will make the fight with Ludwig much more manageable, at least on New Game.

  • Origin: Military Veteran
  • Blood Level: 170
  • Vitality: 50
  • Endurance: 25 or 32
  • Strength: 50
  • Skill: 25 or 32
  • Bloodtinge: 7
  • Arcane: 6

This character build is what I went with during my only run in Bloodborne; if you have any other builds for the Whirlygig Saw, kindly share them in the comments section below.

Optional: Fast Blood Echo Farming

Get All The Three Moon Rune Locations

First Moon Rune

  1. After defeating the Blood-Starved Beast, have yourself killed by a snatcher. This process will warp you to the Hypogean Gaol.
  2. Exit the cell, turn left, then go up the stairs. Turn right, and go up the stairs again.
  3. The Moon Rune should be in the middle of the room.

Second Moon Rune

  1. During the 2nd phase of your fight with Micolash, heading to the right side will make you fight Micolash. Go instead to the left side.
  2. Rush through the enemies and roll as much as possible since they are heavy-hitting enemies.
  3. At the end of the long hallway, you’ll find the second Moon Rune.

Third Moon Rune

  1. Start at the Mergo’s Loft Middle lamp.
  2. Run up the stairs.
  3. Ride a single cage elevator down.
  4. Roll-dive through the opening window (This has a tight opening, so be alert.)
  5. Run straight past the enemies.
  6. Eventually, you’ll see a level on a narrow walkway.
  7. Pull the lever, and Mother Brain will fall through the pit.
  8. Go back to the first area past the spider-mini boss and the hunter.
  9. Go down the stairs past the dwarves.
  10. You will see an elevator cage through the massive pit on the ground.
  11. Step out of the elevator, into the abyss.
  12. Stand in front of the Mother Brain’s eye and use the “Make Contact” gesture.
  13. It can take some time to get the Moon Rune to appear, but keep the Make Contact gesture going until the rune appears.

For a more detailed demonstration of gathering the three Moon Runes, check out this video:

Blood Echo Farming Location

Be wary that this location is a PVP hotspot, so make sure you’ll be playing offline if you want to grind Blood Echoes.

  1. Teleport to Mergo’s Loft Middle
  2. Head up to the top, where you’ll find the pigs. Kill all the enemies along the way.
  3. Backstab and kill the first pig.
  4. For the two remaining pigs, bait them to damage and kill the other mobs in the area.
  5. Clean up the rest of the mobs.
  6. Return to the Lamp and repeat the steps.

Each 5-10 minute run should gather you at least 200,000 Blood Echoes.

Here’s a video explanation of how players can do this:

Frequently Asked Questions

In Conclusion

Ludwig is a demanding boss paired with strong and unpredictable attack patterns. Players will indeed have difficulty dealing with him if they’re going in blind. Hopefully, this guide helped you defeat Ludwig.

For other guides on other games, check out these fantastic articles here:

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