10 Best Side Quests In Bloodborne

The main narrative of FromSoftware’s 2015 hit Bloodborne offers the potential for hours of engrossing gameplay. In true Soulsborne fashion, however, there is no shortage of lore and loot-driven secrets to be found by intrepid hunters.

There are numerous quests associated with the game’s rich world and its diverse inhabitants beyond the main campaign. For hunters in search of an exceptional challenge or completionists looking for rare trophies, these optional quests are not to be missed.

10 The Crow Hunter

Eileen the Crow is a unique NPC in Bloodborne; she’s a hunter sworn to defend the citizens of Yharnam against other hunters who have succumbed to bloodlust. She can first be found in Central Yharnam, and, after opening each of the gates leading to the Healing Church, she fights Henryk in the graveyard where the player first meets Father Gascoigne.

Assist her, and players will unlock the final stage of Eileen’s quest, which takes place in the Grand Cathedral later in the game. Hunters are warned, however, that this final stage of her story pits players against the Bloody Crow of Cainhurst, widely considered the most dangerous NPC in the Soulsborne series.

9 The Executioner Of Vilebloods

An Executioner of the Healing Church and disciple of Martyr Logarius, Alfred’s goal is simple: to rid Yharnam and its demesnes of the Vilebood lineage. After earning a hard-won audience with the Vileblood queen Annalise, hunters can take an Unopened Summons to Alfred in the churchyard.

He will depart immediately for Cainhurst Castle, where he can be found wholly succumbed by bloodlust and having killed the queen. Hunters can then find him, dead under dubious circumstances, kneeling before the crown of his deposed master after fulfilling his goal at the cost of his soul.

8 Refuge From The Hunt

This side quest is all about character judgment among Yharnam’s citizens. It’s not just monsters that prowl the streets; ordinary people can be found in the dark alleyways or barricaded in their homes, seeking refuge from the bloodshed. During the early stages of the game, hunters have the option of sending several of these NPCs to seek shelter from the beasts in Oedon’s Chapel or at Iosefka’s Clinic.

Though most of the characters sent to the chapel will be better off for the hunter’s direction, the “Suspicious Beggar” —an Abhorrent Beast in disguise—will sequentially kill the refugees, preventing the player from using the buffs and items they offer in gratitude for their safety. If players send the civilians to Iosefka’s Clinic, they will all fall victim to “Imposter Iosefka’s” experiments and be transformed into Celestial Minions.

7 The Annunciation Of Arianna

This is a rare “side quest within a side quest,” which only becomes available when Arianna relocates to Oedon’s Chapel. Once she is safe, Arianna offers the hunter a vial of her blood, which offers healing and a temporary boost to stamina regeneration.

As the Blood Moon rises, this refugee begins experiencing sudden labor pains. From piecemeal lore, it can be deduced that she miraculously conceived a child by the chapel’s patron deity, Oedon the Formless. Near the game’s climax, she gives birth to this infant Great One, an abomination that terrifies Arianna. Slaying the monster yields an eldritch umbilical cord, which can be used to unlock the game’s true ending.

6 The Fall Of The House Of Gascoigne

Despite being an early-game enemy, Father Gascoigne features some of the best narrative designs of any Bloodborne boss. Near the game’s first lantern, players are charged by Gascoigne’s daughter to find her mother, Viola, who went in search of her blood-drunk husband.

Tragically, Viola is found dead in the church graveyard, presumably killed by Father Gascoigne himself. Afterward, hunters will have the choice of either telling the Gascoignes’s daughter the tragic news or urging her to seek shelter in the nearby chapel. Players are warned that there is no happy ending to this story, no matter what they choose.

5 A Patchwork Of Trickery

A unique and beloved quality of the Soulsborne series is the appearance of the same minor characters across the game. “Trusty” Patches is one such character, a trickster who appears in each game of the Dark Souls franchise.

In Bloodborne, he is depicted as an enormous spider with a human head, perenially leading the player into traps across the many realities that exist outside of Yharnam. Hunters first encounter Patches in the Forbidden Woods, where he leads them into an ambush set by his eldritch overlords. He can subsequently be found in the Lecture Hall and Nightmare Frontier with deception and hijinks aplenty.

He appears to be a servant of the Great One Amygdala, and, when his master is killed, he will offer players a new gesture and rare Anti-Clockwise Metamorphosis rune in exchange for his life. This NPC also recalls his Dark Souls roots by appearing as a merchant in the Chalice Dungeons if players complete his side quest and choose not to kill him.

4 The Hunter Of Great Ones

Though this is not an official questline, this challenge is a must-do for any genuine fan of this Lovecraft-inspired game. Near Bloodborne’s midpoint, players learn of the existence of Great Ones, interdimensional eldritch beings of the beyond that influence the world.

Even though they are purported to be beyond human comprehension, FromSoftware doesn’t shy away from these creatures and even features several of these deities as optional bosses. It’s no easy task taking down all six Great Ones featured in the game’s narrative. These foes are among the hardest bosses in Bloodborne and should only be hunted by the most skilled players looking to uncover all of the game’s secrets.

3 Saint Adeline the Lumenwood

In a dark game full of dark stories, Saint Adeline’s questline is undoubtedly one of the darkest. Bound to a chair in the research hall and mutated by Lady Maria’s gruesome experiments, she begs the player to bring her Brain Fluid, offering consumable buffs in exchange.

Hunters who oblige Saint Adeline three times will return to her chamber and find her wholly transformed into a sentient pile of organic mush. When fed another helping of Brain Fluid, this Blood Saint rewards players with the Milkweed Rune. This rare rune transforms the player into a celestial being known as a Lumenwood, visually similar to Adeline, and also unlocks the full power of the Kos Parasite, one of the strongest weapons in Bloodborne.

2 The Sympathizer Of Beasts

In numerous ways, Djura the hunter represents the dramaturgical opposite of Eileen the Crow. He takes the interesting ideological position of sparing the beasts in Old Yharnam, in which he still sees shreds of humanity. In fact, upon entering his domain in Old Yharnam, he will fire a Gatling gun at would-be-hunters any time they enter his line of sight.

Though it takes restraint to spare this formidable foe, those who return to his territory after defeating Darkbeast Paarl will be able to speak with this unusual hunter. If players choose to spare the beasts that he guards, Djura will bestow the Powder Keg Badge upon them, which unlocks the Stake Driver and Rifle Spear for purchase in the Hunter’s Dream.

1 Consume The Eldritch Cords

In true FromSoftware fashion, Bloodborne features multiple endings that can be unlocked depending upon player choices throughout the game. The game’s true ending, for example, can only be achieved by consuming three eldritch umbilical cords that appear across Yharnam after the game’s midpoint.

Only one cord can be found in the main campaign’s sequence of events, leaving the others for players to find on their own. One can be taken from Arianna’s infant Great One, another is dropped by Iosefka if she is killed during the game’s final act, and a final cord is located in the Old Abandoned Hunter’s Workshop, hidden deep within the Cathedral Ward. Consuming three of these items triggers the Moon Presence boss fight after defeating Gehrman at the end of the game.

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