One of the biggest changes between Bloodborne and Dark Souls was the lack of weapon variety in the former... or at least, that's what people assumed to be the case at first glance. A deeper look into Bloodborne's Trick Weapons reveals unique movesets for each weapon, essentially two weapons rolled into one.

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Suffice to say, players have dissected the entire game as they tried to figure out the best weapon possible to take care of the waves of enemies and bosses the player faces in the game. Here are 10 of the best weapons for PvE in Bloodborne, ranked as per their effectiveness.

Updated on July 26th, 2021 by Ritwik Mitra: The combat of Bloodborne is truly one-of-a-kind and makes a player feel like a hunter of beasts as they slash and shoot their way through countless foes and obstacles. The brilliance of this combat system truly shines when players end up experimenting with different weapons that all have unique movesets of their own. To deal with the various challenging enemies present in the game, here are some of the best weapons to perfectly suit a Bloodborne PvE build.

15 Bloodletter

One of two weapons in the game that scales with Bloodtinge, the Bloodletter is one of the most unique and damaging weapons in the entire game. The fact that it uses the player's health itself to deal extra damage is a point that should be noted as well.

To find this weapon, players need to use the Underground Cell Key to unlock the door that leads to Brador's cell. It's recommended that players take care of this NPC sooner rather than later so that they have to avoid any needless invasions further down the line.

14 Logarius' Wheel

Logarius' Wheel is easily one of the most unique weapons in the entire game. The idea of using raw strength to whack enemies with a big wheel sounds infinitely satisfying, and the Logarius' Wheel definitely doesn't disappoint in this regard.

Players need to either kill Alfred the Vileblood Hunter or give him the Unopened Summons to get the Wheel Hunter Badge. Following this, Logarius' Wheel will be open to purchase for anyone who needs this weapon to complete their Bloodborne PvE build.

13 Boom Hammer

Another weapon from the DLC that ends up being extremely powerful, the Boom Hammer is not a weapon to be taken lightly. It might seem a bit unwieldy, but players who manage to use its explosive attack to great effect will find themselves enjoying one of the most damaging weapons in the entire game.

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Players can find this weapon in The Hunter's Nightmare on the corpse of a hunter who is surrounded by explosive traps. Watching enemies be blasted to smithereens with the use of this weapon is quite entertaining indeed.

12 Stake Driver

While the Stake Driver might not have the explosive impact of the Boom Hammer, its attack can still deal significant damage. However, keep in mind that the charged attack of the Stake Driver can be incredibly slow, so timing is of the essence to master this move.

Players who do end up using the Stake Driver will easily find themselves enjoying one of the best weapons in the entire game. To get this weapon, the player needs to either fight or befriend Djura to get the Powder Keg Hunter Badge.

11 Kos Parasite

Players who are pursuing an arcane build should definitely try out the Kos Parasite. With the Milkweed Rune, the Kos Parasite turns into one of the most unique and coolest weapons in the entirely of Bloodborne.

Unfortunately, the player might not have all the time in the world to try this weapon out, since the Kos Parasite is obtained after defeating the hardest boss in the game — the Orphan of Kos. However, players who put in the effort will find themselves enjoying an excellent weapon to support their Bloodborne PvE build.

10 Beast Claw

Due credit must be given to the Beast Claw for arguably being the most fun weapon to use in the game. The weapon itself might not be that great of a combat asset, but pairing it up with the Beast Embrace rune can turn the game into a wholly unique affair.

With the Beast Claw, the player will gain Beasthood with each hit, allowing them to hit for massive damage... while simultaneously being vulnerable to be one-shotted as well. It's a playstyle that will keep gamers on the edge of their seats and turn every encounter in Bloodborne into a nerve-wracking yet adrenaline-infusing battle.

Not that most encounters weren't like that already... but the Beast Claw ups the ante by just that much. It can be obtained in The Hunter's Nightmare by defeating a hunter who wields the same weapon.

9 Saw Cleaver/Saw Spear

There's a reason why the Saw Cleaver has been featured so heavily in Bloodborne's marketing — it's easily the best starting weapon by a country mile, scales nicely with a most builds, and has a variant in the form of the Saw Spear that favors people who are focusing more heavily on Skill instead of Strength.

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With the Saw Cleaver or Saw Spear, the player gets serrated damage as well, which damages beasts more by 20%. Given the fact that most tough enemies in the starting areas are beasts, the player will have more leeway to make mistakes and learn from them without being overly punished. It's easily a weapon that most players can use throughout the game without facing any problems whatsoever.

The Saw Cleaver can be obtained at the very start of the game, while the Saw Spear is obtained in the sewers after some searching.

8 Blade Of Mercy

The Blade Of Mercy is truly a one-of-a-kind Skill weapon... or at least it was before The Old Hunters barged in with a massive set of amazing weapons that dwarf the original by quite a margin.

That being said, one can't deny how awesome it is to use Blade Of Mercy in combat. Its two-handed mode allows players to unleash eight unique attacks with their R1 combo — more than any other weapon in the game. Obtaining this weapon does require players to finish Eileen the Crow's questline, which can be quite challenging indeed since players will be required to fight the hardest NPC in the entire game — the Bloody Crow of Cainhurst.

7 Ludwig's Holy Blade

Most people might be groaning upon seeing this weapon on the list, but one can't deny that Ludwig's Holy Blade is a great Quality-build weapon that can be massively useful in combat, whether in PvE or PvP.

The only reason why it doesn't rank all that high in the list is that it definitely loses style points for being the most overused weapon in the entire game. Players who want to make the most of this weapon for their Bloodborne PvE build should definitely purchase the same after obtaining the Radiant Hunter Sword Badge.

6 Church Pick

The Church Pick is the first weapon from the DLC to make this list, and what a weapon it is. This trick weapon turns from a piercing sword into a scythe-like weapon in the blink of an eye, making for some interesting combat scenarios.

It deals massive damage and is an easy recommendation for anyone who wants to pick up an interesting weapon to use in a second playthrough. Players need the Underground Cell Key so that they can unlock the door and fight the hunter who wields this weapon in The Hunter's Nightmare.

5 Holy Moonlight Sword

The Holy Moonlight Sword is easily one of the coolest weapons in the game. While it does require some investment in Arcane, the end result is more than worth it.

Using the weapon in its transformed state and watching it massacre enemies with its ranged attacks will never not be entertaining. To use this weapon as a part of a player's Bloodborne PvE build, they'll need to defeat the best boss in the game — Ludwig.

4 Chikage

For players who are pursuing a mixture of Skill and Bloodtinge, there's no weapon that's better than the Chikage. The untransformed state is great in its own right, but it's the transformed state that truly shines as one of the most powerful and coolest transformed trick weapons in Bloodborne.

While this transformed state does take some life from the player, the massive increase in damage — especially with high Bloodtinge — is a thing of beauty. Players can obtain this weapon to complete their Bloodborne PvE build by joining the Vilebloods and buying this weapon for 50,000 Blood Echoes.

3 Burial Blade

For a weapon as great as the Burial Blade, it's a shame that most players only get a whiff of it after defeating the final boss in the game... or the penultimate boss, depending on what choices the player has made in their playthrough.

The Burial Blade has massive range and damage, at the cost of speed — an odd mix for a Skill weapon.

2 Rakuyo

Lady Maria wields one of the coolest looking weapons in the game, and it's a given that players would want to test this weapon out as well. However, the act of getting this blade is perhaps one of the hardest challenges in Bloodborne.

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Fighting the two Giant Fishmen to get this blade is an achievement in itself, and the weapon that players get is easily one of the best Skill weapons in the game.

1 Whirligig Saw

It would be impossible to talk about the best PvE weapons in Bloodborne without mentioning the stagger king. The Whirligig Saw easily has the highest DPS in the entire game, to the point where players might feel that it's downright broken.

One can't deny how satisfying it is to permanently stunlock a boss and watch them fall without even putting much of a fight.

NEXT: Things We Want From Bloodborne 2 (& Other Things We Don’t)