Deep in the burnt-out ruins of Old Yharnam lies a beast that terrifies every hunter of Bloodborne. The Blood-Starved Beast may be an optional boss, but defeating it is the only way to acquire the Pthumeru Chalice and access the Chalice Dungeons. This malformed beast looks like it's had all of its skin burned from the fires or skinned by the hunters, making for a truly gruesome sight, and, as its name implies, it's starving for your blood.

Like most other bosses in Bloodborne, the Blood-Starved Beast has three phases. In the first phase, it moves fairly slow and has a limited number of attack combos. The second phase adds new combos, increases its speed and adds slow poison buildup with each attack. The third and final phase makes the Beast far more aggressive in its attacks, but more importantly, slow poison liquid will sprout from the Beast's body, causing slow poison build-up for characters just from being near the Beast.

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If you've made it this far into Bloodborne, you'll likely realize that playing aggressively is more rewarding than playing cautiously like other Soulslike games. The Blood-Starved Beast has a lethal leap attack, especially after the first phase of the fight, and in its second and third phase, the Blood-Starved Beast tends to attack in a succession of five or six swipes. These swipes have bad tracking, and the boss will continue attacking in the general direction even if the hunter dodges behind it.

One of the best strategies for any player is almost always to dodge left when the beast is attacking. All of its attacks are either directed forward or on its left side. Dodge all of its attacks by rolling or sidestepping to the left for all of its attacks and, if possible, getting a couple of free hits after it attacks.

Because of the grave danger from its poisoned attacks, be it passively or otherwise, players should make sure to stock up on plenty of Antidote consumables and put them in their quick slot. It's also recommended that players equip their hunters with either the Yharnam Hunter Set, the Black Church Set or Gascoigne's Set since they provide high resistance to slow poisoning and are available for purchase before the boss fight.

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Like nearly all other beast enemies in Bloodborne, the Blood-Starved Beast is vulnerable to fire damage, so Molotov Cocktails or applying Fire Paper to your weapon are good ways to deal extra damage during the fight. It has a strong resistance to arcane and shock damage, so don't bother with either. Players can also use a Blood Pungent Cocktail to distract the beast for a time, giving some great opportunities to attack while its back is turned. These can always be purchased within the Hunter's Dream and are rarely dropped by Executioner enemies.

If players have some Insight they're willing to part with, they can also summon the hunter Alfred to help against the Beast, provided they found him in the Cathedral Ward. Don't depend on him to kill the Beast for you, though. It's best to use him to distract the Beast and get some hits in. The Beast is also vulnerable to parrying with a firearm, providing the opportunity for a visceral attack. Shooting him when he raises his claw during a singular swipe or before the last slash if its rapid slashes will immediately stagger him. If this is repeated six to seven times, the Beast can be defeated quite easily, assuming you can get the timing right.

In a regular new game, defeating this boss will reward players with 6,600 blood echoes, the Pthumeru Chalice and three Insight. Keep in mind that once the Beast is slain, a new enemy type called Snatchers will appear in select locations across the Cathedral Ward and Forbidden Woods. For those intent on completing everything in a new game, this isn't the last you'll see of the Blood-Starved Beast. It returns as a final boss of the Hintertomb Chalice, a second layer boss of the Ailing Loran Chalice, and even in a cave within the Hunters Nightmare DLC.

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