Bloodborne
Bloodborne

Attire (Detailed Guide)

Get a detailed guide to Bloodborne attire, focusing on aesthetic customization and elemental and status resistances for surviving Yharnam.

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Attire (Detailed Guide)

In Bloodborne, your attire serves a dual purpose: it allows you to customize your Hunter's aesthetic while also providing crucial defensive benefits. Unlike traditional RPG armor, Bloodborne's attire emphasizes elemental and status resistances over raw physical defense. Understanding these nuances is key to surviving the nightmarish streets of Yharnam.

Understanding Attire Stats

Each piece of attire (Head, Chest, Arms, Legs) comes with a set of defensive stats. While physical defense is present, pay close attention to these resistances:

  • Physical Defense: Reduces damage from standard attacks. Generally lower across the board compared to other RPGs.
  • Blunt Defense: Reduces damage from blunt weapons and attacks (e.g., Brick Trolls, some beast attacks).
  • Thrust Defense: Reduces damage from thrusting attacks (e.g., spears, some transformed weapon attacks).
  • Blood Defense: Reduces damage from blood-based attacks (e.g., Chikage, Bloodlickers).
  • Arcane Defense: Reduces damage from Arcane spells and attacks (e.g., Celestial Emissary, some Hunter tools).
  • Fire Defense: Reduces damage from fire-based attacks (e.g., flaming weapons, Watchdog of the Old Lords).
  • Bolt Defense: Reduces damage from bolt-based attacks (e.g., Tonitrus, Loran Darkbeast).
  • Slow Poison Resist: Increases your resistance to slow poison buildup.
  • Rapid Poison Resist: Increases your resistance to rapid poison buildup.
  • Frenzy Resist: Increases your resistance to Frenzy buildup. Crucial for areas like Nightmare of Mensis.
  • Beasthood: A unique stat that affects your Beasthood transformation. Higher Beasthood allows for longer and more potent transformations when using Beast Blood Pellets or the Beast Claw.

Strategic Attire Selection

The key to effective attire use in Bloodborne is situational awareness. There's no single "best" set; rather, you should adapt your outfit to the challenges ahead.

Early Game Essentials (Central Yharnam to Old Yharnam)

  • Hunter Set: Your starting attire. Offers balanced, albeit low, defenses. It's iconic, but you'll quickly find better options.
  • Yharnam Hunter Set:
    • Location: Found in Central Yharnam.
      1. From the Central Yharnam lamp, head left across the bridge with the burning beast.
      2. Go through the house with the wheelchair enemy and down the stairs.
      3. Exit onto the street with the two Brick Trolls.
      4. Head right, past the carriage, and up the stairs.
      5. The set is on a corpse hanging over a railing, near the shortcut gate back to the lamp.
    • Strategy: A solid early-game upgrade, offering improved physical defense over the basic Hunter Set.
  • Gascoigne's Set:
    • Location: Available for purchase from the Insight Bath Messengers after defeating Father Gascoigne.
    • Strategy: Offers good physical defense for the early game. Aesthetically pleasing for those who appreciate the Hunter's attire.

Mid-Game Adaptations (Cathedral Ward to Forbidden Woods)

As you progress, elemental and status resistances become increasingly important. Keep an eye out for sets that offer specific protections.

  • Black Church Set:
    • Location: Found in Cathedral Ward.
      1. From the Cathedral Ward lamp, take the left exit towards Old Yharnam.
      2. Descend the stairs and turn left into the alleyway with the two Church Giants.
      3. Follow the path around to find the set on a corpse.
    • Strategy: Excellent Arcane and Bolt defense, making it useful against enemies like the Brainsucker and certain beast types.
  • White Church Set:
    • Location: Found in the Forbidden Woods.
      1. From the Forbidden Woods lamp, proceed through the village until you reach the area with the large pig.
      2. Look for a hidden path near the pig that leads to a cave.
      3. Navigate the cave system, and the set will be on a corpse.
    • Strategy: Offers good Slow Poison resistance, invaluable in the Forbidden Woods and later areas like Byrgenwerth.
  • Charred Hunter Set:
    • Location: Found in Old Yharnam.
      1. From the Old Yharnam lamp, proceed through the area until you reach the tower where Djura is sniping.
      2. Descend the tower and navigate the lower levels.
      3. The set is on a corpse in a hidden corner, often guarded by beasts.
    • Strategy: Provides exceptional Fire Defense, making it a must-have for encounters with enemies like the Blood-starved Beast (if you struggle with its poison) or the Watchdog of the Old Lords in the Chalice Dungeons.

Late Game & Chalice Dungeon Specializations

For the endgame and the challenging Chalice Dungeons, optimizing for specific threats is paramount.

  • Bone Ash Set:
    • Location: Found in the Lower Ailing Loran Chalice Dungeon (Layer 2).
    • Strategy: Boasts very high Fire Defense, making it ideal for fighting fire-based bosses like the Watchdog of the Old Lords or the Keeper of the Old Lords.
  • Executioner Set:
    • Location: Available for purchase from the Insight Bath Messengers after obtaining the Wheel Hunter Badge in Cainhurst Castle.
    • Strategy: Offers strong Blood Defense, useful against enemies like the Cainhurst Knights and the Chikage-wielding Bloody Crow of Cainhurst.
  • Hunter's Nightmare Attire (The Old Hunters DLC):
    • Old Hunter Set: Found early in the Hunter's Nightmare. Good all-around defense for the DLC's initial challenges.
    • Brador's Testaments: Unique attire pieces dropped by Brador's assassins in the DLC. Each piece offers specific, high resistances. For example, the Beast Hide Garb (dropped by the assassin near the Lighthouse Hut lamp) has excellent Bolt resistance.
    • Mensis Cage: While not a full set, the Mensis Cage (found in the Nightmare of Mensis) offers the highest Frenzy resistance in the game. Absolutely essential for navigating the Brain Trust areas and fighting Micolash, Host of the Nightmare.

Acquiring Attire

Attire can be obtained through various methods:

  • Looting Corpses: Many sets are found on static corpses throughout the game world. Always explore thoroughly!
  • Insight Bath Messengers: After defeating certain bosses or finding specific badges, new attire sets will become available for purchase using Insight.
  • Chalice Dungeons: Unique and powerful attire pieces, like the Bone Ash Set, are often hidden within the depths of the Chalice Dungeons.
  • DLC: The Old Hunters DLC introduces several new attire sets with unique properties and resistances.

Fashionborne: The True Endgame

While stats are important, don't forget the aesthetic appeal! Bloodborne encourages "Fashionborne," where players mix and match attire pieces to create their ideal Hunter look. Experiment with different combinations to find a style that speaks to you, even if it means sacrificing a few points of defense for ultimate flair. Remember, a stylish Hunter is a confident Hunter!