Don’t fear the old blood! Find the source of the plague and peel back the many mysteries surrounding Yharnam in record time to rampage the leaderboards.

FromSoftware’s gruelingly difficult action role-playing game features immersive settings, sounds, and stories. Customize the Hunter, explore the Gothic Victorian era-inspired city, and slice and shoot your way through brutal bosses.

Special thanks to Romanticore, Ahady, and the SpeedSouls Discord for their assistance. Ease into the scene with the help of their community, visit the SpeedSouls site for more invaluable information, and check out the best Bloodborne runs on Speedrun.com to make the most of your experience.

Born to Run: Introduction to Bloodborne Speedruns and GDQ

Speedrunning is quite thrilling. Players typically race to complete the game with any%, all bosses, or all trophies. Jot down notes, watch top runners, read guides, start with simple strategies, and make sure you’re comfortable playing Bloodborne again and again to sharpen your skills and times.

Some of the world’s best speedrunners save time and lives at Games Done Quick (GDQ) events. Every run and race brings the community one input closer to new records and revelations in captivating classics and modern marvels.

Their charity marathons raise money for organizations like Doctors Without Borders and the Prevent Cancer Foundation. Ahady’s GDQx 2019 Bloodborne All Bosses run exemplifies the passion, perseverance, and pleasure synonymous with speedruns.

Grant Us Eyes on the Prize: Bloodborne Basics

May the good blood guide your way through an any% run of Bloodborne’s story. The game’s “tutorial” is a testament to trial and error because you’re expected to learn from your mistakes with little to no assistance. Brighten the dark difficulty with VaatiVidya’s beginner’s guide.

A Hunter is Never Alone: Speedrun Specifics

Speedrunning Bloodborne is a whole new beast compared to simply beating the game. Players need to know the most efficient route to the credits, the fastest way to gain specific items, and the quickest tricks to skip, strike, and slay anything in their way.

Study zPinkman’s Any% Current Patch No Quitout world record run to learn from more than just your mistakes.

A Hunter is a Hunter, Even in a Dream: Bloodborne All Bosses Speedrun

Players must defeat every boss except the chalice dungeons to complete an all bosses run. Let us cleanse these foul streets with All Bosses Partial Quitouts world record holder, Ahady.

Beasts all over the leaderboards. You’ll be one of them, sooner or later, just like InSilico. Witness his second-place All Bosses No Quitout run. TheWorld0815 holds the current record.

Sewer Skip

Credit: GiantCookieJar

This consistent skip will always work if you properly position yourself and nail the inputs. Run up to the pillar, put your left foot on the left line of the slightly raised brick, align your analog dead center, then run into the pillar and jump toward the fence to land on it. Spamming R2 helps land the trick.

Practice to perfect the skip and your times.

Old Yharnam Skip

Credit: GiantCookieJar

Exploit the area’s verticality to quickly descend far faster than traditional means.

Forbidden Woods Skip

Credit: Unknown Great One

Avoid getting lost in the woods with this shortcut to the Shadows of Yharnam boss fight.

Lunarium Key Skip

Credit: Kev99gh

Utilize enemy positioning to your advantage in order to bypass the Lunarium Key and reach Rom.

Yahar’gul Skip

Credit: ThisHex

Start from the first lamp then clip through the fence to go out of bounds and drop through a large chunk of Yahar’gul.

Lecture Hall Skip

Credit: ThisHex

Learn this lesson to save 15 seconds when going from the Lecture building’s second floor down to the Nightmare Frontier door.

Nightmare Frontier Skip

Credit: gamerfan8 JVC

Why take an elevator when you can become one? This skip has two variations. One where you slide onto a rock below the ledge then quit out and another where you hit a specific rock to negate fall damage. The second is more reliable than the first, however, both greatly shorten the distance to Amygdala.

Orphanage Key Skip

Credit: ThisHEX

The key to this trick is to lure the Brainsucker to the door with a ranged attack. Kill the conveniently close enemy to pick up the Orphanage Key. No knob required.

Cave Skip

Credit: ThisHex

Cave skip sounds dull, but the 14 seconds you’ll save are anything but. Be careful! It’s possible to get stuck or fall to your demise.

Fishing Hamlet Skip

Credit: えびふらい (Fried Shrimp)

Skip a large portion of the Fishing Hamlet with this aptly named Fishing Hamlet skip. Approach the village after the second lantern and drop down to the lower level. Collide into the rocks and jump into the area right before the Orphan fight to complete the skip. Be advised, softlocks are possible.

Hut Skip

Hut Skip Credit: Romanticore

Forbidden Woods Elevator Skip Credit: ThisHex

Forbidden Woods Slope/Bridge Skip Credit: CapitaineToinon

These three sequenced skips bypass a majority of the Forbidden Woods.

• Hut Skip: Start from the Forbidden Woods lamp. Run and roll outside the intended path until you reach an invisible wall that will take you into the hut, effectively cutting half of the woods.
• Woods Elevator Skip: Jump to an invisible platform in the elevator shaft to save yourself from death. Continue to the bottom.
• Woods Slope/Bridge Skip: Jump outside of the boundary and use a slope quitout to land at the bottom of the woods.

Amelia Skip

Credit: Distortion2

Manipulate a deathcam state to skip the password door into the Forbidden Woods. This only works with quitouts.

If a Weapon Ain't Got Kick, It Just Ain't Worth It: The Fastest Path to Every Weapon

Most of the weapons can be found early in the game. You just need to know where to find your tools and how to obtain them. Note that the Central Yharnam skip in VaatiVidya’s guide no longer works.

Bloodborne Story Explained

Play Bloodborne blind before attempting any speedruns if you’re new to the game. Watching skips, boss fights, and the game in general prior to playing firsthand hampers the experience. After you’ve hunted all of your prey and desire a deeper dissection of the plot, warp back here for VaatiVidya’s full breakdown.