Bloodborne: How to Beat Father Gascoigne

It’s the Night of the Hunt, and all of Yharnam is stirring as something dark and sinister awakens within the city that is the central setting of Bloodborne. But what happens when it is the hunter that falls to the plague? A hunter, trained and equipped to take down even the most fearsome of foes would be one difficult to defeat prey. Well, that’s exactly what you’re in for when you come across Father Gascoigne. Here’s our guide for how to beat Father Gascoigne in Bloodborne.

How to Beat Father Gascoigne in Bloodborne

You yourself are a hunter in the world of Bloodborne so you should undoubtedly be familiar with everything a hunter is capable of. Speed, power, strategy, firearms, and evasiveness are what make you a force to be reckoned with. Now just imagine all of that, except with no loss of stamina, unlimited ammunition, an insane damage buff, and a deadly endgame. Sounds crazy, right? Nah, sounds just like Father Gascoigne.

Right before the gates leading to the Tomb of Oedon, you will stumble across an old hunter dealing death to a beast like only a hunter can. He notices your presence and shares that you too will become a beast in due time so he must put you down. You can see in his eyes that he has gone mad, or at least you would if he had any eyes to see into. His face his horribly scarred and his mouth is twisted into a devilishly wicked grin.

This fight is a bit more difficult than the one against the Cleric Beast. You have quite a few more elements to be wary of, and death is much more of a real threat than it was against the large savage beast. Before getting into the patterns of Father Gascoigne, it’s important to take a look at the area you will be fighting in.

Bloodborne is chock full of cemeteries and tombstones, so it should come as no surprise that at least one of the boss fights would take place in a graveyard.

This is important to be aware of because it will seriously limit your movement for a major portion of the fight. You are unable to break these tombstones, so being aware of them is crucial unless you want to end up cornering yourself which will most likely end in a very gruesome demise.

Once you have the geography of the area logged into your mind, it’s time to take a look at Father Gascoigne himself. He has three phases throughout the battle.

His first phase is the dual wielding hunter. Equipped with a Hunter Axe and a Blunderbuss, he will not hesitate to stun you and then chop you to little bits. Your best bet here is to bait him by standing in the open and quickly getting behind him to deal a few attacks.

He will try to shoot you mid combo so make sure to save at least a little bit of stamina for a well timed dodge roll. Unless you also have a Blunderbuss, don’t bother wasting your time shooting at him.

A single shot from a pistol is much too slow to hit this unbelievably fast target and firing will only leave you open to an ass whooping. Play it safe and bring down his health little by little. He’ll go for quick combos so stay on your toes as you bring him down to half health.

This is where things get tricky…

At half health Father Gascoigne will switch his trick weapon to two handed mode. If you also have a Hunter Axe you should be aware of how deadly this switch truly is, especially since dodging is sorely limited by the presence of all those damned tombstones.

His speed combined with the sweeping arc of his axe’s attacks make him one of the most annoying enemies in Bloodborne. The one good thing is that he seems to prefer charged attacks during this phase which often leaves him standing still.

If you have a safe distance between you two, you can try using a molotov cocktail or a throwing knife. Firing a shot with a pistol is still not recommended since his speed will make it near impossible to capitalize on the temporary stun.

He has the same abilities that Bloodborne granted you, so don’t allow yourself to be pinned against a wall. The sweeping blade attacks combined with his insane damage output will put you out in seconds if you happen to get cornered.

Wait for him to telegraph his actions by stopping to prepare a charged lunge.

As he leaps just dodge, get in a few cheap shots and back out. Be aware that although he is in two handed mode, he will still sometimes pull out his gun to stun you. Your main focus should be bringing him down to a quarter of his health.

At quarter health, Father Gascoigne will undergo the same change that has befallen all of the other residents of Yharnam. He will change into a huge beast that oddly resembles Solomon Grundy of DC comics. This is his most physically powerful form, but his drop in speed makes him much easier to deal with than when he was a hunter.

The first thing you should do is use him to clear the field. Remember all of those pesky, unbreakable tombstones that you kept getting stuck on and led to you dying more times than you wish to admit? Well Beast Gascoigne can take them out with ease.

Lead him on a wild chase around around the fighting area to give yourself some breathing room.

Now that that’s dealt with, you can focus on beating Father Gascoigne. Just like most big enemies in Bloodborne, Father Gascoigne’s final form will do a combo of 3-5 hits before resting for a couple of seconds.

Since you had him clear the area for you, stay within a reasonable distance, and switch to the extended form of whatever weapon you’re using. You want to keep it extended and at a safe distance because although he’s bigger, and moving at a much more manageable speed, he still has a decent reach with his weapon so be mindful.

As long as you don’t get too greedy, you should be able to take down Father Gascoigne within a minute or two once he’s in his final stage. Since he no longer tries to stun you, you don’t have to worry about him blindsiding you.

Just wait, dodge behind and deal a quick heavy attack. If you strike him after a heavy attack you can stun him, decreasing the time it takes to finish him off.

Although this is his easiest form to fight, don’t become too lax. You are never truly safe in Bloodborne, so stay on high alert until your mission is accomplished.

And there you have it. All you need to know for how to beat Father Gascoigne in Bloodborne. Yet another big bad boss from Bloodborne taken down. You’re starting to get really good at this.

Do you have any tips for your fellow hunters? If so feel free to share below. For more tips and tricks for fresh hunters, be sure to check out our beginner’s guide.