Throughout all of Bloodborne, Hunters proved to be some of the most challenging enemies. The Old Hunters decided to add a ton of them to the mix by making them a common enemy. You’d think that would prepare you for one of the toughest fights in Bloodborne’s first expansion, but you’d be wrong.
Lady Maria of the Astral Clocktower is the third story boss in this expansion. She is a Hunter and a powerful one at that. She wields two blades that can be combined into a sort of spear and a pistol and she is faster than anything you’ve seen thus far. Oh, and although she rarely uses her firearm, her range is insane.
To prep for this fight, you’ll want to bring your strongest weapon, some Fire Paper, some Molotov Cocktails, and plenty of Blood Vials. Raise your Physical and Blood defense as high as you possibly can, since that will help you last longer in this nail-biting encounter.
Lady Maria has two phases with the second one having a sort of sub-phase. Each one requires a different approach, so we’ll break down the phases separately.
Phase One: Hunter vs. Hunter
The first half of the fight is a fairly standard Hunter encounter. Lady Maria is ridiculously fast and has a very long range with her lunges and sweeps. For the first 25% of her health, the trick is to stay by her left side (your right if you’re facing her) because it’s harder for her to hit you from that side. Let her swing, then dodge to her side to deliver 2-3 hits, then start to dodge again.
After she loses that 25%, she will begin to use the Hunter’s Bone ability, which makes her disappear as she dodges and provides her a much larger dodge range. You can still use the “stick to her left” technique, but you may also want to stun her with your firearm (your fastest firing gun would be best, I personally used the starting pistol). Once she lifts her blades up, fire. She’s surprisingly easy to stun in the beginning, so it doesn’t really matter which attack you try to interrupt. Just make sure to shoot quickly so you can get that Visceral Attack in.
Continue this pattern until she hits half health. There is no need to waste any of your fire supplies during the first half, since this is relatively easy compared to what comes next. Hold onto them so you can shorten the time you’ll have to deal with her new special abilities.
Phase Two: Lady Maria Turns to Blood
At half health, Lady Maria will stab herself in the chest. This causes her to go into overdrive and allows her to use here own blood as as a weapon. If it was just a bit of extra damage, it wouldn’t be such a big deal, but instead it gives her an entirely new moveset.
All of her previous attacks now have the added range thanks to her blades being extended by blood. She also jumps into the air and crashes down in an explosion of blood, and she can jump into the air in a different fashion to trigger a huge air explosion around her (the difference between the two is that the crashing down one creates a small cyclone below her).
She will also develop charge attacks that can reach across the entire room you’re fighting in. For the most part the sticking to her left will still work, but she’s capable of about twice the damage as before, making staying close a dangerous affair. She’s still able to be stunned for a visceral attack, just not on every attack, and knowing which ones will lead to victory.
You cannot stun Lady Maria when she goes into the air to lunge, starts pulling blood towards her, or is charging an attack. For these instances, you’ll want to dodge and get to her side as soon as possible in order to get some hits in before moving away. If you hit her enough times, she’ll dash away to create distance (giving you a chance to heal). Every other attack can be interrupted, though, so use those opportunities to deal major damage.
Continue the pattern until she’s at about 25% health, which triggers the next part of Phase Two, which is also the most difficult.
Phase Two, Part Two: This Girl Is on Fire!
After taking Lady Maria down to her last quarter of health, she resorts to the last trick up her sleeve. Just when you thought her attacks couldn’t get any worse, she goes and sets her blood on fire. This not only makes each attack burn, but it makes them explosive, as well.
That means parrying is much more difficult. You may get off the shot but the fire will knock you back far enough where she’ll be able to recover before you can initiate the visceral attack. This is where the Molotovs come in. Fire happens to do a decent amount of damage to Lady Maria, so keep your distance and throw molotovs when she goes to charge an attack.
Get in close only if you’re sure you’ll be able to get a hit off, her combos become especially deadly once she’s at the end of her rope. Heal any damage you receive, if possible. It isn’t impossible for her to eat through an entire health bar in a matter of seconds, so be patient. You’ve come this far; there is no need to rush.
Before you know it, you will emerge victorious and be well on your way towards the end of Bloodborne: The Old Hunters.
More Bloodborne: The Old Hunters
- How to Beat Ludwig, the Holy Blade
- How to Beat Laurence, the First Vicar
- How to Get the Amygdalan Arm
- How to Get the Holy Moonlight Sword
Published: Nov 24, 2015 05:55 pm