Bloodborne The Old Hunters: New Weapons, Enemies, and More Revealed

Bloodborne expansion The Old Hunters arrives next week, but you don't want to wait that long to learn more about it. Producer Masaaki Yamagiwa has shared new details in a post on the PlayStation Blog.

First, he talked about some of the menacing enemies you'll face, which include an ancient hunter named Brador and a hulking foe called the Bell Holder. "Brador is an ancient Hunter and assassin once employed by the Healing Church who sits in a dark cell, waiting for something--or someone--with bell in hand," Yamagiwa said. "And while exploring the new nightmare, beware of the Bell Holder. This massive enemy wields the Bell Axe and is one of the most formidable beasts you will face."

As for the new weapons coming to Bloodborne through The Old Hunters, the first of these is called the Bloodletter. It's described as a "sick and demented" weapon that Brador wields.

"This weapon assumes its true form after drawing upon the blood of its wielder. In other words, you must plunge it into your own chest in order to unleash its true power," Yamagiwa said.

Another new weapon is the Gatling Gun. It's a powerful, enemy-stopping weapon, but it's somewhat unwieldy and rips through ammo very quickly, Yamagiwa warns.

Also included with the The Old Hunters is a rune called The Beast's Embrace.

"After many failed experiments, this rune was forbidden from use. That did not stop its discovery from becoming the foundation of the Healing Church, however," Yamagiwa said. "Those brave, or foolish, enough to unleash the power of this rune take on a ghastly form and enjoy boosted transformation effects, especially when wielding a beast weapon."

Yamagiwa also provided step-by-step instructions for how to access The Old Hunters content inside of Bloodborne. These steps are outlined below, while accompanying images are available here.

Step 1: Defeat the boss of the Cathedral Ward and examine the altar in the back of the room to change the in-game time to night.

Step 2: Go to the Hunter's Dream and receive the Eye of a Blood-drunk Hunter from a messenger.

Step 3: Go to the Oedon Chapel and leave via the left-hand exit to enter the square.

Step 4:

Go to the right-hand end of the square to trigger an event. This event will take you to the new area: the Hunter's Nightmare.
Lighting the lamp in the new area will allow you to travel to and from the area via an Awakening Headstone in the Hunter's Dream
Bloodborne patch 1.07, which is over 9 GB big, was released on November 20. It makes significant changes to the PlayStation 4 game's online mode and more.

The Old Hunters tells the story of the "legendary hunters" referenced in the main game and is set in a "nightmare world where hunters from the past are trapped forever." Sony's Shuhei Yoshida described Bloodborne: The Old Hunters as a "full-scale download."

It launches on November 24 and costs $19.99 / €14.99 / £11.99.

Bloodborne was developed by From Software, the makers of Demon's Souls and Dark Souls. It was very positively received in GameSpot's review, scored a 9/10. The game's sales exceeded expectations for Sony, reaching more than one million copies worldwide as of early April.