Bloodborne: Hemwick Charnel Lane to the Witch of Hemwick

Bloodborne takes us on a journey through the charmingly, alarmingly named Hemick Charnel Lane.

Bloodborne's next challenge is to explore an area full of very nasty beasts and not so nasty old women. You probably took a breather at Hunter's Dream after defeating Vicar Amelia, so head back now to the Grand Cathedral lantern.

Go down the stairs and battle two Gravekeepers. When they're dead, head right to find a path leading to a Bloodshot Eyeball - you'll want this for Chalice Dungeons later. Keep going down more stairs at the end of this path until you spot another corpse with three Bold Hunter's Marks.

If you pass through the cave you'll reach a clearing where there are a lot of enemies, possibly including a Soot Monster. These nasty foes are tougher than other beasts you've encountered so far, and unfortunately their appearance and numbers depend on how many times you've been here and what you've done before you arrive, so you'll have to brave them out yourself. Be cautious.

The easiest path we found through this area is to head forward first just far enough to aggro the first Demon Hound. Kill him, then move clockwise around the border to take out another Demon Hound and a Henchman. Move back in an anti-clockwise direction and advance cautiously along the path, looking for lone Henchmen, of which there are about three. Don't go near the pth leading out of here yet; circle back around from either direction till you see the knot of four Henchmen. They're very deadly in a bunch like this, so try various angles till you can sneak in with only one aggroing, off him, and roll away. Wait till they calm down and repeat. You can then collect all the items in the area - nine Bone Marrow Ash, two Thick Coldblood and four Pebbles. On the far side of the area, near the path leading out, are some Quicksilver Bullets, but also two Demon Hounds, one last Henchman and maybe even a Soot Monster if you win the bad luck lottery.

The path goes direct to the gate and next Lantern. You never have to come here again!

Hemwick Charnel Lane

Look up "charnel" in the dictionary if you've never encountered this word before. There's a whole exciting world of rotting corpses to discover. This area's lantern is just ahead, at the bottom of the path, and you have nothing to worry about trotting down there.

Once you've lit the lantern, continue down the hill to your left, where you should spot six Crazed Hags - they're not a problem alone but they attack very quickly, and as ever don't let yourself get mobbed. Make sure you take down all of them, including the two hiding on the stairs and over on the right, and then smash up the cart to score a Bloodshot Eyeball.

Head on into the area on the right to collect two Twin Blood Stone Shards, then go up the narrow wooden steps. There's one of those lit windows here, but it's not quest related. Move to the right to grab a Madman's Knowledge. There's a lever and lift ahead, but we cant use it right now, so backtrack to the first area and take the larger set of stairs.

The top of the stairs is guarded by a Crazed Hag and a Demon Hound who ambush you, along with a possible Soot Monster. Lure the Crazed Hag and Hound out and take them down before engaging the Soot Monster. As you move on, a Crazed Hag will lob Molotovs down at you from the ledge above, so time your movements carefully as you collect the Thick Coldblood and move into the upper ledge area.

You'll find two Crazed Hags waiting for you, including the Molotov one. Head up the next flight of stairs, keeping an eye out for the Brute. Don't push too far from the stairs, because there's another Molotov-lobbing Hag in the area - lure the Brute to you by the stairs instead. Once he's down, continue towards the locked gate just ahead of you, then turn around, carefully taking the path to the right, up the hill, watching out for Molotovs.

Fight the one Crazed Hag then walk to the ledge and look down; drop to collect two Twin Blood Stone Shards. Go back up the hill again and take the narrow path downwards. You'll be ambushed by a Crazed Hag about half way down, and there's a nasty trap waiting for you at the bottom.

Here's the set up: five Crazed Crows at the bottom on the right, and a Soot Monster who may spawn when you get too close to the mob of Crazed Crows. The idea is that you'll rush towards the easy kills, take a Soot Monster assault in the rear, and be mobbed by the Crows. Don't give From Software the satisfaction; approach the crows cautiously and back right off as soon as the nastier foe arrives, taking it out alone.

When everything is down, look for four Pebbles off to one side, then take the lift: this will activate the lever at the bottom, so you can use it as a shortcut back here from now on. This is a really good time to return to Hunter's Dream and purchase the Hand Lantern if you don't have it already. Head back up to continue on.

The path to the Witch of Hemwick

From the lift area, take the stairs on the right to another Crazed Hag ambush. There's a corpse behind the tombstones with eight Bone Marrow Ash. Go up another flight of stairs to battle a Brute; watch out for the Molotovs being thrown down on you here. Dispatch the Crazed Hag responsible for the firey death just inside the barn. Once everything's dead, head into the big structure ahead; there's a Crazed Hag hiding in the second stall on the right and a Demon Hound about halfway along.

On the far side of the barn, climb up the ladder. Don't rush towards the item ahead; there may be a Soot Monster about to spawn in. (There might be an Imp, too! Weigh the risks.) This battle can be tricky as it's too dark to get a lock on the enemy. If you have the Hand Lantern or a Shining Coin you'll be laughing, but otherwise, you'll need a Torch in your off hand, and that means no gun and no Countershots.

Once the Soot Monster is down, you can grab the Bloodshot Eyeball and then take the exit in the corner. Walk carefully across the beams here to the far side, then pass through the doorways, quickly taking out the Wheelchair Blunder waiting on the right in the next room. You can then collect an Adept Blood Gemstone and a Madman's Knowledge.

Go back to the top floor of the barn and go through to the rooftop outside, circling the left to meet a Crazed Hag on your way to the end of the rooftop. Watch out for the Brute and two Crazed Hags before you grab the tempting Coldblood Dew.

Continuing on around to the left, you'll meet another two Crazed Hags and a Demon Hound. Look around the corner of the building on your left to collect two Twin Blood Stone Shards, then move onwards in the same direction as before.

Just inside the next building you'll meet a Crazed Hag. Take the stairs on the far side to emerge in an area with two Brutes. You don't wanna get sandwiched here, so lure one away from the other when they're at opposite ends of their patrols. Once you've offed them both you can safely collect the nearby Thick Coldblood, then operate the lever to open a shortcut gate.

We'll be heading left from here, but there's a some treasure on the right path. Battle five Demon Hounds and one Crazed Hag on your way to the far end of the area, and you'll be rewarded with eight Bone Marrow Ash, one Thick Coldblood and a Lake Rune.

Back on the left path, climb the hill and battle three Crazed Hags (one with Molotovs) and a Brute. Poke around the house on the right, looking for a broken section of fence allowing you to slip behind the building and find a chest with a Tempering Blood Gemstone.

Once you've got that, keep walking up the hill and look for a building; there's an Imp here you should beat up for its sweet, sweet upgrade materials. Once it's down, you can smash some barrels to find a Madman's Knowledge.

If you take the stairs down now you'll enter the arena where the Witch of Hemwick boss battle takes place.

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