Chalice Dungeons are optional side content in Bloodborne. Many of us dabbled in it for a bit and bounced off since it looked and played all the same and somewhat repeating. However, you’d be surprised by what is hidden in these labyrinthine locations. The Chalice Dungeons house some unique items you can’t find anywhere else in the game.
This list will cover some distinctive Chalice Dungeon finds you’ll regret missing out on.
1) Bone Ash Armor Set
To get your hands on this witchy-looking armor, you first need to acquire the Central Pthumeru Chalice. You’ll get the chalice from defeating the Watch Dog of the Old Lords in the Pthumeru Chalice Dungeon, which in turn is dropped by the Blood-Starved Beast in Old Yharnam.
You’ll then need 6x Ritual Blood (2) and 1800 Blood Echoes to create the Central Pthumeru Chalice dungeon in the Hunter’s Dream.
Once all that is done, move through the first layer of the labyrinth, and at the end of the second layer, you’ll face the Keeper of the Old Lords, and you can see him wearing the armor. Unfortunately, he doesn’t drop the armor once beaten. You must visit the Insight Shop in the Hunter’s Dream for that. You will have to buy all the individual pieces of the armor with 10 Insight:
- Bone Ash Mask
- Bone Ash Armor
- Bone Ash Gauntlets
- Bone Ash Leggings
The armor has notably high physical attack defenses (especially against thrust damage) and is exceptional at blocking Fire and Bolt elemental damage.
2) Madman Armor Set
This armor set requires even more hoops to jump through. You have to reach the Lower Hintertomb Chalice Dungeon. To go there, you’ll need first to fetch the Hintertomb Chalice from a chest found in the second layer of Central Pthumeru Chalice.
Afterward, create the Hintertomb Chalice dungeon and reach layer three, where you’ll face the Blood-Starved Beast, who will drop the Lower Hintertomb Chalice. Take this chalice to the Hunter’s Dream and create the dungeon using 6x Ritual Blood (3), 6x Bloodshot Eyeball, and 3200 Blood Echoes.
Fight your way through this dungeon until you come face-to-face with the Forgotten Madman, boss of layer two. You can see him wearing the armor. Be careful, when the boss’s HP reaches 50%, Madman’s Escort will come to his aid, meaning you’ll have to face two enemy hunters at once.
Again, once taken out, you can buy the Madman Armor Set from the Insight Shop in Hunter’s Dream using ten insight for the whole set:
- Madman Hood
- Madman Garb
- Madman Manchettes
- Madman Leggings
This armor has good defenses against Arcane, Fire, and Bolt damage. However, do not wear it when facing frenzy-inducing enemies; it has next to no resistance against this status effect.
3) Beast Claw
This is the only unique weapon in all of Bloodborne’s chalice dungeons. You need to get the Ailing Loran Chalice to unlock the Beast Claw. Amygdala drops this chalice.
Take the chalice to the Hunter’s Dream and create the dungeon using 9x Ritual Blood (4), 4x Coldblood Flowerbud, and 5500 Blood Echoes.
Explore the Ailing Loran Chalice dungeon, and you’ll find the Beast Claw in a chest inside the room to the right after exiting the elevator following the first-layer boss fight, just before the second-layer lantern.
In its default state, it is a regular claw weapon, but when you transform it, it gives the hunter a werewolf-esque left arm and turns into a dual-claw weapon. This is an incredibly fast weapon with a bestial moveset that is a treat to play with.
Furthermore, with each hit, you start filling up the Beasthood meter, similar to when you consume the Beast Blood Pellet. As you accumulate this buff, you will start dealing more damage at the expense of decreasing your overall defenses.
The weapon gets even crazier when you pair it with the Beast’s Embrace, covenant Caryll Rune. You’ll receive it after beating Laurence, The First Vicar in the Old Hunter’s DLC.
Once you have both items equipped, the hunter will transform completely into a werewolf and radically change how they behave. The Beast Claw moveset will become even more ferocious with animalistic lunges and roaring attacks. You must experience it yourself to truly appreciate it.
4) Blood Gems
Chalice Dungeons are the only place you’ll score some of the best Blood Gems in Bloodborne. The ones found in the story portion are nothing compared to the ones found in the Chalice Dungeons. And if you dedicate time to farming the “Root” dungeons, then there is a chance you’ll come across very broken blood gems that are perfect for build crafting.
Out of these, the Cursed Blood Gems give the greatest boost to certain offensive capabilities at the cost of a random negative effect. As seen in the picture example, the Cursed Tempering Damp Blood Gem (5) increases the Physical Attack of the weapon by 21.5% and provides a flat 7.5 boost to Physical Attack, too, but it lowers the damage the weapon deals to Kin-type enemies by 10.1%.
The numbers and effects are random, so it’s up to RNG what you receive, but if you want to maximize damage and build your weapons correctly, then Blood Gem farming is the way to go.
5) Caryll Runes
While you can find Caryll Runes working your way through the main quest, these runes have multiple tiers which many will definitely ignore. Many of these runes are found in the Chalice Dungeons.
Take an example of the Anti-Clockwise Metamorphosis rune that increases max stamina. You’ll obtain the tier 1 rune from a corpse in Forbidden Woods, which boosts the maximum stamina by 10%. Tier 2 is given by Patches the Spider in Lecture Hall and this one boosts stamina by 15%.
Now the last and the best tier 3 rune that increases stamina by 20% is found in the randomly generated Lower Ailing Loran Root Chalice. Here is the exact glyph: h3up6y2d.
Nearly all of the last tiers of any given Caryll Rune are found inside a “Root” Chalice Dungeon. Either start exploring random dungeons, or you can look up on the internet the glyphs of precise dungeons where other players have encountered these runes.
Just be aware, since Root dungeons are completely random, there is a slight chance you might not find the rune there so keep trying again until you do.
6) Blood Rock
The only thing that’s stopping you from experimenting with a new weapon you found in Bloodborne are those pesky Blood Rocks used to reach the +10 level. There are only 2 Blood Rocks in the main quest; one is hidden away in Nightmare of Mensis and the other in the Fishing Hamlet in The Old Hunters DLC. That’s it! You have to start an NG+ to get these Blood Rocks again, which bumps the challenge quite a lot.
Now with the sheer number of drool-worthy weapons this game throws at you, this abysmal collection of Blood Rock won’t allow us to upgrade our weapons freely.
You can buy Blood Rocks from the Insight Shop for 60 insights each.
You can actually farm Blood Rocks from the Chalice Dungeons without having to start an NG+. However, it’s important to note that these dungeons are the most challenging in the game.
You can find three in sarcophagus chests within depth 5 root chalice dungeons. We’ll list the name of the exact chalice dungeons and a glyph to a dungeon where you can find a guaranteed one:
- Pthumeru Ihyll Root Chalice – zziz2qbx
- Lower Ailing Loran Root Chalice – 7guktqyg
- Isz Root Chalice – hvx543he
There is a chance the last boss at the end of a depth 5 Chalice Dungeon might drop a Blood Rock too. Again, explore the ones we have mentioned above or search the web to find one. With a steady supply of Blood Rocks, you can upgrade your whole weapons arsenal.
7) Alternate Weapons Variants (Lost & Uncanny)
I didn’t even know this existed when I finished Bloodborne the first three times! There are different versions of all the weapons in the game. Let me set something straight first: These are the same weapons as the ones acquired in the base game, function- or attack-wise, but these alternate versions have different Blood Gem slots.
These are called the Lost and Uncanny weapons. Each base weapon has a Lost and Uncanny alternate with their specific Blood Gems setup.
For example, The normal Saw Cleaver has Radial, Radial, and Waning gemstone slots. The Uncanny Saw Cleaver found in the Pthumeru Root Chalice (462yygcg) has a Radial, Radial, Triangular gemstone setup.
The Lost Saw Cleaver found in the Lower Pthumeru Root Chalice (8cu74x96) has Radial, Triangular, and Waning gemstone slots.
Every weapon has a different gemstone slot variation between its three versions. Although it is not game-changing, it helps players who like to invest in min-maxing their builds using other types of gemstones.
Honorable Mentions
There are two other things that we like to give a nod to:
- You can find a randomly occurring rare Ring of Betrothal in Pthumeru Ihyll Root Chalice Dungeon (here is a glyph to a guaranteed one e99tdh9f). You can take this ring to Annalise, Queen of the Vilebloods, and ask her hand in marriage. Find out for yourself what happened next!
- A creepy yet memorable boss is found at the end of the Great Pthumeru Ihyll Chalice dungeon. It is a bloody bride boss, Yharnam, Pthumerian Queen. She is the lady standing outside the arena of Mergo’s Wet Nurse. A trophy is attached to this boss, so it’s a must for completionist Hunters.
The Chalice Dungeons are the great unknown in Bloodborne and home to some of the most potent items in the game. Since the game was released, the Bloodborne community has uncovered all manners of oddities and cut content within these labyrinths. Chalice Dungeons are the most scary and rewarding part of the Bloodborne experience. It is even more fun when exploring with your buddies.