Route · Updated 2026-10-24
Boss order checklist
There is no official boss order. The sequence below follows Fextralife’s progress route. Optional fights can move. The expansion can start after Vicar Amelia, but it does not have to interrupt the base game.
Hunter's field tools
Track your hunt
A suggested route, with optional detours. The DLC can be entered after Amelia; this list places it before the final Dream encounters. Finishing the base game starts NG+, so complete your detours before selecting an ending.
Each of Cleric Beast and Blood-starved Beast is optional individually, but you need one of their routes to Amelia without skips. Final Dream fights depend on your ending.
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Ending encounter - reveal spoiler
Gehrman, the First HunterEnding-dependent: fight only if you refuse his offer.
Ending encounter - reveal spoiler
Moon PresenceEnding-dependent: refuse, consume at least 3 cords before defeating Gehrman, then defeat him.
I walked the route on paper against the progress page and marked every optional name so a new hunter does not think Hemwick or Cainhurst is a wall. If you only want the critical path, follow the names that are not tagged optional, then decide whether to refuse Gehrman.
Base game
Central Yharnam: Cleric Beast (optional), then Father Gascoigne. Cathedral Ward: Vicar Amelia (required). Old Yharnam: Blood-Starved Beast (optional). Forbidden Woods: Shadow of Yharnam. Byrgenwerth: Rom, the Vacuous Spider. Yahar’gul: The One Reborn.
Optional inserts along the way include Witch of Hemwick, Darkbeast Paarl, Martyr Logarius at Cainhurst, Amygdala in the Nightmare Frontier, Celestial Emissary, and Ebrietas. Nightmare of Mensis: Micolash, then Mergo’s Wet Nurse. Hunter’s Dream: Gehrman, and the Moon Presence only if the umbilical-cord condition is met.
The Old Hunters
Ludwig, Living Failures, Lady Maria, then the Orphan of Kos. Laurence is optional. The DLC access steps are on their own page and start only after Vicar Amelia.
Questions
Is this the only order?
No. It is a readable community route. Optional bosses can be delayed.
When should I start the DLC?
After Vicar Amelia you can reach it. The wiki does not publish an official level. See the access page.