Shadow of Yharnam

Shadow of Yharnam

Locations	Boss: Forbidden Woods Enemy: Nightmare of Mensis Chalice Dungeons: Root chalice dungeons: Cursed Pthumerian Defilement Pthumeru Ihyll
Drops	Blood Rapture, Madman's Knowledge
Health
NG	NG+
Sword 3645 Sword and Candle 2302 Mace and Fireball 2046	???
Blood Echoes
NG	NG+
18500	???
Defenses

89	89

89	68 Tonitrus 160

90 Candle 100	89

60 Tonitrus 160	200

180

The Shadow of Yharnam is a boss in Bloodborne.

Description[]

The Shadow of Yharnam consists of three figures shrouded in black robes. As the fight progresses they are revealed to have been infected with the parasitic snakes that infest the woods and undergo gruesome mutations. They share a symbiotic link with the vipers, either transforming their arms to use them as whips or summoning gigantic serpents to devour victims.

This fight involves three enemies, all of which are vulnerable to Bolt-type attacks.

Shadow #1: Uses a mace and casts long-range, semi-homing fireballs.
Shadow #2: Wields a large scimitar and a candlestick that acts as a flamethrower.
Shadow #3: Uses only a large scimitar, but is the most aggressive of the three.

They are servants of Queen Yharnam, as their name implies. However, unlike other Shadows, they are infested with the parasytic snakes found inside the Forbidden Woods, making them a tough challenge when compared to the other Shadows.

Location[]

Boss variant[]

Forbidden Grave:
- In a gated cemetery at the end of the Forbidden Woods.

Enemy variant[]

Strategy[]

Boss Encounter[]

Phase 1[]

Shadow #1 is slower than the others and can be killed first by luring the other two away from it. Focusing all damage on one target will make it possible to avoid fighting all three Shadows in the second phase. The large tombstone can be used to separate the bosses and block the fireballs from Shadow #1.

Phase 2[]

When the total amount of damage inflicted upon these enemies equals 75% of one Shadow's health, all Shadows will enter phase two, undergoing a change in tactics and appearance.

Both Shadow #2 and Shadow #3 can now shoot tentacles out of their arms to whip or stab players. These tentacles have considerable reach and the Shadows will often use it when at a distance. Shadow #2 also ignites its katana, adding fire damage to its attacks.

If Shadow #1 survived phase 1, he will now shoot mortar-like AoE fireballs that explode when they land. This move is short range, however.

Shadows gain the ability to summon snakes with a large AoE once phase 3 begins, so it is recommended to whittle down the health of both Shadows in this phase before killing one of them.

Phase 3[]

Phase three will begin when either a single Shadow remains or if both remaining Shadows' health is very low.

As stated in the phase 2 section, Shadows gain the ability to summon snakes. The Shadow will crouch down and surround itself with a ring of light and eerie chanting will be heard, a few seconds later, the giant snakes will emerge randomly in the arena. Whilst it is possible to stagger the Shadow and prevent the summoning, this can be very risky. It is safer to keep moving and roll if the snakes attempt to lunge at the player.

Only one snake will be summoned to begin with but a maximum of three will appear if the player doesn't eliminate the final Shadows quickly. As multiple snakes can be very challenging to avoid, it is vital that the player does not prolong the battle.

If Shadow #1 or Shadow #2 are the last remaining Shadow, they will attempt to back away from the Hunter, in order to summon snakes. They will often get stuck in the gravestones against the wall when this happens, allowing the Hunter to stun-lock them and finish off the boss.

Notes[]

Since they are technically a regular mob, given extra abilities and power, they can be affected by the Shaman Bone Blade. This item, however, is kinda rare to obtain by simply going through the main story, with the best option being some chalice exploration in order for it to be unlocked in the insight shop.
They can very rarely appear as mobs in the root chalices.

Trivia[]

They have an enemy variant in the Nightmare of Mensis and Chalice Dungeons. Enemy variants of the shadows lack the snakes that the boss variant has.
The Shadows of Yharnam are Pthumerians as underneath the hood, they have badly textured, thin faces with a gaping mouth, and just like other Phtumerians, Arcane attacks will do more damage against them.
In the game's data there's a cut Shadow of Yharnam that was going to use a gun to attack the player.
Before the boss encounter in Forbidden Woods, if the player performs a particularly specific jump on one of the roots in the small lake next to the arena, they can go out of bounds and access the arena from above by following a route clipping through some tree models. Entering the arena this way will still trigger the battle, but if the player then quits out and reloads the game right after entering this way, the Shadows' AI will be frozen and they will stand still ignoring all of the player's actions, making for a free kill.
If the players manages to kill the last Shadow in the arena while both are close to the exit leading to Byrgenwerth, they can run out of the arena and quit out before the "Prey Slaughtered" message appears. If done fast enough, the player will end up outside the arena and able to progress with the story, but with the Shadows still alive inside. Although possible, this is only useful if the player wants to have PvP enabled in Forbidden Woods after completing the area, as the battle will not be marked as beaten and thus the player won't get the usual rewards.