Cleric Beast

Cleric Beast:

Information:
The Cleric Beast is an optional Boss located in Central Yharnam, most likely the first one you will meet. Gain one Insight for finding him and three for defeating him. Activates the Great Bridge Lamp upon his death.

Special Notes: Although optional, fighting the Cleric Beast is the only way to obtain the Kirk Hammer.

Lore:
The Cleric Beast was once a member of the Healing Church, who fell to the beastly scourge caused by the old blood.

References and Dialogue:
-"As it was, clerics transformed into the most hideous of beasts." Sword Hunter Badge

Description:
The Cleric Beast is a deformed wolf-like being with antlers and one bigger deformed arm. It is giant, making it slow, and it also walks on its hind legs using its larger arm to drag the rest of its body forwards. Upon arrival, he leaps over the gate at the end of the Great Bridge.

Location:
From the Central Yharnam Lamp, take the stairs to the right. Continue down the road to the right, past the bonfire and the Huntsmen and continue up the stairs. You will see a Brick Troll on your right and some Crows on your left. Head up the stairs to be greeted by more Huntsmen and at the very top of the stairwell some Netherbeasts. Past the Netherbeasts you will see another Brick Troll surrounded by Crows and you will pass under an arch to reach the Cleric Beast.

Summons:
-You can summon Father Gascoigne, if you have not killed him in the next boss battle. He wields a Hunter's Ax and a Hunter's Blunderbuss. His first summoning bell is located past the gate to the left at the Central Yharnam Lamp next to the ax and torch wielding Huntsmen. His second bell is located by the fountain where you encounter the first Brick Troll.
-You can also summon Alfred after encountering him in the Cathedral Ward. He uses a Kirkhammer and Hunter's Blunderbuss. If you have spoken to him he will be at the bell past the gate to the left instead of Father Gascoigne.

Combat:
-Weakness to Fire and Serration
-Strong against Blunt, Arcane, and Bolt

The Cleric Beast's arena is a very long, narrow bridge with several statues in the corners. At the ends, there are two slightly wider sections but it is not by much and they mostly present opportunities to be cornered. The dead ends tend to be a little niche to get caught in so avoid those.

Stage One:
This is not truly a stage but rather a mode that the Cleric Beast cycles through during the fight. In this stage, he is quite slow with very long windups between his swiping attacks (slight damage for left arm, moderate damage for the larger one), he will lift his arm up and swing it across his body; his leap attack (m), he will crouch down before leaping into the air; and his grab attack (h), he will seem to be making a windup for a clap but will grab you instead and pound you into the ground.

Stage Two:
He will howl and glow red after taking a fair bit of damage to his limbs. This is indicative of him healing his limbs and he will enter a rage mode where he is slightly faster and more aggressive. His combos are slightly longer as well.

Drops:
-4,000 Blood Echoes
-Sword Hunter Badge

Tips and Tricks:
-The best weapon for the fight will undoubtedly be the Saw Cleaver or the Saw Spear because of the extra Serration Damage.
-The next best weapon would be the Hunter's Ax as a charged R2 attack will bring the Cleric Beast down for a couple of seconds.
-Stay to the side or behind him. If you have to move towards him, roll towards his smaller arm as that does significantly less damage.
-Hit him with an Oil Urn and then a few Molotovs to help progress the fight along.
-You can visceral attack him if you shoot him enough times although it isn't suggested as he can be taken down pretty quickly with normal attacks.
-He is very slow so don't waste stamina dodging away from him if you can walk backwards to heal up.
-A summon can make the fight more difficult due to the small amount of space in which to fight the Cleric Beast resulting in a lot of collateral damage.

Glitches:
-After the grab attack the Cleric Beast will become passive if you were not killed. 9:35
-After the grab attack the Cleric Beast can throw you off the map. Link

Damage Indicator:
Slight damage (s)
Moderate Damage (m)
Heavy Damage (h)
Stun (st)