Ludwig, The Accursed and Holy Blade

Ludwig, The Accursed and Holy Blade

Information:
Ludwig is the first boss in the Hunter's Nightmare. Gain one Insight for finding him and three for killing him. Activates the Underground Corpse Pile Lamp.

Special Notes: Ludwig is referenced as two different names in the boss fight, first as Ludwig, the Accursed and then as Ludwig, the Holy Blade hence the title. Also, Ludwig is still alive after the boss fight and will drop the Holy Moonlight Sword if killed or spoken to while wearing Church Garb.

Lore:
Ludwig is the first of the Healing Church Hunters, part of the group that was formed after Gerhman's group was deemed a failure when they were finally revealed to the public after the fall of Old Yharnam. Ludwig then became head of the Church Hunters, and after witnessing the transformation of Clerics into bigger beasts championed a much larger and heavier weapon, Ludwig's Holy Blade. He would become a legend among the people of Yharnam along with his Church Hunters but was forced into recruiting normal civilians when the beasts became too strong. The guilt of their deaths and his early exposure to the old blood brought him to the brink of beast hood many a time until he found the Holy Moonlight Sword and the Guidance Rune that accompanied it. Here he thought he had found his savior, in the form of the sprites he now saw while closing his eyes. Their whispers kept the fears at bay and allowed to him to continue fighting although with a terrible price. Ludwig became something more terrible than other clergyman had ever become and for his sins he was exiled to the Hunter's Nightmare. Despite this betrayal he still listens to the voices of his guiding moonlight in the hopes that they will one day bring him salvation.

References and Dialogue:
-"-"Ahh, ahh, please...help us...ah... An unsightly beast. A great terror looms! Ahh. Ludwig the Accursed is coming. Have mercy...Have mercy upon us..." Skeleton in Ludwig's arena
-"Aah, you were at my side, all along. My true mentor...My guiding moonlight." Ludwig
-Without Church Garb on, "Good hunter, have you seen the thread of light? Just a hair, a fleeting thing, yet I clung to it, steeped as I was in the stench of blood and beasts. I never wanted to know, what it really was. Really, I didn't."
-With Church Garb on, "Tell me, good hunter of the Church. Are my Church hunter the honorable spartans that I hoped they would be?" If prompted yes, "Aah, good...that is a relief. To know I did not suffer such denigration for nothing. Thank you kindly. Now I may sleep in peace. Even in this darkest of nights, I see...the moonlight...". If prompted no, "Oh, my. Just as I feared. Then a beast-possessed degenerate was I, as my detractors made eminently clear. Does the nightmare ever end?!

-"A Caryll rune discovered by the old hunter Ludwig along with the Holy Moonlight Sword. When Ludwig closed his eyes, he saw darkness, or perhaps nothingness, and that is where he discovered the tiny beings of light. Ludwig was certain that these playful dancing sprites offered "guidance" and emptied Ludwig of his fear at least in the midst of the hunt." Guidance Rune

-"An arcane sword discovered long ago by Ludwig. When a blue moonlight dances around the sword, and it channels the abyssal cosmos, its great blade will hurl a shadowy lightwave. The Holy Moonlight Sword is synonymous with Ludwig, the Holy Blade, but few have ever set eyes on the great blade, and whatever guidance it has to offer, it seems to be of a very private, elusive sort." Holy Moonlight Sword
-"Oh, he's well and truly gone, now. A tragic figure. But he will shame himself no longer. He dies with his ideals untarnished. He was a true hero, and earnt that much, at least. Here, this is Ludwig's guiding light. The blinding thread, that lead, and mislead, that consummate hero. The poor brute." Simon the Harrowed

-"A trick weapon typically used by Healing Church Hunters. It is said that the silver sword was employed by Ludwig, the first hunter of the church. When transformed, it combines with its sheath to form a greatsword. It exhibits several departures from the workshop's design, suggesting that the Church anticipated much larger inhuman beasts."  Ludwig's Holy Blade

-"Ludwig was the first of many Healing Church hunters to come, many of Whom were clerics. As it was, clerics transformed into the most hideous of beasts." Sword Hunter Badge
-"The radiant sword indicates the heirs to the will of Ludwig. These hunters, also known as the Holy Blades, are what remains of an ancient line of heroes that date back to a very early age of honor and chivalry." Radiant Sword Hunter Badge
-"Ludwig, the first hunter of the Healing Church, once recruited Yharnamites to serve as hunters. This hunter's attire was made for new recruits, and has excellent straightforward defense. But not nearly enough to allow an ordinary man to stand any real chance against the beasts." Yharnam Hunter's Garb.
-Ludwig is wearing what looks to be a slightly modified version of the Executioner's Garb, which was the known inspiration for the Church Garb, proof that he was the first Healing Church Hunter.
-Ludwig, the Holy Blade is named after Ludwig Van Beethoven, the composer of the Moonlight Sonata.
-The inside of Ludwig's mouths are covered in eyeballs showing a great amount of insight.


Description:
Ludwig is a stunted twisted beast who's malformed body can only be described as an amalgamation of distorted limbs. He has several limbs sticking out from his body, mostly deformed variants of horses legs while his front two arms, the largest, have long claws. He has two "heads" the first more like a growth on his shoulder revealing a mouth with the inside covered in eyes while his other head resembles that of a horse although it is just an extremely elongated face. He is blind in his right eye.

Location:
From the Nightmare Church Lamp, continue out the door and past the gate. There will be a path continue down this and turn right, right next to the gate. There will be an Eye Collector to the right. At the gate, there will be a skeleton tapping that will drop five Blood Vials. Continue past the Carrion Crows and enter the passage.

Summons:
-Old Hunter Henriett wields the Kirk Hammer and Hunter's Pistol and is located down the stairs from the Nightmare Church Lamp.
-Confederate Younger Madaras Twin is available if the Impurity Rune is equipped. He wields a Hunter Blunderbuss and a Hunter's Ax, equipped with Fire Paper. His Summoning Bell is located in the small passage behind and to the right of the ax-wielding Nightmare Executioner.
-Old Hunter Valtr is available for summoning if he is alive and the Impurity Rune is equipped. He wields a Whirligig Saw. His Summoning Bell is located next to the gate with the banging skeleton.

Special Notes: Valtr and the Madaras Twin can be summoned together but Henriett will cancel out their summons.

Combat:
-Weak to Fire, Serration, and Bolt

Ludwig's Arena is a large cavernous room with a bloody pool as the floor. There are patches of skeletal bodies piled on the floor. There are several nooks to get stuck on along the wall and particularly around the staircase area that leads to a small platform with a body.

First Stage:
Ludwig is considered a beast-type in this stage and will stay on all fours throughout the first half of his health.   He also has one charge attack, one that is heralded by a nose poke (m) that can throw you up in the air before the actual charge attack (h). His shorter range attacks include a spin attack (h) where he will utter a scream as he winds up to the left and then swings his whole body in an arc, and a series of three swipes (m), where he will swipe left to right, drag his hand across the ground, and then swipe again. These can also occur after a bite attack (m). He can also leap into the air and slam down with one hand (h). He can also do a series of retreating swipes (m), where he will back up very quickly and swipe at the ground. He also has one drop attack now, a move very similar to the Cleric Beast, where he drops down almost immediately (h).

Second Stage:
At around seventy five percent health, Ludwig becomes more aggressive and gains a few new attacks. The two Arcane attacks are a spew attack (s), where he spews glowing liquid from his mouth in a wide arc from left to right; the other is one quick spit in your direction (m). He also gains another charge attack (h), which can one shot you where he paws at the ground like a bull and charges. The second drop attack (h) he does is where he will stay on the ceiling and blood will drip down three times before he drops. He can also do a bite flurry (m), where he can do up to seven bites in quick succession. If underneath or behind him too long he will buck twice (h) and then swipe once (m).

Third Stage:
At around fifty percent health, a short cutscene will play and Ludwig will gain the Holy Moonlight Sword along with a very powerful A.O.E. He is now on two legs and will slowly plunge the sword into the ground to signal the A.O.E.(h). He will also do several diagonal slashes if in front of him (m), as well as some long range Arcane swipes (m), that will throw arcs of light at the hunter. There is also a alternate version where he will charge for a bit before releasing one long arc of light (h). He will do a single left slash before following it up with another slash and two smashes (h) as well as a retreating slash-slash smash combo (h), which will be two handed. He can thrust at you (m) as well as do something similar to an A.O.E. on his blade (h), where he will hold the sword in front of his face to charge up before slamming it down. Energy will shoot from the blade towards the ceiling as it lands.

Drops:
-34,500 Blood Echoes
-Holy Moonlight Sword
-Guidance Rune

Tips and Tricks:
-Best weapon choices so far include; Saw Cleaver, Beasthunter Saif, Beastcutter, Whirligig (with lots of stamina), Chikage and Church Pick.
-Wear clothing that protects well against physical and Arcane damage.
-Equipping runes that increase stamina are very very helpful. Make sure to have the Impurity rune equipped if you intend to summon.
-The hardest part of this fight is finding time to heal.
-Summoning Younger Madaras Twin and Master Valtr can be very helpful. Attack for a bit, back away when your stamina is out or you need to heal and let them aggro him. Be careful to watch their health bars, especially Master Valtr's as he will survive longer than the Younger Madaras Twin and attack Ludwig to let them heal as well. Keep in mind that this will increase his health.
-For the first stage, try to roll through his swipes and attack him on the sides. They can be damaged in much the same way as other bosses' legs and it will do massive damage to focus on one side. He does not heal them. Do not go behind him as he will kick out and staying under him will elicit the bucking attack.
-He will do the exact same leaping attack every time you enter the arena so use this guaranteed opportunity to get off a couple of hits.
-Ludwig's head is very vulnerable and is a good place to hit although its also very dangerous as most attacks with an overhead swipe are very slow. This is where you visceral attack for the first stage.
-Dodge to the left to avoid the charge attack as it does track slightly and is very fast. He has the large arm on the right side which makes him a bit wider so left is best.
-The arcane spew doesn't do much damage and is an excellent time to get to his side for a few hits.
-Be aware that if you stay in front of him he will bite or head butt you so always be ready to jump to the side. The bite won't do much damage but the head butt can lead into a charge and inflict serious damage.
-During the bite flurry, dodge into him when he bites the fourth time.
-During the swipe combo, dodge in during the drag attack or right before the final two slashes.
-During his spin attack wait for him to begin it and then dodge into it for a few hits. Alternatively you can hang back and wait for him to do the quick jumping swipe after and dodge through that.
-When he does his prolonged drop attack just run in a straight line.
-For the third stage focus on dodging each Arcane attack individually instead of just spamming.
-Do not get hit by his attack with the burst of energy from the blade. Back off to avoid the initial A.O.E. and then get very close to him again. Wait until he is just about to bring the blade down and dodge to the side. This is another good time to heal up if you have dodged the attack.
-The sword smashes will hit the hardest and just dodge to the side to avoid them. He can only do three of them in a row.
-Be aware that he can change the timing of his swings so if you intend on rolling forward right before he swings he will most likely hesitate and hit you when you are right against him. This can also make it seem like he is finishing a combo when he is actually just waiting for you to come closer for the last hit.
-His A.O.E. has a pretty small diameter but still try to back up as he can attack very quickly after that. This can be a great time to heal up though.
-The Old Hunter Bone is very useful in this fight.
-When visceral attacking in stage two be mindful that the place to hit is his crotch.
-A Cannon can be used, although it's not suggested due to Ludwig's speed at least in the first and second stage of the fight.

Glitches:
-In co-op, Ludwig can die right after the cutscene for the second stage. Link
-If the player dies right as the middle cutscene plays their blood echoes will be lost.

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

Stun (st)