Research Hall | Bloodborne Wiki

Research Hall Walkthrough

Welcome to the Hall

Upon finishing the cutscene where you are shown riding up the elevator from the Surgery Altar, you will find yourself in a darker area, with a lamp just ahead to your left. Go ahead and light it. You'll want to stop by here every now and then to spend your blood echoes. In front is a staircase leading up to the Research Hall, a vertically designed level full of convoluting staircases and insane patients with enlarged heads. Head up the stairs and to your left you will see a Scurrying Beast. Dispatch it quickly, and you will be rewarded with x2 Blood Stone Chunk. Next, take a look at the pool in the center of the large chamber. On the edge is a non-hostile version of the majority of the enemies that you'll be facing in this area, an Enlarged Head Patient. Approach him, and he will begin to ask if anyone has seen his eyes. This is about as useful as he gets, so instead, turn your attention to the pool again. Next to the large central column is a corpse containing x2 Blue Elixir. You'll want to move quickly, as the water will build up your slow poison meter. At the back of the chamber, on the edge of the pool, is another Wandering Madness. Kill it to earn yourself another x2 Blood Stone Chunk.

There is also a door marked “1st Floor Balcony”, but it's locked right now, so head back to the entrance. From here, head toward the large staircase. Be careful as you ascend, because you'll likely draw the attention of a Patient or two. A few tips and notes about these guys:

• Like most enemies, these can be stunlocked into a kill relatively easily.
• They can attack suddenly and pack a punch, especially with their flailing attack, which can stunlock you into a quick death.
• Be mindful of when they run at you, as the attack that follows is usually a headbutt. With their heads being distended and filled with fluid you may think you're just out of reach but their heads, disgustingly enough, will stretch during this attack and it does a lot of damage if you're caught by it.
• It's also worth bearing in mind that the patients are blind, they become aggressive and chase you based on the sounds they can hear.Bottles, vials and jars all litter the ground meaning when you step on them they can hear you. If you stand perfectly still, or walk very slowly, they won't be able to hear your movements if they're not patrolling.

On the Up

Once they are defeated, head up to the small landing, where you will encounter more patients. Dispose of them, then head up the staircase on the right-hand side, first. At the top, turn left, and head down this way. At the end of this hallway are two Patients, one being visible while the other hides behind the shelves. After you kill them, pick up the x2 Blood Vials on the corpse at the end. Turn back to face the way you came from and you should find a door blocked by some medical equipment. Destroy the obstructing items, and proceed into the door.

Inside are non-hostile patients, and sounds of distress and destruction that cannot be seen in this room. Talk to them if you'd like, then climb the ladder here. When you get to the top, you'll identify the source of the disturbing noises you heard earlier as only a small corridor separates you from it: an Enlarged Head Giant. He's quite similar to his smaller brethren however, is larger in size and that comes with more health and more damage. He also wields an IV Stand, so watch out. Once you've defeated him, pick up the x5 Blood Vials in the corner then you can head up the stairs directly in front of you to open up a shortcut to a floor above. After doing this, head back down and as you see the corridor you came in from (from the ladder), turn right instead, and head down the ladder here.

At the bottom you'll find four regular Patients in your immediate vicinity. Take care of them, then head down the corridor. Coming out of it, you'll find a slope going down straight ahead, and a platform holding three acid-tossing Patients, on the right. Take care of the three first, then head down the slope to kill the remaining three Patients on the lower floor. At the back of this room, find x3 Sedatives. If you head out the doorway on this level, you'll find yourself back on the balcony where you first broke through the medical equipment to open the door. You'll also find a few more Patients to deal with. Go back up to the room that contained the Enlarged Head Giant, and out the shortcut door you just opened.

You'll find yourself on a balcony. Far off to your right, you'll notice some more Patients, but don't be too quick to engage, as there are quite a few of them that will walk out from the nearby room, and running into the bottles on the ground will alert them to your presence. Let them make their way up the stairs, and watch them by the gatling gun of a Wheelchair Mob.

After they have all been killed, make your way along the balcony, picking up the x2 Antidote on the left outcropping. Head into the room on the right at the end of the balcony, and deal with any remaining enemies, but be careful, as the room is dark and you'll likely be ambushed by a patient with a deformed arm. If it grabs you, you will take continuous damage, as well as become poisoned. Once the room is clear, head to the far end to pick up the x3 Quicksilver Bullets, then ascend the steps to your right. Turn right at the top to find a corpse with x1 Dirty Damp Blood Gem (5).

Head back down the stairs and out the door. Begin climbing the staircase in front of you, and immediately launch into a sprint, running all the way up onto the next landing to avoid the hail of fire from the Wheelchair Mob's Gatling Gun. At the top, head down the staircase on the right, you'll arrive at the same level as him. Don't take your revenge too quickly, though, as there is a trap on the way there. Make note of the shelves lined with jars on the left hand side. Down the balcony, there will be a pressure pad with bottles on it. Stepping on this will cause the nearby shelves to send deadly acid flying outward. After avoiding the trap, deal with the enemy in the breathing sentry turret, being careful not to get caught in his stream of bullets.

Head back down the balcony and through the door on the right marked “Laboratory Floor 5”. Head up the steps and into the elevator, which will take you downward. Be careful exiting the elevator, as another Wheelchair Mob on the right will spew acid at you. Deal with him quickly, then take care of the other two of them on the other side of the room, both wielding pistols. After dealing with them, head over to the nearby corpse to pick up 6x Beast Blood Pellet.

Head to the other side of the room and pull the lever on the left side to call up the elevator. Once it arrives, head inside and ride it down. At the bottom, you'll find yourself in a room with Saint Adeline (a tied up Enlarged Head Patient), in the far left corner. Don't mistake her as an enemy, because she provides important items! Approach her and she will begin speaking. Exhaust her dialogue which tells you to find her some Brain Fluid. We don't have any at this point, but we'll find some soon. If you open the door on the right, you'll find yourself back in the starting area, with the Wandering Madnesses and the first non-hostile Patient. Visit the Hunter's Dream if you need to, then head back up the elevator into the room with the wheelchair enemies.

Head to the back of the room and take the ladder down. Drop down to the lower area to deal with the two Patients then pick up the Decorative Old Hunter Garb and Decorative Old Hunter Trousers. Exit the room and turn left to find another Patient and a Frenzied Coldblood(9) at the end of the corridor. If you head right, you will find a set of stairs that lead nowhere -for now- and an open door, leading to a balcony containing another non-hostile Patient, that only mumbles to herself. For now, we head back to the multi elevator room, by heading back up the ladder we just came down from.

Take a left out the door, and deal with the Church Servant, being careful not to roll off of the edge, while being mindful of the pressure pad trap on the floor; proceed with caution to the top of the stairs on the right, where you will find a naked Patient.

• These enemies are faster and attack more erratically, so be careful.
• They tend to leap straight at you with a flailing melee attack.
• Your best bet is to bait the leap out and dodge round them.
• When they land they're still for a second or so leaving you ample opportunity to get in with a combo and kill them.

Secret Detour

Once he has been dealt with, turn your attention to the item on the far wall. Avoid the final pressure pad trap on the way, and pick up the x1 Madman's Knowledge. Head back to the elevator room and enter the elevator on the left. As it starts to move, press against the left-hand wall, and start walking forward. As the elevator rises, you will jump out into a secret hallway. Head forward and turn left when you're out on the balcony. Continue forward to the end of the balcony and descend the steps to your right, but be careful, as there is an NPC Hunter here:

• An easy way to deal with him is to quickly run past him to the left, and around the middle of the platform, staying on the other side of the brain creature. This is because he will try to run after you, and will get stuck between the brain and the pillar.
• Once he's stuck, just hit him with long range weapons, such as the transformed Saw Cleaver or the transformed Threaded Cane.

Once the hunter has been dealt with, pick up the x5 Sedative he drops and head over to the now most likely dead brain creature. Pick up the Brain Fluid then proceed to the side of the platform opposite the staircase, to drop down onto another staircase. Once you do, be prepared to fight two Giant Rats, that fall from above. Deal with them, then find a ladder to climb.

Brain Juices Flowing

You'll find yourself back in the elevator room. Now that we have the Brain Fluid, we can go ahead and give it to Adeline. Take the left elevator down to her room, and offer it to her. She will then offer her blood. Accept it, and head back up in the elevator. Head into the lift opposite to emerge onto the highest balcony. Take the steps directly in front of you, then head around the floor, notice that this is the same floor you killed the Gatling Wheelchair Mob. If you continue around, you'll come across a new variation on the Patient enemy. These are blind, and will not see you if you walk by them, but they have increased poise, and don't flinch away from your attacks. Dispose of them and turn right, heading to the end of the balcony, minding the trap on the floor as you go by.

At the end, pick up the x4 Blue Elixir, and head back along the balcony, stopping as you reach a door on your right, marked “Patient Room Floor 5”. Head inside, and go to the far side of the room to find x4 Blue Elixir. The item next to this is the Enlarged Head. Upon picking up this item, you aggro the enemy Enlarged Heads in the room and while they seem like lifeless body bags, they are actually severed brain creatures and will attack when you pick up the item. These enemies build up frenzy with their tentacle attacks, so be extra careful. There is another brain creature on the ceiling at the room exit, and it will try to fall on your head as you leave.

When it's safe, head back outside and proceed up the staircase. At the top, you will encounter another Enlarged Head Giant. Kill him, and head up the ladder. You will find yourself in the tower's belfry. There a couple of " target="">Giant Rats walking around here, so be mindful of them, and be careful not to fall. Head over to the item on the far beam, but be careful, because as you approach it, a Carrion Crow will fall from above. Deal with it, then pick up the x1 Great One's Wisdom. Next, head over to the window on the far side of the belfry. Speak with the patient bashing his head against the wall to get some more dialogue, then head right. There are a couple more Crows guarding an item, and another that drops a Guidance. Defeat them, and pick up the x1 Blood Stone Chunk. Turn around, and head over to the beam closest to you. Follow it halfway, and descend the steps on the right to the middle platform. Interact with the lever here to raise middle pillar and its staircases, altering the entire level.

Final Errands

The way to the boss is now open, but there are a few more items to pick up in this area before we challenge it. Once the platform stops moving, head onto the beam opposite the window and turn left at the end of it. You'll find another brain creature. Attack it to get the second helping of Brain Fluid. Head back in the opposite direction along the beam and you'll find a ladder. Descend it and then head down the steps. Take the left staircase down to a chest guarded by a few crows. Open the chest to find x1 Finestrike Damp Blood Gem (5). Turn around and head back up the stairs, and this time, take the other staircase downward, but be careful, as there some naked patients at the bottom, and the staircase has no railing. After these enemies have been dispatched, head back down to the room with the decapitated Enlarged Heads ambush.

Facing away from the room, turn right. Follow the balcony all the way around the room, eliminating any Patients along the way (be careful of that trap on the floor from earlier!). Head into the room on the right at the end, and take the elevator down, heading out into the secret hallway again as you descend. Take a left on the balcony, and follow it until you arrive at a staircase on your right. Head on down, and take out any patients you encounter. If it's safe, head up the left staircase. At the top, there will be more patients, coming from both sides. Deal with them, and head left along the balcony until you see a corpse on the left with an item. Walk over to it and pick up the x4 Quicksilver Bullets.

Head over to the room on the right marked “Patient Room Floor 3”. As soon as you enter, you will be ambushed from the right by a patient with a deformed arm. Make sure he doesn't grab you, then dispose of him. Inspect the body to find the Underground Cell Key. This key will unlock all of the cells in the previous area with Brador. Travel back out to the balcony and move along it, heading back down the staircase when you arrive at it. When you arrive back at the central platform, head down the stairs to the left. Here you will encounter a worm-like variant of the patient -don't be fooled by its size, this thing can pack a punch with its attack that involves shooting tendrils out of its face in your direction. After it's dead, head over to the corpse to find the Loch Shield.

From this platform, you can drop back down onto the ground floor below. This area is different from before, as it is covered with the worm patients, and there are some new items in the pool. The one by the pillar is a x1 Lethal Damp Blood Gem (5), and the one in the corner is a x1 Kin Coldblood (10). After collecting the items, head back into Adeline's room, where she will seem to be in distress. Talk to her and she will ask for more brain fluid. Make sure you have used her blood before this. If the dialogue does not trigger, try running to the lamp and resetting the area until she finally accepts the second dose of brain fluid from you. After she takes it, she will provide you with the Balcony Key. This is the key we need for that door that was locked at the start. Quit the game and reload for until you find her in the corner of the room, as just a giant head. Interact with her again, and this time, smack her once to retrieve another dose of Brain Fluid. Now you'll have to feed her the third serving of her Brain Fluid to obtain the Milkweed.

Key in hand, head out of Adeline's room, and make your way to the far side of the chamber to the door marked “1st Floor Balcony”. Unlock the door, and head on through. Outside is an area that looks a lot like the Lumenflower Gardens in the Upper Cathedral Ward. There are a lot of patients here, and they attack differently from the other ones, using magic attacks. Drop down onto the roof, then onto the little outcropping, before finally landing on the balcony overlooking the garden. Head left and around the top of the garden to the corpse on the far side, and pick up the x1 Kin Coldblood (10).

When you're ready, head down into the garden below. You can either fight the enemies here, or make a bee-line for the Blacksky Eye at the end. After picking it up, turn around, and head for the large window. Break it, and jump down to the cathedral balcony. Take a left and defeat the Scurrying Beast to obtain x2 Blood Stone Chunk. Head back around the balcony towards the chest. Jump over the gap, and open the chest to receive x1 Pulsing Damp Blood Gem (5). Head back to the hole in the floor, and drop down onto the ledge. From here, drop down on top of the bed, and then drop to the floor. You'll find yourself back at the Surgery Altar. From here, you can go unlock the cells, or you can take the elevator back up to the Research Hall.

To the Boss

Once you're back at the research area lamp, you'll see the Harrowed Hunter again. He will tell you that you should climb the Astral Clocktower and kill Maria. Head back into the Hunter's Dream to spend your hard-earned blood echoes.

Once you're ready, head back to Adeline's room. Go up the elevator, and take the door on your left. Out on the balcony, deal with the enemy once again and take a right. Take the staircase up to the platform, and then take the next staircase on the right up to the boss door, where you will hear a patient lamenting to Lady Maria. Beyond this door lie the Living Failures. If you have the Impurity rune equipped, you can summon the Old Hunter Yamamura, provided you killed him in his cell earlier. If not, you can always go back and do so. Whatever you do, be prepared for an interesting boss fight ahead.

BOSS FIGHT: Living Failures

 

Defeating this boss will drop the Astral Clocktower Key. At this point it is recommended that you go back to the Hunter's Dream and spend your blood echoes before going back to the Lumenflower Garden Lamp. Use your newly-acquired Key to unlock the door right ahead, and be treated to a cutscene, upon entering.

BOSS FIGHT: Lady Maria of the Astral Clocktower

Defeating Maria will grant you a buttload of Blood Echoes, a lamp in this boss room, and the Celestial Dial on the floor. Approach the giant window at the end of the room and a message reading "Hold up Celestial Dial" will prompt. Doing so will create an circular opening in the window ahead. Proceed through to enter the next area: Fishing Hamlet.

Research Hall Map