The Nightmare Frontier - Bloodborne Guide - IGN (2024)

The Nightmare Frontier is an optional secret area in Bloodborne that requires both a special item, and being in the right place at the wrong time.

Getting to the Nightmare Frontier

To get to the Nightmare Frontier, you must first acquire the Tonsil Stone. The earliest you can find it is in the Forbidden Woods. When you arrive at the first small village in the woods (with the spiked log trap at the entrance) head left and go up the hill to a shack with a lighted lantern. The voice inside will offer some advice, and tell you to go to the shrouded chapel to the right of the Great Cathedral. There, the gift of the godhood will grant you strength.

It has been found that an "imposter" of sorts is the one giving you the Tonsil Stone, and if you do not receive it in the shack, the imposter will occupy a random window or door to give you the Tonsil Stone.

With the Tonsil Stone in hand, head right from the Grand Cathedral where you fought Vicar Amelia in the Cathedral Ward. Head down the hill past the two buildings, and the two Enemy Hunters that stand in front of them. You can either go on the right path through a small cave tunnel, or go left to jump over the cave and drop down on two Afflicted Townsfolk rifleman above the cave exit. Head past the two patrolling Executioners and into the incredibly large and empty chapel. The door at the far end will be locked if you have not beaten Rom the Vacuous Spider, but whether or not you have opened the gate, a creature lurking above will grab at you (which can again be seen if you have beaten Rom, or have at least 40 Insight).

A voice (the same as the one who gave you the Tonsil Stone) will ask that the creature, Amygdala, spares your poor life. Instead of dying outright, you will be transported to a new area - The Lecture Building.

The Lecture Building, 1st Floor

As you wake up in the Lecture Building, you'll be able to activate a nearby lantern. Outside the door, note the long hall and upper area - the rest of the Lecture Building won't be available to explore at this point in the game, but there are some places worth looking into. The door opposite you hides the face behind the mysterious voice that spared you. Speak to him for some cryptic words, and continue down the hall. The first door on the left is unlocked and takes you to a small empty room. Going through the door here leads to a large seemingly empty lecture room - but beware of an ambush from above! As you enter, a Mutated Student will drop down, and pin you to the ground if it lands on you, covering you with disgusting (and damaging) goo. Defeat the student, and check the body at the front of the room for a Lecture Theatre Key to another room. You can also find a body with Student Attire, then exit through the opposite door. Enter the door on your left (not the big double doors at the end of the hall), and go inside the circular room until you see two shining objects. Look above - a student is hanging from the ceiling just waiting to pounce on you. Bait him down to kill him, then grab the two Madman's Knowledge on the floor, and head back outside the room.

Head across the hall to a door on the other side, and use the key to open it. Unfortunately, class is in session, and a horde of angry Mutated Students will come creeping at you. The ones in the back will consume concoctions to spew at you, so it's advised you back out of the room and take them on as they come crawling through the doorway. Once the bulk of students have been dealt with, enter the theatre and take out the remaining ones still sitting at their desks. Now go through the far door to find a chest with the Augur of Ebrietas in it, and head back into the hall. Run the entire length to the door at the far and end open it - where a dark glowing portal will suck you straight into The Nightmare Frontier.

Walkthrough

When you first arrive in the Nightmare Frontier, you'll be in a small cave with a lantern waypoint. As you exit, you'll find yourself in a truly nightmarish place, seemingly floating on the edge of an abyss - conceived of countless graves and crumbling rocks.

Along the right cliff you can spot an alcove hiding a Skull Beast. This place is crawling with them, and are a good source of Blood Stone Shards if you can catch them before they vanish. Heading up the large path on the left, grab the Madman's Knowledge among the graves on the left. You'll spot an odd creature holding a torch up ahead. If you don't manage to sneak up for a one-hit kill, this Misshapen Beast can be quite a handful, boasting long claw attacks, using it's torch as a flamethrower, generating an electric charge, and crawling rapidly on all fours for quick pouncing strikes.

Further ahead, the path drops down on the right, where you can hop down to find a corpse with a Lead Elixir, and a path to an elevator that is sadly not in use just yet. Continuing ahead, the path veers left, with an optional path going right to a lower ledge. This ledge borders a large poison river that you'd do well to avoid for the moment. There's also a Greater Skullbeast here. Much like the Skullbeast, it will usually try and flee, but unlike the others, it will defend itself with poison attacks. Kill it and the other Misshapen Beast down here as you make your way along the small ridge towards yet another Misshapen Beast.

From here there's a small bridge over the canyon of poison swamp, and an unreachable area above. Crossing into the next large open area you'll pass an odd glowing green lantern. As you do, someone carrying a torch on the far side will start running towards you. It's an Enemy Hunter - armed with a Hunter Axe and Hunter Blunderbuss. If you've already fought the hunters in Yahar'gul Chapel - he shouldn't be too much of a problem, as he doesn't have many tricks up his sleeve and has pretty low health. After he dies, another Enemy Hunter will coming running from the lower right path - armed with a Threaded Cane. He too won't prove too much of a challenge, although he can throw a Poison Knife or two.

Once they have fallen, take the upper left path that wraps around the area and goes over the giant poison lake. Jump over the small gap and head to the end of the path that has a Fading Lake Rune. Now turn back and drop down the ledge you jumped over to find a Madman's Knowledge below. From here you can try venturing into the giant poison lake - but it's best to explore first. Head down the lower path opposite the ledge you took to find a small cave guarded by a Misshapen Beast. Grab the Blood Vials by the cave entrance and head inside.

As you near the end of the tunnel, you'll see a Skull Beast scurrying away out the other end. You can give chase if you are quick but BE WARNED! As soon as you leave the cave, a large Boulder Thrower creature on the ledge to the left will begin hurling giant rocks at you. These deal massive damage if they hit you straight on - and even the chunks that break off can still hurt - so be extra careful. Race up the hill on the right then try to rush him when he's holding a boulder, as he is unable to throw a boulder directly in front of him (his melee attacks do a lot of damage too). Once he is finished, look around at the area you are in. Another Boulder Thrower is further up on a ridge above you, while one more is across a large canyon that marks the other end of the poison river. You'll need to kill both throwers to traverse this area in peace, and attacking one will trigger the other to start throwing rocks. First head up the right side away from the boulder thrower back towards the tunnel to drop down on a ledge to find a Coldblood Flowerbud. Now, race up to the Boulder Thrower on the right and strike some quick hits before the rocks start raining down, and quickly grab the Bolt Paper behind him, then head up the left path. A Misshapen Beast stands between you and the Boulder Thrower, so try luring the beast back down the ledge, or hide behind the giant grave. When you get a moment, race up and finish off the last Boulder Thrower. Now you can return down to the giant tombstone to find a body with a Lead Elixir.

Refrain from jumping down into the poison pool - You can head there later if you want via a different path - and instead continue up the long winding path leading back to where you first crossed the bridge. You'll now be on a ledge looking over that first area, and a Skull Beast will be scampering away. Kill it, then head right up a small path to double back to a ledge overlooking the place you just came from where a Greater Skullbeast is lurking. Head back down, and cross the high bridge to a raised area overlooking the place where you fought the hunters.

From here you have a few options: Go up the high path on the left that passes by a corpse with Blood Vials, and leads to a Skull Beast then a ledge overlooking the large poison lake. You can also take the lower left path into a tunnel leading to a smaller ledge with a Boulder Thrower also overlooking the Poison Lake. There is another path going down from here, to the left of the path you took to the Boulder Thrower, that leads to a body with the Clockwise Metamorphosisrune. This can lead either to some ledges into another cave - or you can double back down a path leading to the same area. The last path leads down to the right, where there is a trail of Shining Coins and a note that sounds too good to be true. As you approach, a cutscene will play - and Patches the Spider-bodied man will creep up behind you and throw you into the canyon filled with poison water. Jerk.

Down here, you're going to need a couple of things - Slow Poison resistant Attire or Runes, plenty of Antidotes, and a whole lot of Blood Vials. There are very few places to get out of the water, and the poison water will even slow you down and constantly infect you - no matter how good your resistance is. The best method here is to constantly dodge roll forward to get where your going - which can be one of two directions. Heading up the canyon to the poison pool where you fought the three Boulder Throwers is a dead end but you can grab two corpses, one with Lead Elixirs and one with much needed Antidotes. This path also does have some items if you can last that long. There are several groups of Poisonous Aberrations that wade through the water, and will belch poisonous gunk at you, and do rapid biting attacks if you get too close. In the poison pool itself, there is also a Greater Skullbeast and two regular Skullbeasts. If you have enough Blood Vials and Antidotes, you can head into the winding cave-like system on the other side - but beware. Not only is it full of Poisonous Abberations and no dry land to speak of - but a Brain Woman also lurks in the tunnels. You can hear her singing before you see her - but if she see's you she'll begin shrieking. As her brain-head lights up, you'll start immediately taking frenzy damage - which is pretty much lethal when combined with the poison water. You'll need to kill her extremely fast and then pop a Sedative, or try and heal through the inevitable frenzy. You're reward at the end of this tunnel is the Messenger's Gift, a magic item that lets you masquerade as a messenger to fool enemies in PVP.

Heading down the other path in the canyon will lead to a Great One's Wisdom (if you spotted Patches on the wall before he ambushed you, and dislodged him with a ranged attack), and will go through a tunnel and back into the Poison Lake. From here you should quickly jump onto dry land on the left. Hopefully you killed the Boulder Thrower above - as another one in the distance will start making trouble if you get in his sights. From here you should grab the Antidotes up ahead, and then head over the left side of the land and back to the safe area you were in before getting pushed. There's also a lighted small alcove in the poison lake underneath the Boulder Thrower that hides a Frenzied Coldblood if you dare to reach it. Back on dry land, you can now retrace your steps to where Patches ambushed you - and get the Coldblood Flowerbud he was luring you towards.

Head up the path to the ledge that overlooked the poison lake, and hug the wall on the right to get down to a body with a Madman's Knowledge, then double back to the ledges from the lower path to get a Stunning Deep Sea Rune. Back in the other cave, clear out the Poisonous Abberations in the area and grab the Frenzied Coldblood. Now you will overlook an area which brings you father along the poison lake. This also puts you in the cross-hairs of not one, but two Boulder Throwers. It's up to you which one to take out first. Drop down and grab the Madman's Knowledge along the right wall, then dive along as fast as you can to dodge the incoming boulders. You can go to the right of the thrower on the raised ledge to find a path up behind him, then kill him and loot the Clear Deep Sea Rune near the path you took out of the poison water. Now run through the rest of the poison water to the last Boulder Thrower and take him out as well. If you want some additional loot, the small dry patch of rock nearby has a Coldblood Flowerbud if you climb up it. Otherwise, take the path beyond the Boulder Thrower and leave this poison lake behind for good.

The danger is far from over however - as you'll be on a narrow ledge overlooking the abyss that seems to be filled with countless sunken ships. As you head down the ledge, the telltale singing of a Brain Woman will signal the need to keep a Sedative handy. Quickly try and ambush and kil her fast enough so that you have time to use a Sedative before taking frenzy damage. Then explore the small path heading down a lower portion of the cliff where you can find a Greater Skullbeast, as well as some Frenzied Coldblood. Heading further down the cliff wall you can find a body with a Madman's Knowledge - but do not stray to close to the nearby pit - as it will lead to a bad poison-filled place.

Head down the ramp and take another alcove path back down the cliff to another body with a Lead Elixir, then continue on your path along the walls. Eventually you will reach yet another area filled with poison water, and large tombstones that serve as platforms across. Ignore the poison water for the moment, and grab the Madman's Knowledge as you keep heading past the water to fight a Misshapen Beast and the Blood Vials on the body near him. He happens to be guarding the path back to an elevator, which you can now use to get back to the waypoint lantern - and restock on Blood Vials or Antidotes if you need to.

If you are feeling gutsy, you can again explore this new poison-filled area. Among the many jutting tombstones you can find a body with some Frenzied Coldblood, and plenty of Poisonous Aberrations guarding a body in the water holding a Madman's Knoweldge. If you choose to enter the caves, be prepared for a maze-like passage of poison with no dry land in sight, and is filled with even more Poisonous Aberrations, and another Brain Woman hiding in an alcove on the right. Nearby you can also find a body with Frenzied Coldblood. As you reach the end of the maze, a path on the right has some Kin Coldblood guarded by a large Poisonous Aberration, while the path on the left has a Great Deep Sea Rune guarded by not one but three giant Poisonous Aberrations.

Now that you've explored every nook and cranny of The Nightmare Frontier, it's time to spend your Blood Echoes and restock, then head over the large bridge to the lair of Amygdala.

Amygdala

Although there are a few ways to deal with this giant beast, a safe but slightly slower way is to stand behind her. If you stand behind her back legs, you can strike her tail and back legs with almost no risk of danger. If you get near a leg, she can stomp it down but this is easy to dodge. The downside of this is that her limbs are heavily armored you will deal very little damage, but a longer reaching weapon will allow you to quickly duck amongst her arms and head to deal damage, then run back behind her.

Standing behind her has another benefit though. She will jump quite frequently, trying to re-position so that she can hit you. When you see her jump, walk away from her in the direction her tail was point. When she lands, you should find yourself standing directly under her head. This will let you land a few free hits, and hopefully stun her if you hit her hard enough, letting you do a Visceral Attack.

If you're right behind her tail, look for the hand lowered to the right and you can attack it for good damage. Her tactics change when she has 1/4 of her health left and she rips her arms off. Stay behind her because she will just jump away from you instead of towards you. The right hand near her back is gone, but the left hand is still there so attack that for damage and finish her off.

Fighting her at range is possible, but can be difficult. Her range is huge, and grows even larger when her arms are pulled off. If you do decide to fight her at a distance, make sure to constantly be backpedaling. Keep an eye on her attacks, and you will notice that a couple leave her open, and more importantly. drop her head to the ground. These are the ones you want to run in and hit her on, however do not linger. Strike one, maybe two times, then get back! If you stay to long, she will smack you quite hard, possibly one hitting you.

When she gets closer to death, her hands will glow. Now all her melee attacks have slight AoEs around them. You can use the same techniques as before, just make sure you wait for the animation of the explosion to stop before running in.

When Amygdala has been defeated, you will gain the Ailing Loran Chalice to use in the Chalice Dungeons, and open up a new lantern waypoint. From here there are a lot of places to explore if you haven't already - including the Forsaken Cainhurst Castle, Yahar'gul Chapel, Upper Cathedral Ward, or the Nightmare of Mensis.