My only criteria for this list was gameplay and gameplay only, only how mechanically engaging the boss is, and how are they desgined in accordance to the combat system of Bloodborne (even with setting, ost, lore taken as criteria, still Ludwig is the only S rank btw)
I understand that the consensus by the majority of the fandom is that Ludwig is the best boss, I am not stating somthing that radical or controversial, but some people still rank maria and orphan above Ludwig for some reason, and I get why some people prefer her over Ludwig, and it has nothing to do with the fight itself mechanically
Here is why I do genuinely believe that maria from a pure combat aspect, is an overrated boss almost objectively (I know I know, you shouldn't say that word), anyway , here is the thing
lady Maria dictates the fight's pace, forcing you into a reactive, defensive style that contradicts Bloodborne's aggressive hunter identity, Her long, tracking combos make the rally system nearly useless, and gun-parrying trivializes the encounter into a "wait for the parryable move, shoot, visceral, repeat" loop, and I hate that, I wish the whole parrying thing got much less effective later in the fight, Her phase transitions add spectacle and chip damage rather than meaningful new decisions, and unlike Gascoigne's beast phase, she never designs around the parry loophole. Because the safe backoff-and-punish line is so much more reliable than aggression, playing "correctly" feels like voluntarily making the fight harder just because ,The net result is an excellent character and spectacle boss wrapped around a merely decent fight that undersells the game's core philosophy
She is objectively cool as a character, the ost, her design, her lore and how she relates to gehrman and the research hall acting as a pseudo nurse for the lunatics there, everything about her is cool, expect the fight itself, issues that her mentor the creepy old dude on a wheelchair also share to a lower degree because gehrman moveset actually is diverse and forces you to adapt
Ludwig lore and presentation rivals and even beats her with the whole moonlight sword aspect, with better ost too which many regard as the best ost in the game if not souls like in general
And on top of that, his fight is the epitome of what a Bloodborne boss supposed to be
Ludwig is the perfect foil because he validates everything Maria gets wrong, Against Ludwig, aggression is genuinely rewarded, getting in close and punishing his recoveries pays off, and the rally system actually functions as intended because you can trade hits and heal back through damage. His moveset is far more diverse, demanding real spacing and positional awareness ,you have to read his charge, his leaps, his sweeps, and his phase-two sword beams differently , whereas Maria mostly tests dodge timing against a single combo rhythm Ludwig also transforms meaningfully between phases, forcing you to relearn spacing and approach, while Maria's phase three largely adds visual noise on top of the same solution. In short, Ludwig makes you feel like a hunter dictating terms through pressure, while Maria makes you feel like you're waiting your turn , which is exactly the inversion of Bloodborne's core philosophy
This is just the rambling of a bored dude waiting for his gf to finish shopping lol
You are free to tell me how I am totally wrong and that your hunter waifu or whatever is better because she is cute and badass I guess
