Weaponsupporting

Bloodhound Claws

Bloodhound Claws are paired base-game claws dropped by the Bloodhound Knight beneath Volcano Manor. They combine rapid slashing, innate blood loss, partial shield bypass, ordinary affinities, and the default Bloodhound's Step skill.

Importance

supporting

Elden Ring · weapon

Key Takeaways

Bloodhound Claws are a Somber-upgraded claw weapon built around rapid evasive movement and close-range Bleed pressure.

Identity

These claws pair fast, short-range attacks with innate Blood loss buildup, making them suited to aggressive melee play rather than cautious spacing.

Defining mechanic

Their fixed weapon skill, Bloodhound Step, provides a rapid evasive movement that can reposition the wielder while maintaining pressure.

Availability

Bloodhound Claws are obtained by defeating the Bloodhound Knight encountered in the basement of Volcano Manor, making that area the key acquisition condition.

Main strength

The combination of claw attack speed, innate Bleed buildup, and Bloodhound Step gives the weapon strong mobility for staying close to vulnerable targets.

Main limitation

Its short reach and close-quarters moveset demand deliberate positioning; enemies that punish prolonged melee contact can limit its effectiveness.

Upgrade and comparison

As a Somber weapon with a fixed skill, Bloodhound Claws follow a less customizable path than Hookclaws, whose skill and affinity can be changed.

Overview

Bloodhound Claws are a standard claw weapon in Elden Ring, built around fast close-range attacks, innate blood loss, and the evasive movement associated with Bloodhound Knights. They are a base-game weapon rather than a Shadow of the Erdtree variant.

The weapon occupies the claw class and uses the class's rapid, committed melee pattern instead of the spacing and shield interaction of a conventional sword. Its identity comes from combining repeated slashing attacks with innate blood loss and a Bloodhound-themed skill, giving it an aggressive role for characters that stay close to a target rather than trade blows from outside the enemy's reach.

Bloodhound Claws are also shaped by Elden Ring's paired-weapon rules. A single claw can be used in one hand, while two-handing it presents a second claw for the weapon's paired attacks. This makes the weapon feel substantially different from a normal one-handed sidearm: the payoff is a more concentrated offensive sequence, but the user gives up the ordinary benefits of holding a shield, staff, seal, or another weapon in the off hand.

Unlike fixed-skill somber weapons, Bloodhound Claws belong to the standard reinforcement family and support the customization expected of that category. Their starting Bloodhound-themed movement is the main reason to seek the weapon, but the broader standard-weapon framework also gives players room to adapt its affinity and skill choices as a build develops. Exact damage and scaling depend on that upgrade and build context rather than belonging to one universal weapon value.

The weapon is found in the base game during exploration connected with Volcano Manor, so it can enter a playthrough before the late-game weapon roster is complete. It is a focused alternative to other claw weapons: its appeal is not simply having the claw moveset, but combining that moveset with blood-loss pressure and Bloodhound-style mobility. Players comparing it with Hookclaws, Raptor Talons, or Venomous Fang should therefore consider skill, passive effect, and customization alongside raw damage.

Statistics

Elden Ring publishes no 0–100 stat bars, so this page lists the verified requirements, scaling and handling figures instead. Taken from the project's verified weapons database, not from generated text.

Category
Claws
Damage Type
Slash
Primary Scaling
Dex C
Weight
4
Skill
Bloodhound's Finesse
Str Req
10
Dex Req
20
How to Obtain
Reward from Bloody Finger Hunter Yura's questline

Figures verified against Consolidated Game Weapons Database.

Compared to similar claws

Weapon	Str Req	Dex Req	Weight	Primary Scaling
Bloodhound Claws	10	20	4	Dex C
Red Bear's Claw	10	18	4	Dex C
Venomous Fang	10	16	4	Dex C
Claws of Night	10	22	4.5	Dex C
Raptor Talons	8	20	3.5	Dex C

Requirements, scaling grades and weight are the game’s own published figures. From Consolidated Game Weapons Database.

How to Obtain

Before you start

Reach Volcano Manor in Mt. Gelmir and gain access to its underground prison-town area.
No separate quest completion, boss defeat, currency, or DLC requirement is needed.

01Travel to Volcano Manor in Mt. Gelmir and reach the manor’s underground prison-town area through the route opened from the manor. Explore the cellar beyond the Prison Town Church area until you find the Bloodhound Knight; defeat this enemy to receive the Bloodhound Claws as its guaranteed weapon drop. No vendor purchase, quest reward, or boss fight is required.
02The Bloodhound Knight is a single fixed enemy rather than a random-world drop, so return to the same underground room if you need to confirm the pickup. The weapon is obtained in the base game area and does not require Shadow of the Erdtree or New Game Plus.

Mechanics and Handling

Bloodhound Claws are built for close-range pressure rather than deliberate, single-hit trading. Their claw moveset chains rapid slashes with short recovery, letting the wielder stay on an opponent while looking for a bleed trigger. The reach is limited, so spacing matters: the weapon performs best when attacks begin from inside an enemy’s preferred range rather than at the edge of lock-on distance.

Rapid claw chains and paired handling

The normal attacks use quick alternating swipes, making repeated contact the weapon’s defining handling trait. The short weapon length can make individual whiffs costly, but a connected sequence is effective against targets that can be safely held at close range. Two-handing the weapon produces the paired-claw presentation used by claw weapons, increasing the number of active strikes in its attack pattern without turning it into a long-reaching weapon.

Jumping attacks and running approaches help close the distance, but they should be used with the same limitation in mind: Bloodhound Claws do not compensate for poor spacing through reach. Their pressure is most reliable after an opening, stagger, or evasive reposition rather than as a blind approach into a large enemy’s attack.

Blood loss through repeated contact

Bloodhound Claws inflict innate Blood Loss buildup. The status is therefore supported by sustained, repeated hits rather than by a single large impact. Missed swings, blocked approaches, and forced disengagements reduce the weapon’s immediate pressure because they interrupt the sequence needed to accumulate buildup. Blood Loss remains a conditional payoff: it depends on landing enough qualifying hits against the target before buildup decays or the encounter changes position.

Bloodhound’s Step

The weapon’s signature skill is Bloodhound’s Step. It performs a fast evasive movement that briefly removes the wielder from the danger point, making it useful for passing through or away from an attack and immediately re-establishing claw range. The skill consumes FP, so repeated use is resource-dependent. It does not replace normal spacing or guarantee safety against every attack; timing, terrain, and the direction of the step still determine whether the reposition succeeds.

Upgrades and Variants

Strengths, Weaknesses and Best Uses

Strengths

The paired-claw moveset delivers rapid successive hits, giving Blood Loss buildup more opportunities to accumulate than a slower single-hit weapon.
Bloodhound’s Step provides a fast evasive reposition, helping the wielder disengage, cross a short gap, or stay aligned with a mobile target.
As a claw weapon, it supports aggressive close-range pressure while leaving the other hand available for a catalyst, seal, or situational off-hand tool when the pairing is not being used.

Weaknesses

Its short reach makes spacing demanding; enemies with longer weapons can punish attempts to attack from outside claw range.
The weapon’s bleed advantage is reduced or removed against enemies resistant or immune to Hemorrhage, leaving its physical attacks to carry the matchup.
Repeated attacks require sustained proximity and commitment, increasing the risk of trading hits against large enemies, wide-area attacks, or bosses with dangerous close-range counters.
Bloodhound’s Step improves movement but does not remove the need to manage stamina, timing, and FP.

Best uses

Use it for aggressive PvE encounters against bleedable enemies where rapid hit strings can build Hemorrhage while the skill supplies emergency repositioning.
It suits players who prefer evasive melee pressure over deliberate, long-reach attacks and are comfortable fighting inside an enemy’s attack range.
Keep a different weapon available for bleed-resistant targets or encounters where short reach makes maintaining contact unsafe.

Compared With Similar Weapons

Compared With Similar Weapons
Weapon	Class and role	Innate status	Default skill	Notable distinction
Bloodhound Claws	Blood loss	Bloodhound’s Step	Pairs when powerstanced; emphasizes evasive repositioning and close-range pressure	—
Hookclaws	Blood loss	Quickstep	Straightforward bleed option with a more conventional evasive skill	—
Raptor Talons	Blood loss	Raptor of the Mists	Supports a defensive counterattack style and pairs thematically with jump-attack equipment	—
Venomous Fang	Poison	Quickstep	Trades Bloodhound Claws’ bleed role for poison buildup and a simpler mobility skill	—

Lore and Design

Bloodhound Claws are associated with the Bloodhound Knights, whose weaponry is designed for hunting Tarnished. The item’s lore presents these knights as exceptionally loyal servants to distant masters, giving the claws a connection to the broader culture of Bloodhound Knights rather than to a named wielding character. The weapon’s gauntlet-mounted blades express that identity directly: they are built to resemble predatory claws instead of a conventional handheld blade.

The claws’ design supports the Bloodhound Knights’ animalistic combat imagery, but there is no documented developer statement here establishing a specific real-world inspiration or intended symbolism beyond the in-game presentation. Their relationship to the Bloodhound Knights is explicit; broader claims about the knights’ origins, masters, or cultural influences should remain separate unless supported by additional item descriptions or dialogue.