🔖 GUIDE INDEX
Last Updated:
APRIL 2026
HOW TO PLAY BLOODBORNE ON PC
A guide for absolute N00bs
📑 GUIDE INDEX :
I structured the guide into 4 chapters for easy orientation
You can access each chapter via the links below, or the document’s TABS, that should be on the upper left of the page.
February 2026 EDIT:
I’m going to take advantage of this guide’s popularity to share this message
Mainstream media and the U.S. government is involved in an active coverup of the
world’s biggest and most disgusting scandal.
This affects EVERYONE.
Our leaders, our governments, our media institutions,
our taxes, our fucking wars…
Reading the Epstein files is like gaining Insight.
Many people are waking up to a horrible reality, and I think it’s important for everybody to be as informed as possible about what's going on.
This is worse than any Eldritch fantasy horror tale FromSoft could cook up.
And it’s fucking real.
Epstein didn’t kill himself .
The world is run by an elite of (((zionist))) pedophilic billionaires that mutilate children.
They hunt them.
Rape them.
Get them pregnant.
Then kill them.
And so, so much worse…
👇👇👇 See for yourself: 👇👇👇
Yes, this is all real.
Visit r/Epstein
if you want to see for yourself.
Plenty of posts like this one
🚫(Warning: NSFW, Graphic)🚫
I_cannot_believe_what_im_reading/
Compilation of the Worst Epstein Files :
And the CIA / FBI
have been covering it up
for 2 fucking decades.
And to the few of you who argue:
“ Why make a bloodborne guide POLITICAL?! ”
“ B-but…muh escapism!! ”
Art is inherently political, dumbass.
📖PICK UP A HISTORY BOOK 📖
Bloodborne is literally a game about power structures and blood cults.
Where the hell do you think the game’s themes come from.
Also, this is NOT a “left vs. right” issue.
This is about class consciousness
Fuck Israel.
Fuck Billionaires.
Fuck Trump.
Fuck Hollywood.
Fuck AIPAC bought U.S. politicians.
( which are most of them)
Fuck Western Zionist-owned media.
This cannot continue.
These people are committing crimes against humanity and need to be held accountable.
I encourage everyone to :
Spread the word
KEEP SHARING
KEEP READING
KEEP ATTENTION AND ACCOUNTABILITY HIGH
Most U.S. Politicians are
💰financed, 🤑 bought and 😶silenced
by AIPAC ( aka Israel)
🫵 Is YOUR Congressman funded by AIPAC?
TRACK AIPAC - instagram
GET MONEY OUT OF POLITICS!!
PEOPLE BEFORE PROFITS
🚨Speak up🚨
📰inform yourself 📰
🪧demand accountability🪧
from Governments and Media.
WE ONLY HAVE HALF THE FILES RELEASED
THERE ARE 3 MILLION LEFT
AND MANY MORE UNRELEASED, AND CENSORED PICS AND VIDEOS
PROTECTING THE WEALTHY
FOLLOW AND FIND POLITICIANS / INVESTIGATORS
WHO CARE
AND FIGHT EVERY DAY TO
#RELEASE THE FILES
BOTH
REPUBLICAN
Thomas Massie- insta
Main Republican going against the Israel Establishment
even though she’s an idiot
at least she’s fighting for the files release
MTG - instagram
And Charlie Ki.. oh wait
Israel had him killed as soon as he stepped out of line.
🕵️Candace Owens and 🕵️♂️ Ian Carroll and🕵️♂️🕵️♀️ Baron Coleman
Who are keeping the heat up in the ongoing
Charlie Kirk assassination/investigation 🕵️🕵️♂️🕵️♀️
AND DEMOCRAT
Ro Khanna -insta
Who fought with Massie to get the Epstein Files released
Melanie Stansbury - insta
🙏Thank you for reading !🙏
Listen…
I understand we’re all here bc we want to play a fun lil game,
but realize that the world is blowing up
bc a handful of powerful people want to power trip, control the economy , and rape YOUR kids.
We’re not getting out of this if we don’t all start PAYING ATTENTION AND TALKING ABOUT THIS.
Now back to the Bloodborne guide 👇:
1. 📋 F.A.Q.
2. 📁 HOW TO INSTALL
3. 🩹🔨 PATCHES AND MODS (optional)
4. ⁉️💾 HELP / SAVE FILES
Back to the r/shadps4 thread
📖 1. FAQ
📖
F.A.Q.
For people who have no clue how any of this works.
Here’s whats up.
🫡 WHY DID YOU WRITE THIS GUIDE?
I want to make installing Bloodborne on PC easy
I see a lot of people having trouble setting this game up, and I know many of you aren't tech savvy, so I tried to write this guide AS SIMPLE AS POSSIBLE. I also wanted to be thorough.
I want as many people as possible to enjoy this masterpiece of a game on PC, where it can truly shine.
💻 WHY SHOULD I PLAY ON PC OVER CONSOLE ?
Emulating on PC is by far the best way to experience the game.
You get:
✅ higher resolutions ( up to 4K and Ultrawide)
✅ much better framerates ( 60 FPS and even above)
✅ all types of mods ( greatly improve gameplay, graphics and more )
⌛ HOW HARD/LONG IS IT TO SETUP?
It's pretty easy,
If you already have the required game files, in 15 minutes, you're good to go.
I recommend finishing the FAQ and then u can move on to the next chapter.
⬇️ WHERE CAN I FIND THE REQUIRED GAME FILES?
You’ll need the GOTY Edition of the game in .pkg format
Piracy links aren't permitted here, sadly.
Maybe look or ask around…
🔄️ HOW OFTEN SHOULD I UPDATE SHADPS4?
Once you find a version of Shadps4 that runs well, it’s usually better NOT to update.
The emulator is still in development, and things may break, and it’s a headache to get them back working again.
Once you find a sps4 build you’re comfortable with, set everything up and things run well enough, it is NOT recommended to update unless people are reporting big performance or other benefits, and no compatibility issues.
🌐 DOES ONLINE MULTIPLAYER WORK?
Kinda.
BB is a single-player focused experience
so you’re not missing out by not using the online.
BUT you can get some online features right now, if you really wanted to.
I don’t recommend it to most people ! Setup is clunky !
Working Online Features :
✅ - Messages 📜
✅ - Bloodstains 👻
❌ - Invasions 🥷
❌ - Co-op 🧑🤝🧑
Here’s the 2 available methods :
-------------------------------------—---------------------------------
- Official Online is being worked on by the SPS4 devs. - video
You can look on this thread on the Shadps4 Discord for instructions and more info.
- thehuntersdream is an unofficial project with a custom sps4 branch/servers that seems to be easier to install, but it’s nothing official yet. Seems to have notable performance cost!
- Quick setup instructions
- Discord Group
- Official guide.
📈 HOW CAN I IMPROVE PERFORMANCE ?
There is a FPS improvement section in the I HELP and SAVES section part of this guide.
💾 WHERE ARE THE SAVE FILES ?
The save files path depend on you Shadps4 version.
I have a full SAVES section of this guide for more info.
⌨️🖱️CAN I PLAY WITH MOUSE AND KEYBOARD?
Yes.
Newer versions of shadps4 support it out of the box, but there are also mods and apps for that might work better.
The modding scene provides much support for KB+M players.
keyboard mouse - Bloodborne PC Search
❌ HOW DOES IT RUN ON SONY CONSOLES?
It’s a dumpster fire.
Bloodborne originally ran at 1080p 30fps on the original Sony Consoles
This is true for both PS4 and PS5, as it has never been patched/fixed.
MAJOR ISSUES :
❌low framerate ( drops to 25 FPS)
❌inconsistent frametimes ( aka microstutters)
❌noticeable input lag as a result of unstable/low framerate
✅ DOES IT RUN BETTER ON PC ?
Yes.
With Shadps4 PATCHES🩹, we can play it at :
- Locked 30 FPS with fixed frametimes
- Up to 60 FPS and above by uncapping the framerate
🥔 HOW WILL IT RUN ON MY PC ?
Shadps4 emulation is not that heavy.
This game is from 2015, and (almost) ran on a 2013 console.
A 500$ laptop from 2021+ should be able to run it, at least at a locked 30 fps.
There are also MANY things you can do to lower performance requirements. Check out the HELP section
🛠️ WHAT ARE THE BEST MODS ?
I scoured Nexusmods and made a comprehensive, updated mod list on the document tab on the left.
📉 ARE THERE ANY ISSUES WITH EMULATING BB?
There are very minor issues.
There are still a few issues that you’ll get regardless of how powerful your system is. Most people agree they don't impact the overall experience.
This is normal.
❌ Stutters
❌ Framedrops
❌ Crashes
Also, entering new areas ( for the first time only) can give big stutters, because of ❌ Shader compilation.
Some of these can be fixed with patches and mods, some don’t have a solution yet.
💥 I’M HAVING ISSUES…
I gotchu fam.
Use the 💥HELP and SAVES section at the very end of this guide to solve common issues.
📂 2. HOW TO INSTALL
2
HOW TO INSTALL
How to install the game, in 3 easy steps
🗃️ 1. REQUIRED FILES
To get started, you only need 3 things :
- Main Game file . pkg
- 1.09 Update file . pkg
- BBLauncher app ( Click under "Releases" on the right > Choose the correct .zip for your OS)
⚠️ This guide will use Bloodborne GOTY Edition, as it is includes DLC. Using the Base version may also be incompatible with mods or patches.
⚠️ Some versions also may have a SEPARATE DLC FILE. In this case, you can just extract it in a separate folder of your choice, or the default shadps4/addcont folder
⚠️ Sometimes Windows Defender will delete the BBlauncher.exe as soon as it’s extracted. In that case, temporarily turn Real time protection off in Windows Defender settings, then extract and use BBlauncher.
🗃️ 2. UNPACKING THE GAME FILES
We need to UNPACK the .pkg files.
Once unpacked, shadps4 will be able to read and play them.
- Create a new folder called 📁Unpacked BB (wherever you want on your PC )
- Open BBLauncher > PKG Extractor
- "Select PKG to extract" -> Browse for the Bloodborne.pkg
- "Select game output folder" -> Browse for the 📁Unpacked BB folder
- Click Extract ( ⌛ Process takes ~ 10 Minutes)
- Repeat with 1.09 Update.pkg (much faster) in the same 📁Unpacked BB folder.
⚠️ DO NOT DELETE the .pkg files afterward, and instead move them somewhere safe. If you ever have issues with crashes, the best way to "Fresh Reinstall" is to do this unpacking process from scratch.
⚠️ Sometimes the extraction randomly produces a bad dump ( AKA corrupted files) , and the game will crash on bootup when playing. In case that happens, delete the extracted files, and try extracting again.
⚠️ If you have issues/bad dumps with BBLauncher, you can try extracting .pkg with apps like
- ShadPS4 Plus
- Shadps4 0.7 (Select v0.7 from the dropdown > Download, extract > Open .exe. > File > Extract pkg )
🗃️ 3. GET SHADPS4 BUILDS
1/3 - WHAT ARE SHADPS4 BUILDS?
Shadps4 emulator has lots of different versions, called builds
- A build is a folder with the emulator .exe inside
- There is no “best” sps4 build
- I suggest downloading and trying 3/4 different builds , then stay on the best performing one.
- 🥔 Newer builds have more features, but might perform worse. Sometimes it's better to stay on lower, old versions!
🥔 Community-made Custom builds are usually very performant, but can only be downloaded through your browser.
⚠️ All SPS4 builds will automatically share some files, settings and saves that are in
📁 %appdata% / roaming / shadps4
2/3 - INSTALL THIS TO RUN SPS4
In order for the emulator to work, you have to Install Visual C++ Redistributables.
( Most gamers probably already have this installed.)
3/3 - HOW TO DOWNLOAD BUILDS
You have 3 OPTIONS for downloading SPS4 builds., you can use any of these .
My preferred method is 🟥 BBLauncher.
I recommend trying it out, and in case you have issues, try the other ones.
You can also add Custom builds to BBLauncher later.
OPTION A - through the Official 🔷QT Launcher
⚠️ COMPATIBILITY NOTICE! ⚠️
MARCH 2026 UPDATE !
Builds ABOVE SHADPS4 0.15.0 have made some structural changes, and it breaks compatibility with older BBlauncher and QT Launcher versions.
MY RECOMMENDATION :
stay on
- QT Launcher v224 and below
- Sps4 0.15.0 or below
Things are still developing.
Will update the guide when things progress
ABOUT SHADPS4 QT LAUNCHER
Until November 2025, You could download each LOCAL shadps4 emulator build directly ( A .zip, containing the specific shadps4 build folder).
Now , Shadsp4 has switched release method : a QT Launcher with a built-in VERSION MANAGER, a handy page that allows you to download, add, remove, update and launch different shadps4 builds.
🔷 Get it here: ShadPS4 Qt launcher
🔷 HOW TO DOWNLOAD BUILDS with QT Launcher:
- Download and extract, the launch QT Launcher
- Click "Version Manager"
- You can select the folder where your builds wil be downloaded (optional)
- Select a build to Download
- Select the build you'll launch from the drop down menu above "Version Manager"
🔷 Once you have downloaded a build, we need to tell our launcher where our game files are :
- Settings > Paths
- Choose the 📁 "Unpacked Bloodborne" ( Or wherever you extracted the .pkg to) /CUSA03173 folder )
OPTION B - with the handy 🟥 BBLauncher app
🟥 ⭐WHY BBL IS AWESOME
BBlauncher is the same app we used for unpacking. ( You should already have it )
BBL is an amazing, community-made app.
⭐Essentially a simplified interface for sps4. It gives us quick access to important settings and additional functions:
🔍 I HIGHLY recommend everyone to EXPLORE it a bit, and see what it offers.
🤔If you don’t understand a setting, leave it alone, I will have tips later in the guide.
🟥⚠️ COMPATIBILITY NOTICE!
Builds ABOVE SHADPS4 0.15.0 have made some structural changes, and it breaks compatibility with older BBlauncher and QT Launcher versions.
Here is the official BBlauncher guide for more in-depth info by the devs themselves.
IN SHORT :
To use SPS4 v15.01 AND above
-> most recent BBLAUNCHER (ABOVE v13.07 )
To use SPS4 v15.00 AND under
-> BBLAUNCHER v13.07 (OLD)
MY RECOMMENDATION :
- Use most recent BL and SPS4
⚠️If you ever want to try OLDER SPS4 builds, just remember to download and use BBLauncher v13.07 !
🟥 ⬇️ how to DOWNLOAD BUILDS
1/2 - ⬇️ DOWNLOAD sps4 BUILDS with BBLauncher
- Open BB Launcher
- Click the "Manage Builds" button
- ( OPTIONAL ) You can select the Default folder where all builds will be downloaded to.
- Refresh SPS4 List -> Select a build -> hit Download -> check the version u want BBL to launch
⚠️REMEMBER COMPATIBILITY !! ( I can’t stress this enough).
2/2 - 🎯SET GAME LOCATION
We need to tell BBLauncher where our game files are.
- Click Browse under “Bloodborne Install folder”
- Choose the 📁 "Unpacked Bloodborne"/CUSA03173
OPTION C - by downloading 📁 local builds directly
Some useful info about custom/local builds:
The way Shadps4 was released until November 2025.
- Local Builds can be manually downloaded from your browser and used, no launcher required.
- Basically folders with the emulator .exe and some settings They are complete, individual instances of the emulator.
- 🥔The community sometimes takes the offical builds and modifies them to run better. ( "Custom Builds") Sometimes we want to try a specific build that's not on the Launchers, so we can download it as a zip file instead.
- They can also be manually added to a launcher's build list for convenience.
- 🥔Older Shadps4 builds have different Update channels that may perform better. You can change the update channel in Settings > General.
If you’re looking for the best, updated custom builds, my suggestion is to ask in the Shadps4 Discord, they’re on the front lines of the emu’s development.
- Shadps4 Discord ( There's a bloodborne-specific thread)
Here are some sources for local builds:
📁OFFICIAL version of the emulator. -
( You can also choose older versions on the website as some older versions ( like 0.8 or 0.6) might run better than newer ones.)
UPDATE CHANNELS :
-Release , Stable but probably slower
-Nightly 🥔, better performance and compatibility
📁Diegolix29 Custom Build - Very popular and performant, but a bit unstable/ have memory leaks. Try if main build isn't running well)
UPDATE CHANNELS :
-Prtbb , extra particles and snowflakes on cainhurst
-Nightly 🥔, if u are ok without particles
-Full souls 🥔, better for steam deck or rog ally
📁Embarrassed_Fact9883 Custom Build - Has a few conveniently integrated hacks/fixes.
UPDATE CHANNELS :
-Release 6.1 🥔, Old but performs very well
-Nightly 9.1, more up to date
⚔️ SETUP SLAUGHTERED ⚔️
YOU CAN NOW PLAY THE GAME!!
Connect and configure your Controller 🎮
Boot it up and play through the intro sequence to make sure everything’s working.
❌ IF YOU ARE HAVING ISSUES…
Go to the 💥 HELP section at the end of this guide for fixes.
The most common issue is VERTEX EXPLOSION.
It messes with faces/ character creator, you’ll need to install a mod to fix it.
✅IF IT LOADS IN GAME…
..And everything is working fine, let’s make our game even better!
We can now apply 3. 🔨 PATCHES AND MODS
Patches take like 5 minutes.
Mods require a bit more time and effort, but are worth it, and you can always add them later anyway.
⚒️ 3. PATCHES and MODS
3
PATCHES AND MODS
PC does what Sony don’t
🩹 PATCHES
🩹 What can patches do?
Patches are like Cheats, they only alter some code within the game.
Patches can :
✅ change resolution
✅ change fps
✅ more useful stuff
🩹⬇️ HOW TO GET AND ACTIVATE PATCHES
- Open ⭐BBLauncher > Patches ( or Open 🟦sPS4 > Right Click the game > Cheats/Patches > Patches tab)
- Select Shadps4 Repository > Download Patches
- Select the new "BB. xml" Patch file
- A list of patches will appear, Check the ones you want
- Hit Save
⚠️ If you have issues with the sps4 repository, remove it and try the GoldHEN repo instead.
⚠️ Some patches like UltraWide resolutions are on Nexusmods
🩹🔃 Updates and Info
Patch Repositories are often updated with new/better patches!
I recommend updating your Patch list every now and then ( Just click “Download Patches” again ), and always read descriptions to see if anything
has changed.
—-----------------------------------------------------------------------
More in-depth info about patches can be found in the official BBlauncher guide:
BBLauncher User Guide - Google Docs
🩹👍 RECOMMENDED PATCHES
Here are just some of my favorite patches
Before applying, read descriptions carefully and choose.
GENERIC—-----------—----------
🩹 SKIP INTRO - Skip the annoying slow intro logos
🩹 DS1-LIKE RAGDOLL PHYSICS - Funny
🩹 Disable camera auto-rotation - useful esp. for M+KB
FPS —-----------
There’s a bunch, read descriptions carefully and choose.
🩹 30 FPS ++ - ONLY use this if you plan on playing at capped 30fps
- better input delay
- Fixes bad Frametime/stuttering
🩹 60 FPS - Uncaps FPS beyond 30.
There are 2 versions, read descriptions and choose which one is best for you.
🩹 90 FPS - Uncaps FPS to 90.
GRAPHICS —-----------
🩹 ENABLE SCREEN SPACE REFLECTIONS - video
- Has performance cost, but enables nice looking reflections on surfaces like water and mirror-like.
🥔 PERFORMANCE BOOST
🩹🥔 DISABLE MOTION BLUR - Better performance
🩹🥔 DISABLE DYN. LIGHT SHADOWS - Better performance
🩹🥔 PERF. PATCH - Better performance for free, use on lower end systems.
(previously named TaskSplit patch)
Some people reported it causes stuttering if used on powerful PCs.
🩹🥔 MODEL LOD - uses lower quality assets for perf. gains
- 🚫WARNING🚫 : read descriptions carefully, as it may be incompatible with PERFORMANCE MODS, if you want to install those.
🩹🥔 LIGHT GRID - PERFORMANCE PATCH
( This NEW patch apparently boosts performance - choose the resolution that matches your monitor’s resolution)
- Light Grid Patch Youtube tutorial
RESOLUTION —-----------
🩹🥔 RESOLUTION PATCHES (4K, 2K, 720p, 540p, 480p)
- if your PC sucks, lower the resolution. Has a huge impact on performance!!!
🩹 INCREASE GRAPHICS HEAP SIZES (High res fix)
( needed for resolutions above 1080p)
- Also go in Settings > Experimental tab > set "isDevKitmode" to on).
- People also suggest setting the Vblank Divider to 4.
🩹 ULTRAWIDE/ CUSTOM RES.
- You’ll have to download these patches from nexusmods as it’s not included in shadps4 repo, for some reason.
- CUSTOM RESOLUTION PATCH
- ULTRAWIDE and more resolutions PATCH
🛠️ MODS
🛠️ What can Mods do?
Mods are essentially community-made folders, containing files and code that can be added or replace the original game files.
We can effectively finally REMASTER the whole game.
Mods can :
✅ fix bugs/crashes
✅ improve performance 🥔
✅ improve gameplay
✅ improve graphics
✅ add content to the game
🛠️🤩 WHY USE BBLAUNCHER to install mods ?
It is by far the easiest and most intuitive way to install and activate mods.
⭐ Quick Shortcut to MODS folder
⭐ See active mods
⭐ Easily activate/deactivate mods
⭐ Alerts you when mods are conflicting
🛠️⏬ WHERE TO DOWNLOAD MODS
⛔IN-APP MOD DOWNLOADER
The BB launcher app has also recently integrated a Mod Downloader that lets you download some mods directly within the app.
This can be nice for some people, I recommend trying it if you're experienced and know what you're doing.
⛔ We won’t be using it. ⛔
✅MANUAL MODS INSTALLATION
✅ I will explain the classic, tried and true method of downloading the mods yourself through your browser.
✅I find it’s more reliable and simple.
📋 BEST MODS list
Here I made a document tab containing all the best mods I could find on Nexusmods.com , and instructions on how to download them.
🛠️📃 HOW TO INSTALL MODS
Install mods in 2 easy steps
1/2 - 📁➡️📁 EXTRACT MODS TO BBL FOLDER
- Open 🟪BB Launcher.exe
- Click the "MODS" Folder Icon (Windows Explorer will open the "Mods" folder)
- Extract your mod folder here
Example :
📁 Bloodborne stuff \ BBLauncher \ Mods \ Vertex Explosion fix
💡2/2 - HOW TO ACTIVATE MODS
- Open 🟪BB Launcher.exe
- Select "Mod Manager"
- Click on Desired Mod > Activate Mod
⚠️ This process applies for most mods, but always read mod instructions page.
⬇️ Next Section: 💥HELP and SAVES section
❓ 4. HELP and SAVES
4
HELP AND SAVES
A hunter must fix.
🔎 Looking for SOLUTIONS?
THE BEST WAY TO FIND A SOLUTION TO YOUR PROBLEM IS TO …
🔎LOOK FOR IT!
Chances are somebody else has already had your same problem and made a post about it, and some helpful chap replied with the solution.
Search results now include a ✨ Reddit AI summary , which can also help.
Use key words in the reddit search bar to find a previous post on the
Or
r/BloodbornePC subs.
E.g.
“crashing when hit”
“texture issue”
“won’t boot”
👇I also listed some very common issues below.👇
📈 IMPROVING PERFORMANCE
Increase fps, reduce lag, stutters and input lag.
📈 BIG FPS Boost
- Lowering the game resolution with 🩹PATCHES
- Activating other PERFORMANCE PATCHES 🩹
- Installing 🛠️ PERFORMANCE MODS
- Trying OLDER OR CUSTOM BUILDS of shadps4 (requires some experimentation/trial and error)
⚙️ Tweaking GUIDES
If you want to maximize performance, these guides are good resources, they all have some useful tips/information inside.
You can tweak many settings that might help smooth out framerate.
Don’t take any one guide as the holy Bible, as things are always changing and may be outdated.
- 📑 BBLauncher User guide
- 📑Larfy’s Bloodborne Guide
- ▶️DIGITAL FOUNDRY video offers insights into some settings
- 📑 INSIGTH GUIDE on Nexusmods
- 📑This Reddit GUIDE suggests turning off Chromatic Aberration helps with stuttering, among other things.
🤔 more Tips
- 📥Enable SHADER CACHE ( Smoother overall experience, but more stutters in short-term)
- 🖥️Turning off FSR /FSR sharpening might help with stuttering
- 🔄️ Updating your Patches every once in a while.
- US Dumps might be better than EU dumps? ( unverified)
- Personal dumps might be better than PKG extractions? ( unverified)
🥔 Watch out for Potato Emoji
Look out for tips about improving performance marked by the 🥔POTATO PC🥔 Emoji throughout this guide.
🧢 Rivatuner APP - fps cap
If you’re having trouble achieving a stable 60 fps or if your fps fluctuates a lot, you can also set a ✅custom FPS cap like 40 or 50FPS.
It makes FPS more stable for an overall better experience, allows some CPU headroom, and may reduce input lag.
How to use :
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5TFFdFoGeyc
🦆 Lossless Scaling APP - framegen
Frame-gen is an AI technology that allows you to :
- double/triple your framerate at little extra GPU cost
- Resolution Upscaling ( optional )
- It can also help smooth out stuttering.
- slightly more input lag. ( especially at lower framerates)
❌ I don’t recommend using it on 30 fps.
✅ I recommend only using it if you can achieve a locked 45 fps or more.
For example:
30 -> 60 ( too much input lag)
45 -> 60 ( ok, some input lag) 45 -> 90 ( ok. some input lag)
50 -> 60 60 -> 120 90 -> 120
▶️ Here’s a guide on how it works : Youtube
📃 The INSIGHT guide also has some recommended LS settings for Bloodborne. (Part 7)
💲 BTW it costs 7 bucks on Steam, but it’s the best 7 bucks you’ll ever spend.
💥 COMMON ISSUES
If you’re having crashes and bugs :
🛠️ VERTEX EXPLOSION
This is the big one, the one that most people have. It messes with:
- character creation
- people’s faces exploding into polygons all over the screen.
—-------------—-------------—-------------—-------------—-------------
HOW TO FIX
As of March 2026, we can only fix it in 2 ways:
- Via a setting ⚙️ in the latest versions of sps4, but it has a performance cost!
( I suggest trying LOW and seeing how bad your fps gets)
- Via a MOD FIX🛠️ called VERTEX EXPLOSION FIX
( I recommend this option , takes 5-10 minutes to install) Go to the MODS section of the guide, and learn how to install mods.
🛠️🩹 OTHER FIXES
These common issues can only be fixed with a 🔨MOD or a 🩹PATCH:
- 💻 Intel CPU crash
- 🌈 Lighting/texture issues
- ⚔️ Crash when attacking
- ❄️ Cutscene crashes/freeze
Download 🩹Patches repo and see if there is a Patch fix for your specific issue. If not, learn how to install 🔨mods fixes. Here are some common ones.
If you have other issues, keep reading below.
💥 OTHER COMMON ISSUES
Here's some other common issues ( and solutions) :
💥⌛GAME CRASHES AFTER PLAYING A WHILE
-> Probably a memory leak issue , try changing shaps4 builds
💥🖥️ GAME CRASHES WHEN USING HIGH RESOLUTIONS PATCHES
-> You need to tweak a few settings, visit the 🩹PATCHES section of this guide.
🔇SOUND DOESN'T WORK
- Use BBlauncher > BBL Settings > check the 60 fps Sound fix
- Try Sound Patch 🩹
- try 🛠️Sound MOD fix
If you still have issues, keep reading below.
💥 MY GAME WAS RUNNING FINE, BUT NOW CRASHING!
If the game was running before and now it's not, this usually happens because we mess around too much with builds, patches and mods, and something probably started conflicting with something else.
—---------------------------------------------------------------
Did you recently update Launcher or SPS4 build?
- Could be a compatibility issue?
- 🕰️ Revert to your previous old Launcher and build
- ⏬ Download and try another sps4 build
-----------------------------------------------------------------
If no other builds work, maybe a patch or mod is messing with our game.
When having issues with patches and mods, it’s often down to 1 thing malfunctioning.
We want to deactivate everything.
Did you recently apply mods?
- ❌ Deactivate all mods ( BBLauncher > Mod Manager )
Did you recently apply patches?
- ❌ Turn off all patches and try booting.
- 🔄️ Try switching Patch Repository in Patches window ( GoldHEN or Shadps4)
If that works, turn patches and mods on one at a time, and figure out which one is causing the game to crash.
-----------------------------------------------------------------
If none of these work, keep reading below.
💥 MY GAME IS CRASHING!
If the game is just not booting, try :
- ❌ Try deactivating all Mods and Patches ( most issues are caused by a mod or patch clashing with our game)
- ⏬ Download and try another build of the emulator
- 🔄️ Try switching Patch Repository in Patches window ( GoldHEN or Shadps4)
- 🗑️Try Deleting Shader Cache in Settings
—-------------—-------------—-------------—-------------—-------------—-------------—-------------
Did you do these steps correctly?
- Is your launcher compatible with your SPS4 version?
- Did you install Visual C++ Redistributables? It is required for the emulator to work.
- Are you using the GOTY version of Bloodborne? Using other versions may have compatibility issues.
- Did the 1.09 Update .pkg file install correctly? Does the game say 1.09 in shadps4 QT launcher/in-game title menu? Try deleting /uninstalling the update, and booting, then reinstall again.
—-------------—-------------—-------------—-------------—-------------—-------------—-------------
If the game still doesn't load, try :
- 🗑️💾Backup then Delete your save files ( see 💾SAVES section below )
- ⏬Update internal GPU drivers in your GPU app ( Then reboot your PC )
- 🗑️⚙️ Try deleting all shared SPS4 files/settings - located in 📁 %appdata%/roaming/shadps4 ( may require you to reinstall main game/DLC .pkg)
If none of these work, try maybe your game files are corrupted. See below.
🪦 CORRUPTED GAME FILES
Maybe our game files are just corrupted.
This can happen
- if the .pkg extraction went bad ( may happen randomly)
- when fiddling with mods and moving files around
This should be your last resort, but is actually pretty common.
It can happen to the main game, or to the update files separately.
—-------------—-------------—-------------—-------------—-------------—-------------—-------------
We'll have to delete our corrupted files, and extract the game from scratch :
💾👍 Your saves are safe in a separate folder, so don't worry about those!
- Delete all game files inside your "Unpacked Bloodborne" folder ( and even DLC files in the shadps4/addcont folder if u have that)
- Re - unpack the full game + update .PKG
☢️ TOTAL RESET
If you’re truly desperate and know what you’re doing, it’s just better to do everything from scratch.
Just backup your saves beforehand or you’ll lose your progress. ( See 💾SAVES section below)
Here are the locations, if you’ve tried everything else.
☢️DELETE MAIN GAME FILES - delete “unpacked BB” folder
☢️DELETE SPS4 Settings + DLC files + saves - %appdata%/roaming/shadps4
💾 SAVES
All you need to know about Bloodborne saves.
💾 WHERE CAN I FIND Bb'S SAVE?
Save files location varies between SPS4 versions.
This is another reason why you shouldn’t really update unless you really have to.
The chart below shows you which SPS4 version saves where.
📁 Default save location
By default, Shadps4 read and save to the savedata folder.
You can change this to whatever location you want.
The emulator will automatically create a "1" folder in the chosen save folder, and insert individual game CUSAxxxx folders inside.
The folder structure will be :
chosensavefolder / 1 / CUSAxxxxx
—---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Old and New versions of Shadps4 read and save to different savedata folders.
Sps4 v 0.15.1 and above saves to
C / Windows / User / %appdata% / Roaming / shadPS4
/ home / 1000 / savedata
Sps4 v 0.15.0 and below saves to
C / Windows / User / %appdata% / roaming / shadps4
/ user / savedata
—---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Custom builds may save to a different location
BBLauncher 15.01 and Diegolix Shadlix 15.1 save folders in different locations : r/shadps4
📁 CUSA folder
Every game has a unique CUSAxxxx folder, matching the game’s SERIAL NUMBER.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Old and New versions of Shadps4 read and save to different CUSA folders.
This is because old versions had a bug and saved to an incorrectly named folder.
SPS4 0.9 and above save to 📁 CUSA00207/SPRJ0005
before SPS4 0.9 save to 📁 CUSA03173 /SPRJ0005
💾🔄️ Move your save between versions
All we need to do is move the correct SPRJ005 save folder in whatever CUSA folder/ save location our desired emulator is reading.
💾⬆️ BACKING UP YOUR SAVES
💾⬆️ WHY DO BACKUPS?
You often want to create backups of the entire savedata or BB’s individual SPRJ005 folders.
Especially before doing changes like moving files, deleting builds, doing emulator updates or mod installs.
If anything fails or gets corrupted, you have an old save file you can fall back on.
YOU CAN NEVER BE TOO SURE!
💾⬆️ HOW?
- MANUAL BACKUP = Just copy/paste your game's SPRJ005 folder somewhere safe
- BBlauncher also has a useful autobackup function. It backs up your saves periodically. I suggest checking it out.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
💾⬆️ NAMING BACKUP FOLDERS
To remind you what save that is, I usually insert the SPRJ005 folder in a new folder, and rename the folder with something like
📁 "just beat Vicar Amelia" or something.
I even keep different save points in a 📁"BB Saves" folder, just in case the most recent one should break or something
—-------------—-------------—-------------—-------------—-------------—----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
💾🌐⏬ Pre-made saves
In case you lost your save and want to start from an advanced point in the game, or need a pre-made save for any reason, you can find them online :
All Boss Save Files Ready to Fight at Bloodborne Nexus - Mods and community
Just download and put them in your folders.
⁉️😭 I NEED MORE SUPPORT...
If you already :
- 🔍 Scoured the 2 subreddits for your issue, using key words
- 📋 Used the HELP Section above
- 📖 Read the FAQ section of this guide
- 💬 Checked out the comments in the:
- r/BloodbornePC Guide post
- r/shadps4 guide post
.. and still couldn't solve your issue, you can try :
—-------------—-------------—-------------—-------------—-------------—-------------—-------------
A ) making a post 📫asking for help here:
- r/BloodbornePC sub
- r/Shadps4 sub
- Shadps4 Discord ( There's a bloodborne-specific thread)
Be sure to EXPLAIN CLEARLY !
- Use good formatting
- Info about your PC specs
- Info about your BBL and SPS4 version
- Mods or patches installed
- what happened
- and what you have already tried.
The more effort you put in explaining your issue,
the more people are more willing to help!
C ) Leave a comment 💬on my reddit guide, and I or someone else might try to point you to a solution.
📋 MODS instructions
Last updated:
March 2026
Here is a list of the most popular and most impactful mods
that I personally recommend.
Mods greatly improve the Bloodborne experience,
and are just one of the many reasons why PC gaming is goated!
⚒️Best Bloodborne Mods⚒️
💥FIXES Fix bugs and crashes
🌿 Q.O.L get rid of annoyances
🔥GRAPHICS improve lighting and Textures
🥔PERFORMANCE Improve FPS
🔮 MISC. U.I. , Controls, Gameplay and Skins
⚠️ A lot of the mods I listed do similar things, and might be incompatible with one another. Always read mod description and avoid conflicting mods
⚠️ TIP: I recommend RENAMING the mod folders once downloaded and extracted, as many mods have unintuitive, confusing names.
Naming them with “category + simple name” makes them easier to sift through.!
🔎 These are just SOME of my favourites. I highly recommend you also have a gander for yourself, as new great mods are added daily!
🔎 what is NEXUSMODS
You can find mods on a website called Nexus mods : Bloodborne Mods - most downloaded.
- You need to create an account in order to download mods.
- The best/ most important ones are usually in the first couple pages.
- You can sort by number of downloads/ upload date and more!
⬇️ MOD PAGE
- DESCRIPTION TAB
Always read the instructions on how to use, before downloading!
⚠️ Mods can conflict with one another or be incompatible or outdated. Deactivate them if something stops working. ( BBLauncher also tells you if there are issues)
- FILES DOWNLOAD TAB
Here you can download the mod files. Usually compressed in a zip. file which you'll need to extract
⚠️Sometimes the same mod has different versions, built for different uses.
- POSTS TAB
Here you can comment, and read the mod author’s, and other people’s comments/questions/tips .
💥 CRASH FIX
💥 CRASH / BUG FIXES
These mods address certain common issues that may pop up while using shadps4.
There are many other fix mods.
If you have an issue,look around Reddit and Nexus Mods using key words.
- The only required mod, for a very common issue
- Not using it will make people's faces explode into polygons and crash your game basically.
- Alternatively, you can enable a setting to fix the issue without installing this mod , but it has a high performance cost, so I don’t recommend it.
Save file after character creator
- Use this save if you can’t get past character creator
- Read instructions on mod page
- Go to this guide’s HELP AND SAVES section to learn how to handle saves.
- Fixes issues/ crashes/ black screen when using the 60 fps patch
- Helps with audio not working, especially when using 60 fps patch
- For Intel 12th gen device crashes
🌱 QUALITY OF LIFE
🪴 QUALITY OF LIFE
These mods improve some annoyances people often have with Bloodborne’s gameplay.
These are the most widely shared complaints:
- 😭Add Bonfire-like fast travel to lamps
- 😭Automatic refill bullets and vials. NO MORE FARMING!!
- 😭Get rid of mind-numbing runbacks to bosses
Bloodborne Enhanced (External app)
- Better Lamp Travel
- Vial + Bullets restock
- no Boss Runback
- Adds Marika Statues before Bosses like Elden Ring
- Automatic Vials + Bullets restock
- no Boss runbacks & more
- Better Lamp Travel and Option
- Better Lamp Travel and no boss runback
- Test weapon damage value
- Modify and upgrade weapons wherever you are
- Recommend this for NG+ runs
🔥 GRAPHICS
🔥 GRAPHICS UPGRADES
These mods improve the graphics of Bloodborne.
💻 For most of these, you’re going to need a pretty beefy PC (or I suggest capping the game at 30 fps.)
⚠️ Some of these go and change the same assets / files, so I recommend using one at the time.
⚠️ Visual Upgrade Mods tend to be unstable! Use with caution and only if you have a really strong PC
🔥 MAJOR Graphics Overhaul Mods
These mods change the entire look of the game.
by fromsoftserve
( comparison video by Digital Foundry )
- Adds a lot of various improvements
- Has many different versions, make sure to read install instructions
- Very heavy download
- Dynamic shadows for the entire game, Modifies the shadows range and visibility
- In-game anti aliasing disabled
- Improved Ambient Occlusion
- Pointlights added for street lamps, wall lamps, candles, torches, etc, that all previously didn't have any illumination tied to them.
- Parallax occlusion mapping added to surfaces like brick streets (WIP)
- Color Grading : Expect a bit more color and vibrancy.
- Better LOD for central yharnam and cathedral ward.
- SSR (specular reflections) added
by Sp3c1alf1st
( video )
- Preset for the Reshade app, that gives the game a nice, foggy look, adds dynamic shadows and more
To install, move files next to your desired Sps4 build.exe, and choose Vulkan API
- Dynamic Shadows
- Lights recreate Raytracing effect
- Adds color, fog and atmosphere without over saturating so it still feels the same.
- Tombs, nights, and shadows will be darker. Torches, candles, the sky will emit less light
by Bocze
(nice video comparison)
Makes the game look better
- Dynamic shadows
- Corrects wrongly lit objects
- Corrects weird self-casting in shadows
- Simulated Global Illumination
- Better LODs
🔥MINOR Graphics Mods
Better 60FPS Cloth Physics by KYO
- Better flowing physics above 30 fps.
- Better looking fire, sparks and item flares
🪞🪩 Reflections Patch
If you’re going all out with gfx improvements, here’s a reminder that you can enable an SSR PATCH in the SPS4 repo, in case you haven't turned that on.
Essentially adds a more modern reflections system to things like puddles, metal and other surfaces.
Here’s a video showing it off - video
You can turn it on in the 3. PATCHES and MODS section, under “RECOMMENDED PATCHES”
🥔 PERFORMANCE
🥔 PERFORMANCE
These mods improve the performance of Bloodborne.
Essentially, we are able to downgrade the visual cost of the game, just like applying Low settings on PC games.
If you want to play at 60 fps, for example, and need some extra fps to reach it, these are a great idea.
⚠️ If these mods aren’t still getting you the performance you want, check out my F.A.Q, and go to the “ How can I improve performance?” question.
🥔Potatoborne - by Kyo (3 GB size)
The holy grail of performance mods.
This mod is essentially like using the "Lowest setting" preset in a PC game.
Will help out :
- low end systems
- below 8gb vram GPUs
- Steam Deck users
This mod includes the LOWEST VERSION of all of KYOS's downgrade mods for maximum performance gain, all in one mod.
You want to use this if you really don’t care about the game being pretty, and only want great performance.
🥔Individual Potatoborne Mods :
For a less extreme downgrade, you can also download each mod from POTATOBORNE individually as well, for more refined control:
- Lower resolution Textures ( has 2 versions : 25% and 50% reduced)
- Disables Cloth Physics ( has 3 versions: No, Half, Full )
- Reduces Objects scattered around the map and Special Effects
- Removes various post-processing effects
- makes LOD even lower (offers various combinations of effect removal)
No Ragdoll Physics - by YUExoxo
- Removes Corpse ragdoll physics
🥔 Other Perf. mods :
FPS BOOST - by fss
- Reduces Objects scattered around the map and Special Effects
FPS BOOST - by Boczekek
- Reduces Objects scattered around the map and Special Effects
- Better FPS during a particularly demanding Fire fx-heavy DLC boss
🔮 MISC
🔮 MISC. MODS
These mods add miscellaneous changes to Bloodborne.
🖥️ U.I.
XBOX/ SWITCH Controller prompts
Keyboard Prompts
👀 VISUAL
- Fixes Bloodborne’s original AA, which is notoriously bad
Custom Resolutions Patches
- Unusual and Widescreen resolutions
- These are actually PATCHES, so they’re not a traditional mod
- Removes the light around the player, for an even darker experience.
- Removes various post processing effects
🎮 CONTROLS
Enhanced Controls at Bloodborne Nexus
- Moves the sprint action from circle to X. Adds Jump on L3.
- Keeps rolling/dodging on circle. This reduces input lag, since the game does not have to check for sprint input before letting you dodge.
- Pressing circle while stationary on a ladder will also make you drop from the ladder.
- adds iframes to backsteps ( 8 iframes) to help keep your style meter at maximum
- Reduces recovery frames on all motions, which increases your combat speed and follow-up combat attacks/mixups.
🔄️ RE-PLAYS / EXPANDED CONTENT
- Kills a very annoying boss
- Made for repeated playthroughs
Great One Beast restored - video
- Adds a boss that was cut from the game
Magnum Opus - Project Beast update ( Video ) - 2.3 GB
- Restores a lot of datamined cut content for a new experience made for players with prior knowledge and experience of the vanilla.
- Brings back features and elements of the game that were never released – scrapped enemies, bosses, items, weapons and even Chalice levels
- Visual Changes to lighting and colors.
- New Enemy placements
- New experience
- Weapon changes
- Changed enemies/ bosses and many other changes
- The mod increases enemy's density and add a lot more hostile NPC hunters to many areas both friendly and foes.
- Increases buff length and early late game weapons can be obtain in Center Yharnam.
- Add new items to buff the hunters to deal with horde of enemy.
HardBorne - The New Old Blood Overhaul Mod (Beta) - ( Video )
- “The whole point is to give those grizzled BloodBorne veterans out there some new challenges to face that won't get conquered in an hour or two.”
- New mechanics, health system, parry system and much more.
🍭 FUN
ReShade - Blood Emphasis - Redder Reds
Lady maria's movement set Feminine walk