Saw Cleaver

Saw Cleaver

Found
An initial weapon choice from the Messengers (Hunter's Dream).
Stats
		90/180
		-
		-
		-
		-		Attr. Bonus
		-
		200		D/C	E/D	-	D/C
Special Att.				Attr. Req.

0	0	100	100	8	7	-	-
Weapon Info
Weapon Type			Right Hand Weapons
Transform			Saw, Cleaver
Imprints			Normal (Radial, Radial, Waning)
Aux. Effect			20% Serration		transformed mode deals Serration

The Saw Cleaver is a Trick Weapon in Bloodborne.

Description

In-Game Description

One of the trick weapons of the workshop, commonly used in the hunting business.

This saw, effective at drawing the blood of beasts, transforms into a long cleaver that makes use of centrifugal force.

The saw, with its set of blood-letting teeth, has become a symbol of the hunt, and only grows in effectiveness the more grotesquely transformed the beast.

Availability

One of the three starting Trick Weapons, gifted from the Messengers (Hunter's Dream).
Sold by Messengers after acquiring the Saw Hunter Badge.

Characteristics

As a starting weapon, this one is considered to be the worst choice of the bunch.

Though it has a great untransformed moveset in "saw" form, its cleaver form leaves much to be desired. Especially since every attack has no Thrust or Blunt attack whatsoever and its moveset is very much the same.

Often times players will just skip this weapon entirely and acquire the Saw Spear which can be found within the first half-hour of gameplay.

The major differences between these two very similar weapons are:

The Cleaver has slightly higher base damage
the Cleaver is mostly Strength based, while the Spear is mostly Skill based

The Cleaver has one mode that deals serrated damage, whereas the Saw Spear has both dealing serrated damage
the Cleaver deals only physical damage, while the Spear also has thrust and blunt attacks, making its moveset more varied

In the end the evidence is clear, the Saw Spear is mostly a more versatile option.

Especially because in "Quality" builds (builds with the same amount of level investment in both Strength and Skill), both weapons deal essentially the same damage.

The Cleaver is, however, useful in two situations. If players are playing a Strength-focused playstyle, or a build with no stat investment (a Blood Level 4 build), then the Saw Cleaver should be the weapon of choice.

Notes

This weapon deals Serrated Damage in its closed mode. Serrated damage deals 20% more damage against "True" Beasts.
It can be a good idea to infuse this weapon with fire Blood Gems as its serrated damage will multiply it against beasts.
The Saw Spear is its Skill-scaling counterpart.

Trivia

The Saw Cleaver, along with the Hunter Blunderbuss, are the flagship weapons of Bloodborne, being wielded by the Hunter in several screenshots, promotional art, and on the game's box art.
Starting weapon for the Saw Hunter Class that was showcased in the Bloodborne Alpha.
- Early footage, courtesy of IGN, of Bloodborne show the Saw Cleaver as doing 90 physical damage and having a durability of 340.
Both the Saw Cleaver and the Saw Spear appear to be based on the fusion of two Old Hunter weapons, the Beasthunter Saif and Beast Cutter.
It is Henryk's weapon of choice, a strange one as Henryk also uses the Throwing Knives, known for their scaling in Skill, rather than Strength. A more logical choice of weapon would be the Saw Spear.