Is Bleed build still worth it?

[𝕭𝖊𝖑𝖒𝖔𝖓𝖙]

Already completed runs with dex/int str/faith and quality, but what about bleed and arcane? is it good early?

[Senki]

it's really good but there are some immune enemies including the final boss

[lost horizon]

if you have the dlc, the strongest build in the game is bleed sword lance with greatshield.
backhand blade is really good but not so great at the end.
dual bleed curved swords of main game are good but were nerfed hard.
rivers of blood only good early game.

[𝕭𝖊𝖑𝖒𝖔𝖓𝖙]

I saw a lot of videos and so far I'm not satisfied. Bleed sucks, it only gets OP at lvl 200 or close, like ending game or something. Too much stats to lvl up and too much items to use + armor set to boost its dmg.

And I'm not ONGBAL to afford losing hp to boost dmg while killing everyhing hitless, so.. nevermind.

[𝕭𝖊𝖑𝖒𝖔𝖓𝖙]

Right now I'm finishing cosplaying as Devonia. 60str 50 faith, 50 vig 50 end. I deal almost 6k dmg with devonia's great hammer, pretty cool build.

[Mewsha]

It's good. I don't know who is telling you it sucks. It's always been good, certain bleed weapons have been nerfed, but honestly? Not enough. It's still the best effect in the game. It just used to be way more insane.

Moghwyn's Spear still trivializes the entire game, including the Elden Beast fight. If you don't want to use a cringetana or the Scavenger's Curved Swords because you're not like other girls then you have the Bloodfiend's Arm now.

Bleed builds are truly a dime a dozen though. Anytime I'm in PvP it's either a bleed build or someone named Guts using the Greatsword lmao.

[SoundsOfNight]

Bleed builds are even better because of DLC weapons. But they are so played out. Like I avoid summoning white masks haha. And they are mid tier in PvP imho bc they are so common.

[Lynfinity]

Originally posted by 𝕭𝖊𝖑𝖒𝖔𝖓𝖙:

Bleed sucks, it only gets OP at lvl 200 or close

Does it have to be OP in order for it to not be considered sucky-sucky?

Originally posted by 𝕭𝖊𝖑𝖒𝖔𝖓𝖙:

Too much stats to lvl up and too much items to use

Elaborate on that "too much" bit.

Originally posted by 𝕭𝖊𝖑𝖒𝖔𝖓𝖙:

+ armor set to boost its dmg.

Bloodloss deals a percentage damage based on the enemy's max HP. You cannot boost this damage, only a build-up.

[mpcgannon]

Nobody makes me bleed my own blood.

[lost horizon]

idk but the sound of blood loss in elden ring is the most satisfying sound of any game. even better when its pvp.

[Greywander]

Originally posted by Senki:

it's really good but there are some immune enemies including the final boss

This, basically. The biggest drawback is becoming over-reliant on bleed and running into a wall against bosses or tough enemies that are immune to it.

There are two different ways to do bleed builds. Both want a weapon that has innate bleed.

First is to invest in ARC and infuse the Occult affinity on your weapon. Occult does not add bleed buildup, but if the weapon already has bleed buildup then it will scale with ARC. Occult weapons can't normally be buffed, except by ashes of war. An example of this type of build is an Occult Nagakiba (mostly for its insane length, makes it easier to land hits to apply bleed) with Seppuku to buff it with even more bleed.

Second is to ignore ARC and buff your weapon with Bloodflame Blade. Bloodflame Blade scales the fire damage with FTH, but the bleed buildup does not scale with anything. Works especially well on weapons that are fast and paired, such as the Raptor Talons. Buffing a paired weapon will buff both hands, and the speed of the weapon allows you to apply multiple stacks of bloodflame.

An alternative ARC build that isn't specifically bleed is to grab the Ripple Crescent Halberd or Ripple Blade. These weapons scale solely off of ARC. They have no innate status buildup, but they can be buffed with greases. Because the weapon itself scales with ARC, applying bleed, poison, or sleep grease will scale those status buildups with ARC as well.

Lastly, there's the Dragon Communion Seal and Albinauric Staff, if you want to dabble in incantations or sorceries on your ARC build.

TBH, ARC builds are fairly flexible. Occult gives decent physical damage (typically not as good as Heavy or Keen), better bleed/poison buildup, and can easily branch into magic with minimal investment into INT or FTH.

[lost horizon]

Originally posted by Greywander:

Originally posted by Senki:

it's really good but there are some immune enemies including the final boss

This, basically. The biggest drawback is becoming over-reliant on bleed and running into a wall against bosses or tough enemies that are immune to it.

even for elden beast all i did was occult instead of bleed, and just do jump attacks with curved swords
like with all the buffs i had the health went down pretty fast

[Gamerzilla]

I comboed a bleed/fire spear with a bleed/frost greatshield. Shield crash is already OP, but combined with frost buildup + bleed buildup + fire resetting the frost constantly... well EVERYTHING dies fast. Of course some things are hard to actually HIT with shield crash, but when you do, they deady.

[StabbyU2]

So my current build is using dragon communion for faith incants/ lightning /fire/erdtree buffs/ice etc... and a guts great sword with braggarts roar with bleed affinity i get blood loss in usually 3 swings plus Big bonks. used that setup to defeat Maleina solo in NG+ (killed her with a friend in my first run). https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3405557960

[P.]

Yes, but Rivers of Blood can no longer delete bosses' healthbar under 10 seconds, it was nerfed long ago. Also Bloodfiend's Arm no longer delete bosses in a few seconds, it was nerfed too.

[lost horizon]

Originally posted by P.:

Yes, but Rivers of Blood can no longer delete bosses' healthbar under 10 seconds

but its cool