Mastering the Crimson Tide: A Comprehensive Guide to Bleed Builds in Elden Ring
For players seeking to unleash devastating damage in Elden Ring, the bleed mechanic is a powerful tool. But to truly maximize your bleed potential, understanding which stats to level is crucial. The core stats for a powerful bleed build revolve around Arcane, Dexterity, and Vigor, with a supporting role for Endurance. Let’s break down why these stats are so important and how to prioritize them.
The Core Stats for a Bleed Build
Arcane: The Heart of the Bleed
Arcane is arguably the most critical stat for a bleed build in Elden Ring. It directly influences the bleed buildup inflicted by your attacks. The higher your Arcane, the more blood loss you inflict per hit, making enemies reach the bleed threshold faster. This is particularly important when dealing with heavily armored foes or bosses. It’s also essential to note that some weapons scale their bleed buildup directly with Arcane. A higher Arcane stat results in faster and more frequent bleed procs.
While Dexterity is important for damage output (more on that below), Arcane focuses on the core mechanic of bleed itself. Many of the most powerful bleed weapons, such as the famed Rivers of Blood and the Bloody Helice, benefit significantly from a high Arcane stat. For example, the Rivers of Blood scales with D in arcane, meaning more points in this stat increases the amount of blood loss buildup. The same is true for the Bloody Helice, which also scales with Arcane, Dexterity, and strength.
A general recommendation is to aim for 60 Arcane in the mid-to-late game to get the most out of your bleed build. Once you reach 60 Arcane, your enemies will bleed very frequently, making it more reliable for every encounter, and it will allow you to maximize any arcane scaling weaponry you might have.
Dexterity: Enhancing your Weapon’s Prowess
While Arcane enhances the bleed effect, Dexterity is crucial for your weapon’s physical damage output. Many of the most effective bleed weapons, like Rivers of Blood, scale with Dexterity (D scaling), and also with Strength (E scaling), although Strength has a lower scaling. Investing points in Dexterity increases the base damage and the overall weapon scaling, which will contribute to a more consistent damage output when not proccing bleed. Therefore, investing points into this skill is also important, not only for the base damage of your weapon, but also for the scaling of some weapons.
Balancing Arcane and Dexterity is key to maximizing both bleed buildup and raw damage. You’ll want to ensure you’re not just making enemies bleed faster, but also hitting them hard when bleed isn’t active. It’s not as important as Arcane, but it plays a significant part in the damage department of your build.
Vigor: Staying Alive to Bleed Another Day
No matter how much damage you can inflict, you’re no good if you’re constantly dying. Vigor is a crucial stat for every build, and bleed builds are no exception. Bleed builds often involve close-quarters combat, which means you’ll be exposed to enemy attacks. A solid investment in Vigor (aim for 40-60 in mid-to-late game) will give you the health pool you need to withstand hits and continue inflicting damage.
Endurance: Stamina to Keep the Pressure On
Endurance is another important supporting stat. It increases your stamina, which you use for attacking, dodging, and blocking. With a bleed build, you’ll be aiming to get in multiple hits to proc bleed as quickly as possible. More stamina allows you to do that while maintaining your mobility, and a good investment in endurance (around 25-30) will be essential to achieve this.
Strength: When Needed, Minimal Investment
While Strength is generally not a high priority, some bleed weapons like the Bloody Helice do have Strength requirements (16), and will scale with it. Rivers of Blood also has strength requirements (12) and scales with it, although it is at E scaling at the beginning. Invest just enough to meet the requirements of your chosen weapon and consider allocating more points if needed when you start leveling up.
The Ideal Stat Distribution for a Bleed Build
Here is an example of how to prioritize your stats when starting out:
- Arcane: Prioritize this stat, aiming for 40 points as quickly as possible.
- Vigor: It’s crucial to have enough health to survive. Aim for at least 30 points in the beginning and continue from there.
- Dexterity: Make sure to get at least 19 points to wield your weapons. Then, consider leveling up up to 30, or 40, once other important stats are leveled.
- Endurance: Ensure that you have enough stamina to attack consistently and dodge enemy attacks. Aim for 25-30.
- Strength: Level this up only to meet your weapon requirements.
This priority is to ensure that you can quickly do more bleed damage (arcane), and also have enough health to tank a few hits (vigor). Once your bleed is working properly and you have a health pool to survive battles, you can focus on dex and endurance to complete your build.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) About Bleed Builds
1. Does Arcane directly increase bleed damage?
No, Arcane increases the bleed buildup per hit, not the damage done when bleed is triggered. Higher Arcane means you’ll proc bleed more often.
2. What is the best bleed weapon in Elden Ring?
The Rivers of Blood katana is considered one of the best bleed weapons due to its high base damage, strong weapon art, and high bleed buildup.
3. Is bleed effective against all enemies?
No, some enemies are resistant or immune to bleed. However, most enemies and even some bosses are susceptible. Radagon is known to be completely immune to bleed.
4. Can I increase bleed buildup with items?
Yes, items like Blood Grease and Bloodflame Blade can add bleed buildup to your weapon, but it is more convenient to just level up arcane, as it does the same thing and the buff is permanent.
5. How does Lord of Blood’s Exultation work?
The Lord of Blood’s Exultation talisman increases your attack power when blood loss occurs nearby, which can be triggered by your own bleed procs. This is the best talisman for a bleed build.
6. How does Seppuku enhance bleed?
The Seppuku weapon art increases both physical attack power and bleed buildup, making it an ideal way to improve your output in battles. It also activates the Lord of Blood’s Exultation talisman.
7. Is Malenia weak to bleed?
Yes, Malenia is weak to bleed. However, it is also important to consider that she is also weak to fire attacks.
8. Which talisman should I use with a bleed build?
Besides the Lord of Blood’s Exultation, the Rotten Winged Sword Insignia or Millicent’s Prosthesis can increase your damage by triggering successive attacks, improving bleed buildup.
9. What armor should I wear for an Arcane build?
The Silver Tear Mask is an ideal piece of armor because it raises your Arcane by eight points, providing a significant boost to your bleed.
10. Should I use a weapon that scales with Strength?
If you’re using the Bloody Helice or Rivers of Blood, you will need to put some points into strength, but that should be the limit. Focus more on Arcane and Dexterity.
11. Is the Bandit class a good starting class for bleed?
Yes, the Bandit has the highest starting Arcane stat (14) making it ideal for a bleed build.
12. Can bleed be used effectively against bosses?
Yes, many bosses are susceptible to bleed, and a bleed build can be highly effective if you make sure that you are constantly attacking and maintaining a good stamina level to keep pushing for the proc.
13. How do I maximize bleed damage against bosses?
Using the Lord of Blood’s Exultation in combination with Seppuku is a great way to maximize damage.
14. What is the best thrusting sword for a bleed build?
The Bloody Helice is an excellent thrusting sword for a bleed build, because it scales very well with Arcane.
15. How much bleed does Seppuku add?
Seppuku adds 30 flat physical attack power and 30 base bleed build-up that scales with Arcane. The buff lasts for 60 seconds.
By understanding these stats and the mechanics of bleed, you’ll be well on your way to creating a devastating bleed build in Elden Ring. Always experiment with different weapons and items to fine-tune your build to your personal preferences and playstyle.