How Strong is Bleed in Dark Souls 3?
Bleed is a popular skill among players in Dark Souls 3, and it has the potential to do devastating amounts of damage. When bleed procs on a boss, you can expect to deal an average of 2,500 HP’s worth of damage, making it a very potent tool in the hands of a skilled player. But how does bleed really stack up in terms of overall strength? Let’s take a closer look at some of the most commonly used bleed weapons and setups in the game.
Innate Bleed Weapons
Some weapons, like the Bandit’s Knife, have bleed intrinsic to their design. When paired with the Carthus Rouge infusion, every third hit will trigger the bleed effect, dealing additional damage over time. This build has the potential to build up a significant amount of bleed damage, especially with multiple hits landing consecutively.
Infusions and Upgrades
Using infusions and upgrading our gear can also impact bleed’s strength. The hollow infusion, for example, grants 15% more HP damage from bleed. Some weapons, like the River of Blood, are best used with the Bloodshied infusion, which has the potential to triple your bleed damage.
Damage and Scaling
But exactly how much damage does bleed deal? The amount of damage bleed inflicts increases based on the wielder’s level and scaling factor. Here’s a brief overview of the bleed scaling in Dark Souls 3:
| Level | Scalding | Flanning | Bleed | Critical Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| +1 | 75.2% | 53.8% | 52.9% | 100% |
| +2 | 104.8% | 79.5% | 74.6% | 120% |
| +3 | 142.9% | 109.7% | 101.7% | 150% |
| +4 | 192.6% | 143.7% | 130.6% | 190% |
| +5 | 256.6% | 196.8% | 160.4% | 240% |
Damage Type and Resistance
Additionally, bleed damage has three distinct types: light, medium, and hard. Each of these types has its own effective range and resistance levels in the game. Enemies like giants and dragons may not take as much damage from light bleed, for instance, while others, like dark spirits, might have lower resistance to hard bleed.
Bleed Resists and Redress
But what if the enemy has a bleed resistance? Capillary Bleeding, for instance, has the potential to pierce resistance, allowing us to land a critical hit in an otherwise resistant enemy.
Easiest to Control: Capillary Bleeding
Of course, when it comes to blood type, capillary bleeding is generally regarded as the easiest to control due to its superficial nature.
Best Elden Ring Bleed Builds
So, what’s the best Elden Ring build for bleed? One commonly recommended setup includes:
- Gargoyle Helmet, Sage Robe, Smough’s Gauntlets, and either Blood-Stained Skirt or Maiden’s Skirt, all upgraded
- BloodShield and Gargoyle Tail Axe as primary and secondary weapons respectively
- Blood-Bite Ring as ring slot
Comparisons and Takeaways
To compare the strength of bleed damage with other forms of attack, let’s take a look at some benchmarks for common Dark Souls 3 boss fights:
- Asylum Demon: Blood > Chaos > Fire; with bleed, a medium-range attack can land at 1,400 – 1,500
- Orphan of Kos: Blood > Dark Magic > Fire; medium-range bleed attack at around 1,100 – 1,300 damage
Conclusion
While there are many variables affecting the strength of bleed, a well-built and effectively utilized bleed setup can produce staggering amounts of damage, rivalling even the strength of fire and dark magic attacks. With the right set of gear, skill tree investments, and fighting stance, bleed can become one of the most deadly ways to take down foes. Whether you’re an elder fan of the undead lore or a newcomer seeking answers to the mysteries of Bleed, this brief outline should provide a comprehensive basis for understanding the raw potency of bleed in Dark Souls 3.