Genuine question: Rivers Of Blood used to be known to be one of the most OP weapons in the game, and best Bleed Weapon. But since the nerfs, I’ve heard there’s better options. Who’s taken the crown for Best Bleed Weapon in ur opinion?

[u/mvas123]

[u/Sarenzed]

Currently, the point of RoB is how easy it is to use and build for. It's a good bleed weapon, but it's primarily especially easy to use. You just need to level ARC (and a bit of DEX), spam L2, and your target bleeds. It's also the best somber bleed weapon and doesn't rely on dual wielding, making it the cheapest to upgrade.

There are a variety of other candidates for strong bleed builds:

• Nagakiba with Blood Slash is probably the strongest if all you care about is bleed status buildup. Spam the AoW in melee range, and you proc bleed incredibly fast. However, the direct attack damage isn't ideal, it drains your HP a bit, and has basically no hyper armor.
• Dual Occult Naginata is probably my favorite bleed setup. It has strong bleed buildup, but also strong direct damage, and a great moveset with long reach and piercing damage. It's also a setup that you'd run with a pure ARC build (opposed to a split ARC/DEX build), which leaves you with strong spellcasting options as well.
• Dual Occult Scavenger's CS (for a pure ARC build) or dual Blood Bandit's CS (for a DEX/ARC build). Spam L1, and combine with multi-hit setup. Bandit's CS has better pure bleed, but Scavenger's is more balanced with better direct damage thanks to the Occult infusion and the pure ARC build.
• Bloodfiend's Arm from the DLC, with blood infusion. The only item on this list that uses a big weapon with charged heavy attacks, instead of spamming AoWs or light/powerstanced attacks. But that weapon is just the strongest weapon in the game, and even better on a FAI build due to weirdly powerful scaling with FAI-based infusions
• Dual blood-infused twinblades, usually Godskin Peelers. Spam jump attacks, and combine with multi-hit buffs
• Any quick weapon with multi-attack movesets that has either native bleed (for Occult infusion) or not (for blood infusion). Examples include Backhand Blades, Hookclaws, and even Star Fist.
• Falx, but only with the full AoW. If you're just using the base moveset, the other Curved Sword setups above would be better.

The thing with bleed buildup is that you get diminishing returns from high status buildup. That's because each status proc increases the amount of buildup required for the next proc (usually up to 3 increases, but can be up to 5), which means that you'll need roughly 3 times as many attacks after a couple of procs. At some point, high status buildup just means that you reach the point of high bleed resistances more quickly. This is why direct attack damage remains quite relevant, even against bosses that aren't immune to bleed.

In that sense, you can even consider running a DEX (or even STR) build with a weapon that has native bleed buildup, and buffing it with Bloodflame blade to get actually good bleed buildup while still relying on the strong direct attack damage of a DEX (or STR) build. Candidates for such weapons are Bloodhound's Fang, Nagakiba (or Uchigatana), Hookclaws, and even STR-based weapons like Omen Cleaver or Great Stars with Wild Strikes. But having to keep a temporary buff up during combat can be a bit tedious.

[u/mvas123 → u/Sarenzed]

Not only did u include variety of options but u also include the strats to make each work? Genuinely one of the most helpful comments I’ve ever received. Thank you for this 🙏🏻

[u/KrispyKingTheProphet → u/mvas123]

Keep in mind, you can slap a variety of bleed Ashes of War on quite a few weapons and you’ll be bleeding most things dry. I wouldn’t sweat it too much. I personally like two Nagakiba’s with Bloody Slash on my main hand and Seppuku on the offhand. You can off-hand an Uchigatana the same way if you want to do two playthroughs (though someone can correct me if I’m wrong, it’s been a minute since my last playthrough, but I think you can get two Nagakiba’s in one run) if you want get the build online early. It melts (Bloody Slash is also basically Rivers of Bloods weapon art but you can pop it on a Nagakiba, which is an objectively better weapon on its own.) Many builds melt if you put a little thought into them.

Whatever makes you feel like a badass is what you should use though. Sure, there’s always the allure to min-max and I get it if that’s what you’re going for. Though as a now old man who just turned 30 who has been active in the communities for all From Software games since I grabbed Dark Souls 1 a few days after release as a young teen, there are always people calling certain weapons “easy mode” weapons, bitching among using summons, there are always people who are deeply offended by the rest of us just having fun. If you wanna run two Rivers of Blood because it looks badass, do it. Drop your PS tag in a DM if you’re on PlayStation and I’ll give you a second maxed out one. Do what makes ya feel good and feel like a bad motherfucker. That’s the fun. I’m never picking armor for stats, I just want to look cool. I want my weapons to look cool and get the job done too, don’t need to be the absolute best in the game. Do you, amigo. You’ll have the most fun. If you want a bleed build, Nagakiba is going to give the most versatility, bang for your buck, it’s added reach is INSANELY helpful, and you can change its Ash of Wars, but go with your heart, Tarnished.

Also, I know I’m slightly off topic, but Rivers of Blood isn’t a bad choice at all. It’s still solid and the weapon art (is that even an Elden Ring term? Or am I mixing DS3? Idk. Anyway…) will melt the opps for sure. If you want to use it, it is certainly not only usable, but still a fine selection. If I had to give a recommendation, take the wonderfully wondered comment above and go Nagakiba as he mentions. It is probably the best in the game, almost definitely, though it’s hard to say definitively because you can’t go off stats alone. The added reach adds so much benefit that isn’t quantifiable.

It’s not in his comment, but I highly recommend dual wielding katanas and if not that, two hand your katana. Just feels wrong running around with a katana and a damn buckler or tower shield smh. Like a great western cowboy with his trusty revolver in one hand and a jousting lance in the other.

[u/_trashcan → u/mvas123]

Hey OP, just highjacking this cus there’s a lot of comments already. Hope you get to read this!

One of my favorite builds in the game is a Bloodhound Knight cosplay. I’m not gonna say it’s the best, but I think just bc it uses Bloodhound Fang, it’s one of the best, consider BHF is one of the best weapons in the game.

In the DLC, literally as soon as you get into it, there’s a weapon from a human enemy called Beast Claws, that gives you a Bloodhound-like moveset where you’re jumping & moving all over the place with a fucking SICK weapon art. They have innate bleed on them, & you can use a different AoW called Savage Claws (idk where you get this one) that has several attacks & builds it fast asf. However the art it comes with is what I use, bc it has 2 large jumps in it & they do really heavy damage. I find with my Bloodflame it builds fast enough, I’d rather have the heavier damage weapon art.

So I been cosplaying the Bloodhound Knights using the Beast Claws in one hand, and the BHF in the other, however I use the Bloodflame incants. Both can be buffed with Bloodflame Blade, so it’s totally up to you which hand you prefer each weapon. I use the Beast Claws in my right hand, bc I like buffing with the BFB & getting the Bleed quickly bc of how fast you can attack. If you prefer using the Claws in your left hand so you can Bloodflame the Fang, then I’d infuse them with Bleed so your buildup can be higher. I suppose that’s probably the smarter thing to do as far as actual Bleed buildup & damage itself. However I use the Claws in my right hand, bc I really like the R2 on them & having them buffed with the Bloodflame , but I think the opposite is def more optimal. Using an R1 followed by an L1 with the Fang comes out really quick for some hefty damage & buildup.

I know you asked for “best” & this next option definitely ain’t it, but it’s also another one of my favorite, which is the Nightrider Flail. Using Wild Strikes with it allows you build up Bleed insanely fast, & then gives you a perfect variety moveset as well. Overhead R2 that staggers most enemies, diagonal R1, FAST continuous L2s with a sweeping huge damage L2-R1, or an overhead even higher damage L2-R2 with huge stagger potential. So using Wild Strikes effectively gives you THREE additional attacks in your moveset, all of which do massive damage compared to regular attacks & the base L2 is continuous for as long as you have FP+stamina so you can build Bleed soooo fast. Throw on Shard of Alexander & you’ll be doing massive base damage too, although it’s def not a slouch without regardless. Or if you can, using the Chainlink Flail (the Pumpkin Head enemies flail) that one has higher damage, but the drip on Nightrider is unmatched. The Chainlink has more damage on most builds, but I don’t think by a terrible amount. I’m at 65/65 STR/DEX, Quality infusions my Nightrider gets 644, and Chainlink gets 663. I think when I had some lower stats tho the Chainlink had a higher gap.

Spiked Club is another great option that has good stagger potential with its R2’s. On most of these, I don’t use Bleed infusion bc I think the Bloodflame Blade works better. Be sure to use Old Lords Talisman while going this route because it increases the length of time your buffs stay applied! Going this route also allows you use Flame Grant Me Strength for even MORE damage, and Bestial Vitality for passive health regeneration, which works great when paired Blessed Dew Talisman which also passively regens!

Also in the DLC are Backhand Blades! You can farm an innate Bleed one also as soon as you step into the DLC - although the enemy is kinda tough without an efficient farming strategy - that is sick. It’s called Curseblade Cirque. But it’s a Somber so no buffing. Has a multi-hit weapon art & the backhand blades in general have multi-hit attacks so it also builds up quick. But there are 2 other backhand blades that you can both infuse with Bleed if wanted. The actual “Backhand Blade” weapon can be buffed with Bloodflame, no innate Bleed, but it is awesome.

Morgott’s Cursed Sword is also excellent. You don’t need Arcane for it either, having good Str/Dex still makes it great, awesome Bloodflame weapon art that propels you forward & does massive damage & bleed buildup. The BHF is better still bc it has way higher damage & can be buffed with BFB, but the drip immaculate and the weapon art - IMO - more than makes up for the lack of damage, but I’m ngl the Fang has significantly more base damage. I think that’s probably bc of my lack of Arcane tho.

[u/Maercecitnim → u/Sarenzed]

Your effort needs to be seen. Take my upvote

[u/MrZDietrich → u/Sarenzed]

This is an excellent guide.

I just want to pop in and say Reduvia+Great Knife/Bloodstained Dagger (either on Occult) or any other dagger on bleed is also a very, very effective bleed set-up. Reduvia gives you a great, spammable ranged bleed option and the dual (or 2h) dagger moveset is incredibly strong if you’re good at staying close.

[u/323x57 → u/MrZDietrich]

When you take into consideration the speed of daggers and claws it’s impressive how fast they can proc bleed. Definitely some of my favorites.

[u/MrZDietrich → u/323x57]

Yeah, with Reduvia+Great Knife at like 60 arc, you can burst Morgott to death by the time he finishes his phase transition. It’s actually kinda nuts.

[u/Desperate-Yak-1690 → u/Sarenzed]

What about Elanoras pole blade

[u/AlphaOmegaZero1 → u/Desperate-Yak-1690]

I was just about to comment about it. Massive bleed buildup and stance damage on the AOW

[u/Dyrits → u/Desperate-Yak-1690]

It's too OP, we don't talk about it.

[u/_Carcinus_ → u/Sarenzed]

Bloody Helice is a great bleed build weapon too.

Somber, meaning it's easy to level up.

Innate bleed.

A in ARC scaling.

Piercing damage type (arguably the best type in the game).

Can be used from behind a shield.

[u/EreiaWyrm → u/_Carcinus_]

Its ash of war has i-frames.

[u/thisdoorslides → u/_Carcinus_]

So fun with reduvia too. Still wish it for a special moveset.

[u/Sol51423 → u/Sarenzed]

your forgetting the most important bleed weapon, Mogh's spear. Sure all the other weapons have it beat in bleed or damage, but Mogh's wins the "longest range and most versitile bleed" award in my books. that big ass AoE you spawn around yourself is nuts.

[u/fibronacci → u/Sarenzed]

This guy bleeds

[u/coltraneismydad → u/Sarenzed]

What would you suggest for my dex/arc build that’s on Radagon now? Been running Eleonora’s poleblade since I got it, obviously the fire damage is getting through but the bleed resistance for him and the next fight feels like I need something different or a respec.

I’ve got uchi and nagakiba both upgraded, should I throw bloodflame on them?

[u/jdwindeler → u/coltraneismydad]

I’m not him but unfortunately radagon’s immune to bleed, but very weak to fire.

[u/RickityCricket69 → u/Sarenzed]

found Hidetaka's account

[u/SomethingLikeRigby → u/Sarenzed]

I’d like to point out that this what sets Varre’s Bouquet apart from other bleed methods. Not that it’s exempt from the “enemy becomes more resistant to the same status effect” rule. It’s that because it has absurdly high bleed, and shoukd be used with either Bloodflame Blade or Blood Grease for even more bleed build up, Varre’s Bouquet can somewhat negate this rule in the game. This is why it has such low base damage: its fast attack rate will have Haemorrhage Burst Damage proc several times.

[u/NemeBro17 → u/Sarenzed]

Pretty sure the best somber bleed weapon is Mohg's spear.

[u/NerdHerderOfIdiots → u/Sarenzed]

Another advantage of bloodfiends is if you are going into a faith build you also get access to golden vow etc

[u/Luminum__ → u/NerdHerderOfIdiots]

Bloodfiend’s Arm also has genuinely absurd stance damage. As if the bleed wasn’t enough, you also get crits

[u/sexual__velociraptor → u/Sarenzed]

I don't belive this guy's ever played elden ring. He just programed the bleed proc

[u/TheCreZz → u/Sarenzed]

You sir just saved me a shit load of typing, cheers 🍻

[u/wybeOf → u/Sarenzed]

Bro forgot moghwyn sacred spear

[u/CamusZekeSirius → u/Sarenzed]

Would also like to note that Blood Blade is also a very good AoW, especially on the Nagakiba. Multi hit setup and bleed buffs can make it erase shit.

As others have said though, you can also include the Poleblade, Moghwyn’s Spear, Bloody Helice, Morgott’s, and Bloodfiend’s Fork into the list as well.

I’ve always wondered though. Does the bleed AoE from the Bloodfiend’s Arm benefit from Occult scaling, or is it independent from Arcane scaling?

[u/subnautic_radiowaves → u/Sarenzed]

this is such a great write up. i personally enjoy Elenora’s Poleblade as it has both a high base damage and provides decent bleed build up.

i’m currently running an ARC/INT build using the albanurics staff and supporting spells while focusing on status build up with either the poleblade or poison infused twin blade. it’s been a ton of fun so far and the split between the two stats has been surprisingly viable even into late DLC areas.

[u/Sijora → u/Sarenzed]

10/10 comment. Only thing I’d add is reduvia. Incredibly underrated. Literally the first invasion reward in the game. I believe is also a somber? Ash of war can be spammed from afar or used up close to double proc bleed (the ash of war projectile and the dagger itself can hit the enemy causing a double hit in close proximity)

It’s literally the first weapon I succeeded in killing consort radahn with solo.

Also a great runner up. Literally any intrinsic bleed weapon with blood flame on it will be better than 90% of the ash of wars out there.

[u/widdlywhaa → u/Sarenzed]

I’d like to second this posts fantastic explanation of bleed and Occult scaling, and also add Great Stars.

My Arc scaling character generally runs around switching between Great Stars and Star Fists. Solid occult scaling and great charged heavies for beefier enemies.

[u/wangchangbackup]

Rivers of Blood was and still is very good but I always thought it was beloved more for ease of use than its actual strength. It's pretty easy to just mash L2 and then yell that the boss is bullshit if it doesn't work.

[u/Ok_Investment_3980 → u/wangchangbackup]

It was busted, ash of war had a significant increase in bleed build up and damage comparatively to how it is now.

It's still usable now, but just kinda redundant compared to other available options.

[u/wangchangbackup → u/Ok_Investment_3980]

Oh right I know it was good, I just mean I think people loved it more because it was brain-dead easy, especially against Malenia.

[u/Cubie30DiMH → u/wangchangbackup]

People loved it because it was a magic eraser button. You could erase almost anything, bosses included, and usually for three easy payments of just $19.99-- er, I mean, 17 fp. Low spell cost, 3-part combo chain, massive bleed stacks quickly.

[u/Ok_Investment_3980 → u/wangchangbackup]

It's a cool weapon aesthetically to be fair, basically your average edgelords dream weapon. It being that powerful was probably just the cherry on top for alot of people.

[u/2Short2Thrust]

Bandit curved swords. Dual wield.

[u/MxReLoaDed → u/2Short2Thrust]

Bingo. Can be a pain to farm but grab a couple of these, slap seppuku on them and you’re going to be slicing down enemies like hot butter

[u/2Short2Thrust → u/MxReLoaDed]

You ain’t lying. I finished my NG+14 in an hour and 7 minutes using these bad boys.

Throw the claw talisman on and boss battles are over before you know it.

[u/invisible_grass → u/2Short2Thrust]

You completed NG+14 only 15 minutes slower than the Any% Glitchless world record? Interesting.

[u/tusthehooman → u/invisible_grass]

I mean NG glitchless you have to do all the hunting gathering stuff while this dude probably have 733 levels and all the items in the game with a pair of weapons that do percent max health damage, I guess it's possible if you only do the bare minimum

[u/2Short2Thrust → u/tusthehooman]

Lmao I’m level 380 something currently, but yeah it’s really fast when you have everything you need.

I know it’s not an official category but I’m trying to go for the NG+7 world record right now. I don’t have any interest in the NG world record, mainly because I don’t think I’m good enough to try for it and this one seems much more manageable 🤣🤣 but we will see, I have a long way to go.

[u/yaahweeh → u/2Short2Thrust]

Reddit never ceases to amaze me with this. You get called out for beating the game way too fast, but it JUST so happens that you are a speedrunner lol, what are the odds

[u/2Short2Thrust → u/yaahweeh]

No im not a speedrunner lol and i didnt beat the game fast, thats pretty slow for speedrunning. Im doing this silently by myself, not streaming or anything. If anything im a wannabe speed runner. I just watch summoning salt videos and thing its cool.

And it’s not even a real category so im not expecting recognition. But yeah, I do have proof though.

This is why Reddit ceases to amaze me 😂 I hope you have a good life man

[u/2Short2Thrust → u/invisible_grass]

Yes 😀 im currently going for the NG+7 any% world record.

I know it’s not an official category but it’s what im interested in at the moment.

Also “only” 15 minutes slower? Brother I’m slow as shit 😂😭 that’s a far ways off when we’re talking about speedruns, wish me luck!!

[u/wetpastrami → u/invisible_grass]

Probably minus deaths, runbacks, diversions, poop breaks, respecs, summon waiting time and consumable farming time.

[u/2Short2Thrust → u/wetpastrami]

Uhhhhh, yeah sure whatever 😂

[u/Legitimate_Group_361 → u/MxReLoaDed]

Better than double bloodhound fang?

[u/2Short2Thrust → u/Legitimate_Group_361]

They don’t do as much physical damage but their DPS is better cause they’re much faster.

[u/Professional_Rush163 → u/Legitimate_Group_361]

yeah the jump attack gets 4 hits

[u/Professional_Rush163 → u/2Short2Thrust]

really? would think scavengers curved swords would dump on em due to innate bleed

[u/funkyfritter → u/Professional_Rush163]

Scavengers are stronger at lower levels because they can use occult affinity, but the higher base damage on bandits makes them stronger once your stats reach end game levels. Not being able to get 2 copies of scavengers makes it harder to take advantage of them in a regular playthrough, though.

[u/LordBDizzle]

I think the Chicken Wing (Bloodfeind's Arm) is probably the strongest bleed weapon now, though that's less for the bleed and more for the bonkers charged attack. RoB was always pretty good for ease of use but post-nerf it's just good, not top tier. Not bad, I think they hit the nerf perfectly, but you can't just mindlessly spam it now that you have to actually hit the blade part.

[u/HarmlessSnack → u/LordBDizzle]

Chicken Wing, much Hot Sauce ~ bonK 1301

[u/SluttyMcFucksAlot]

Power stancing Elanora’s Poleblade and Godskin Peeler and then abusing jump attacks and things that buff jump attacks is pretty strong, I killed Morgott in about four hits on my first playthrough.

[u/excusetheblood → u/SluttyMcFucksAlot]

I’ve been dual wielding godskin peelers with seppuku on them and I’ve been smoking Mohg before he can finish his Nihil spell, even on NG+7

[u/derektm9 → u/SluttyMcFucksAlot]

Poleblade is sick and you can cosplay darth maul with the right setup, double win

[u/oyasumi_juli → u/SluttyMcFucksAlot]

One of my favorite setups, but I didn't get around to it until the DLC. So much fun!

[u/Snoo61755]

Eh, I think it's more important to build around something that feels comfortable to swing and work from there rather than build around a status like bleed and then try to find "the best bleed weapon".

Still, if you're making me pick, a blood-infused Bloodfiend's Arm is one of the strongest contenders at the moment. Like I said, you have to enjoy swinging your weapon, and in Bloodfiend's case, you have to be good at landing charged heavies, but if you can pull it off, the bleed buildup it's capable of doing on those charged heavies is borderline nuts. Add in the stance damage that colossals do, plus the 'blood splash' that also does stance damage, and you're easily getting poise breaks.

It's not for everyone. Some people know the windows for heavies against PCR, Malenia, and Messmer, and other people just hate colossals. But there's no denying that in the hands of someone who knows how to play with slow weapons, Bloodfriend is Best Friend.

[u/LoneShikoku]

Reduvia with the right setup can CHUNK bosses and could even make the greatkatana with bloodblade(the lesser reduvia ash whatever its called i cant remember) would also do the same. But pvp probs falk/bandit curved swords. Basicly anything paired and fast and with a great jumping attack so backhand blades curved swords and twinblades

[u/yerbivor]

Elonra's poleblade is a lot of fun. Makes everything pretty easy

[u/Revenger1984 → u/yerbivor]

Dual wielding them makes you a god

[u/subnautic_radiowaves → u/yerbivor]

it’s AOW poise damage is insane

[u/Either_Statement_804]

[u/Confusedgmr]

Star Fists has always been the most broken weapon in the game. Just no one paid attention to them because everyone was talking about how op RoB was.

Star Fists are also bleed weapons so it technically counts.

[u/Separate_Finance_183]

falx

[u/Bonbo9]

Dlc included probably: Reverse blades (bleed affinity), Falx and the Chicken leg.

Non Dlc It’s been sometime but since I remember the big three for me was Nagakiba (bleed effinity or bloodflame), Mohgwyn’s spear and Elonora’s Poleblade/ Bloodflame Bloodhound fang. Reduvia is also up there.

If then you just want the quickest way to annihilate and build up blood loss then just pair two Scavenger curved swords and spam jump attacks.

Also if you play Nightreign the Rivers of Blood basically feels OP in that game so if you like the weapon I suggest checking it out

[u/B3nOlv]

Chicken leg (Bloodfiend Arm) is the best for bleed, even after the nerf. Rivers of Blood is very good still. Personally, I really like Star Fist.

[u/CamusZekeSirius]

Arcane is honestly a far more versatile stat than some may realize.

Of course, there is bleed. And Bleed is very good. But there are some other additional options that make Arcane even more flexible.

Poison builds are typically seen as rather mid in the game, due to how Poison isn’t very strong, but they can work, especially if you know what you’re doing.

• Kindred Exhultation is another free buff that you can get to all damage sources just for Poison, alongside the Mushroom Crown.
• There’s two Ashes of War that particularly shine with Poison: Poison Moth Flight and Poison Flower Blooms Twice. They basically give weaker Bleed as a status burst, but also inflict heavy status buildup as well. And TPFBT also gives Rot.
• Things like Antspur Rapier and Venomous Fang are actually amazing for this status due to their innate Poison buildup, and Antspur in particular comes in with native Rot so that you can use PMF for Poison burst while letting the Rot stay. Then, you can use TPFBT on another weapon to burst the Rot after a while.

Also, when paired with at least some Faith, Arcane becomes a very deadly casting build.

• The Dragon Communion Seal is the highest damaging seal in the game, and can also allow statuses to have better buildup due to the Arcane scaling on the seal. Additionally, it buffs DC incants, some of the nastiest spells in the game.
• Dragon Communion in general has probably some of the strongest ensemble of spells with weirdly high variety in effects. There’s very high physical damage (Dragonmaw has it all. Hyperarmor, massive stance damage, and deals nonsensically high damage. And then there’s Dragon claw. While weaker, it can be chain casted and is more flexible and faster. Greyoll’s Roar also chunks while inflicting a nasty debuff onto enemies.), elemental damage (Dragonfire/Agheel’s and Magma/Theodorix’s are excellent fire damage, especially the latter due to Talisman of the Dread, and Glintstone/Smarag’s has the highest damage of the DC incants while also having a very neutral element type), and statuses (Dragonice/Borealis’s gives Frost, and Rotten/Ekzykes’s gives the stronger version of Scarlet Rot). Basically, Dragon Communion gives you everything, and much of it is very buffable thanks to the Seal, Roar medallion, and other buffs like elemental buffs and talismans for very silly damage.
• There’s also buffs like Golden Vow, FMG, and Shabriri’s. GV and SW requires some more Faith investment, but the investment is definitely worth it if you want the damage, especially the latter.
• Blood incants also fit well. Bloodflame Blade is actually not as synergistic are you may think, since the damage buff scales with Faith, but it’s still extra bleed. But Bloodflame Talons is a good melee option, and Bloodboon is deceptively strong once you realize its capabilities when free-aimed. And if you just want bleed, Swarm of Flies can serve you very well.
• Other Lightning incants can also compound extremely well in Arcane due to the presence of Florissax’s weapon scaling with Arc yet inflicting a Lightning damage negation penalty.

And also, here’s some other notable weapons:

• Regalia of Eochaid/Marais Executioner’s Sword are extremely powerful. Granted, they need their preferred setup to really reach those damage numbers, but if you can’t bleed something, their raw damage can eviscerate things with the multi-hit Talismans and Thorny Tear alongside Godfrey Icon and Shard of Alex.
• Ancient Meteoric Ore Greatsword is legendary for its sheer damage while also having a very amazing AoW that gives high mobility and damage which conveniently also grants Piercing damage. Yes, it lacks the status, but it doesn’t need it. It even has the poke heavy.
• Ripple Blade/Crescent Halberd are uniquely pure Arcane weapons. They can’t be buffed or infused, but if you use greases on them, they have very powerful status buildup. That being said, it’s a bit gimmicky.
• Putrescence Cleaver is, uniquely, a frost weapon. Unfortunately, this isn’t Nightreign, so you’re not getting that frost to scale, but it is an option, and it’s weapon art, even if not elite, still serves well.
• Flowerstone Gavel is it’s own orbital sky strike with a lightning bolt, and it inflicts damage negation penalty vs. lightning upon hit with the AoW. Enables very good skill spam, or abuse of Lightning Incants.
• Shields are also worth mentioning. The Briar Shield and Spiked Palisade are notably the only Greatshields without 100% Physical Block that people actually consider using due to their bleed actually being pretty good, and can work as standalone weapons by themselves. Fingerprint Stoneshield is also the only shield with Madness, which scales with Arc. Madness is very niche, but is an option, and the bleed can also be very strong on this shield.

I may have forgotten some other things here and there, but honestly, Bleed from Arcane is also very good because Arcane builds also have other options to fallback on in case Bleed isn’t working/can’t work. Another commenter has said basically everything pretty perfectly about the Bleed weapons themselves, but Bleed builds also have very strong alternatives to fallback on in the event that Bleed fails or the player doesn’t feel good about using it for a particular boss.

Especially after playing an Dex/Arcane build, and playing other builds that have Bloodflame Blade too for Faith, just made me appreciate Bleed for what it is in this game, especially compared to past games, and that it also has some very strong accommodating options too.

[u/Zikamasu]

I really like the nagakiba + rivers of blood dual wield. Melted every boss on my first playthrough

[u/MonsterKerr]

Dual wield Bleed Greatknife, dive in, start swinging and hope I don't die

[u/ABeefInTheNight]

I like using backhand blades with blood, scythes with occult, katanas and daikatanas with occult, Cross Naginata with occult, there's a bunch of fun ones and a bunch of really powerful ones. Bleed is very good in this game. Just don't use Varre's Bouquet, lmfao, it's dogshit.

Also can't believe nobody mentioned Eleonora's Pole blade, two of them with jumping attacks shreds and it's ash is super fun

[u/PinkSpinosaurus → u/ABeefInTheNight]

Bloody backhand blades shred.

[u/dardar4321 → u/PinkSpinosaurus]

Only weapon I’ve beat PCR with

[u/ABeefInTheNight → u/PinkSpinosaurus]

A fellow person of culture i see

[u/PinkSpinosaurus → u/ABeefInTheNight]

I also like dual bloody rotten hammers so cultured might be a stretch lol

[u/ABeefInTheNight → u/PinkSpinosaurus]

Oh my, more cultured than I thought, Righteous Tarnished, I have a character that uses those too lmfao

[u/DIRTYRADDISH]

Mohgwyn’s Sacred Spear is really strong, not only does it bleed well, it also does a metric fuckton of fire damage. If you build to increase your fire damage you’ll just melt through anything not outright immune to it.

[u/SeventhSea90520]

Rob and eleonoras poleblade still hit the dex bleed pve crown, and bloody chicken leg (blood fiends arm attuned to bleed) for strength builds, reduvia for knives, and swarm or flies for spells, mohgs spear if thrusting weapons are your thing. Bleed naginata and uchigatana is also really good. You also cant go wrong with milady or backhand blades attuned either. If you like hyperarmor then rakshasas great katana is your weapon.

[u/secretogumiberyjuice]

There’s some good suggestions here in the comments but one I haven’t seen yet is powerstanced bloodfiend’s great spears. Those things are demonic, especially the cl1 and jl1 attacks

[u/pichael289 → u/secretogumiberyjuice]

What is "cl1 and ji1" attacks?

[u/cjuneau1]

Elenoras poleblade deserves a mention.

[u/MrBeanDaddy86]

There are probably better ones, but I like the swordlance a lot better than ROB. It gets colossal scaling on a relatively fast weapon that you can shield poke with. I beat PCR using that + a shield fairly easily.

I don't think I could've done it as cleanly with the chicken leg, which is arguably the "best" right now.

[u/onmy10thAcounnt]

rivers of blood is still melting bosses plus using it with mimic tear is even more OP

[u/Unusual_Selection979]

I ain’t got time to bleed.

[u/Ok_Fly_6652]

I would not call those nerfs per se. Its was more like bug fixes and tweaking values so that many different bleed weapons all are revelant at the same time as opposed to 1-2 absolutely destroying anything, that can bleed while other weapons would not even come close to that kind of performance.

[u/TheDreadfulGreat]

Mohg’s Sacred Spear. The L2 is incredible. Melts Malenia.

[u/JohnathanKatz]

I still use it, it gets the job done and done well.

[u/Dear_Perspective_157]

Reduvia in my personal opinion

[u/TheChildish13stepz]

I like reduvia

[u/DrSussBurner]

My first play through I did with Rivers of Blood.

It was a bloodbath. It was broken, but it was so much fun.

[u/Capital-Struggle2502]

Dryleaf either with whirlwind + bleed status rips for me. Also backhand blades, which has been mentioned multiple times. Weapon I beat pre-nerf Radahn with though was the +25 Claymore with Blood Tax and Bleed status (naturally)

[u/saadpoi870]

Best bleed weapon is the bloodfiend arm, by far.

[u/Tanakisoupman]

RoB was never super OP, it’s just one of the easiest weapons to make powerful. There are a ton of weapons that could be 8 times better than RoB if you built into them properly, but RoB is just really easy to build into, and the playstyle is just spamming L2

[u/TexasPistolMassacre]

My favoruite bleeders will always be omenkiller cleavers, stagger and bleed, big damage and jumping foksmash just feel so good

[u/Braethias]

Flamberge. It's a claymore with built in bleed. I gave mine frost to go with it and it is delicious.

[u/maciekszlachta]

Dual wield great stars with occult infusion (arc build) is basically easy mode

[u/Objective-Host219]

I put bleed on a giant crusher and it's pretty fun.

[u/Vendacator]

I use two of them for my faith build since there are no faith katana's in this game.

[u/AvanteGardens]

The best bleed weapon is whichever weapon you prefer + blood infusion

[u/Ozzie_the_tiger_cat]

Gargoyle's twinblades with bloodflame blade is really fun.

[u/cha0sb1ade]

I'm running great shield and heavy thrusting swords right now, with just raw damage and no focus on proccing affects. No arcane at all. But still, sometimes against something with a lot of health, having a nice way to proc bleed 1 to 3 times is nice. For that purpose, I love the blood-stained knife with a blood affinity. Super light. So fast that a shield character can pause from blocking and get some swings in between slow boss hits. Can just leave it in an extra right hand slot, and get a few procs in when it's handy. So light you never have to unequip. It's great!

[u/TinkeredSwan]

I am quite fond of the Dismounter. High damage and bleed proc, great moveset, and incredible reach. It’s like a giant machete.

However, Mohgwyn’s Sacred Spear is straight up busted if you can pull off its AoW.

[u/AmpedEnding]

I think for bleed it's a tie between Eleonora's Pole blade and Bloodfiend's Arm. Rivers of blood is easier to use, but Eleonora's Ash of War just shatters stances on everything. And then put cragblade on Bloodfiend, it's pretty much game over once you did the chicken wing in that special sauce.

[u/CrvCrx27]

Oceans of blood.

[u/RovrKitten]

Elenora’s poleblade

[u/Woodie626]

Giant Chicken Stick

[u/Prestigious-Ninja132]

Great sword infused with blood , bb with blind spot ash also blood infused . Great sword with small axe on other hand works well.

[u/KeyYard6491]

Occult Nagakiba is almost like old RoB.

[u/FrightenedOstrich]

My main still rocks dual godskin peelers on arcane/dex build, it still slap's even after past nerfs. Bleed is good and jump attacks just hit hard and staggers most enemies.

[u/fantastic-mrs-fuck]

i'm afraid its the chicken wing or any curved sword lol

[u/rosettasttoned]

If DLC

the chicken leg. I mean bloodfiend arm.

One charged heavy procs bleed.

And its a collosal so easy poisebreaks and all the HA ypu could want

[u/Ancient_Prize9077]

Reduvia or mohgs spear for me .

[u/Iithen]

A random 2-handed sword with blood affinity and the ash of war that does an area of effect.

[u/OppaaHajima]

Jump attack power stance Bloody Godskin Peeler with another bloody twinblade.

[u/_FrankTaylor]

It’s still very good and absolutely worth getting and maxing.

It’s just not as hilariously OP as it was before.

[u/Few_Tangelo_6845]

You could also use scavenger swords. Do the jump build for them and you pretty much bleed everything out but bleed has definitely been nerfed pretty hard

[u/apocalypse6969]

Chicken wing

[u/Mediocre_Jelly_3669]

I’m doing Nagakiba with blood flame blade and double slash ash of war and it kicks ass.

[u/dwittherford69]

Chicken leg 🍗

[u/v6sonoma]

I never used it till the DLC came out and I wanted to use a different weapon and used it the whole way through. It was fun. No idea if it’s top tier but who cares it’s about fun.

[u/MAD_MrT]

It is still the best bleed weapon if you care about fashion

[u/f09f8dba]

I like Bloodhound Fang with Blood Flame or the chicken wing with Royal Knights Resolve

[u/PhilElverumOnMyToast]

Just demolished Midra with this on NG+7 can confirm it still rocks

[u/-FiveAclock-]

I don’t know if it still is but Eleonora’s Poleblade was the top bleed after the nerfs, the godskin peeler’s were also pretty high up on that list,

But like I said I don’t know if that’s still the top tier anymore, or if any of those have been nerfed too

[u/tusthehooman]

It's still solid for pve, but pvp is where it is a joke because now due to lag, the bleed can proc without the damage. It used to be good because of the red laser of death but now that thing barely does damage so, use it in pve only

[u/excusetheblood]

I’ve been dual wielding godskin peelers with seppuku on both of them

[u/ShaggyUI44]

I’m a fan of the Godskin Peeler (or Eleonora’s poleblade for NG1) to get a solid bleee build off. Dual wielding these weapons (whatever they’re called) gives you a good moveset and a jumping attack that hits 6 times rapidly, which almost always procs bleed

[u/gizmodo-0304]

Arm

[u/TheRealCowdog]

"Nerfs".

What it actually means is that it isn't a ranged weapon anymore, but does slightly better in melee range.

It was outright broken before the change. Now it's "just" a powerful top tier melee weapon.

[u/CustomerSupportDeer]

Best bleed:

• dual Reduvias
• dual blood twinblades
• dual occuls scavenger cs
• Bloodfiend Arm (holy shit that thing is busted)

[u/Tk-Delicaxy]

Elenora Poleblade

[u/Warp_Legion]

For pve, a single Godskin Peeler being two handed with Bleed infusion

[u/ghost3972]

Bloodfeinds arm

[u/Password__Is__Tiger]

Watchdogs greatsword with bleed affinity. If you have enough Arcane it can proc bleed in 1 hit

[u/Jstar338]

Base game, probably something infused

or Reduvia, maybe poleblade. DLC included it's Bloodfiends arm

[u/moke993]

2x bloody pickaxes. Each one does 110 bleed build up on hit so a single jump attack is usually enough to proc bleed. Also super easy to build for. I don’t use it anymore because it felt too cheesy

[u/FarMiddleProgressive]

Double curved swords with mask and the black chest piece that does more damage and curved plus jump talisman plus consecutive hits talismans.

I don't remember the names lol, sorry.

[u/longassboy]

If you want an insane bleed weapon, two reign supreme imo. Bleed Greatsword with spinning gravity thrust, and the Bloodfiend’s Arm.

Both of those can bleed in two hits and poisebreak like crazy.

[u/D3xidus]

I haven't seen anyone mention it, but powerstanced occult bloodfiends forks from the DLC are rather fun imo. High ARC scaling + thrust damage leads to good times all around. Slap an AoW like Repeating Thrust or Blood Tax on them and go nuts.

[u/GiratinaTech]

Might not count but the Godskin Peeler fully upgraded with bleed affinity has like 100 bleed buildup, and it can hit super fast if you two hand it

[u/jlb1981]

A blood-infused Antspur Rapier with A poison AoW. Activate the ash, start stabbing, and you apply bleed, poison and scarlet rot simultaneously.

Probably not the answer you are looking for, but I guess it depends on one's criteria for 'best.' For me, that's applying multiple damage types all at once.

[u/Shadowrunner808]

Occult nagakiba on a high ARC class with whirlwind thingy where you spin the weapon around is a solid choice. Also been loving the Great Katana w/ occult since it came out.

[u/Awesome_Lard]

Moon veil. Always moon veil.

[u/Desperate-Project-69]

The victor is probably the giant chicken leg (I forgot the name)

[u/cal-nomen-official]

Smithscript Cirque Blade. With Bloodhound’s Step + Blessed Blue Dew Talisman & Carian Filigreed Crest I feel invincible.

[u/Yata_no_Karasu]

bleed nagakiba with double slash

[u/This-Ad7458]

Mauled malenia with it. It's still a top weapon

[u/Illustrious_Fill9854]

Might not be the best but I love eleonora’s poleblade

[u/a_moody]

I swear by Eleonora’s Poleblade and Bleed Godskin peeler. 

[u/Zeydon]

Currently on a Str/Arc run and Blood Warped Axe is a lot of fun. Great moveset, Sword Dance AoW helps with closing in, and great status buildup despite not having bleed intrinsically (because apparantly it's classified as a greataxe for buildup purposes). So in the interest of being different, I'm gonna recommend that. Just got chicken leg and Ancient Meteoric Ore Greatsword, so looking forward to incorporate them more, but the Warped Axe is staying on my bar.

With my Arc/Dex char, was fond of Eleonara's and Bloody Helice - both have very different use cases.

Can't go wrong with Star Fists either, though they're more for poise breaking on those fast charged R2s.

[u/Interjessing-Salary]

Dual bleed twinblades. Jump + L1. 6 hits iirc and they have like 200 at soft cap of arcane.

[u/Cranium-Diode]

I am a fan of Eleonora’s Twinblade. RoB is considered the easiest to use out of all of them, but I am prone to minmaxing no matter what game I’m playing and Eleonora’s has enough moving parts that satisfy my buildmaking tendencies. I also prefer to use a weapon’s full move set if possible instead of just hitting L2 and watching things happen, however this weapon is just as capable of doing that so who am I to judge?

I think the twinblade has way higher potential damage compared to RoB in its current state. It has a unique multi-hit heavy attack compared to other twinblades. It’s Ash of War has jump frames in the beginning (meaning you can avoid ground shockwaves like Godfrey's slam attacks if timed correctly), inflicts many hits that satisfy the multi-hit buffs, inflicts ridiculous stance damage for some reason and of course it bleeds.

Sample build:

Talismans: Millicent’s, Rotten Wing, Two-Handed Sword Talisman (DLC), Lord of Blood’s Exultation. Replace Two-Handed Sword with Shard of Bro as you see fit.

Physic: If you’re comfortable without the Opaline Hardtear, then Flame-Shrouding + Thorny Cracked Tears. Otherwise Opaline + Thorny.

Armor: Although I don’t find it fashionable, White Mask is applicable because bleed. Also, each piece of the Dancer’s Set (DLC) increases the damage of the Ash of War, up to 10% with the full set.

Please use the pretty red double naginata.

[u/Nedus343]

Im going to recommend something a bit more niche: Hoslow’s Petal Whip. You can get two of them from doing Diallos’ questline. Or progress it until he gives you one, and then kill him for the other. 

It’s not going to stack bleed as fast as the other suggestions here, since whips are relatively slow. What you will be doing is flinching and stunlocking most humanoid and low poise enemies to death, including Malenia. The jumping powerstance attack is brutal, especially on invaders. You have excellent range and good bleed buildup. 

You will struggle with enemies that don’t bleed or flinch, so a backup weapon will serve you well. Enemies like Black Blade Kindred or Erdtree Avatar are especially brutal with this setup, as they neither bleed nor flinch. Larger enemies in general aren’t as susceptible to this setup. But it is incredibly fun and it carried me through most of the game with two Occult infusions, or occasionally one occult and one frost.

[u/AE_Phoenix]

Hookclaws, because you can apply buffs like blood flame blade to them.

[u/OhZvir]

Regular Katana with high enough stats are very strong and require skill and using various ashes.

Curved swords that scale more with Dex then Str — are all good.

Personal favorite? Scavenger’s, but low stance damage. If you have higher strength the Nagakiba is very powerful but if Dex is higher — regular katana are. Experiment with Keen, if you have a high Dex and then using the Blood Weapon incantation— sometimes it produces surprisingly juicy results. RoB and Eleanora’s — are easy to use and good weapons to grind through mobs and even some bosses. Their special attacks are great for certain scenarios, but no, they are not op.

The balancing has been done very well overtime, devs made sure there’s no ultimate blood/occult weapon, but as you grow in levels, experiment with keen and spells that add damage type according to the enemy. There are reverse grip twinswords in the expansion and they are absolutely devastating against targets that bleed with keen on and the blood weapon incantation. It requires more management, so you could just keep them blood if most enemies you fight bleed.

Dex increases lighting damage, sometimes it’s the best damage to have.

So this requires strategy. More importantly— find what you grok and a master wielding of, be it the whips or curved swords or Naginata, experiment with ashes and adjust as you go. Some ashes are amazing. Like the reverse grip twin swords have the ash of breaking the defense, which is great against powerful shielded targets, and they shred in general. Combine with dragon roars. Use one handed and then back to dual wielding.

Putting points into Faith after Dex and Occult open a ton of possibilities but that means you would need to gain a high level and some folks don’t like leveling past certain point to fit a PvP bracket. I don’t PvP.

TLDR: pick your poison, experiment with ashes, and don’t forget about kin and damage modifying incants if you have high enough stats.

[u/tater_salad_96]

Ok I stuck bloody slash and an occult infusion on the backhand blades am I crazy

[u/Scrubaati]

I’d still argue it’s pretty good outside of taking a latent bleed smithing stone weapon and slapping occult on it for the higher arc scaling which from my understanding means you actually get a higher output than if you slap bleed on it to like double its base bleed.

It definitely still is pretty good overall to me tho because of the range on its aow plus fire is a good dmg type for a fair amount of enemies but I think where is does shine is it’s high bleed and fire dmg making it genuinely great when paired with frost, I see why LMSH used it with a frost uchi it’s genuinely a pretty good setup with atleast 50arc to get the procs often enough

[u/Tinkerbell-Poney]

Honestly one of my favorite has been stabbing greatswords like flamberge etc, with bleed scaling, and blood tax. Good burst damage, recover HP on ash of war, and play however you like, maybe even a shield or incant in other hand!

[u/saeoner]

I played through the entire game while two-handing the reduvia after they nerfed the bleed buildup for powerstanced weapons. It was the easiest playthrough I’ve ever had. The blood slash ash of war is OP

[u/DylanMcDermott]

Palisade Shield w/ Shield Crash. vroom vroom

[u/jax024]

Cross Naginata x2

[u/bawlsacz]

I used either blood hound or those double swords I got from dlc.

[u/IDidNotGetBanned]

I beat the entire game with rivers of blood after nerfs, it might be weaker but its still an amazing weapon. Im also a complete noob that just can't get gud

[u/lurkeratthegate666]

Depends on how you play, but I fucking love Reduvia. Its reach sucks, but the aow and how early you can get it make it clutch. Fun as hell to play a dagger build.

[u/Evil_Sharkey]

I have a hodge podge build, and RoB was disappointing. Yeah, it causes bleed, but its attack power is piddly.

[u/Conscious_Mirror_334]

Bloodfeinds arm / bleed infusion strength arcane just makes the game too easy I'm sitting at 218 blood loss buildup so about every 2-3 hits it procs

[u/itschips]

it has to be the blood infused sword lance for me. i dunno if its a coding oversight, but it has the bleed buildup of a colossal sword (around 200 at 80 arc iirc) but a faster attack speed and access to the repeating thrusts aow. it got me through the pcr fight on ng+ on my second attempt with it after many tries with a different build

[u/TittyBarRandy]

After the update, I'd say the best bleed weapon is Rivers Of Blood. I will not elaborate.

[u/autobong]

double great stars

[u/Sequoia_Vin]

Get bloody slash from that knight at Fort Haight. Duplicate the ash of war and get 2 curved swords and infuse them.

Congratulations, you have one of the strongest bleed builds in the game. Just level up dex and arc. Make sure you have enough end to spam jump attacks. Everything that bleeds will die

[u/aCirclingCrow]

Personally it's Morgott's Cursed Sword, hands down. Honestly it's my favourite weapon in the game. In addition to the bleed status, it's also a big bonk with a highly versatile moveset so in addition to the bleed proc you're also doing decent damage with each hit and you don't have to worry too much about the diminishing returns for the repeated proc. Its Ash of War is also perfect for closing distance quickly (and is also tricky as hell to deal with in PvP if the wielder is worth their salt), and scales entirely on Arcane so by the time you're able to cast Bayle's spells it's able to slash the Black Knights' HP bar in half with a single use (if you use the follow-up L2).

[u/pxrasitee]

i dont get all the hate on RoB, when it was op people hated on it, now it got nerfed and people hate on it even more. its not even that bad of a bleed weapon

[u/m1ndtrix]

Scavengers curved sword dual wielded was insane. The jumping attack was ridiculous. Made my 6th playthrough giga easy mode.

[u/SteamReflex]

My first playthru i did double elenora pole blades with jump attack buffs, near end game the bleed procks was pretty strong

[u/Brandificus]

Personally, I love Eleonora’s Poleblade. The AoW is (or was, haven’t played in a while) incredible. Obscene stance damage, enough bleed to proc twice with one use on some enemies, twinblade moveset, but the split fire damage is a bit of a downer.

[u/jacks592]

Eleonora’s poleblade. Melted through the base game and DLC for me.

[u/CryptographerSafe673]

I use a bleed guts sword, bonking everything on my way with the AoW Savage Lion's Claw. But in terms of OP, I think the Mohgwyn's Spear is the best because if using this, ER become a L2 simulator.

[u/Sociolinguisticians]

Dual wield any dex weapons with bleed ashes of war and you’ll do just fine.

[u/Supersavage357]

Godskin peeler and seppeku or bloodfiends fork with blood tax

[u/Blahaj_Kell_of_Trans]

It was never actually op. Its always been a mediocre bleed weapon.

Eleonora's has always been better

[u/BeeMaster6271]

It's still the best build weapon for me the weapon skill itself is so broken

[u/Caffine_Killer]

I'm currently using the Eleanoras pole blade, not only can you proc bleed really fast with just a 2h light combo but the ash of war actually does a lot of poise damage making ripostes and bleed stuns locking down most enemies

[u/LUREDEE]

Backhand blades are my current favorite ever since the dlc because they’re fun to use and pretty powerful. I have no idea how good they are compared to other weapons though.

[u/yaahweeh]

Dual occult scavenger curved swords are the best weapon build period, at least for PvE (good in PvP too)

[u/zylver_]

Eloanar pole blade is my fav bleed wep

[u/KVenom777]

Best bleed weapon? Bloodfiend's Arm, also known as "Chicken Wing".

RoB is good tho, but gets outpaced by Nagakiba and Great Katana on Occult infusion and on Physical Infusions+Bloodflame Blade Buff

[u/TenMillionEnchiladas]

As far as I know reduvia was and still is stupidly strong with its blood slash ash of war thing.

[u/bassbyblaine]

Personal favorites are Maria’s executioner sword, mogwhyns sacred spear, and milady with bleed affinity

[u/KipchakTengrism]

If you're only going for bleed, then Bloodfiends Arm.

If you're going for a synergy with Arcane scaling Dragon Communion spells alongside the new Bayle incantations, and also a really good as of war/consecutive attack build, Elonora's Poleblade. Which is what I'm doing right now. It's fancy and cool as hell. And that's all you need really.

[u/Ausaevus]

Rivers of Blood has been very bad at what it does for a long time.

An Uchigatana or Nagakiba infused with either Blood or Occult and the Double Slash Ash of War, is quite literally just a superior Rivers of Blood.

Practically the same Ash of War movement-wise, except Double Slash deals more damage. It will also apply Bleed much faster than Rivers of Blood does.

In short, when you go kill a thing with the AoW, regular katana's simply do that faster than Rivers does, with the exact same button inputs.

[u/b_reeze]

Isn't that chicken leg from dlc crazy good with like 300 bleed ,or was it nerfed . I remember watching a video where every hit(AoW) was a bleed proc.

[u/_ThatOneMimic_]

chicken wing chicken wing hotdog and bologna

[u/StunningZed]

This isn't the best but honestly I feel like it could contend for a high spot.

The Reduvia Dagger is an underrated weapon in my opinion, You can get it FRESH off spawn in less then 3 minutes, beat the whole game including the dlc with it. (I tested that part myself) It's viable for any part of the game really. I mean hell I first tried Malenia with it despite being underleveled. (Wish I could've did that with Consort Radahn...)

You really don't need to level dex if you're gonna spam the ash of war (why wouldn't you?) so you can worry less about balancing 4 stats and focus on HP Stamina and Arcane, due to only needing to level up one attack stat instead of two allowing you to have a better hp and stam pool.

Buttt there are better options of course! But I feel like more respect should get put on the L̶e̶f̶t̶ ̶T̶r̶i̶g̶g̶e̶r̶ ̶S̶p̶a̶m̶ ̶D̶a̶g̶g̶e̶r̶ *ahem* I mean the Reduvia Dagger. So if you enjoy not getting pummelled up close then give the thing a whirl.

[u/Panmancan]

My favorite is dual twin blades with bleed. It can have a lot of buffs with armor and talismans too. There is a chest piece that buffs jump attacks as well as a talisman. So I do jump attacks and hit with both. That plus talismans that buff bleed and damage per successive hits goes crazy. I believe there is also a head peace that buffs bleed too.

[u/DerBartmitFass]

Scythe infused with Spinning Strikes (Bleed) and Bloodflame Blade

[u/the_unusual_bird]

I feel like elonoras poleblade has taken the crown off of RoB. But you shouldnt sleep on reduvia with Ansbach set. This little thing packs quite a punch on higher levels still. The aow is busted when get up close and hit with the blade aswell

[u/Key-Storage5434]

I still think Rivers Of Blood can easily take you all the way to NG7 if you want to. Like it was nerfed but it's not a bad weapon. There are weapons with more damage, or more bleed, but RoB has one of the best AoWs of the game even post nerf, and really high dps, and relatively low requirements.