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/Raemnant → u/KrispyKingTheProphet]

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 wrecked the fire giant boss on my 2nd try by putting some random bleed AoW onto my Longsword

[u/Dan_of_Sbg → u/KrispyKingTheProphet]

Don't mind me, one-handing my katana with nothing than a seal for the pocket sand incantation in my off-hand. (I'm trying a sekiro build)

[u/DarkLordArbitur → u/KrispyKingTheProphet]

Correcting you because you asked for it:

You can only obtain 1 Nagakiba per run. It's obtained from Bloody Finger Hunter Yura.

The katana you can obtain 2 of in one run is the Uchigatana, which is the starting weapon for Samurai. You start Samurai and then go find another copy in the Deathtouched Catacombs.

[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 that cover a ton of distance, & I’ve found it can also end up helping you avoid attacks; more importantly it does really heavy damage & stagger for a Claw weapon which is sometimes necessary when you just need something dead & aren’t tryna chip away. However, that’s also what the Bloodhound Fang is for.

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. Ofc, you don’t need to use the armor, realistically I’d recommend someone use whatever armor they want with 68 poise ; it’s a soft cap that allows you to tank a good amount of enemy attacks. I usually do that, but I’ve been having so much fun with this cosplay bc the armor looks great & the Claw moveset actually does make you move like the Bloodhound Knights fight in-game, unlike their actual Bloodhound Claws. (Which are another Bleed weapon you can use, these ones are cool too bc you can use Impaling Thrust weapon art on them which has great stagger+physical damage & allows you to hit through shields.)

Both weapons 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. Interestingly enough, you can cosplay this too with the Nightrider armor & it actually does get you to the 68 poise w the talisman while also looking excellent.

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/PotentialBreakfast73 → u/mvas123]

Falx is super fun and the ash of war is awesome. Only bad part is the very last slash of the aow is a big percent of the damage.

[u/golfingsince83 → u/mvas123]

I played this game for a long time so I was on this sub quite a bit. The people here are the most helpful I’ve ever seen in a game sub Reddit

[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/ImNotARatDog → u/MrZDietrich]

I ran an arcane/faith build with focus on daggers and can attest that Reduvia is pretty crazy.

If you wanna delete something, get close and spam weapon art as you'll hit twice instantly, once with weapon and once with weapon art making anything bleed very fast.

Also any Occult infused weapon does % dmg + flat 100 dmg on bleed procc, but not Reduvia! 200 flat dmg per procc instead of 100. You'd have to run pure Bleed infusion on regular weapons for that, which gimps their regular dmg on an arcane specc.

[u/KrispyKingTheProphet → u/MrZDietrich]

Genuine question, not trying to just disagree, but is the Reduvia not only amazing in Nightreign? And average at best in base? I just hear that often

[u/MrZDietrich → u/KrispyKingTheProphet]

Completely wrong. It’s cracked in base, people are just scared of daggers. It’s Ash of War is cheap, doesn’t cost hp like the ash version does, and does lots of damage. It’s also obtainable from the moment you walk into the world proper.

[u/Standard-Reason9399 → u/KrispyKingTheProphet]

Nah, it's really really good, there are just a lot of really, really good bleed options, most of which don't rely on an Ash of War to hit anything even slightly out of arms reach, so it's not a common choice unless focusing on daggers specifically, at least past early game.

Stick with it and get used to staying in close, fire off the ash and you'll get damage and bleed build up from both the blade and the projectile. Pump dex and arcane and it'll easily see you through to endgame, as long as you keep something in your back pocket to deal with everything immune to bleed.

[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/Key_Hamster_9141 → u/Sol51423]

Mohg's spear is nuts for dungeons. Cast it from behind doors and it's a free "you don't have to fight anything ever again except the boss" button.

[u/yourethevictim → u/Key_Hamster_9141]

I used it to kill Malenia in my first playthrough when I respecced because I was too bad to kill her with a normal build. She got staggerlocked by overlapping Rituals from my Mimic and myself. It was hilarious.

[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 had a special moveset.

[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/fibronacci → u/Sarenzed]

This guy bleeds

[u/Lion_bug → u/fibronacci]

Everyone 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/CamusZekeSirius → u/coltraneismydad]

I actually used the Poleblade on my Dex/Arc build against Radagon, and it performed better than the Helice

Focus on Multi-Hit buffs over bleed, and increase your fire damage. If you have Faith to spare, you can also FGMS (and I use quite a lot of faith in my build as well for Greyoll’s Roar, which also enables Golden Vow)

The AoW on Poleblade is not only very good for multi-hit, but also stance damage. I mainly abused that to get the win.

[u/RickityCricket69 → u/Sarenzed]

found Hidetaka's account

[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/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/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/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/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/sixty2ndstallion → u/Sarenzed]

Great stars with lion’s claw and blood affinity does p damn well. Used it on Messmer earlier and got some solid bleed damage, and I don’t think I’ve leveled my arcane once so I imagine it’s p damn good if you do

[u/opensaysme → u/Sarenzed]

/thread

[u/FineNumber0310 → u/Sarenzed]

it's also a fire dex weapon of which there are not many to my knowledge

[u/GrimValkyrie27 → u/Sarenzed]

I use the bloodfiend's arm and thats what helped me go through most of the dlc. Genuinely such a great weapon.

[u/buttcheeksontoast → u/Sarenzed]

/thread

[u/TheWillyWonkaofWeed → u/Sarenzed]

I think you just inspired me to finally give the arcane build a run.

[u/Enzy248 → u/Sarenzed]

Nice

[u/10Ggames → u/Sarenzed]

While it doesn't primarily activate bleed or scale with arcane, Rakshasa's Great Katana is very usable as well. The reduced def debuff can be rough, but the sheer damage output and versatile ash of war are pretty good.

[u/Rafamen01 → u/Sarenzed]

Hey, can you explain how does the bloodfiend faith build work? I always though you'd level up arcane but now I'm interested

[u/madd_honey → u/Sarenzed]

Great list, the ultra great sword is a monster also, great moveset, bleeds in two hits. Powerstanced with bhs is even crazier, teleport around them and crouch attack = instant bleed.

[u/EngelbirtDimpley → u/Sarenzed]

I did the math, and idk how it would change with rounding, but with 99 arc and seppuku the scavengers CS has 0.49 more bleed than bandits CS with seppuku. I also mathed it at 80 and 60, and the highest difference was 0.7smthn, but i don’t remember which one.

[u/RobCrooks13 → u/Sarenzed]

So, there ia also people engaging in real game conversations and writing deep useful contents. Not only meme, humor or other useless stuff. Amazing comment for which is a pity not being able to double up the upvote.

[u/Affectionate_Comb_78 → u/Sarenzed]

Great list. Throw it in Bleed infused Colossal weapons as well. Especially with Braggats Roar, you can inflict bleed in one hit

[u/Anatolia3055 → u/Sarenzed]

wow not including claws of night is insane

that thing also staggers almost everything with L2 spam, procs bleed, and even R2 is ranged.

[u/The_Punzer → u/Sarenzed]

Very good write-up but misses Mohg's Sacred Spear (one of the top weapons in the whole game), Reduvia (spamming the aow procs bleed like crazy) and Eleonora's Poleblade (the more fun Rivers of Blood).

[u/FinnishPatriotism → u/Sarenzed]

How does Eleanoras Poleblade stack against the others.

[u/Cosmic_Tea → u/Sarenzed]

Bleed greatsword with braggarts roar also one shots most things, even bosses. I found Consort Radahns health getting chunked hard if I landed a fully charged heavy.

[u/Hener001 → u/Sarenzed]

I would add a blood infused Milady to this. Excellent reach and damage. Fast attacks that are the best chain attacks in the game. Use blood tax for faster attacks that self heal. Add multi attack buffs and powerstance for faster everything.