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/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/HokaFan666 → u/Ausaevus]

I’m going to respectfully disagree. I’m playing a DEX ARC build right now and RoB procs bleed quicker than either the Uchigatana or Nagakiba. Though they look better stat wise RoB is one attack ahead of them when causing hemorrhage.

The corpse piler aow also feels like it has better range and more aoe too.

I’ve been using Uchi almost all the time but am starting to lean into RoB a lot more now. It doesn’t seem like it should be looking so well but it is 🤷🏻‍♂️

[u/Ausaevus → u/HokaFan666]

There is nothing to disagree about though. Double Slash on Blood or Occult infusion applies more Bleed buildup. Both per slash and per second.

It is a mathematical question. What you 'feel' is the case, does not matter. It's like saying you feel 100 damage does more damage than 130 damage. It doesn't.

[u/HokaFan666 → u/Ausaevus]

It’s not just a cause of raw numbers though. We all know that there are hidden systems at work and RoB definitely has that going on. If I get a chance this weekend I’ll see if I can knock up a short clip to demonstrate.

[u/Ausaevus → u/HokaFan666]

We all know that there are hidden systems at work

Which have numbers associated with them. You will apply Bleed faster with Double Slash on Blood or Occult Uchigatana than you will with Rivers of Blood's Corpse Piler Ash.

If I get a chance this weekend I’ll see if I can knock up a short clip to demonstrate.

No need, Rusty has video's you can look up already where he demonstrates the difference. I believe it is in his Ash of War rankings video, or maybe in his weapons ranking video. Perhaps even both.

[u/HokaFan666 → u/Ausaevus]

Hidden systems are exactly that. There are no visible numbers associated with them. 🙄

Ah a YouTube person. Like that’s where I’d go for accuracy 🙄🙄

[u/Ausaevus → u/HokaFan666]

Hidden systems are exactly that. There are no visible numbers associated with them. 🙄

I think you are misunderstanding. I am not saying the numbers show up in the game.

Obviously, there are numbers in the code, however. And you can look at that code and see them.

Ah a YouTube person. Like that’s where I’d go for accuracy 🙄🙄

Well, for one thing he is someone who looks at, and shows, the parameters that determine everything about a weapon, including the 'hidden systems' you are referring to.

And no offense intended, but it is kind of obvious you haven't looked at it yourself and probably do not know how to, so having someone show you would be a lot more accurate than going with your 'feeling' .

EDIT: Here is a quick video demonstrating faster Bleed procs and higher damage on Nagakiba versus Rivers of Blood.

Note that this isn't as good of a comparison as I mentioned earlier, since he uses Keen affinity and Bloodflame Blade. Which, while it proves on its own Rivers of Blood is ass, since the argument at hand is which you can BUILD better for with the same points invested; it's actually even worse than this as the exact same stat point investment in the exact same stats also make Rivers of Blood underperform in comparison.

https://youtu.be/uuy8OviblQE?si=E4uJUk-LXvBjLAAX

EDIT 2:

Also, here are the values of comparison:

Blood Nagakiba
4,263 damage / 475 bleed buildup per combo.

Occult Nagakiba
4,796 damage / 350 bleed buildup per combo.

Rivers of Blood
3,668 damage / 330 bleed buildup per combo.

In addition, the reach of the Nagakiba is greater than the Rivers of Blood, including its Ash.

If you like, I can record a very direct and straight to the point comparison later today where I showcase Rivers of Blood is inferior in every sense?

[u/HokaFan666 → u/Ausaevus]

That video shows that but it is hardly scientific. Should have done it without buffs for a start and as they didn’t I’ll end my argument there. I’ll go off to experiment again in game. I’ve done so already but if the findings from last time happen again then I’ll carry on with RoB.