Bleed in Elden Ring isn’t a slow loss of health as you might expect. Instead, your ripping and tearing blades build up blood loss until your enemy is crippled by an explosive spray of their blood. This dramatic damage bites off a tenth of their health bar (or more), and can be caused repeatedly and without cooldown. And this on top of the damage your slashes and slices have already caused, so it’s no surprise that many players have been calling Bleed builds overpowered.
But which are the best Bleed Weapons? Here’s our Shortlist:
- Hookclaws
- Rivers Of Blood
- Morgot’s Cursed Sword
- Ghiza’s Wheel
- Eleonora’s Poleblade
- Meteoric Ore Blade
- Winged Scythe
- Moonveil
- Reduvia
- Thorned Whip
Hookclaws
Scaling: E – Strength; C – Dexterity Type: Slash/ Pierce Skill: Quickstep Location: A corpse in the wine cellar of Stormveil Castle
The Hookclaws’ thousand cuts swiftly blast blood across the battlefield. They are weapons best used by the quick, and their skill, Quickstep, only makes their users more agile. Once found on the body of an unfortunate in the bowels of Stormveil Castle, a strong Dexterity/Bleed build can see the claws used throughout the game. Though they may seem unembellished, or even lacking, the Hookclaws boost a high bleed rate, and can cause foes to haemorrhage quickly with their high speed attacks.
Rivers Of Blood
Scaling: E – Strength; D – Dexterity, Arcane Type: Slash/Pierce Skill: Corpse Piler Location: Dropped by Bloody Finger Okina near the Church of Repose
The great bloodletter, and deathbringer, Rivers of Blood was the scourge of PVP until its recent nerf. Now, it’s only an excellent katana for slashing and bleeding the bizarre abominations of the Lands Between. Each slice deals physical and fire damage, and its skill is truly fearsome. Corpse Piler can be performed repeatedly to butcher your opponents with six quick-and-bloody cuts. You can get the blade from the remains of Bloody Finger Okina, after besting him in combat.
Morgott’s Cursed Sword
Scaling: E – Strength; D – Arcane; C – Dexterity Type:Slash Skill: Cursed-Blood Slice Location: Enia at the Roundtable Hold
Morgott the Omen King is not easily killed, but his death is a necessity, and so you’ll earn his remembrance sooner or later. Trade it to Enia, and swing the dead king’s curved greatsword. The Cursed Sword’s skill is Cursed-Blood Slice, which severs arteries and brings blood loss with explosive slashes. This skill is especially useful in PVP, where most will find the wide attacks to be a difficult dodge– And the same goes for clearing out a group of monsters.
Ghiza’s Wheel
Scaling: D – Strength, Dexterity Type: Standard Skill: Spinning Wheel Location: Dropped by Inquisitor Ghiza in Volcano Manor
Though most bleed weapons favour speed and small weaponry, Ghiza’s Wheel is only for the strong– 28 points of strength (and 18 Dex) are needed to wield these spinning blades. To slay Inquisitor Ghiza– and take his Wheel–find him in the Volcano Manor, and use ranged weaponry. With the old phantom dead, you can enjoy the Spinning Wheel skill to deal continuous and high damage, while adding heavy blood loss.
Eleonora’s Poleblade
Scaling: E – Strength; D – Dexterity, Arcane Type: Standard/Pierce Skill: Bloodblade Dance Location: Dropped by Eleonora at the Second Church of Marika
Like Eleonora, her deadly poleblade blindly lusts for blood. Its Dexterity and Arcane requirements aren’t small, but once met, it’s a trusty and versatile weapon. The blades deal both fire and physical damage. And its skill, Bloodblade Dance, is ballerina-like in its jumping and spinning, but the blur of the twin blades make a deadly combo. By keeping your distance, only to strike swiftly with your skill, you can easily bleed and break down large beasts and troublesome invaders.
Meteoric Ore Blade
Scaling: E – Dexterity; D – Strength, Intelligence Type: Slash/Pierce Skill: Gravitas Location: A chest in a small room in the Caelid Waypoint Ruins
Essentially an upgrade of the Moonveil, the M.O.B. deals both magical and physical damage– But its shining star is how high these are at base. Its skill, Gravitas, damages an area, and pulls combatants close, making those killing blows a pleasure, and clearing rooms. It’s also surprisingly easy to get, just run through a room of sarcophagi and many-legged creatures, and pull it from a chest. The catch is, that if you grab it early on, you’ll have to do some grinding before you can meet its hefty requirements.
Winged Scythe
Scaling: E – Strength; D – Dexterity, Faith Type: Physical/Holy Skill: Angel’s Wings Location: Tombsward Ruins in Weeping Peninsula
These angelic arcs are not only adept at lacerating your foes, but are also one of the great weapons for a Faith build. Add the scythe to your arsenal easily and quickly over at the Tombsward Ruins, then invest runes in your Dexterity and Faith– It’s a worthy sacrifice to a weapon that’ll serve you well, and for far into the future. What makes this reaper stand out is its skill, Angel’s Wings, which stoppers most healing items, and leaves invaders running scared.
Moonveil
Scaling: E – Strength; D – Dexterity; C – Intelligence Type: Slash/Pierce Skill: Transient Moonlight Location: Dropped by the Magma Wyrm of Gael Tunnel
The glintstone katana is useful for more than just bleeding out fiends. High-scaling, high power, and lightning quick, Transient Moonlight fires off an instant slash, and a beam of light– A truly killer move, if timed right. Moonveil is a must-have for Intelligence builds, but it’s a tough get. Of the three Magma Wyrms, only the one residing in the Gael Tunnel will drop it. The wyrm will burn and charge through your best defences, so high fire resistance and quick dodging are your best bet at slaying this dragon.
Reduvia
Scaling: E – Strength; D – Dexterity, Arcane Type: Slash/Pierce Skill: Reduvia Blood Blade Location: Dropped by Bloody Finger Nerijus in Murkwater River
The bloody, twisted metal that is Reduvia should be your first taste of blood spilling. It’s quickly acquired, scales well and cuts well too. Its skill fires a slashing arc of blood, and can be rapid-fired to potent effect. Reduvia’s owner, Bloody Finger Nerijus, isn’t a pushover, and will bleed you out if given the chance, but you’ll have Bloody Finger Hunter Yura fighting alongside you.
Thorned Whip
Scaling: E – Strength; C – Dexterity Type: Strike Skill: Kick Location: Dropped by Fire Prelate, North of Giants’ Mountaintop Catacombs
One for the dextrous, the Thorned Whip is low weight and a highly potent bloodletter. It’s best used with considerable stamina, and paired with another bleed weapon (like the Reduvia); in which case, the arterial spray is a marvel. It’s let down slightly by its pathetic skill, Kick, which can stun and break guards, but is better suited to daggers and critical hitters; And by its low drop rate, which might mean endless executions of the Fire Prelate before you start lashing and thrashing.