Elden Ring : Guide to Bleed Builds and Buffs in the Game

Bleed builds are one of the most effective strategies for defeating bosses in this game. Whether it's the core of your build or a supplementary mechanic to enhance your physical damage, bleed is an incredibly powerful tool. Items like the White Mask helmet and Lord of Blood's Talisman can boost all damage you deal for a short duration after a bleed occurs nearby, making bleed builds even more formidable.

Bleed Builds in the Base Game

In the base game, bleed builds were immensely powerful. Many players expected the developers to nerf this mechanic in the DLC, possibly by introducing bosses resistant or immune to bleed or by reducing the effectiveness of bleed overall. However, what actually happened was quite the opposite. We only saw one or two major bosses with resistance to bleed, and none that are fully immune. This means that bleed builds remain extremely useful against some of the toughest bosses in the expansion.

New Bleed Build Enhancements in the DLC

• Sacred Bloody Flesh: This is a new consumable item that buffs you in the body buff slot. Its main competition is Flame Grant Me Strength, which boosts your physical and fire damage by 20% for 30 seconds. Sacred Bloody Flesh gives you a default boost of 10 Arcane, which is excellent for any build scaling with this stat. Additionally, it increases your damage by 8% for 30 seconds. However, if a bleed occurs nearby during this time, you receive a secondary buff, resulting in a total damage increase of around 27%. This is 7% higher than Flame Grant Me Strength and applies to all damage types, making it highly versatile. Unfortunately, this item is not craftable and must be farmed. The best spot for farming is inside the river mouth cave on the north side of Laak River. Here, you can find a large pack of blood fiends that can be quickly dispatched with the Sacred Relic Sword's unique skill.
• Ansbach Armor Set: This new armor set offers significant boosts to bleed-based weapon skills. Obtained relatively deep into the DLC, it can also be traded from friends or used in subsequent playthroughs. The helmet provides a 6% damage boost, while the other three pieces offer 3% each, totaling a 15% increase for bleed-based weapon skills. This set is particularly effective for weapons like Rivers of Blood, Eleonora's Poleblade, Bloody Helis, and the new Obsidian Lamina Scythe. It also affects infusible Ashes of War like Blood Tax and Blood Blade. Pairing this set with the White Mask helmet yields a substantial damage increase, making it highly valuable for bleed builds focused on weapon skills.

Bugged Bleed Build Component

One new component of bleed builds in the DLC is currently bugged: the Furious Blade of Ansbach incantation. This incantation is obtained by completing the Onbox NPC quest line, which requires finishing the DLC. Its purpose is to apply blood flame, which increases bleed buildup over time. However, due to a bug, this incantation does not apply any bleed buildup, rendering it significantly less effective. While it can still deal damage, the lack of bleed buildup makes it underpowered. Players should keep an eye on future patches for a fix.

Example Bleed Build

A prime example of a highly effective bleed build involves using scavenger's curved swords with high Arcane scaling. This build has been incredibly strong since the base game and has only improved with the DLC's new enhancements. Here’s a detailed breakdown of the build:

• Weapons: Two scavenger's curved swords with Arcane scaling. If you only have one, a Bandit's curved sword set to bleed can serve as a substitute.
• Armor: White Mask, jump attack boost chest piece, Rocksha gauntlets and greaves.
• Talismans: Focus on talismans that boost bleed, multi-hit bonuses, and jump attacks.

This setup yields extremely high damage output, especially when combined with buffs like Sacred Bloody Flesh. Additionally, the build can be easily retooled to focus on sprint attacks instead of jump attacks by swapping the chest piece and a talisman. This flexibility allows the build to adapt to different boss fight scenarios.

Conclusion

In conclusion, bleed builds remain one of the most powerful strategies in the game, both in the base game and the DLC. With new enhancements like Sacred Bloody Flesh and the Ansbach Armor Set, these builds have become even stronger. While there are still some bugs to be fixed, such as the Furious Blade of Ansbach incantation, the overall effectiveness of bleed builds makes them a top choice for many players. By carefully selecting your weapons, armor, and talismans, you can create a bleed build that can take down even the toughest bosses with ease. Happy gaming, and may your enemies bleed.