Bleed (Dark Souls II)

Bleed is a negative status effect, damage type and auxiliary effect in. It can be inflicted by the enviroment, various weapons or items. It can also be used as an infusion for weapons. Bleed can effect both the player and most enemies.

Bleed Buildup
When attacked with weapons that inflict Bleed, the target's Bleed meter gradually fills. The rate at which this fills is dependent on the Bleed buildup value of the attacker's weapon or item; and the target's Bleed Resist stat. The Bleed meter will gradually reset back to zero naturally, provided additional Bleed attacks are not endured.

Once the meter is full, the target's Health will damaged by 200 points. It will also reduce the maximum stamina of the target to 75% for 5 to 10 seconds. Also any movements that are not a run, dash or roll are reduced to a walk.

Its not possible to increase the total amount of damage Bleed inflicts - only the rate at which Bleed builds up can be increased. Depending on the source, the Bleed buildup value can vary greatly.

Bleed Attack
The Bleed Attack (abbreviated as Bleed ATK in-game) governs the rate at which the player's Bleed attacks buildup upon a target.

Bleed Attack Bonus
The Bleed Attack Bonus (abbreviated as Bleed BNS in-game) increases the amount of Bleed buildup inflicted per hit. It does not affect the total amount of damage the Bleed effect will do. Unlike weapons that have a magical scaling stat, Bleed has no equivalent scaling.

The Bleed BNS value is determined by the Dexterity and Faith stats. In order to continually increase innate Bleed BNS, both Dexterity and Faith need to be leveled up, with Dexterity giving a larger bonus.

Bleed Weapons
The following is a list of weapons and shields that bear an innate Bleed buildup effect. For information as to how these weapons are effected by Bleed infusions, see this section.

Boosting Bleed Buildup
There are two pieces of equipment that can grant a flat bonus to the Bleed buildup stat on Bleed weapons when worn. The bonus granted from these items can vary depending on what type of Bleed weapon is equipped, be it innate Bleed, infused Bleed or both. Both of these items can be worn together, which would provide double the bonus.

{| border="0" cellpadding="1" cellspacing="1" class="article-table" ! colspan="2" rowspan="2" scope="col"|Item ! scope="col"| ! scope="col"|Bonus ! scope="col"| ! scope="col"|Infused ! scope="col"|Innate ! scope="col"|Both
 * Ring Crest of Blood.png
 * Ring Crest of Blood.png

Crest of Blood
''Ring given to members of a bloodthirsty covenant. An indication the wearer belongs to the war god, and nothing more. There appear to be no special effects. ''
 * colspan="1" rowspan="2" style="text-align: center;"|25
 * colspan="1" rowspan="2" style="text-align: center;"|50
 * colspan="1" rowspan="2" style="text-align: center;"|60
 * Shadow Gauntlets II a.png
 * Shadow Gauntlets II a.png

Shadow Gauntlets
''Used to hide in the cover of night. Those who are especially adept assassins are often hired as bodyguards. In an attempt to stave off the curse, King Vendrick hired shadowmen to put down the Hollows, but before long they were Hollowed themselves.''
 * }

Inflicting Bleed Buildup
Most weapons can be given the ability to deal Bleed buildup temporarily through the use of Bleeding Serum. This buff does not scale with the Bleed BNS, rather applies a flat bonus based on the weapon's original Bleed buildup. If the weapon has an innate Bleed effect, the buildup is stacked and thus more powerful. Applying this buffs result in the weapon taking on a red glow.

Unlike weapon buffs, the Bleed buildup of Lacerating Knives can scale based on the Bleed BNS value. They can be purchased from Laddersmith Gilligan for 350 souls each. Lacerating Arrows deal a flat Bleed buildup value of 300, plus their physical damage. They cannot be purchased from anyone, making them very rare.

{| border="0" cellpadding="1" cellspacing="1" class="article-table" ! scope="col" style="text-align: center;"|Buffs ! scope="col"| ! scope="col" style="text-align: center; white-space: nowrap;"|Bleed Buildup
 * style="text-align: center;"|Bleeding Serum.png
 * style="text-align: center;"|Bleeding Serum.png

Bleeding Serum
''A jar of carnivorous plant secretions. Applies bleeding effect to right-hand weapon. Bleeding foes' max HP is lowered.'' ! style="text-align: center;"|Item ! ! style="text-align: center;"| Bleed Buildup
 * style="white-space: nowrap; text-align: center;"| ?
 * style="text-align: center;"|Lacerating Knife.png
 * style="text-align: center;"|Lacerating Knife.png

Lacerating Knife
''A throwing knife. Its sharp blade is intended to cause bleeding rather than simply inflict damage. This simple weapon is easily utilized, but has limited range and deals little damage. However, if the knife can cause bleeding, the target's max HP will be lowered.'' ! style="text-align: center;"|Ammo ! ! style="text-align: center;"|Bleed Buildup
 * style="white-space: nowrap; text-align: center;"|?
 * style="text-align: center;"|Lacerating Arrow.png
 * style="text-align: center;"|Lacerating Arrow.png

Lacerating Arrow
''Arrows that cause bleeding. Tipped with finely sharpened arrow heads. Bleeding foes' max HP is lowered.''
 * style="white-space: nowrap; text-align: center;"|300
 * }

Bleed Resist
Bleed Resist governs how robust the player is against Bleed buildup.

Innate Resist
Innate Bleed Resist describes the value of the player's Bleed resistance when not influenced by any outside factors, such as armor, spells or consumables. Bleed Resist can be increased incremetally through leveling both Faith and Adaptability. Bleed Resist will increase steadily until a soft cap of 140 Bleed resistance is reached, after which any further increases will be much slower. Innate Bleed Resist caps at 200 points, when both stats are at 99.

Bleed Resist Cap
Bleed Resist is capped at 890 points. Combined with a hidden stat of 100 points, Bleed Resist can reach a maximum of 990 points. Since 1000 points of any magical or elemental defense equals immunity, Bleed buildup cannot be completely nulified, with the exception of blocking with a shield.

Armor and Shields
Various armor pieces grant varying levels of Bleed Resist. The following armor table shows the armor pieces which grant the highest possible Bleed Resist, for each body part. Curiously, Yorgh's Spear is unique in that it provides an additional 70 points of resistance to Bleed when wielded. One can be wielded in each hand to provided twice the resistance.

Shields will only block Magic attacks if the player is actively blocking. Merely equipping the shield does not count towards defense. The Bleed Resist value on shields is expressed as a percentage in-game, as opposed to points on armor. Any shield had the ability to block 100% of Bleed temporarily via the Strong Magic Shield sorcery.

The following shields table shows all shields that grant at least 70% reduction:

Spells and Items
Certain defensive spells can temporarily increase Bleed Resist, but they cannot be stacked with each other. Only one will be active at a time. Red Leech Troches is a consumable item that can be purchased from Rat King for 1600 souls each. They cannot be stacked with any of the defensive spells either. Consuming a Red Leech Troche will remove the Bleed Resist provided by the spell, and apply the Red Leech Troche resist value.

{| border="0" cellpadding="1" cellspacing="1" class="article-table" ! scope="col" style="text-align: center;"|Spell ! scope="col"| ! scope="col" style="text-align: center;"|Resist
 * Iron Flesh II.png
 * Iron Flesh II.png

Iron Flesh
''A pyromancy that internalizes the power of flame. Turns the body into iron, increasing defense and resistance. As one might guess, the rock-solid flesh enabled by this spell dramatically slows movement. Guaranteed to cause trouble if used at an inopportune moment.''
 * style="text-align: center;"|200
 * Perseverance.png
 * Perseverance.png

Perseverance
''Enwreathes its caster with a pure veil. Grants temporary resistance to status effects. Lindelt ascetics are sent to distant lands for proselytizing and self-training, but many of them decide not to return.'' ! style="text-align: center;"|Item ! ! style="text-align: center;"|Resist
 * style="text-align: center;"|150
 * Red Leech Troches.png
 * Red Leech Troches.png

Red Leech Troches
''Troches with an oddly charred odor. Temporarily boosts bleeding resist. Verbal histories often mention Saint Elizabeth;'' her uniquely concocted medicines and potions are still widely used today.
 * style="text-align: center;"|200
 * }

Rings
Only two rings provide Bleed Resist. Both can be worn together, granting a maximum of 320 Bleed Resist, at the highest item level. Like all other rings, duplicate rings cannot be worn simultaneously. {| border="0" cellpadding="1" cellspacing="1" class="article-table" ! scope="col" style="text-align: center;"|Ring ! scope="col"| ! scope="col"|Resist
 * Bloodbite Ring.png
 * Bloodbite Ring.png

Bloodbite Ring
''One of several "bite" rings, known for their peculiar design. Increases bleeding resistance. The similar, oddly disturbing design of these rings suggests a common source. Whoever the master craftsman was, he clearly knew his trade.''
 * 120/200
 * Ring of resistance.png
 * Ring of resistance.png

Ring of Resistance
''A protective ring adorned with four blessed gems. Increases resistance to poison, bleeding, weapon breakage and curses.''
 * 60/120
 * }

Other
Yorgh's Spear is unique in that it provides an additional 70 points of resistance to Bleed buildup when wielded. One can be wielded in each hand to provided twice the resistance. {| border="0" cellpadding="1" cellspacing="1" class="article-table" ! scope="col" style="text-align: center;"|Weapon ! scope="col"| ! scope="col" style="text-align: center;"|Resist
 * Yorgh's Spear 2.png
 * Yorgh's Spear 2.png

Yorgh's Spear
''Spear wielded by Sir Yorgh during his invasion of the Sanctum City. After his defeat of the Sunken King, Sir Yorgh pierced Sinh, the sleeping dragon, with this spear to claim its blood.''
 * style="text-align: center;"|70
 * }

Preventing Bleed
If the Bleed meter is filled, Health will damaged by 200 points and the maximum stamina of the target is reduced to 75% for a few seconds. To prevent the Bleed status effect from triggering, the Bleed meter can be set back to zero. Unlike Poison, which has several methods of resetting the Poison meter, the Bleed meter can only be reset by consuming a Divine Blessing. This can be useful in "life-or-death" situations, when the onset of the Bleed status is imminent.

{| border="0" cellpadding="1" cellspacing="1" class="article-table" ! scope="col" style="text-align: center;"|Item ! scope="col"| ! scope="col" style="white-space: nowrap;"|Effects
 * Divine Blessing II.png
 * Divine Blessing II.png

Divine Blessing
''Holy water endowed with a divine blessing. Cures status effects and fully restores HP. Water blessed by an ancient goddess. Her name is long forgotten, and the Magic Academy of Melfia denies even her existence.'' Cures all status effects. Removes Profound Still effect
 * style="white-space: nowrap;"|Fully restores HP
 * }

Infusion
Steady Hand McDuff can infuse most weapons with Bleed through the use of a Bleed Stone. Once a weapon is infused, the Bleed icon will be displayed next to its image in the HUD.


 * Uninfused weapons imbued with Bleed gain a fixed Bleed buildup value (which does not scale with the Bleed Attack Bonus), but the base physical damage is lowered by 30%. For example, if a regular weapon that deals 100 physical damage is infused with Bleed, its stats switch over to 70 physical damage and 112 Bleed buildup.
 * Weapons with innate Bleed buildup gain an additional increase to Bleed buildup, but the base physical damage is lowered by 5%, as is the current scaling. For example, the Bandit's Knife goes from 65 physical damage + 67 Bleed buildup to 62 physical damage + 96 Bleed buildup when infused.
 * Shields gain additional Bleed resistance while lowering other resistances.

Enemies
The following is a breakdown of enemy and boss information relating to Bleed buildup and immunity.