Revision 3

Bleeding is a damage-over-time status effect in Windrose applied by certain weapons on hit. It stacks up to 5 times and deals 25 damage per second per stack in the most widely-cited community-documented case (the Rapier of a Thousand Cuts). The chain-to-nearest-enemy behavior on kill is a WEAPON-SPECIFIC ASCENDED EPIC PERK, not a general Bleeding feature.

Base Mechanics

Chain-Kill: Ascended-Only Perk

The "stacks transfer to nearest enemy on kill" effect is NOT part of the base Bleeding mechanic. It is a perk unlocked only by ascending the Rapier of a Thousand Cuts from Rare to Epic at the Weaponsmith Station using Tumbaga Ingots. On the base Rare rapier, killing a bleeding target simply removes the stacks from the dead enemy; they do not transfer.

If you are running the base Rare version, Bleeding is still strong against individual tough targets, but it does not chain across groups. To get the chain behavior, ascend the weapon.

Primary Source: Rapier of a Thousand Cuts

The Rapier of a Thousand Cuts is the most notable Bleeding weapon. Found as a buried-treasure reward on the starting island via the Fifteen Men on a Dead Man's Chest quest, it has Precision scaling and 125 base Pierce damage at Rare. Every hit applies a Bleeding stack. With five hits, the target suffers 125 DPS on top of direct weapon damage.

Counter-Build Considerations

Bleeding does NOT reset Retaliation stacks on the player (those reset only when the PLAYER takes damage). But if the player is hit by an enemy applying Bleeding or a similar DoT, Retaliation stacks DO reset. Fencer builds stacking Retaliation + Bleeding from the Rapier of a Thousand Cuts need to maintain flawless defense to keep both buffs active.

Other Bleeding Sources

Rapiers and some slash weapons are the main Bleeding applicators. Specific Uncommon and Rare weapons with Bleeding effects continue to be documented. The Rapier of a Thousand Cuts is the most widely discussed because of its availability in the early game.

See Also

• Rapier of a Thousand Cuts - primary Bleeding weapon

• Weapons - weapon effect overview

• Corruption - related status effect on Plague weapons

• Combat - combat mechanics

• Upgrade System - Rare-to-Epic ascension