Foreword
This is a build that I made pretty long ago but was pretty uncertain about whether it’s worth posting or not. Patches came out, some changes to Bleeding damage, devos and items were made but I still wasn’t sure. I finally decided to post it for mainly one reason: I simply like it nevertheless. It’s not very tanky, doesn’t have incredible damage, can die under some circumstances. But it’s pretty decent for what it is and it’s the only bleed build I liked so far.
So, some questions and disclaimers to get them out of way:
- Why Blademaster?
I really hate Devouring Swarm as a skill, also Blademaster has two of the biggest bleed sources in the game - cd BA and CoS. plus I wanted to see if it can be somewhat competitive w/o native bleed RR.
- What should I know before playing this build?
This build is pretty much unforgiving. You need to clearly understand, what you’re doing, what packs and boss combos can be pulled together and what not, when you can stand your ground and when it’s time to flee. Even then you can still die since the life of Bleeding AA melee is pretty harsh. Ideally it’s a hit’n’run playstyle: for more safety you can kite certain packs, for speed farming it’s better to hit them and instantly rush to another. Superbosses are challenging but doable (props to the guy that levelled this build and killed Crate with it - if you’re reading it, you’re a legend).
- What enemies should I watch out?
Kaisan can be dangerous. Same for Sentinel, if he rolls some nasty affixes on shield (actually dunno how it works but sometimes he just slaps). Three stone guys are somewhat dangerous and annoying. Alkamos is just annoying (especially in SR) since he has a ton of HP and very high bleed res.
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Gear
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Weapons – Nightclaw is strong on its own, it also allows to take Berserk devo; as a second weapon Bloodsong is pretty good due to mods, Pit Master’s Axe may be an option but it needs to be double-rare to compete;
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Pants - we don’t really have bleeding pants, so these are good for extra skill points;
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Medal – I tried multiple ones, this appeared to be bis due to damage values.
Superbosses
Avatar of Mogdrogen - just kite him outside of his sunder clouds, he’s pretty lame still.
Ravager of Flesh - evade Sunder combo and step out of bleed pools from time to time.
Callagadra, Scion of Sands - evade Sunder and be mindful about sands.
Crate of Entertainment - pretty hard fight with random chance of success.
Summary and thoughts
Not much to say. If the build had some bleed RR, it would’ve probably been the strongest bleed build or sth close to that. Even as it is you can achieve some massive numbers.
Overall I’d say it’s pure bleed melee experience for those who want it for some reason.
Feel free to download the build, play it and write your impressions and feedback. Hoots!