The Best Bleed Weapons in Dark Souls 3: A 500+ Hour Expert‘s Guide

As a passionate Dark Souls 3 gamer with over 500 hours across multiple playthroughs, I‘ve bled my fair share of enemies dry with devastating bleed weapons.

My journey has taken me through lethal lands and pitted me against terrible foes. All of this to uncover the most powerful bleed weapons that Lothric has to offer.

In this guide forged from first-hand experience, I‘ll be sharing my expert picks for the top 3 bleed weapons that shred through both PvE enemies and PvP players alike.

What Makes Bleed So Deadly

Before getting into the notorious weapons themselves, it‘s important to understand precisely what makes bleed such a deadly effect in Dark Souls 3.

Bleed is an auxiliary effect that builds up a meter for every hit landed. Once filled, the meter explodes to inflict percentage health damage, along with 200 bonus damage. Against tough enemies and bosses, proccing a bleed explosion at the opportune moment can swiftly turn the tide of battle in your favor.

Let‘s break down the key components that make weapons truly terrifying bloodletter‘s:

My 500 hours of gameplay have taught me to evaluate weapons based on the above bleeding attributes.

Additionally, the iconic Carthus Rouge item provides a Luck-scaling boost to bleed buildup on any right-hand weapon. So high Luck builds around 40-50 maximize bleed damage output.

Now that you understand the critical factors that make a weapon absolutely eviscerate enemies with bleed, let‘s get into my personal top 3 bleed weapon picks.

1. Carthus Curved Greatsword

The formidable Carthus Curved Greatsword has been my trusty bleeding blade since my first playthrough. After extensive testing, I can confidently claim it as objectively the #1 bleed weapon in Dark Souls 3.

The Carthus Curved Greatsword elegantly inflicts suffering.

This curved greatsword strikes an exceptional balance of deadly bleed potential while still dishing out high physical damage. Combined with relatively fast swings for its class, the Carthus Curved Greatsword ruthlessly overwhelms foes.

When fully reinforced and buffed, this vicious weapon reaches 99 bleed – the highest bleed auxiliary in the game. Most enemies and even hardy bosses melt in just 2-3 hits from the nonstop bleed procs.

To unlock its maximum destructive potential:

• Upgrade to +10 with Titanite for base damage
• Infuse with Blood Gem for huge bonus bleed
• Level Dexterity and Luck for scaling
• Use Carthus Rouge item buff for even more bleed

I cannot count how many invaders have foolishly rushed in, only to be bled out in moments by my masterfully wielded Carthus sword.

Some key combos I rely on in PvE and PvP:

• Light Attack > Light Attack > Spin Slash
• Spin Slash > Heavy Attack
• Roll Catch with Running Heavy Attack

The weapon art Spin Slash swings twice with the momentum for high damage and bleed buildup. I like to combo into it after initial quick hits to shred enemies down rapidly.

Overall the moveset, bleed potential, flexibility, and sheer power secure the Carthus Curved Greatsword as my choice #1 bleed weapon after hundreds of hours of gameplay. You can obtain this mighty bloodletter by farming the Grave Warden Skeletons in the Catacombs of Carthus.

2. Onikiri and Ubadachi

Claiming the #2 best bleed weapon spot are the lethal Onikiri and Ubadachi paired katanas. These curved eastern swords embody flowing assaults with their paired blade moveset to rapidly stack bleed.

One sword offers but a taste, while two provide the whole bloody meal.

While the individual strikes may lack the crushing impact of the Carthus greatsword, the Onikiri and Ubadachi make up for it with their precise flurried attacks. Each swipe applies increasing bleed stacks onto foes until their ragdoll collapses from the eventual proc explosion.

Optimizing these elegant yet brutal katanas:

• Infuse with a Blood Gem for massive bleed scaling
• Level Dexterity and Luck for more damage
• Utilize Carthus Rouge item buff

At +10 with 40 Luck and Carthus Rouge, this blade pair reaches a terribly high 85 bleed rating. But more importantly comes their special weapon skill – Onislayer.

Onislayer has the player leap and perform a spinning overhead smash with both swords for a multi-hit attack. Timed well, this brutal skill will detonate a devastating bleed proc on the landing enemy for tremendous damage.

Overall, Onikiri and Ubadachi proves themselves as top-tier bleed weapons with their quickstep attacks and deadly weapon skill bursting enemies blood vessels in an instant. You can pick up this vicious katana set from the NPC Black Hand Kamui wielding them on the Grand Archives rooftop.

3. Warden Twinblades

The last entry in my best bleed weapons list are the rapid Warden Twinblades. These dual dagger-like swords strike with almost reckless abandon to shred foes apart with boundless cuts.

When precise hits prove inefficient, wild strikes begin to take their place.

The Wardens embody the concept of "death by a thousand cuts", as their furiously fast moveset quickly stacks bleeding on enemies. While they lack raw power, the endless barrage of slashes whittle down any foe.

To upgrade these lethal bleeding bayonets:

• Infuse with Blood Gem for huge bonus bleed
• Level Dexterity and Luck for scaling
• Utilize Carthus Rouge item buff

At +10 with 40 Luck and Carthus Rouge, these sharp twins reach an alarming 82 bleed rating. Combine that with the fast multi-hit attacks, and enemies will find a bleed proc shattering their guard every few seconds.

The Warden Twinblade‘s moveset encourages staying on the offensive to fully enable their overwhelming bloodletting potential. Go for the jugular, as the saying goes.

Obtain these frenzied bleed dancers by slaying the ominous Cathedral Grave Wardens skulking outside the Cathedral of the Deep.

4. Other Great Bleed Weapons

While the above 3 weapons stand at the peak of deadly bleeding, there exist several other armaments capable of bringing the red pain:

Bandit‘s Knife

• Extremely fast dagger perfect for stacking bleed
• Can roll catch in PvP with quickstep attack
• Quickly shreds through bosses

Spiked Mace

• Solid strength weapon with strike damage
• Charged heavy attack combos well in PvP
• Perseverance gives hyper armor for trading

Claws

• Paired claws strike with rapid slashes
• Jumping attacks to aggressively close distance
• Can quickly bleed infuse and two-hand

Maximizing Your Bleed Damage

My journey has taken me through countless bloody battles, so trust in my expertise when I say:

Having weapons that can bleed is only half the recipe to become a true angel of death.

There exist methods of maximizing the lethality of your bloody armory even further:

Level Luck to 40-50

Bleed buildup scales softly up to 40 Luck, with diminishing returns until the hard cap at 50. Having 40-50 Luck will boost item-induced bleed from Carthus Rogue across any weapons.

Use Hollow Infusions

Hollow weapons grant +5 Luck for each equipped in the main-hand, off-hand, and both rings slots when you‘re Hollowed. This lets you stack huge amounts of Luck to again amp the Carthus Rouge bleed buff.

So optimized bleed builds utilize:

• High base Luck (40-50)
• Multiple equipped Hollow weapons granting +5 Luck each
• Carthus Rouge to stack even more bleed

This "double-dipping" on extreme Luck boosts your item-induced bleed to create truly terrifying bleeding capabilities.

Through my experiments, I‘ve seen enemies literally explode in blood from the astronomical bleed procs possible when fully committing to a Hollow build.

Bleed Your Foes Dry My Friend

And there concludes my dissertation on the best bleed weapons available in Dark Souls 3, supported by 500+ hours of gameplay experience. These deadly tools of blood-crazed battle have carried me thrice now from humble undead up to the prestigious ranks of Lords of Cinder.

I hope my guide has provided fellow players looking to embrace devastation detailed insight on the hunt for ultimate bleed capabilities. Now get out there, slaughter mercilessly, and let your rivals feed that ever-thirsting crimson blade!

Farrukh Jafri

Dark Souls 3 Expert Build Strategist