Ordinary Bleed applications keep the higher damage per round and add the new duration to the time remaining. Exsanguinate is different: it directly increases an existing Bleed’s damage and duration.
A worked merge
Suppose an enemy is bleeding for 2 HP per round with two rounds left. A new Bleed lands for 4 HP per round over three rounds. The result is 4 HP per round for five rounds, not 6 HP per round.
A weaker later Bleed adds duration without lowering the stronger damage. This makes repeated low-strength applications useful for keeping a strong Bleed alive, provided the target is not immune and the effect actually lands.
Exsanguinate needs an active Bleed
Rank-1 Exsanguinate adds 2 Bleed damage and one round. Rank 5 adds 10 damage and five rounds. The target must already be bleeding; casting it on an uninjured target does not supply the missing initial Bleed.
For the 4-damage, five-round result above, a rank-1 Exsanguinate changes it to 6 damage for six rounds when it resolves before any further damage ticks. If a round has already passed, start from the duration then remaining. This example describes the merge arithmetic, not a guaranteed six-tick outcome after enemy reactions.
The Blood Mage can start a Bleed through Blood Lance, Bloodfall or Scarlet Shackles. A Thief’s Bleeding Dash or a Ranger’s Barbed Arrows can supply it too. That allows the Blood Mage to spend an action on Exsanguinate once the party has confirmed the condition.
Bloodfall rolls each hit
Bloodfall hits each of two targets three times and has a 30% Bleed chance on each hit. Ignoring immunity and assuming independent rolls, the chance of at least one Bleed on one target is 1 − 0.7³ = 65.7%. It is not 90%, and the three-hit shape does not guarantee the condition.
Blood Lance and Bloodfall are 30% weaker against Undead. Some enemies also ignore Bleed altogether. Read the combat log and use another damage source rather than repeatedly setting up Exsanguinate against a target that cannot bleed.
Blood Mage costs explains why the same spell can start consuming HP after the bone supply is exhausted.
Sources
- VoidEngineer: status merging and Blood Mage skill tablesHigher Bleed damage retained, durations added, Exsanguinate’s separate increase and Bloodfall rolls.
- Current Exsanguinate player discussionPlayers are investigating repeated applications; the guide uses the explicit extracted merge rules.
