Malum Caedo: bonus and Chainsword

Malum Caedo gains 3% Strength for each equipped weapon and passive. His starting Chainsword counts as an equipped weapon. The passive rewards filling useful equipment slots; it does not depend on how many followers those weapons summon.

Count items, not levels

Equipped items	Malum’s equipment-based Strength bonus
Starting Chainsword only	3%
Three weapons and two passives	15%
Six weapons and six passives	36%

These figures describe his equipment passive only. They exclude permanent enhancements, the Gauntlet, character-level bonuses and other effects. They are not final damage multipliers for an entire build.

Upgrading one weapon several times does not make it several equipped weapons. In the five-item example, taking an upgrade keeps the equipment component at 15%; equipping another eligible item raises it to 18%.

Evolve the starting weapon

Raise Chainsword to level 8, hold Tape Measure and open an evolution-capable chest for Eviscerator Chainsword. Tape Measure does not need to be maxed for this recipe. The evolved slash adds Bleeding.

Tape Measure’s attack-size benefit is useful to the slash, but its recipe role is a separate check. A large attack from other bonuses does not substitute for holding the actual passive. Use the evolution finder to reserve the companion passives for your other selected weapons.

Compare another weapon with another upgrade

A new weapon adds equipment-based Strength and another attack pattern. Upgrading the current Chainsword moves it toward its evolution threshold. If the run needs a near-term Eviscerator, spreading levels over several unfinished weapons can delay that result.

The passive-planning guide gives combinations that share one passive. Sharing a recipe passive leaves room for another useful item, while still satisfying more than one evolution.

Defensive starting condition

Malum starts with one Save. Save and Toughness perform different jobs: Save reduces incoming damage, whereas Toughness regenerates Wounds. Adding regeneration does not change an incoming hit into a smaller hit.

Permanent enhancements apply across runs. Keep them separate from Malum’s equipment count when comparing a fresh character with one on an upgraded account.

Follower-based bonuses

A weapon that summons a follower still fills an equipment slot. Malum’s passive counts the equipped item, while the Castellan’s passive counts followers for Skill. The same weapon choice can therefore affect the two champions differently.