The Bloodstone debate continues...

[Kawai]

Can someone please confirm or deny the usefulness of a Bloodstone to a Kensai II Arcane Archer? I am currently getting conflicting arguments leaning both ways. The choice at the moment is to keep it on, as every little bit helps...

[Bacab]

What do you have in your trinket that you feel may be better?

Yes...its one of the few DPS trinkets out there.

It indeed will add 18 damage to every crit (assuming you are using a bow).

[Kawai]

... I can also throw on Greater Nimble Trinky... i like the Blur (possibly redundant due to Wretched Twilight) -dunno
-Tarelyn

[madmaxhunter]

Can someone please confirm or deny the usefulness of a Bloodstone to a Kensai II Arcane Archer? I am currently getting conflicting arguments leaning both ways. The choice at the moment is to keep it on, as every little bit helps...

I kept mine on until I hit 18 and swapped it for the Shimmering Arrowhead. You lose 2 on the seeker but gain +2 attack and (best part) the crippling effect.

(I had it from a previous life, they're not quite as hard to farm as a The Bloodstone)

[Kawai]

Yes, I also have the Arrowhead waiting at 18, which adds to meh confusion and anxiety... many swear that with Kensai II requirements, your already getting close to teh desired effect... this is the dilemma...

[Varashad]

The only trinkets I can think of off the top of my head that may be better than the Bloodstone is Litany of the Dead(hard to get) and the Greater Bold Trinket(Cove only, no idea when its coming back).

The Shimmering Arrowhead is kind of "meh" in my opinion. The +2 attack is amazing for a low AB class like a rogue, bard, or artificer, but on a Kensai II AA, I just can't see him having attack issues. Crippling is a nice effect, but only if you're soloing, because if you're in a party, there's probably someone tripping, stunning, or otherwise in the way of that monster trying to rip your head off.

[Thrudh]

Yes, I also have the Arrowhead waiting at 18, which adds to meh confusion and anxiety... many swear that with Kensai II requirements, your already getting close to teh desired effect... this is the dilemma...

Improved Critical enhancements are NOT the same effect as the bloodstone.

Both help you confirm critical, but seeker also adds it's + to the damage roll before the crit multiplier.

So the +6 seeker on bloodstone is worth 18 extra damage per crit on x3 longbow. If you get a crit on a 19-20, then using a bloodstone is like +1.8 damage per shot.

If you have something else you want to use in the trinket slot, then consider getting the Ring of the Stalker from the Challenges. It has seeker on it.

[Kawai]

Thanks all.... leaving the bloodstone as is. Appreciate it.

[goodspeed]

craft a melee alacrity trinket and slap it in there. Tada dps just shot up 5 fold. Or slap that bold trinket in there. litany, some other crafted thing.

[Demaril]

melee alacrity is the attack speed boost right? that doesnt stack with haste so if you run with arcanes most the time its not that helpfull

[Rydin_Dirtay]

melee alacrity is the attack speed boost right? that doesnt stack with haste

Are you sure about that?

[orakio]

Can someone please confirm or deny the usefulness of a Bloodstone to a Kensai II Arcane Archer? I am currently getting conflicting arguments leaning both ways. The choice at the moment is to keep it on, as every little bit helps...

You can also cannith craft a blindness immunity of +2 attack (+4 even better if you have the levels for it). With ring of the stalker now its pretty easy to get bloodstone equivalent seeker and ring of stalker also comes with manslayer, ghostly, and exceptional SA +2(+3 at tier3) and epic crystal slots if upgraded.

[Ilindith]

Are you sure about that?

It doesn't stack with haste.

[ImFour20]

Are you sure about that?

I am sure. Melee Alacrity will not stack with haste

[Ytteri]

Just my 2 cents: Lately I prefer a +4 attack bonus crafted trinket and have seeker on ring of the stalker from the challenges. Not sure if that'll be as good for your build as it is for mine, being kensai you probably don't have to-hit issues.

[voodoogroves]

The cove Bold T3 trinket is great. If you do move your seeker to a Ring of the Stalker, think about one of those.

[Aeolwind]

All y'all missed the fact that melee alacrity doesn't affect bows at all .

Last I checked GBT doesn't proc on ranged does it? I know the Frozen Tunic does as well as Ring of the Stalker's Manslayer, if you include the Windhowler bracer you can get some nifty procs going, but they tend to bug out if they are all 'on vorpal' effects.

[TheDjinnFor]

Can someone please confirm or deny the usefulness of a Bloodstone to a Kensai II Arcane Archer? I am currently getting conflicting arguments leaning both ways. The choice at the moment is to keep it on, as every little bit helps...

Bloodstones have historically been highly valued as +6 seeker against held enemies was typically anywhere from +12-24 damage per hit.

Nowadays, it's simple: it adds a very miniscule amount of damage per shot. Sometimes it doesn't seem as if small increments will help you much, but they do add up if you focus on coaxing as many of them into your build as you can.

Given that you'll probably be using a 19-20/x3 bow after factoring in improved critical, +6 seeker is basically +1.8 damage per shot. Is this worth a trinket slot to you?

[CanuckWisdom]

Cool thread yo, my kensai 2 AA just got a blood stone.

If its the one I am thinking of, why the Bold trinket love? The lightening proc doesn't work with bows last I tried.

[HungarianRhapsody]

Cool thread yo, my kensai 2 AA just got a blood stone.

If its the one I am thinking of, why the Bold trinket love? The lightening proc doesn't work with bows last I tried.

It does very nice things for the 100 out of every 120 seconds that you are swinging melee weapons when Manyshot is on cooldown.