Varré's Bouquet

Notes

• Requires 8 Strength, 16 Dexterity and 24 Arcane and weighs only 2.0. It is a hammer with physical damage. Arcane supplies the strongest damage scaling, followed by Dexterity and a small Strength contribution.
• Has 65 base blood loss buildup before Arcane and reinforcement scaling. Unlike Bloodhound's Fang, this weapon actually has Arcane scaling, so raising Arcane can improve its innate bleed as well as its physical damage.
• Grease and weapon enchantments can be applied despite the fixed Somber upgrade path. Its Arcane scaling can also strengthen the buildup added by Blood, Poison or Soporific Grease. That does not extend to fixed Frostbite or Scarlet Rot buildup.
• Bloodflame Blade is another coating option, but its delayed added blood loss is fixed and does not grow with Arcane. Separate that effect from the bouquet's own Arcane-scaled bleed when comparing coatings.
• Blood Tax costs 14 FP and performs four thrusts, restoring HP when they connect. It gives this hammer a skill normally associated with thrusting weapons. A missed thrust does not provide the healing, and the contacts do not each apply a full ordinary hit's status buildup.
• The weapon has low direct damage compared with many other hammers. Its appeal is the combination of Arcane-scaled bleed, compatible coatings, low weight and healing skill, rather than assuming the scaling letter alone means high attack power.
• Upgrade with Somber Smithing Stones to +10. Blood Tax and the normal affinity cannot be replaced. You cannot put a different Ash on it merely because you can apply grease.
• Invade Varré at his sign in the mausoleum tunnel, then finish his dying dialogue in your own world for the bouquet. Killing him at The First Step or Rose Church does not award it. The three hostile White Masks in the blood lake are separate encounters with different rewards.