Bleeding

Sniper 

 Spy

“

You know what yer dominatin' now? Bleedin'. Click to listen — The Sniper

”

Bleeding is a damage effect that is inherent in certain weapons. Should a player be struck by bleeding, their health will gradually dissipate at a rate of 4 health points every 0.5 seconds until either the effect wears off, the victim dies, or they manage to reach a Medkit or Resupply locker. Bleeding cannot be cured by water or teammate support items (excluding the Sandvich, reskins of the Sandvich, and Buffalo Steak Sandvich).

Bleeding players can learn of the afflicted status from their screen flashing slowly with a red hue, a red drop on their health display, and continual flinching. Any other player viewing the effect will see blood particles being emitted from the player.

Bleed duration will vary between weapons and does not stack on multiple hits; being struck again by a bleed-inflicting weapon rather resets the status to full duration. Although bleeding cannot Crit on its own, damage inflicted from it can be given Mini-Crit status if the target is covered in Jarate, has been hit with the Fan O'War, or if the player who caused the bleeding has been buffed by the Buff Banner or Crit-a-Cola.

Bleeding can be used during hit-and-run maneuvers to great effect, allowing players to avoid direct confrontation while dealing considerable damage over time. Additionally, it proves to be a useful tool for seeking out cloaked Spies, who will flinch and produce blood particles.

Associated weapons

Weapon	Notes
Flying Guillotine	The Flying Guillotine's primary fire allows it to be thrown similarly to the Mad Milk, causing the enemy to bleed when hit. The effect lasts for 5 seconds, allowing for a successful hit to deal 90 damage total. Throwing the weapon from a long enough distance and hitting an enemy will result in a mini-crit but does not extend or alter the bleeding, allowing for a successful hit to deal about 118 damage total. If thrown early enough, a stunned target can take crit bleed damage for the remaining duration of the stun, dealing 12 damage every 0.5 seconds.
Boston Basher / Three-Rune Blade	The Boston Basher's/Three-Rune Blade's bleeding effect lasts for 5 seconds; a single hit deals 75 damage. Hitting yourself only deals 18 damage; this results in a total 58 self-damage with the 5 seconds bleed.
40px Wrap Assassin	The Wrap Assassin's alternate fire allows a bauble to be launched similarly to the Sandman's alt-fire, causing the enemy to bleed when hit. The effect lasts for 5 seconds, allowing for a single collision to deal 55 damage total.
Southern Hospitality	The Southern Hospitality's bleeding effect lasts for 5 seconds, allowing for a single hit to deal 105 damage total.
Tribalman's Shiv	The Tribalman's Shiv's bleeding effect lasts for 6 seconds, allowing for a single hit to deal 80 damage total.

Update history

October 9, 2012 Patch

• Overhealed players that are bleeding or on fire can now pickup healthkits to remove these conditions.

January 16, 2013 Patch

• Fixed a server crash caused by players bleeding to death

Bugs

• If a new round on a map is started while a player is bleeding, that players screen will continue to flash as if the player is suffering from bleed damage until the player leaves the server or exits the game.

Trivia

• When bleeding was first introduced with the release of the Tribalman's Shiv, the kill icon would display whatever weapon was being wielded at the time by the killer. When holding Jarate or being in the process of respawning, the generic "Skull and Crossbones" kill icon would be used.

Gallery

• 

  An example of the bleeding notification being displayed on the HUD.