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 Cabinet. Bleeding cannot be cured by water or teammate support items excluding the Sandvich and the 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, if the player has been hit with the Fan O'War, or if the player who caused the bleeding has been buffed by the Buff Banner.

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
Tribalman's Shiv	The Tribalman's Shiv's bleeding effect lasts for 6 seconds, allowing for a single hit to deal about 80 damage total.
Southern Hospitality	The Southern Hospitality's bleeding effect lasts for 5 seconds, allowing for a single hit to deal about 105 damage in total.
Boston Basher	The Boston Basher'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.
Three-Rune Blade	The 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.

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 health display notification.