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Ars Arcanum: Blood Brother

by - 9 years ago

Books have often been society’s only bastion of light for passing along knowledge that would otherwise be lost to time or convoluted by the oral tradition. In order to provide new and old adventurers with as much knowledge of what to expect on their journey in Sanctuary, we created this tome of knowledge – Ars Arcanum. We will regularly feature a Legendary weapon or armor piece, discussing its stand-alone powers and capabilities, as well as how it may synergize with new builds or other items.


Patch 2.2.0 promises to introduce a slate of truly interesting items and while some slots in particular (like last week’s bracers) are being super leveraged as auxillary set pieces, weapons are also another area where it seems the developers have laid a heavy focus with the hope of unseating familiar mainstays. Today, let’s talk about Blood Brother, a two-handed sword, and how it might shake up the Crusader metagame.

Blood Brother

Why is it good?

Crusaders are the benefactors of a much needed update to the Roland’s Legacy set come Patch 2.2.0. To be fair, one wonders exactly how much scrutiny the set would have undergone in a world without the Armor of Akkhan set. Either way, the original concept for Roland’s was fun – live up the fantasy of a melee Crusader becoming more and more feverish as he or she expends Wrath with iconic bashing of demons with shields (Shield Bash) or flails (Sweep Attack). High in fantasy. Poor in execution? The defense of a set so steeped in melee combat was lacking and that’s why I brought up the Akkhan set originally. It elegantly executes the job of providing a little bit (a lot of bit) of everything in enabling permanent Akarat’s Champion, which grants increased damage, toughness, and utility with the right setup. With Roland’s, you gain far more potential offense, but can you stay alive to dish it out? Dead DPS = 0.0. Enter Blood Brother.

Is this the gap bridger? Eh, that’s still yet to be determined, but what this weapon undeniably does is play into the core fantasy and playstyle of Roland’s. Entering melee range means a chance to take many more hits and taking hits is a chance to proc blocks. The synergy of Blood Brother results from giving you more block percentage chance outright and then rewarding you for making blocks with more offense, while simultaneously decreasing the blocked damage coming in. It’s essentially a miniature version of the Akarat’s Champion bonuses, but only granted conditionally versus perpetually.

I’m not sold that this will make living in Roland’s Legacy more comfortable, but it goes a long way to help prioritize something other than The Furnace while also keying into the Crusader’s ability to manipulate their block chance better than any other class.

Who is it good for?

If you didn’t gather it from the above, I’m pegging this one for Crusaders. They are, after all, the only class that can equip a shield and a two-handed weapon at the same time.

Where can I find it?

This, again, is just one of the many many items coming up for looting in Patch 2.2.0. This weapon in particular is not tied to seasons either, so you don’t need to be a part of Season 3 to see it drop.

The Fluff

“Long ago, the demon Vi’inaz and his brother Eboeth were terrible foes of the High Heavens, though they bickered constantly. In later times, Vi’inaz alone was seen wielding a sword wrapped in demon flesh, with a still-beating heart pumping black blood along its sharp-spined length. Talus’ar does not record the fate of Eboeth, but I do not place our foes above perverse fratricide.” –Archangel Ithereal

First of all, bravo to the writer of this one. This is truly disgusting. Vi’inaz was basically like, “Eboeth, you’re pissing me off. Keep arguing with me and I swear I’ll turn you into a sword that I kill other people with.” And then one day Eboeth just vanishes? Perverse fratricide (what a great word) indeed. Talus’ar, by the way, is the proper name for the Scroll of Fate, which Ithereal will consult from time to time to find solutions to problems.


JR Cook

JR has been writing for fan sites since 2000 and has been involved with Blizzard Exclusive fansites since 2003. JR was also a co-host for 6 years on the Hearthstone podcast Well Met! He helped co-found BlizzPro in 2013.


0 responses to “Ars Arcanum: Blood Brother”

  1. Karthios says:

    I like the sound of this one for an alternate weapon for the Leapquake Crusader while waiting somewhat patiently for a Cam’s Rebuttal to eventually drop from a lucky chest like it did for me. I definitely like the flavour of it. We’ll see if I can get one to drop for my female crusader who has 4 pc Roland’s right now.

  2. Karthios says:

    I like the sound of this one for an alternate weapon for the Leapquake Crusader while waiting somewhat patiently for a Cam’s Rebuttal to eventually drop from a lucky chest like it did for me. I definitely like the flavour of it. We’ll see if I can get one to drop for my female crusader who has 4 pc Roland’s right now.