How the F*#% Does Bloodthirst Work?

Yo Mamma So Fat Her Blood Type is KFC...

Fine, there wasn't a funny joke for Bloodthirst so you got a Blood type one instead.

By: George Argyropoulos

a/k/a Dragon_Bane

I'll admit, I was going to use a pic of Petrified Wood-Kin, but I thought that was too esoteric a reference for some, so I went with one of my favorite wheels. Oh wait... wrong game?

Last Friday there was a marathon episode of BP Crib. Somewhere in there we spoke about Bloodthirst - I think. I may have lost my concentration because I was asked last night about the Alpha Behemoth and Bloodthirst, and I quickly came to realize that many people do not have a grasp on this mechanic - probably since it came out piece meal and wasn't really reviewed before.

Bloodthirst is a generic mechanic (thus far) insofar as the activating mechanic is concerned, BUT the TYPES are not- Bloodthirst does have a differentiation. Confusing? Likely only in my delivery. It seems I have some difficulty in articulating the whole of this mechanic, but I shall endeavor...

Let's start with the Bloodthirst mechanic first. Bloodthirst is activated when a hull with this mechanic does damage to a target and then that target is destroyed. The destruction of the target that was damaged by a Bloodthirst equipped hull will give that hull a 'stack'. That is the triggering mechanic, not the actual killing of the target, but having dealt damage to the destroyed target.

The hull does not have to destroy the target, but it must do damage to the target before the target is destroyed. It cannot sit in the back while a non-Bloodthirst hull kills the target. This will not give you a stack. (Neither will a different Bloodthirst Type, but we'll get to that.)

This transitions well to this caveat and differentiation: the same TYPE of Bloodthirst will stack fleet-wide. Differing types do not generate a stack for other hulls unless those hulls do damage as well.

What I mean to say is that if you look at a Hull Blueprint, you will see under the Special Abilities a Bloodthirst, but it will be a specific kind. Ironclad - Bloodthirst will stack for all Hulls that are thus equipped. It will not share a stack effect with a Revenge - Bloodthirst type. Currently we have the following:

Revenge - Bloodthirst:

Harlock's Revenge

Revenge

Zoe's Vendetta

Vendetta

Zoe's Retribution

Retribution
Spite

Fury

Malice

Tideseeker - Bloodthirst:

Harlock Tideseeker

Tideseeker

Ironclad - Bloodthirst:

Harlock Ironclad

Ironclad

Alpha Behemoth - Bloodthirst:

Alpha Behemoth

Rivals - Bloodthirst:

Liberator

There is little to no crossover for the latter three other than from the standard hull to the flagship (IC and HIC both have the Ironclad - Bloodthirst for example), but the first one carries through the whole of the Conqueror line. So what does it mean when we have the same type of Bloodthirst? When one hull in the fleet that has the same type gets a stack they all will. So if you go into a target with 3 Spites and 2 Furies, when one hull gains a Bloodthirst, they all will gain one.

This means however, that if you have a Spite, a Malice, a Tide and an Ironclad in the same fleet, and the Spite gets a stack, only the Malice will gain a stack as well since it is the only other Revenge - Bloodthirst hull present. The rest would not due to being a different type of stack.

Side note: The stacks and benefits are linearly effective, in other words, at 50% stack, you have 50% of the bloodthirst buffs listed.

I hope this helps clear up how Bloodthirst works. I tried to make this as concise and clear as possible given the mechanic and what I have seen as the confusion over the mechanic.