I'm not really a noob ARC/BRD but ...

... even so I fail to see the usefulness of Bloodletter. Compared to Heavy Shot the only difference (apart from a 15 sec CD on it) is that it doesn't need TP while not having the buff to Straight Shot's Crit chance.

I've taken one Bard to 50 way back and have another one at 52 now and the only time I get low on TP is when spamming Wide Volley in places like 50 MSQ 8-man speed runs.

So just what's the point of this skill? What am I missing?

That BL skill is off GCD, that mean you can use it while other skill is in GCD (that 2.5 cooldown), you shouldnt use it like normal skill like heavy shot --- heavy shot, instead heavy shot *bloodletter* heavy shot for example

It's damage that costs you nothing? That's useful in my eyes. Plus it's off the oGCD which let's you weave in a BL while your GCD is counting down.

There is also a trait that has a chance to reset the cooldown of your BL once your Wind/Venombite skill crits. So it's possible to fire off multiple BL'S should that proc favor you (Internal Release says hi xD).

The game has 2 common classifications for skills, Weaponskill/Spells and Abilities. Skills classified as Weaponskills/Spells all share a common cooldown(Called recast in this game) the standard is 2.5 second cooldown often reffered to as global cooldown or gcd. In comparison skills classified as abilities do not share cooldown with any other skill, neither ability nor gcd. These are commonly reffered to as oGCD or of global cooldown. Taking your example of heavy shot and bloodletter, heavy shot is classified as weaponskill and therefore shares a cooldown with other weaponskills. But Bloodletter is classified as an ability and therefore only has its own cooldown(Does share a cooldown with rain of death but that is stated in the ability). What this means is that you can use heavy shot and then bloodletter straight after without waiting.

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Originally Posted by Esp

It's damage that costs you nothing? That's useful in my eyes. Plus it's off the oGCD which let's you weave in a BL while your GCD is counting down.

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If the cost is rarely if ever an issue then to me it's immaterial.

The GCD issue though is another matter, I guess I hadn't really focused on that aspect, obviously I've seen it but I guess with the 15s CD on BL I'd never given it much thought.

@Krindor, thanks for that explanation, again it's something I am aware of but not necessarily seen the importance of.

Perhaps I still have some noobish tendencies. :D

It's basically free damage if you use it, as Krindor mentioned, because of the way you can fit it between weaponskills.
If you do nothing but spam Heavy Shot for instance, your damage going out will look something like this,

[Heavy Shot][-----][Heavy Shot][-----][Heavy Shot][-----]
2.5s---------------2.5s----------------2.5s

Because the cast time of Heavy Shot is less than the global cooldown, there's downtime after the cast where you can't fire any other weaponskills. If you use that opportunity to fire an OGCD like bloodletter it will look more like this, and you will be dealing more damage.

[Heavy Shot][--BL-][Heavy Shot][-----][Heavy Shot][-----]
2.5s---------------2.5s----------------2.5s

Using OGCDs like that is generally called 'weaving' since you are fitting them between weaponskills. As a rule of thumb, if you cast a weaponskill manually because of minuet, you can only fit 1 OGCD behind it before your GCD is complete and you should cast your next weaponskill. If you manage to fire a weaponskill instantly (straighter shot proc, or you turned off minuet for some reason), then you can fit 2 OGCDs behind it ('double weaving').

Its also useful for endgame, after you get WM. It allows you to do some DPS while moving (avoiding stance dancing)

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Originally Posted by Pintsized

If the cost is rarely if ever an issue then to me it's immaterial.

The GCD issue though is another matter, I guess I hadn't really focused on that aspect, obviously I've seen it but I guess with the 15s CD on BL I'd never given it much thought.

@Krindor, thanks for that explanation, again it's something I am aware of but not necessarily seen the importance of.

Perhaps I still have some noobish tendencies. :D

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Two attacks within one time span is better than one, especially with the BRD trait of river of blood which has a 50% chance to reset the cooldown on dot crit, for a current BiS bard this roughly drops the average cooldown to once every 6 seconds. Especially considering the gcd is long filling it in with something makes it feel quicker.