Actually, i beg to differ here.. early game, that 40 damage / hit might be good, but late game its usefulness quickly diminishes. Sure +40 damage always comes handy, but i've played without it and quite frankly, i do not miss it at all.
HP + Armor + Speed. That is survivalability and the ability to outrun your opponent when you flee or chase. These are the keys to kill other demigods.
Blood of the fallen is great because it adds lots of HP and some passive HP regen as well and as such it fits nicely with the survivalability requirement of success.
Swift Anklet adds a big speed boost, which helps you a lot more than extra DPS you can not use because the enemy just runs away whenever he wants.
I also find Heaven's wrath to be quite good, as you can throw it anywhere on the map. So if you see a demigod being pounded on the other side of the map, and he manages to get away with 200-300 hp, the shoot. If he gets below fog of war then tell your regulus to watch out and fire where you think he might be. If you catch him, not only do you deal damage, but you clear the fog of war long enough so the friendly reg can get a snipe in, which will possibly finish the job.
Let's not even talk about an arranged team of well coordinated demigods who each have HW at their disposal Thats 500-1000 damage (depending on the number of players) every 45 seconds anywhere on the map, starting at level 1.
BotF and Anklet are more useful on the long run of course, as they are both passive abilities which help fleeing just as much as killing.