If you’re venturing into the Lands Between for the first time as a Tarnished, the intricate world of Elden Ring’s stats and leveling system might seem a bit daunting. Fear not! This guide will break down everything you need to know about stat caps, helping you make the most informed decisions as you build your character.
Understanding Stats
In Elden Ring, your character’s abilities are directly influenced by eight core stats. When you level up using Runes, you can choose to invest points into these stats:
- Vigor: Primarily increases your HP (Hit Points).
- Mind: Primarily increases your FP (Focus Points), used for casting spells and incantations.
- Endurance: Increases your stamina and your Equip Load (determining how much weight you can carry before movement is impaired).
- Strength: Governs physical damage output and is often a requirement for wielding heavier weapons.
- Dexterity: Boosts the damage of dexterity-based weapons, affects casting speed, and is a requirement for many agile weapons.
- Intelligence: Enhances the power of sorceries and a requirement for certain spells.
- Faith: Increases the power of incantations and a requirement for certain incantations.
- Arcane: Affects item discovery, influences the scaling of certain weapons, and is tied to some unique spells and incantations.
What are Soft Caps and Hard Caps?
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Soft Caps: These are points in each stat where you start seeing diminishing returns when you level up. You’ll still get a benefit from putting in points, but the increase will be much smaller than before.
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Hard Caps: This is the absolute maximum level you can reach for any given stat. Investing points beyond the hard cap provides zero benefit.
Stat Caps Table
Here’s a table summarizing the key soft caps and hard caps for each stat:
| Stat | Soft Caps | Hard Cap | Description |
| Vigor | 40, 60 | 99 | Increases HP (Hit Points) |
| Mind | 50, 60 | 99 | Increases FP (Focus Points for spellcasting) |
| Endurance | 15, 30, 50 (Stamina) <br> 25, 60 (Equip Load) | 99 | Increases Stamina and Equip Load (max carry weight) |
| Strength | 16, 60, 80 | 99 | Increases physical damage, required for some weapons |
| Dexterity | 16, 60, 80 | 99 | Increases dexterity-based damage, required for some weapons, affects casting speed |
| Intelligence | 50, 60, 80 | 99 | Increases sorcery-based damage, required for some spells |
| Faith | 50, 60, 80 | 99 | Increases incantation-based damage, required for some incantations |
| Arcane | Varied | 99 | Affects discovery, influences scaling of some weapons/incantations |
FAQ
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Should I stop leveling a stat after it hits a soft cap? Not necessarily. Soft caps just mean reduced gains. It might still be worthwhile to invest depending on your build goals.
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Do weapon requirements matter more than soft caps? Often yes, especially early on. If your favorite weapon requires 20 Strength, definitely get to 20 Strength, even if it’s beyond a soft cap.
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What’s the ‘best’ stat allocation? There isn’t one! Elden Ring encourages experimentation. Focus on the stats that align with your desired playstyle.
Remember, creating a powerful Tarnished is about understanding your goals and making smart choices. Don’t let stat caps intimidate you – use them as guidelines for a fantastic adventure in the Lands Between!
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