Elden Ring Attributes Guide (2024)

This guide breaks down the different Attributes in Elden Ring. There are 8 stats in total that you level up throughout your journey by using Runes. Learn the details about what each stat does and what Caps you know to know when optimizing how you spend your levels. You acquire Runes by finding them throughout the world and killing enemies, Runes are spent at vendors and used to level up. You cannot go beyond 99 when leveling your stats, and it is not possible to exceed 99 through equipment or buffs. The only exception is 2-handing a weapon which is covered in the Strength section of this guide.

Note: Soft Caps are points in which leveling beyond those amounts result in diminishing returns i.e. what you get from each stat is much less from that point on.

How to Level

In order to unlock the ability to level, you must first meet Melina. She is easily found by resting at the Gatefront Grace though, if you haven't encountered her yet it might be best to check out our Beginner's Guide to get started with the game's early unlocks.

Vigor

Your total health.
Affects fire resistance and Immunity stats.
Soft Caps - 40/60

Advanced Vigor Breakdown

Level 1-40 HP gain increases from +4 to +48 (avg: +29.5)
Level 41-60 HP gain decreases from +26 to +13 (avg: +22.5)
Level 61-99 HP gain decreases from +6 to +3 (avg: +5.1)

Mind

Your total FP (Magic Bar).
Affects the Focus stat.
Soft Caps - 50/60

Advanced Mind Breakdown

Level 1-15 FP gains are between +3 and +4 (LV9: +13) (avg: +3.21)
Level 16-35 FP gain alternates between +5 and +6 (avg: +5.25)
Level 36-50 FP gains are between +7 and +6 (avg: +6.67)
Level 51-60 FP gains are between +6 and +4 (avg: +5.00)
Level 61-99 FP gain alternates between +2 and +3 (avg: +2.56)

Endurance

Your overall Stamina.
Affects Robustness.
Determines how heavy your equipment is aka Equip Load.
Soft Caps - 15/30/50
Soft Caps for Max Equip Load - 25/60

Advanced Endurance Breakdown

Soft Caps
- Level 1-15: Stamina gains are between +1 and +2 (avg: +1.79)
- Level 16-30: Stamina gains are between +1 and +2 (avg: +1.67)
- Level 31-50: Stamina gains are between +1 and +2 (avg: +1.25)
- Level 51-99: Stamina gains are between +0 and +1 (avg: +0.31)
Soft Caps for Max Equip Load
- Level 9-25: Max Equip Load gains alternate between +1.5 and +1.6 (avg: +1.59)
- Level 26-60: Max Equip Load gains are between +1.0 and +1.5 (avg: +1.37)
- Level 61-99: Max Equip Load gains are between +1.0 and +1.1 (avg: +1.03)

Strength

The Attribute required for proficiency with heavy armaments.
Boosts attack power of strength scaling armaments and affects your physical defense (VS Strike/Slash/Pierce).
Soft Caps: 50/60/80

Note: When you 2-Hand a weapon, you are treated as having +50% strength i.e. If a weapon requires 30 Strength and you have 20, 2-Handing that weapon gives you the required strength needed to use it at full effectiveness. This also affects your scaling, so if you have 40 Strength, 2-Handing a weapon deals damage as if you have 60 Strength.

Advanced Strength Breakdown

Minor AP Soft Caps
- 16 for weapons with a quality affinity
- 18 for weapons with poison, blood, and the physical portion of elemental affinities, and those with no affinity
- 20 for weapons with heavy, occult, or elemental affinities, and innate elemental scaling
Soft Caps
- 50 for the elemental AP when it benefits from this stat (primarily fire affinity); gains drop substantially after this
- 60 for the physical AP on all affinities; 56-60 gives lower returns than 60-80
- 80 for all affinities, but it’s mainly only worth getting this much for physical affinities, even then it's marginal
Casting Soft Caps
- 30/45 (Clawmark Seal and Frenzied Flame Seal both use Strength)

Note: The 2h AP bonus does not apply to ashes of war or critical attacks.

Dexterity

The Attribute required for proficiency with advanced armaments.
Boosts attack power of dexterity-scaling armaments, reduces casting time of Spells, softens fall damage, and makes it harder to be knocked off your horse.
Soft Caps - 50/60/80

These weapon types are standout examples that scale well off Dexterity providing the agility and capability to get multiple hits in quick succession. Daggers, Claws, Poleblades, and Katanas are commonly sought after and great to use for Dexterity builds. The Katana Uchigatana (shown in the image) is an all around great weapon to start off with or pick up during your playthrough.

Advanced Dexterity Breakdown

Minor AP Soft Caps
- 16 for weapons with a quality affinity
- 18 for weapons with poison, blood, the physical portion of elemental affinities, and no affinity
- 20 for weapons with keen, occult, or elemental affinities, and innate elemental scaling
Soft Caps
- 50 for the elemental AP when it benefits from this stat (primarily lightning affinity)
- 60 for the physical AP on all affinities. 56-60 gives lower returns than 60-80
- 80 for all affinities, usually only worth getting this much for physical affinities and even then it's marginal
Casting Soft Caps
- 30 and 45 (Frenzied Flame Seal uses Dexterity)

Intelligence

Attribute required to perform Glintstone Sorceries.
Boosts the power of intelligence-scaling Sorceries and improves Magic Resistance.
Influences player magic defense and provides AP scaling for weapons that utilize the stat.
Soft Caps (Attack Rating) - 20/50/80 (Weapon Dependent)
Soft Caps (Sorcery Scaling) - 60/80 (Sorcery Dependent)

Staves are always intelligence weapons, but there are other standout examples like the Crystal archetype or Moonveil Katana that scale off of this attribute. Intelligence weapons provide a diverse approach of ranged magic or unique abilities. The spell Comet Azur (shown in the image) is enjoyed by any late game Intelligence player.

Advanced Intelligence Breakdown

Minor Soft Cap - 20
- 20 for weapons with elemental affinities and innate elemental scaling
Soft Caps - 50/80
- 50 for the elemental AP when it benefits from this stat (primarily magic and cold affinities); gains drop substantially after this
- 80 for all affinities (not worth if you're going for elemental)
Casting Soft Caps are 30, 45, 60, and 80 depending on catalyst

Faith

Attribute required to perform sacred Incantations.
Boosts the power of faith-scaling Incantations.
Soft Caps (Attack Rating) - 20/50/80 (Weapon Dependent)
Soft Caps (Incantation Scaling) - 60/80 (Incantation Dependent)

Faith weapons are diverse when it comes to choice and playstyle, whether you want to use Incantations or powerful abilities on your weapons. While there's no weapon specific archetypes on Faith, there are standout examples like the Winged Scythe or Blasphemous Blade that scale off of this attribute. Faith weapons provide a diverse approach of ranged Incantations or unique abilities. The incantation Golden Vow (shown in the image) is a common Incantation players use.

Advanced Faith Breakdown

Minor Soft Cap - 20
- 20 for weapons with elemental affinities and innate elemental scaling
Soft Caps - 50/80
- 50 for the elemental AP when it benefits from this stat (primarily sacred and flame art affinities); gains drop substantially after this
- 80 for all affinities (not worth if you're going for elemental)
Casting Soft Caps are 30, 45, 60, and 80 depending on catalyst

Arcane

Influences player holy defense and death resistance, provides AP scaling for weapons that utilize the stat, increases item discovery, and provides scaling for poison, bleed, sleep, and madness buildup.
Soft Caps (Attack Rating) - 20/60/80 (Weapon Dependent)
Soft Caps (Status Scaling) - 40/45/60 (Weapon Dependent)

Arcane is beneficial since it scales your Status Effects which helps immensely when pairing it with weapon types like Katanas or Incantation Seals. While there's no weapon specific archetypes on Arcane, there are standout examples like the Eleonora's Poleblade or the Dragon Communion Seal that scale off of this attribute. Arcane provides a diverse approach of ranged Incantations or unique abilities. The Katana Rivers of Blood (shown in the image) is among one of the most talked about weapons in Elden Ring.

Advanced Arcane Breakdown

Minor Soft Caps
- 18 for weapons with poison and blood affinities
- 20 for weapons with occult affinity
Soft Caps
- 60 for all affinities (56-60 gives lower returns than 60-80)
- 80 for all affinities, but it’s usually only worth getting this much for physical affinities. Even then it's marginal.
Casting Soft Caps
- 30/45 (Albinauric Staff and Dragon Communion Seal both use arcane)
Status Scaling Soft Caps
- 40 for Serpent Bow poison scaling
- 45 for everything else - gains drop a decent bit after this
- 60 for everything else - not worth for purely status purposes most of the time
Strength/Dexterity/Arcane (Incantation Scaling) Soft Caps
- 30/45 (Incantation Dependent)

Note: Since item discovery scaling is linear, there is no decrease in returns. Every Arcane level up to 99 increases item discovery by 1.

Summary

Understanding Attributes and their caps is crucial to optimizing your builds by having the correct stat spread as you progress. Strength users bonk the baddies with oversized weapons. Dexterity builds are agile and strike quickly. Specialize for Intelligence to obliterate foes from afar. Invest in Faith to use powerful Incantations or Arcane for a combination of Incantations and Status Effects. There's so many ways to build your character, and now you have all the knowledge needed to truly become Elden Lord.

Written by: BlameFrost

Reviewed by: Brozime, Tenkiei

FAQs

What should my attributes be in Elden Ring? ›

Endurance is the most important stat to level up early on, no matter your chosen Elden Ring class, because it increases your stamina. Stamina is required for attacking, blocking, dodging, running, and just generally staying alive during fights. It's by far the thing you need most at the beginning of the game.

Can you get all attributes to 99 in Elden Ring? ›

While there is a “hard cap” maximum level of 99 in Elden Ring that all of the eight main stats can be increased up to, there are also “soft cap” levels at which the Attributes begin to advance with diminished returns at different rates.

What should I cap my stats at Elden Ring? ›

This specific example is why the Elden Ring community recommends that you reach at least 40 Vigor, but go no higher than 60, to survive the end game bosses. After 60, it's better to invest Level Ups into other stats because the diminishing returns become too small to be worth it.

Know More ›

What is the best stat build in Elden Ring? ›

You want to have Strength and Dexterity at least in their soft cap, so at level 150, your stat distribution should look like this:

Vigor: 55.
Mind: 18.
Endurance: 30.
Strength: 55.
Dexterity: 55.
Intelligence: 9.
Faith: 9.
Arcane: 7.

Jun 18, 2024

Get More Info ›

What level should I stop leveling endurance in Elden Ring? ›

Before we dive into the details, here's a quick overview of all soft cap breakpoints per stat type in Elden Ring: Vigor: 40, 60. Mind: 50, 60. Endurance: 30, 50 (equipment load 60)

Learn More ›

How high should I level my dex? ›

As a Dexterity user, you will want to hit the hard cap for Dexterity pretty quickly; aim for 80, then stop. Your second most important stat will be Vigor. It doesn't matter how fast you are, you are going to take a hit. 60 Vigor is the target, but you could drop it as low as 50 if you wanted to invest points elsewhere.

Get More Info Here ›

What are the most useful attributes in Elden Ring? ›

The three main stats you need to level are Vigor, Endurance, and Strength. You'll need plenty of health and stamina to wear heavy armor and tank hits, and since two-handing your weapons increases your effective Strength by 50%, having 60 Strength effectively gives you 90 Strength whenever you use your weapons this way.

Keep Reading ›

What should my character be in Elden Ring? ›

Elden Ring classes: Warrior

Another standard, the Warrior class is a great starting point for players who want an agile melee-focused character. High Dexterity is great for dual-wielding swords, and the added small shield makes it possible for you to parry incoming attacks and open your enemies up for powerful blows.

Does attribute scaling matter in Elden Ring? ›

Attribute Scaling in Elden Ring can help you make powerful builds. Whilst confusing at first, understanding attribute scaling can help you to further improve your weapons and equipment. This page explains how Attribute Scaling in Elden Ring works - and how you can manipulate it to your advantage.

Show Me More ›

How high should strength be in Elden Ring? ›

As you prepare to take on the DLC areas, you will need a lot of Vigor to stand up to tougher enemies, as well as a strong damage output. Strength is calculated a bit differently to most other stats in Elden Ring and many builds will tell you to push it as high as 80, where it still has worthwhile returns.