How Do You Increase Weapon Scaling in Elden Ring? A Comprehensive Guide
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Increasing weapon scaling in Elden Ring is a crucial aspect of character progression and maximizing your damage output. It’s not just about finding a powerful weapon; it’s about understanding how to optimize it for your chosen build. In essence, weapon scaling refers to how much a weapon’s attack power increases based on your character’s attributes like Strength, Dexterity, Intelligence, Faith, or Arcane. The higher your attribute, the more damage your weapon will inflict, provided it scales with that specific stat. So, how do you actually improve this crucial aspect of your equipment? Here’s a breakdown.
The primary ways to increase weapon scaling are:
- Upgrading with Smithing Stones: The most straightforward method is to upgrade your weapon using Smithing Stones or Somber Smithing Stones. Every time you upgrade a weapon, its base damage increases, and more importantly, so does its scaling. Weapons upgraded with Somber Smithing Stones gain a higher bonus to their scaling per level (8%) compared to regular weapons which gain 2%. This means that weapons like unique boss weapons, which use Somber stones, typically scale better, especially at higher upgrade levels.
- Applying Ashes of War: Ashes of War not only grant weapons special skills, but they also allow you to alter the weapon’s “Quality”. By changing the quality, you effectively redistribute the scaling towards different attributes. For example, using a Keen Ash of War improves Dexterity scaling while reducing Strength scaling. Conversely, a Heavy Ash of War boosts Strength scaling at the expense of Dexterity.
- Increasing relevant attribute stats: The direct approach to scaling is simple: increase your stats. Every point allocated to Strength, Dexterity, Intelligence, Faith, or Arcane will improve the scaling damage of weapons that benefit from those stats. A weapon with an S-tier scaling in Strength will see the largest gains from each Strength level up, followed by A, B, C, D, and E-tiers.
Understanding Weapon Scaling Mechanics
Base Damage and Bonus Damage
Each weapon has a base physical attack power, but what really matters is the additional number following a “+”. This is the bonus damage directly influenced by your attribute scaling. This bonus damage is directly correlated to the weapon’s scaling grade and your relevant attribute levels. A weapon with an S-tier Strength scaling will offer the highest damage output possible with significant investment in your Strength.
Scaling Grades and Their Significance
The letter grades associated with weapon scaling, S, A, B, C, D, and E, denote the efficiency of a particular stat in boosting that weapon’s damage. An S grade indicates the highest scaling potential, while E represents the lowest. Therefore, it’s crucial to choose weapons that have good scaling in the attributes you’re focusing on for your build.
Scaling with Different Attributes
Weapons scale with different attributes:
- Strength: Primarily for melee-focused builds that use heavy, powerful weapons. Each point allocated to Strength increases the damage dealt by weapons with Strength scaling.
- Dexterity: Often used for agile builds focusing on quick attacks and critical hits. Weapons with Dexterity scaling reward investment in this stat, enhancing both damage and attack speed in some cases.
- Intelligence: For magic users. Weapons with Intelligence scaling deal more damage the higher your Intelligence stat. This is essential for using sorceries and powerful magic melee.
- Faith: Another magic attribute used primarily by incantation users. Weapons that scale with Faith will increase in damage as the user’s Faith stat improves.
- Arcane: This scaling stat is more unique and affects status effects and the damage of certain unique weapons. Arcane scaling can be very potent for specific builds.
Optimizing Your Build
Choosing the Right Ash of War
Selecting an Ash of War that aligns with your stat focus is essential. If you are a strength-based melee character using a colossal weapon, an Heavy infusion is usually best. Conversely, a dexterous character using curved swords would want to opt for a Keen infusion to amplify their Dexterity scaling.
Combining Upgrade Methods
For optimal scaling, you need to combine weapon upgrades with attribute investment and the correct Ashes of War. Upgrading your weapon to the max is essential to maxing out its damage potential through its scaling properties. Focusing on the appropriate attributes according to your weapons’ scaling grade can dramatically increase your overall damage.
Considering Talismans and Gear
Certain talismans can further boost your attribute scaling. For instance, the Strength-Knot Crystal Tear will temporarily increase your Strength, and the Shard of Alexander boosts the damage of weapon skills. Understanding your weapons, how their damage scales, and making use of all the in-game tools to optimize those elements will make your build incredibly strong.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
1. Does Weapon Scaling Affect All Damage Types?
Yes, weapon scaling primarily affects the physical damage of a weapon, but it can also increase the magical damage of weapons that scale with Intelligence or Faith, or the status effect build-up damage when a weapon has Arcane scaling.
2. Do Enemies Scale with My Weapon Upgrades?
No, Elden Ring enemies do not scale with your weapon upgrades. This means that as you upgrade your gear, you will eventually become more powerful than the enemies you face in the early and mid-game areas.
3. What is the Best Way to Find Smithing Stones?
Smithing Stones are scattered throughout the world but the best way to find them is to locate and obtain Bell Bearings that, when given to the Twin Maiden Husks in the Roundtable Hold, allow you to purchase infinite amounts of the smithing stones.
4. How Do I Get Somber Smithing Stones?
Somber Smithing Stones are often found in specific locations and are more limited than regular Smithing Stones. You will also need to find Bell Bearings that will allow you to purchase a limited quantity of them at the Twin Maiden Husks, but these also need to be found in the world.
5. Can I Respec My Character’s Stats?
Yes, you can respec your character’s attributes after defeating Rennala, Queen of the Full Moon, and using a Larval Tear. This allows you to experiment with different builds and weapon scaling options.
6. What Happens if I Level Up a Stat Past its Soft Cap?
Stats have diminishing returns past soft caps, especially around levels 55-60. So it might be more beneficial to invest into other stats past that point.
7. How Does the “Heavy” Quality Ash of War Affect Weapon Scaling?
The Heavy quality Ash of War significantly increases Strength scaling while decreasing other types of scaling. It is ideal for pure Strength-based builds.
8. What Does “Keen” Ash of War Do to Scaling?
The Keen quality Ash of War improves Dexterity scaling and often reduces other scaling options like Strength, which is useful for builds focused on Dex-based weapons.
9. Are There Talismans That Boost Scaling?
Yes, Talismans like Radagon’s Soreseal increase multiple attributes (though at the cost of increasing the damage taken), while the Strength-Knot Crystal Tear boosts Strength scaling for a short time.
10. What is the Best Strength Scaling Weapon in Elden Ring?
The Giant-Crusher is well-known for having the best raw Strength scaling, although it requires significant Strength to wield.
11. Which Weapons have the Best Intelligence Scaling?
Weapons such as the Moonveil or the Dark Moon Greatsword scale well with Intelligence and are ideal for sorcery builds.
12. What about weapons that scale with Arcane?
Weapons that scale with Arcane such as the Mohgwyn’s Sacred Spear or the Rivers of Blood katana are great options, especially for characters interested in a status effect build.
13. Does Leveling Up My Character Increase My Weapon Scaling?
No, leveling up your character does not directly increase weapon scaling. Instead, it gives you the points to increase your attributes, which then directly influence weapon scaling.
14. How Do I Know Which Attribute My Weapon Scales With?
You can check a weapon’s scaling by looking at its stats in the equipment menu. The letters (S to E) show the effectiveness of each attribute on the weapon’s damage.
15. Can Weapon Scaling Be Increased Indefinitely?
No, weapon scaling increases to its maximum potential after it has been fully upgraded. The amount of scaling is based on the weapons’ base stats and scaling grade, which is determined before upgrades are considered.
By understanding how weapon scaling works in Elden Ring, you can create powerful builds and dominate your foes in the Lands Between. Focus on the attributes that enhance your preferred weapons, apply the right Ashes of War, and you’ll be well on your way to becoming an Elden Lord.