What Equipment Raises Arcane in Elden Ring? A Comprehensive Guide
In Elden Ring, Arcane is a crucial stat that influences more than just item discovery. It significantly impacts the effectiveness of certain weapons, spells, and status effects, making it a cornerstone for various powerful builds. Understanding which equipment boosts Arcane is essential for maximizing your character’s potential. This guide will break down all the key items that directly increase your Arcane stat.
Talismans that Boost Arcane
Talismans are portable items that provide various passive benefits when equipped, and several are designed to directly elevate your Arcane stat. Here are the most noteworthy:
Marika’s Scarseal
Marika’s Scarseal is a talisman that grants a +3 boost to your Arcane, Mind, Intelligence, and Faith stats. This makes it incredibly useful for hybrid builds that utilize multiple magic-based stats. However, this boost comes at the cost of increased damage taken – specifically, a 10% increase. Weigh the benefits against the vulnerability to damage when deciding if this talisman is right for your build.
Marika’s Soreseal
Similar to the Scarseal, Marika’s Soreseal also boosts your Arcane, Mind, Intelligence, and Faith, but the effect is much more potent. This talisman provides a +5 boost to each of these stats, significantly enhancing your spellcasting power and scaling weapons. The trade-off, however, is more severe: an increase in damage taken, making you more vulnerable to enemy attacks. It’s advisable to proceed with caution when using this particular talisman, especially in higher-level areas.
Helmets that Increase Arcane
Helmets not only provide defense but can also offer unique bonuses, including an increase to the Arcane stat. Here are the helmets that directly impact Arcane:
Silver Tear Mask
The Silver Tear Mask is a medium weight headpiece that drastically increases your Arcane stat. The amount of the boost is a hefty +8. However, this considerable increase comes at the cost of reduced physical attack power, making it unsuitable for pure physical builds but highly advantageous for those heavily invested in Arcane-scaling weapons or spells.
Mask of Confidence
The Mask of Confidence provides a more modest boost to your Arcane stat, increasing it by +3. This helmet offers a good balance between defense and stat increases. While not as drastic as the Silver Tear Mask, it can be a useful option for builds seeking a small Arcane boost without a significant trade-off. It’s also known for its unique frost resistance that deviates from what it displays as its Robustness number.
How Gear Influences Arcane Builds
Arcane builds in Elden Ring are not just about leveling the stat itself, but also about how gear and weapons interact with Arcane. Arcane increases item discovery, resistance to Holy damage, and resistance to Death Blight. Crucially, it also dictates how effective certain weapons and spells become, particularly those with bleed, poison, or occult scaling.
Weapons that scale with Arcane typically deal status buildup very effectively, such as bleed or poison. The impact of Arcane on these weapons is often a major reason why many players choose an Arcane focused build. It’s crucial to use weapons that either natively scale with Arcane or can have an occult, blood, or poison affinity added to them.
Frequently Asked Questions About Arcane Equipment
1. Does leveling Arcane only increase item discovery?
No, leveling Arcane does more than increase item discovery. It also increases your resistance to Holy damage and Death Blight buildup. Additionally, Arcane is crucial for scaling the damage of certain weapons and spells, especially those that deal bleed, poison, or occult damage.
2. Which weapons scale best with Arcane?
Several weapons scale very well with Arcane, including Rivers of Blood, Morgott’s Cursed Sword, Mohgwyn’s Sacred Spear, Eleonora’s Poleblade, and Bloody Helice. Weapons with innate bleed or occult damage tend to scale better with Arcane when their affinities are changed to blood, poison, or occult.
3. Does Arcane affect bleed buildup on all weapons?
No, Arcane will only affect bleed buildup if the weapon has Arcane scaling. A weapon without Arcane scaling will not benefit from your Arcane stat in terms of bleed buildup, even if the weapon has a bleed passive.
4. Can I add Arcane scaling to any weapon?
No, you cannot add Arcane scaling to every weapon. Blood, Poison, and Occult affinities, achievable with the Black Whetblade, are what provides Arcane scaling. The availability depends on what the weapon’s native scaling is. Some weapons cannot have these types of affinities, so it’s important to pick your weapons carefully.
5. Does Bloodflame Blade scale with Arcane?
No, the Bloodflame Blade incantation does not scale with Arcane, even when using the Dragon Communion Seal. Its damage is buffed by fire-based damage items.
6. Is the Amygdalan Arm good for an Arcane build?
The Amygdalan Arm uses both physical and arcane damage for its attacks, but its Arcane scaling is not as strong as other weapons specialized for Arcane builds.
7. Is the Moonveil katana good for Arcane builds?
The Moonveil katana is a mix between intelligence and dexterity, but it has bleed damage, and as such, having some Arcane can assist with bleed buildup.
8. Where can I find the Arcane-Knot Crystal Tear?
The Arcane-Knot Crystal Tear can be found at the Rose Church in the Liurnia of the Lakes region. This tear briefly boosts Arcane upon flask use.
9. How does Arcane affect weapon scaling?
Weapons that have Arcane scaling (often from Occult, Blood, or Poison affinities) will gain additional damage based on your Arcane stat. This directly increases their damage output. Weapons that scale from two stats such as DEX and ARC will get the benefits of both if you level them.
10. When should I stop leveling Arcane?
The optimal level to stop leveling Arcane depends on your build. Diminishing returns begin to set in after level 60, which is when it’s a good time to consider maxing out other crucial stats for your desired build.
11. Is it better to focus on Arcane or Dexterity?
The choice between Arcane and Dexterity depends on your chosen weapons. If you use weapons that scale natively with Arcane or weapons with the occult, blood, or poison affinity, Arcane is the priority. If you are using standard dex weapons, then dex is the better choice. Some weapons scale from both, such as the Rivers of Blood and Morgott’s Sword, so then it’s better to split the stat investment.
12. What helmets increase magic damage?
While specific helmets boost Arcane such as the ones listed above, the magic damage increase is separate. The Magic Hat boosts magic damage but doesn’t affect your Arcane stat directly.
13. Does Arcane increase bleed build-up?
Arcane will only affect bleed build up if the weapon has ARC scaling. If the weapon has ARC scaling, then leveling ARC will increase bleed buildup. Otherwise, it won’t affect anything.
14. What is the helmet of arcane acuity?
The Helmet of Arcane Acuity grants a buff called “Arcane Acuity”, when you deal damage. It doesn’t boost Arcane as a stat, but rather gives you a temporary buff on attacking with a weapon.
15. Are Arcane helmets tradable?
In other games, such as Warframe, only alternate arcane helmets can be traded. In Elden Ring however, no helmets are tradable.
Understanding which equipment raises your Arcane stat is vital to optimizing your build in Elden Ring. Utilizing these talismans and helmets strategically can greatly enhance your capabilities, turning you into a formidable force in the Lands Between.