Elden Ring attribute scaling explained

How Attribute Scaling Works in Elden Ring

When you access a weapon in your gear menu in Elden Ring – our image below uses the Uchigatana, which comes with the Samurai – you’ll see that each type of attack power can have two numerical values.

The value on the left is the weapon’s base damage (115 in the image), which can be improved by upgrading the weapon itself with Smithing Stones. The value on the right relates to the scaling of the attribute (21 on the picture).

Now, this number can increase depending on two things:

• The letter grade in the “attribute scaling” submenu at the bottom of the image
• Your character’s stat levels tied to graduated numbers

For the Uchigatana, you will see the only ratings it has are strength rank D and dexterity rank Dthese stats having ranks means your strength and dexterity stats will impact the second number (21 in the picture).

The higher the rank of a weapon letter, the higher the second number – and therefore your damage – will be for that weapon. So if you had a weapon with a strength rank A attribute, it will do more bonus damage than if the strength was rank E, for example.

So a weapon’s bonus damage value boils down to both the letter’s rating in the attribute scale and your character’s level in that same stat. The higher the two, the better the weapon will be in battle.

How to Change Weapon Attribute Scaling Values

Now that we know how to display attribute scaling, there are several ways to modify a weapon’s values ​​in Elden Ring to get the most out of it:

Thanks to improvements at a blacksmith

While Smithing Stones can be used to improve a weapon’s base damage, using them will also have a positive impact on its attribute scaling.

To illustrate how this works, we’ll be using a basic Nagakiba sword.

In the image below you will notice that using a Smithing Stone [1] leveling the Nagakiba to +1 increases its base damage from 115 to 121 (indicated via the blue number). However, this also increases the number related to attribute scaling, as the bonus damage from 31 increases to 34.

Indeed, a note in the attribute scaling menu below also improves when you upgrade the weapon. You can see that while Dexterity remains at C-grade, the added blue letter C shows that the scaling is improving slightly due to the forge upgrade.

In turn, attribute scaling damage also increases slightly.

Sometimes upgrading a weapon at a blacksmith can even increase the actual rating of an attribute scale, as shown with the Moonveil in the image below. Upgrading it to Moonveil +10 would increase the Dexterity scaling from C to B, further increasing its damage.

Once you’ve chosen a starting class (like samurai) and a starting keepsake item, you first need to figure out how to level up, how to respec, and how to use Ashes of War and Attribute Scaling. Need direction from there? Try to find Golden Seeds, Holy Tears, Crystal Tears, Talismans, and some of our top weapon and armor picks. If you want to improve your prowess, we recommend farming runes – especially before facing Magrit, Godrick the grafted, Crystalian, Leonine Misbegotten, Starscourge Radahn (required as part of the Ranni quest), Red Wolf of Radagon and Renalla Queen of the Full Moon after finding the location of the Glittering Stone Key.

Through the ashes of war and affinities

If you’re happy to spend some time experimenting, you can actually make your weapon even more powerful and mirror your character’s stats by changing the alphabet ratings present in the attribute scaling submenu.

To do this, go to any Site of Grace and select the Ashes of War menu down.

Now, not all weapons can change their Ashes of War, but first you’ll be thrown into a menu separating the weapons you’ve equipped and everything else in your inventory.

For this example, we’ve equipped the Nagakiba again and will use it to illustrate how to change weapon attributes.

Note that the Ashes of War you choose (some being elemental for example) will impact how you change weapon attribute scaling. So take a look and see what works best for your build.

Once you’ve selected a weapon and an Ash of War, you’ll be greeted with the Affinity Granted menu.

Here you will see many different affinities, and each will change the letter values ​​in the attribute scaling for that weapon. Some affinities will make certain stats better, worse, or even add a new one entirely.

For example, selecting the “Heavy” affinity on the Nagakiba would increase the strength scaling from D to B in this case, but remove the dexterity scaling entirely.

If you were going for a strength build, where you invested a lot of runes in the strength stat and none in the dexterity, going to that affinity would make the Nagakiba better.

This means that changing affinities to better reflect the stats you’ve invested levels in will make a weapon much better. And of course, different Ashes of War give you different special abilities for the weapon they’re equipped with, so keep that in mind.

There are no hard and fast rules regarding attribute scaling in Elden Ring. A combination of weapon upgrades, exploring the Ashes of War menu, and taking the time to respec your character in stats for high attribute scale gear will help you wield powerful weapons in the game.