Soft caps are the key to understanding statistics and rune mapping in Elden Ring. Knowing the soft cap breakpoints can help you get the optimal returns from the runes you spend – instead of diminishing returns from excessive stats.
If that sounds a bit complicated, don’t worry; in this guide we explain everything there is to know about soft caps in Elden Ring.
What are soft caps in Elden Ring?
If you’re no stranger to the lands between and Shadow of the Erdtree’s Realm of Shadow, you probably know the drill: defeat enemies, receive runes, and use the runes to level your stats on a Site of Grace. Each individual stat can be leveled from 1 to 99, with 99 being the “hard hood” – the border.
However, keep in mind that there is a difference between leveling a stat from level 30 to level 31 or from level 50 to level 51. because you receive fewer benefits once you cross a certain threshold. This threshold is called a ‘soft cap’ or a ‘breakpoint’ Elden Ring. When you start leveling a stat, the returns will initially stay the same or even improve with each new level, but after reaching a certain breakpoint the stat becomes soft-capped and the returns become less and less.
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For example:
- If you increase your Vigor from level 3 to level 4, your HP increases from 312 to 322.
- If you increase your Vigor from level 4 to level 5, your HP increases from 322 to 334.
As you can see, the returns per level have improved; instead of 10 HP points, you received 12 HP points the second time. This The growing returns will reach their peak when leveling Vigor from level 39 to level 40, with a whopping 48 HP points gained (from 1402 HP to 1450 HP).
However, if you continue to increase your Vigor from level 40 to level 41, your HP will improve from 1450 to 1476; a return of 26 HP points. Are still an improvement, but clearly not nearly as greatt as the previous 48 HP points. From this point on, the amount of HP gained from additional Vigor levels will steadily decrease. Level 40 is therefore called the first soft cap for Vigor.
And that’s not all; each Elden Ring stat has at least two soft cap points, up to four. For Vigor, the amount of HP you get from higher levels will drop significantly after level 60, as you only get between 3 and 6 HP points per level after that. Level 60 will therefore be the second soft hood for this stat.
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The existence of soft caps in Old Ring doesn’t mean you should stop leveling a stat after reaching such a breakpoint, but it does mean you should pay attention to the allocation of your statistical points. Leveling Vigor from 40 to 60 can still be a good choice, but you may need to prioritize other stats before doing so, as the returns from those upgrades can be much greater. If you would like to review your current stats, go to Rennala in the Raya Lucaria Library and select ‘Rebirth’.
Elden Ring soft caps in 2024
Before we get into the details, here’s a quick overview of all the soft cap breakpoints by stat type Elden Ring:
- power: 40, 60
- Mind: 50, 60
- Stamina: 30, 50 (equipment load 60)
- power: 60, 80
- Agility: 60, 80
- Intelligence: 50, 60, 80
- To trust: 50, 60, 80
- Arcane: 60, 80
Let’s look at each statistic one by one:
Powerful soft caps
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- Level 1-40: Growing efficiency, up to +48 HP per level.
- Level 41-60: diminishing returns, between 27 and 13 HP per level.
- Level 61-99: diminishing returns, between 6 and 3 HP per level.
Strength improves HP, fire resistance and immunity. As mentioned in the example above, Vigor has a growing return before it reaches the first soft cap at level 40. This is amazing, because it means that you will gain more and more HP with each level up to that point. Unfortunately, the drop is quite steep, from 48 HP to 26 HP points – and even down to just 6 per level after the second soft cap at level 60.
Having high HP is extremely useful for almost everyone Elden Ring building – it’s hard enough to stay alive without giving every enemy the opportunity to one-shot you. That’s why we do recommend reaching the first soft cap of level 40and advance to level 60 if your playstyle requires it (e.g. frontline melee builds). Anything above level 60 is a waste of runes.
Look for soft caps
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- Level 1-15: between 3 and 4 FP per level.
- Level 16-35: between 5 and 6 FP per level.
- Level 36-50: between 6 and 7 FP per level.
- Level 51-60: diminishing returns, between 4 and 6 FP per level.
- Level 60+: diminishing returns, between 2 and 3 FP per level.
- Focus: Only starts improving at Mind level 31, with soft cap at level 40.
The mind improves you FP and focus. Focus is a nice defensive ability (protects against sleep and madness), but FP, also called ‘mana’, is much more important because it is needed to cast spells. With that in mind, you really only need as much Mind as FP to work your magic. A fully upgraded Flask of Cerulean Tears can restore 220 FP – one full FP bar at spirit level 38. Therefore, Mind at +38 is therefore the “sweet spot” before hitting the FP soft cap at level 50 and the Focus soft cap at level 40.
Endurance soft caps
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- Stamina level 1-30: between 1 and 2 points per level, but usually 2.
- Stamina level 31-50: diminishing returns, between 1 and 2 points per level, but usually 1.
- Stamina level 50+: diminishing returns, between 0 and 1 point per level.
- Equipment load level 9-25: Only starts to improve from Endurance level 9, with +1.6 points per level up to level 25.
- Equipment load level 26-45: adds between 1 and 1.4 points.
- Equipment load level 46-60: adds between 1.4 and 1.5 points.
- Load level equipment 60+: soft cap with a huge drop-off, up to 1 point.
- Robustness: Only starts to improve from Endurance level 31, with soft cap at level 40.
Stamina improves endurance, maximum equipment load (which allows you to stay within the “medium load” range while wearing heavier armor, for example), and robustness (resistance to bleeding and frostbite). The amount of stamina you need depends on how much you consume; if you’re using a melee build, you typically want at least +34 Endurance, a sweet spot for stamina and gear that also offers some toughness.
If you are an endgame player and have a lot of runes to spend, you can continue until the equipment has loaded the softcap to level 60as it allows you to equip much better armor sets while staying within a heavy load range.
Strength and dexterity soft caps
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- Strong armament: soft caps are usually at levels 20, 60 and 80.
- Physical defense: Improves at levels 30 and 40, peaking at 60. Decreased returns after level 60.
- Armament Dexterity: soft caps are usually at levels 20, 60 and 80.
- Incantations: soft caps at levels 30 and 45.
Strength and agility improve the damage done by armor (weapons) scale with these stats (usually physical/melee weapons). While the required breakpoints and minimum stats depend on the individual armament, the soft caps for physical damage are typically at levels 20, 60, and 80.
If at the beginning of your Elden Ring game you decide to use a weapon that increases strength or dexterity, try to reach soft cap level 20 as quickly as possible. Go to 60 as you progress (don’t forget your Vigor, Endurance, and Mind soft caps), but there’s no need to go beyond the level 80 soft cap.
Intelligence, faith and mysterious soft shells
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- Arming the intelligence service: soft caps are usually at levels 20, 50 and 80.
- Intelligence wizardry: usually level 60 and 80.
- Magic defense: best benefits up to level 20 and slightly less up to level 35. Soft cap at level 35 and soft cap with steep drop at level 60.
- Faith Armor: Usually level 20, 50, and 80.
- Invocations of faith: usually level 60 and 80.
- Arcane Armament: usually level 20, 60 and 80.
- Arcane build-up: usually level 40 and 60.
- Arcane incantations: soft caps at levels 30 and 45.
- Arcane vitality and holy defense: reach their first soft cap at levels 15 and 20 respectively. The last soft caps are level 60 for both.
In addition to improving armaments that scale with these stats, Intelligence increase the power of your sorceryTo trust increases the power of incantationsand Arcane improves status building (for Arcane scale weapons).
As with Strength and Dexterity, the exact scale depends on the armor you use, but it is up to you Normally you should reach level 20 for the best early game wins. Finally try the soft cap around level 50but it’s not worth going beyond level 80.
Defensive properties (vitality, magic defense, etc.) dropped dramatically after level 60.