Elden Ring stat cap, recommended level for Shadow of the Erdtree, and more explained

Elden Ring's stat caps can be quite confusing, especially if you don't have any prior experience with FromSoftware's soulslike games. Much like other titles from this studio, your character stats in this game are divided into two different phases - a soft cap, which you reach close to level 55-60, and a hard cap which is generally hit at around level 120.

The stat caps essentially dictate how much each level up will increase your character's core stat values. Until you hit the soft one, each level-up will add a significant amount of additional value to each of the stats. However, after reaching that limit, the percentage increase is reduced.

Once you hit the hard cap, it basically becomes pointless to invest points in stats. Here's everything you need to know about stat caps in Elden Ring, as well as what is the optimal character level to tackle the upcoming Shadow of the Erdtree DLC.

Note: Parts of this article are subjective and reflect the author's opinions.

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How do stat caps work in Elden Ring?

Technically the hard cap for all stats in Elden Ring is 99, which means you can (in theory) take your character level all the way to 792 (8 stat parameters x 99). However, doing so is not going to affect your Tarnished's base stats, though you might think it will. There's a big difference between going from 1 to 30 and 60 to 99, which is where the soft caps come into play.

Elden Ring's soft caps are broken into two phases, which can be reached within your first playthrough. Here's a breakdown of the soft stat caps for all parameters:

• Vigor: 40 and 60
• Endurance: 30 and 50
• Strength: 60 and 80
• Dexterity: 60 and 80
• Intelligence: 50 and 80
• Mind: 50 and 60
• Faith: 50 and 80
• Arcane: 60 and 80

These caps basically dictate the multiplier by which your stats increase with each level up. When you first start playing the game, each level-up with add a significant boost to your overall stats, especially the core stats — such as Vigor, Endurance, and Mind. However, as you get close to the soft caps, the boost you gain with each level goes down.

Going from 20 to 30 might give your chosen stat a boost of roughly 600 points, but going from 60 to 70 will only yield points in the range of 50-60. It's best to take your stats to the soft cap and not exceed them. While you can technically take your stats to 99, it won't be very effective in making your build stronger, you'll simply be wasting runes.

Instead, once you hit the soft cap for a stat, it's just better to simply move to another parameter, and level it up.

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What is the recommended level for Elden Ring Shadow of the Erdtree?

Given Elden Ring Shadow of the Erdtree is meant to serve as end-game content, it's recommended to tackle the upcoming DLC with a character of level 120 or above for a balanced experience. You need to ensure you don't get mauled to death by every single enemy in this expansion. However, you also need to make sure you don't increase your Tarnished's level so much that every boss encounter is a cakewalk.

It's also best to tackle the DLC after you're done with almost everything in the base game. That way, you'll have a powerful and optimized Elden Ring build ready before you jump into Shadows of the Erdtree.

However, if you're someone who wants to play every new weapon as soon as you unlock them in the DLC, you will want to use a New Game+ character, someone preferably over level 250. Additionally, you can also re-spec your character as long as you have enough Larval Tears in your possession and have also defeated Rennala, Queen of the Full Moon.