FromSoftware’s latest game takes an unconventional approach to just about every single mechanic. The obscure process of leveling up your character is only revealed when you get to a specific location and the steps for playing online multiplayer are convoluted to say the least.
It doesn’t even have a quest log for helping you keep track of outstanding tasks in the open-world, which has led to many fans resorting to physical journals.
Given how cryptic everything is here —from both a storytelling and gameplay perspective — it should come as no surprise to learn that you can’t just upgrade your weapons with a straightforward currency. Instead, you need to find a smithing table (which resembles a giant anvil) and then use that station to forge better gear.
This guide breaks down the whole elaborate process.
Where To Upgrade Weapons in ‘Elden Ring’
Before we continue, it’s worth noting that there are two different ways of upgrading your gear in Elden Ring.
To imbue your weapons with new skills and different affinities, you need to use the “Ashes of War” menu that appears whenever you rest at a Site of Grace.
If you just want a basic damage buff instead, then you must head over to a smithing table. The first one of these that you are likely to find is at the Church of Elleh, which is the destroyed chapel building directly to the north of the Stranded Graveyard tutorial area.
How Upgrading Weapons Works in ‘Elden Ring’
Once you have interacted with a smithing table, you then need to select the option labelled “Strengthen Armament”. This will allow you to upgrade a piece of equipment (be it a sword, shield or staff) up to three times.
By reinforcing a weapon, you not only increase its base damage output but also its scaling attribute. If you’re not familiar with that last part, it essentially dictates how much your own stats influence a weapon’s effectiveness.
For instance, a hammer with high strength scaling will be particularly useful in the hands of a strong character, as opposed to a dexterity expert (and vice versa). The more you upgrade it, the more specialized it will become.
There are two currencies you need to spend at smithing tables if you want to upgrade a weapon. First, you will need to invest a few Runes (the resource that you accumulate from defeating enemies) and then you will also need a handful of Smithing Stones. The latter can be looted from corpses, found in random chests, and purchased from merchants.
As you go further down a weapon’s upgrade path, it will begin demanding rarer and rarer forms of Smithing Stones, until eventually you have to visit a blacksmith to progress any further.
Where To Find Smithing Stones in ‘Elden Ring’
There are two types of Smithing Stone in Elden Ring, those being the standard and “somber” variants.
The former crafting material is used to upgrade ordinary weapons, while the latter is for special armaments that you acquire from bosses.
Here are some good places to farm each type of Smithing Stone:
Smithing Stones
Somber Smithing Stones
One of the biggest games of the year so far, Elden Ring is available now on Xbox One, Xbox Series X, PS4, PS5 and PC.
