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Elden Ring, much like any other RPG, enables you to level up your character as you progress. Reaching higher levels means you deal more damage and can take more hits, in theory making everything easier. Learning how to level in Elden Ring will help you shape your builds, and knowing about the best stats to increase will further improve your survivability and damage. If you’re having trouble finding out how to advance your character’s progress in the game, then we’re here to help you out.
Rest at a Site of Grace to level up
The quick answer is you need to talk to Melina, who will then let you level up when speaking to her. Once you’ve accepted Melina’s offer, you can level up at any Site of Grace. Levelling your stats costs Runes.
How to level up in Elden Ring
To level up in Elden Ring, you will need to reach The First Step Site of Grace. Either at this Site of Grace or the Church of Elleh next to Merchant Kale will suffice. Regardless, once you rest at any Site of Grace in the world, you should trigger an encounter with Melina who will offer to be your Maiden. When asked, you need to accept her offer and you can speak to her at this point to level up your stats.
However, if you refuse Melina’s offer, there’s no need to fret. She will repeatedly offer to be your maiden at every Site of Grace you visit so you won’t be locked out of levelling up no matter how many times you refuse. After you have accepted the offer, you can select ‘Level Up’ at any Site of Grace. You can also use the Roundtable Hold to level up by interacting with the table in the main room.
It’s also important to note that accepting her proposal will unlock the Spectral Steed Whistle. This gives you the ability to summon your horse, Torrent, thereby allowing you to traverse the Lands Between much more efficiently.
Best stats to level in Elden Ring
Generally speaking, investing in Vigor and Endurance will help you out considerably in Elden Ring, simply because they increase your HP and stamina respectively. While you should always focus on your build, we highly recommend spreading your stats around to Vigor and Endurance now and then to further bolster your survivability.
Now that you can level up, you should start planning the type of build you want to focus on. Gathering Runes is your only way to level up in Elden Ring, and you will have a choice of stats to invest in: Vigor, Mind, Endurance, Strength, Dexterity, Intelligence, Faith, and Arcane.
In case this is unclear, your build will focus on one attribute more than others, and this should be decided based on the weapons you want to use. As you can see in our image above showing the level-up screen, our Arcane stat is significantly higher than others because we are using the Rivers of Blood for a powerful Bleed build.
You should always make sure you have enough stats to wield the weapon you want to use and then put points into the stat that will increase its damage more through scaling. The good news is your Defence Power will increase every single level you put into any of these stats, so the more you level up, the more survivability you will naturally have. You can earn Runes in the game by simply slaying enemies found in different locations in the game.
If you start to regret which stats you raised at some point in your journey, you’ll still be able to respec your character. You’ll eventually hit diminishing returns on some of your stats, and the higher your level the more challenging PVP fights will be as you are matched with opponents of the same Soul Level.
Elden Ring how to level and best stats FAQs
Why can’t I level up in Elden Ring?
You will not be able to level up if you refuse Melina’s request to be your maiden after accessing a Site of Grace. Luckily, she will still present the option to you each time you access one.
Do you automatically level up in Elden Ring?
You will need to manually level up in the game each time by accessing a Site of Grace. You’ll also need to use Runes to allocate attribute points as you progress through your adventure.
Does Elden Ring get easier as you level up?
Technically yes, insofar as you will kill enemies faster with more power. Due to how damage is calculated in Elden Ring, it is still very easy for you to die regardless of how much HP and defence you have.
