Elden Ring Soft Caps, Explained (& Stat Caps Guide) (2024)

Aside from pop-up explanations for certain mechanics, Elden Ring leaves its players somewhat out-of-the-know when it comes to some of its systems. One such system is the Soft Cap system. In Elden Ring, increasing your main stats increases your derivative stats - increasing Strength will affect how much damage you do with Strength weapons, for example.

But after a certain point (or, rather, two to three points), leveling up your stats becomes less impactful for those derivative stats. These points are called Soft Caps, and this guide explains what you need to know about the Elden Ring stat cap system, and what Soft Caps are for each specific stat.

What Are Soft Caps, Anyway?

Elden Ring Soft Caps Limit Stat Improvements At High Levels

In Elden Ring, and throughout the Dark Souls series, Soft Caps essentially serve as Stat break points that reduce the effectiveness of the stat when leveled beyond this marker. For instance, after you level up your Vigor to 40, you will notice that the increase to your HP by leveling from 40 to 41 is significantly less than from 39 to 40.

In Elden Ring, each stat has a soft cap (and a "hard' soft cap) that limits its effectiveness if you continue to level it up past certain points. After you reach the Soft Cap for your primary stats, it's worth considering whether you should continue investing in those stats if you can still use your weapons and cast your spells. After you reach the second Soft Cap, Elden Ring players should really only continue to level a stat if they do not need the stat requirements for a specific item or spell.

Two Or Three Soft Caps For Each Stat

Most stats in Elden Ring have at least two Soft Caps. For STR, DEX, INT, FAITH, and ARC, the first soft cap is 20, after which leveling these stats begins to feel a little less rewarding. But not all stat caps are the same in Elden Ring, as each stat has a different set of limits at different progression points.

In the Vigor example, the first Soft Cap is at 40, which reduces the effectiveness of the stat's improvements from Level 40 to 60. But at Level 60, you hit another Soft Cap, which further reduces the amount of HP gained when leveling Vigor.

This specific example is why the Elden Ring community recommends that you reach at least 40 Vigor, but go no higher than 60, to survive the end game bosses. After 60, it's better to invest Level Ups into other stats because the diminishing returns become too small to be worth it.

But for other stats it's not quite as simple. For END, there is both a soft cap for its Stamina boost, and two soft caps for its Equip Load boost. STR, DEX, INT, FAITH, and ARC have three Soft Caps, and INT, FAITH, and ARC have separate scaling caps for their spell scaling.

It can all seem a bit confusing, but the gist is that at these break points (listed in a convenient table below) your level-ups will begin to feel less impactful, and this is a system that affects every stat in the game.

What Is The Elden Ring Hard Cap?

Technically, you can still see returns if you invest points into your stats even after they go beyond this second Soft Cap. Though it's not going to be nearly as impactful as the previous level-up ranges, you can keep pushing each stat to the Elden Ring stat hard cap: Level 99.

After Level 99, you will be forced to allocate points into other stats because the game does not allow you to progress further. You cannot level up beyond Level 99 normally. However by using Talismans, spells, and Gear that increase your stats can technically (and often temporarily) increase your stats beyond this limit. The improvements that come from stats over Lvl 100 are barely noticeable, and in most cases it's not worth going over this hard barrier.

Do Scadutree Blessings Affect Soft Caps?

In the Elden Ring DLC, Soft Caps still work exactly the same way, but with a twist. Though your main stats will not be boosted by Scadutree Blessings, your secondary offensive and defensive stats (your Attack power and the Defenses derived from your stats) will be boosted by a small percentage for each one you activate.

This means that in Shadow of the Erdtree, the power you get from leveling at these high break points can actually be impactful. Scadutree Blessings do not increase your Vigor and thus do not increase your HP, having a lot of Scadutree Blessings can make the improvements after the high Soft Cap much more noticeable. In the base game, you may get an extra weapon damage or two from each level-up beyond this high Soft Cap, but in the DLC (and with a few Scadutree Blessings under your belt), the high Soft Cap is less of a barrier and more of a suggestion.

All Elden Ring Stat Soft Caps

Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree

Base Game

Elden Ring

Released

June 21, 2024

Developer(s)

FromSoftware

Publisher(s)

Bandai Namco Entertainment , FromSoftware

Genre

Soulslike , RPG

ESRB

M For Mature 17+ Due To Blood and Gore, Language, Suggestive Themes, Violence