Elden Ring Guide: How to Upgrade Weapons

To progress through Elden Ring, you will need powerful armaments to defeat foes, so here's a quick guide on how to upgrade your weapons.

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Wondering how to upgrade your weapons in Elden Ring? Here’s quick guide!

Much like in other FromSoftware games, upgrading your weapons is key to defeating more powerful foes in Elden Ring. In fact, you’ll generally get more damage by upgrading your weapons compared to leveling up your stats (especially when early into the game).

The upgrade system in Elden Ring works similarly to Dark Souls, but instead of Titanite, you’ll need Smithing Stones to upgrade Normal Weapons.

There are nine Smithing Stone versions; the higher the number, the rarer it is. Rare Smithing Stones are required to reinforce your Standard Weapon to certain points.

Here’s a rundown of the Smithing Stone variants and their weapon reinforcement levels:

  • Smithing Stone [1] – Reinforce weapons to +5
  • Smithing Stone [2] – Reinforce weapons to +6
  • Smithing Stone [3] – Reinforce weapons to +9
  • Smithing Stone [4] – Reinforce weapons to +12
  • Smithing Stone [5] – Reinforce weapons to +15
  • Smithing Stone [6] – Reinforce weapons to +18
  • Smithing Stone [7] – Reinforce weapons to +21
  • Smithing Stone [8] – Reinforce weapons to +24
  • Smithing Stone [9] – Reinforce weapons to +25

Take note, after every reinforcement, you’ll need more stones to upgrade. For example, going from +9 to +10 will only require 2 Smithing Stone [4]s, but to get to +11, you’ll need 4.

Meanwhile, Special Weapons require Somber Smithing Stones.

Here’s a rundown of the Somber Smithing Stone variants and their weapon reinforcement levels:

  • Somber Smithing Stone [1] – Reinforce special weapons to +1
  • Somber Smithing Stone [2] – Reinforce special weapons to +2
  • Somber Smithing Stone [3] – Reinforce special weapons to +3
  • Somber Smithing Stone [4] – Reinforce special weapons to +4
  • Somber Smithing Stone [5] – Reinforce special weapons to +5
  • Somber Smithing Stone [6] – Reinforce special weapons to +6
  • Somber Smithing Stone [7] – Reinforce special weapons to +7
  • Somber Smithing Stone [8] – Reinforce special weapons to +8
  • Somber Smithing Stone [9] – Reinforce special weapons to +9
  • Somber Smithing Stone [10] – Reinforce special weapons to +10

Generally, you only need a small amount of Somber Smithing Stones to reinforce a Special Weapon. But the trade off is that Somber Smithing Stones are rarer.

Where to find Smithing Stones in Elden Ring

Smithing Stones can be found all over the map, as well as in small dungeons and legacy dungeons. Though the best places to get them are in Tunnels and Mines.

When you unlock a part of the map, make sure to look for the icon above (right in the middle which looks like a hole). These indicate tunnels or mines where you can get these precious Smithing Stones. In fact, we recommend that you must seek these mines before exploring more of the world so that your weapons are properly reinforced for the area.