Comprehension soft caps are key to leveling up stats and runes in Elden Ring. That way, if you know your soft cap breakpoints, you'll be able to get optimal return on the runes you've spent, rather than receiving diminishing returns from excessive stats.
If that sounds a little complex, don't worry; In this guide, we will explain everything there is to know about softcovers in Elden Ring.
What are softcovers in Elden Ring?
If you are no stranger to the Lands Between and The shadow of Erdtree's Realm of Shadow, you probably know the drill: defeat enemies, receive runes, and use them to level your stats at a Siege of Grace. Each individual stat can be leveled from 1 to 99, with 99 being the “hard cover”—the limit.
However, keep in mind that there is a difference between leveling up a stat from level 30 to level 31 or from level 50 to level 51. since you will receive fewer benefits once you have crossed a certain threshold. This threshold is called a “soft limit” or “breakpoint” in Elden Ring. When you start leveling a stat, the returns will initially remain the same or even improve with each new level, but after reaching a certain breakpoint, the stat will have a soft cap and the returns will become less and less.
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- If you raise your Vigor from level 3 to level 4, your HP will increase from 312 to 322.
- If you raise your Vigor from level 4 to level 5, your HP increases from 322 to 334.
As you can see, the returns per level have improved; Instead of 10 HP points, you received 12 HP points the second time. These Increasing returns will peak. by leveling up Vigor from level 39 to level 40, with a whopping 48 HP points gained (from 1402 HP to 1450 HP).
However, if you continue to raise your Vigor from level 40 to level 41, your HP will improve from 1450 to 1476; a return of 26 HP points. Is It's still an improvement, but obviously not as big.t like the 48 HP points above. From this point on, the amount of HP gained from additional levels of Vigor will steadily decrease. Therefore, level 40 is called the first soft cap for Vigor.
And that's not all; each Elden Ring The statistic has at least two soft limit points, up to four. For Vigor, the amount of HP gained at higher levels will decrease significantly after level 60, as after that you will only gain 3-6 HP per level. Therefore, level 60 is called second soft cover for this statistic.
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The existence of soft caps in Elden Ring It doesn't mean that you should stop leveling up a stat after reaching said breakpoint, but it does mean that you should. Watch your stat point allocation. Leveling Vigor from 40 to 60 can still be a great option, but you may need to prioritize other stats before doing so, as the returns from those upgrades can be much higher. If you want to respect your current stats, visit Rennala in Raya Lucaria's library and select “Rebirth.”
Elden Ring softcovers in 2025
Before we dive into the details, here's a quick overview of all soft limit breakpoints by stat type in Elden Ring:
- Vigor: 40, 60
- Mind: 50, 60
- Endurance: 30, 50 (equipment load 60)
- Strength: 60, 80
- Skill: 60, 80
- Intelligence: 50, 60, 80
- Faith: 50, 60, 80
- Arcane: 60, 80
Let's dive into each statistic, one by one:
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- Level 1-40– Increasing yields, up to +48 HP per level.
- Level 41-60: Diminishing returns, between 27 and 13 HP per level.
- Level 61-99: Diminishing returns, between 6 and 3 HP per level.
Vigor improves HP, fire resistance and immunity.. As mentioned in the example above, Vigor has increasing returns before reaching the first soft cap at level 40. This is surprising, as it means that you will receive more and more HP with each level up to that point. Unfortunately, the drop is quite steep, going from 48 HP to 26 HP, and even down to just 6 per level after the second soft cap at level 60.
Having a high HP is extremely useful for almost any Elden Ring Build: It's hard enough to stay alive without giving every enemy a chance to shoot you. Therefore we I recommend reaching the first soft cap of level 40.and continue up to level 60 if your playstyle calls for it (frontline melee builds, for example). Anything above level 60 is a waste of runes.
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- Level 1-15: between 3 and 4 FP per level.
- Level 16-35: between 5 and 6 FP per level.
- Level 36-50: between 6 and 7 FP per level.
- Level 51-60: Diminishing returns, between 4 and 6 FP per level.
- Level 60+: Diminishing returns, between 2 and 3 FP per level.
- Focus– Only starts to improve from mental level 31 onwards, with a soft cap at level 40.
The mind improves your FP and focus. Concentration is a good defensive stat (protects against sleep and madness), but FP, also known as “mana,” is much more important since it is necessary to cast spells. With that in mind, you really only need as much Mind as you do FP to cast your magic. With a fully upgraded Flask of Cerulean Tears, you can restore 220 FP, a full FP bar at mental level 38. Therefore, The mind at +38 is therefore the “sweet spot” before reaching the FP soft cap at level 50 and the Focus soft cap at level 40.
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- Resistance level 1-30: between 1 and 2 points per level, but usually 2.
- Resistance level 31-50: diminishing returns, between 1 and 2 points per level, but usually 1.
- Resistance level 50+: diminishing returns, between 0 and 1 point per level.
- Equipment load level 9-25: It only starts to improve from level 9 of Stamina, with +1.6 points per level until level 25.
- Equipment load level 26-45: adds between 1 and 1.4 points.
- Equipment load level 46-60: adds between 1.4 and 1.5 points.
- Equipment charge level 60+: soft cover with a large drop, up to 1 point.
- Sturdiness: It only starts to improve at level 31 Stamina, with a soft cap at level 40.
Resistance improves resistance, maximum equipment load (allowing you to stay within the “medium load” range while wearing heavier armor, for example), and sturdiness (resistance to bleeding and freezing). The amount of stamina you'll need depends on how much you consume; If you're using a melee build, you'll typically want at least +34 toughness, a sweet spot for toughness and gear loadout that also offers some toughness.
If you are an endgame player with a lot of runes to spend, can continue until the computer loads the soft cap at level 60as this allows you to equip much better armor sets while staying at a load range below heavy.
Soft Caps of Strength and Dexterity
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- force weapons– Soft limits are usually at levels 20, 60 and 80.
- physical defense– Improves at levels 30 and 40, peaking at 60. Diminishing returns after level 60.
- Skill Weaponry: Soft limits are usually at levels 20, 60 and 80.
- enchantments: soft caps at level 30 and 45.
Strength and dexterity improve damage done with weapons (weapons) that scale with these stats (usually physical/melee weapons). Although breakpoints and minimum required stats depend on individual weaponry, soft physical damage caps are typically at levels 20, 60, and 80.
At the beginning of your Elden Ring game, if you decide to wield a weapon that increases strength or dexterity, Try to reach level 20 soft limit as soon as possible.. Go up to 60 as you progress (don't forget your Vigor, Stamina, and Mind soft caps), but there's no need to go past the level 80 soft cap.
Intelligence, Faith, and Arcana Soft Limits
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- intelligence weaponry– Soft limits are usually at levels 20, 50 and 80.
- Intelligence Spells: normally level 60 and 80.
- magic defense– Best benefits up to level 20 and a little less up to level 35. Soft cap at level 35 and soft cap with steep drop at level 60.
- Faith Weaponry: Typically level 20, 50, and 80.
- Charms of faith: usually levels 60 and 80.
- arcane armaments: usually levels 20, 60 and 80.
- arcane accumulation: normally level 40 and 60.
- arcane enchantments: soft caps at level 30 and 45.
- Arcane vitality and sacred defense.– They reached their first soft cap at levels 15 and 20 respectively. The final soft limits are level 60 for both.
In addition to upgrading weaponry that scales with these stats, Intelligence increase the power of your sorceriesFaith increases the power of enchantmentsand arcane improves status accumulation (for arcane scale weapons).
As in Strength and Dexterity, the exact scale depends on the weaponry you are using, but Normally it is necessary to reach level 20. to get the best wins early in the game. Try to eventually hit the soft limit around level 50but it's not worth going beyond level 80.
Defensive attributes (vitality, magic defense, etc.) suffer a very pronounced drop after level 60.