Elden Ring soft caps for all stats in 2025 and DLC updates

Unlock the secrets of Elden Ring’s stat progression in 2025 with our definitive guide to soft caps – those crucial thresholds where leveling up your attributes starts to yield diminishing returns. Whether you’re wielding a colossal sword or mastering sorcery, knowing exactly when your stats hit these soft caps can mean the difference between a powerful build and wasted runes. Dive in to optimize your character’s growth across PC, PlayStation, and Xbox platforms, and make every point count in the Lands Between.

What are soft caps in Elden Ring?

Soft caps in Elden Ring are specific milestone levels within each character stat where the benefits gained from leveling that stat start to diminish significantly. Initially, increasing a stat yields substantial improvements, but once a soft cap is reached, the returns on investment decrease, meaning each additional point contributes less to your character’s power. For example, Vigor’s first soft cap is at level 40, where HP gains per level drop from +48 to +26, and then further decrease beyond that point. Most stats have multiple soft caps, encouraging players to diversify their attribute points rather than maxing out a single stat too early. This system helps balance character progression and build optimization, with a hard cap at level 99 where no further benefits are gained from leveling that stat.

If you’re no stranger to the Lands Between and Shadow of the Erdtree’s Realm of Shadow, you probably know the drill: defeat enemies, receive runes, and use the runes to level your stats at a Site of Grace. Each individual stat can be leveled from 1 to 99, with 99 being the “hard cap” – the limit.

Beware, however, that there’s a difference between leveling a stat from level 30 to level 31 or from level 50 to level 51, as you’ll receive less benefits once you’ve crossed a certain threshold. This threshold is called a “soft cap” or a “breakpoint” in Elden Ring. When you start leveling a stat, the returns will initially remain the same or even improve with every new level, but after reaching a certain breakpoint, the stat will be soft-capped and the returns will become less and less.

For example:

If you level your Vigor from level 3 to level 4, your HP will increase from 312 to 322.
If you level 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 growing returns will reach their peak when leveling Vigor from level 39 to level 40, with a whopping 48 HP points gained (from 1402 HP to 1450 HP).

If you continue to level your Vigor from level 40 to level 41, though, your HP will improve from 1450 to 1476; a return of 26 HP points. It’s still an improvement, but obviously not nearly as great as the previous 48 HP points. From this point onwards, the amount of HP gained from additional Vigor levels will steadily decline. Level 40 is therefore called the first soft cap for Vigor.

And that’s not all; every Elden Ring stat has at least two soft cap points, up to as many as four. For Vigor, the amount of HP gained from higher levels will drop significantly after level 60, as you will only get between 3 and 6 HP points per level afterwards. Level 60 is therefore named the second soft cap for this stat.

The existence of soft caps in Elden Ring doesn’t mean you should stop leveling a stat after reaching such a breakpoint, but it does mean that you need to mind your stat point allocation. Leveling Vigor from 40 to 60 can still be a great choice, but you might need to prioritize other stats before you do so, as the returns from those upgrades may be far greater. If you’d like to respec your current stats, visit Rennala in the Raya Lucaria library and select “Rebirth”.

Elden Ring soft caps in 2025

In Elden Ring as of 2025, soft caps are key thresholds in each stat where the benefits gained from leveling that stat start to diminish, meaning you receive fewer attribute increases per level spent. Most stats have multiple soft caps, often two to four, which progressively reduce the effectiveness of further investment. For example, Vigor’s first soft cap is at level 40, where HP gains per level drop significantly, and further soft caps occur at levels 60 and 90. Other stats like Mind, Endurance, Strength, Dexterity, Intelligence, Faith, and Arcane have their own soft cap milestones that affect damage scaling, stamina, equipment load, and spell potency. Understanding these soft caps helps players optimize rune allocation to create powerful and efficient builds without wasting points on diminishing returns. The hard cap for all stats remains at level 99, beyond which no further benefits are gained.

Before we dive into the details, here’s a quick overview of all soft cap breakpoints per stat type in Elden Ring:

Vigor: 40, 60
Mind: 50, 60
Endurance: 30, 50 (equipment load 60)
Strength: 60, 80
Dexterity: 60, 80
Intelligence: 50, 60, 80
Faith: 50, 60, 80
Arcane: 60, 80

Let’s delve into each stat, one-by-one:

Vigor soft caps

Level 1-40: growing returns, 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 growing returns before reaching the first soft cap at level 40. This is amazing, as it means you’ll receive more and more HP with every level up until that point. Sadly, the drop-off is rather steep, going from 48 HP to 26 HP points – and even down to only 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 the possibility to one-shot you. We therefore recommend to hit the first soft cap of level 40, and continue to level 60 if your playstyle needs it (frontline melee builds, for example). Anything above level 60 is a waste of runes.

Mind soft caps

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 Mind level 31 onwards, with soft cap at level 40.

Mind improves your FP and Focus. Focus is a nice defensive stat to have (protects against sleep and madness) but FP, also known as “mana,” is far more important as it’s needed to cast spells. With that in mind, you really only need as much Mind as you require FP to cast your magic. With a fully upgraded Flask of Cerulean Tears, you can restore 220 FP – one full FP bar at Mind level 38. Therefore, Mind at 38 is therefore the “sweet spot” before hitting the FP soft cap at level 50 and Focus soft cap at level 40.

Endurance soft caps

Stamina level 1-30: between 1 and 2 points per level, but usually 2.
Stamina level 31-50: diminishing returns, between 1 and 2 points per level, but usually 1.
Stamina level 50 : diminishing returns, between 0 and 1 point per level.
Equipment load level 9-25: only starts to improve from Endurance level 9 onwards, with 1.6 points per level up to 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 load level 60 : soft cap with a huge drop-off, down to 1 point.
Robustness: only starts to improve from Endurance level 31 onwards, with soft cap at level 40.

Endurance improves stamina, maximum equipment load (allowing you to stay within the “medium load” range while wearing heavier armor, for example), and robustness (resistance to bleed and frostbite). 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 Endurance, a stamina and equipment load sweet spot that also offers some robustness.

If you’re an endgame player with lots of runes to spend, you may keep going until the equipment load soft cap at level 60, as this allows you to equip far better armor sets while remaining in a below-heavy load range.

Strength and Dexterity soft caps

Strength armaments: soft caps are usually at level 20, 60, and 80.
Physical defense: improves at levels 30 and 40, peaking at 60. Diminishing returns after level 60.
Dexterity armaments: soft caps are usually at level 20, 60, and 80.
Incantations: soft caps at level 30 and 45.

Strength and Dexterity improve the damage dealt with armaments (weapons) scaling with these stats (usually physical/melee weapons). Although the breakpoints and minimum stats required depend on the individual armament, the physical damage soft caps are typically at level 20, 60, and 80.

At the start of your Elden Ring game, should you decide to wield a strength- or dexterity-scaling weapon, try to reach soft cap level 20 as soon as possible. Go up to 60 as you progress further (don’t forget your Vigor, Endurance, and Mind soft caps), but there’s no need to proceed past the level 80 soft cap.

Intelligence, Faith, and Arcane soft caps

Intelligence armaments: soft caps are usually at level 20, 50, and 80.
Intelligence sorceries: usually level 60 and 80.
Magic defense: best benefits until level 20 and slightly less until level 35. Soft cap at level 35 and soft cap with steep drop-off at level 60.
Faith armaments: usually level 20, 50, and 80.
Faith incantations: usually level 60 and 80.
Arcane armaments: usually level 20, 60, and 80.
Arcane buildup: usually level 40 and 60.
Arcane incantations: soft caps at level 30 and 45.
Arcane vitality and holy defense: hit their first soft cap at level 15 and 20 respectively. Final soft caps are level 60 for both.

Besides improving armaments that scale with these stats, Intelligence boosts the power of your sorceries, Faith increases the power of incantations, and Arcane improves status buildup (for Arcane-scaling weapons).

Similar to Strength and Dexterity, the exact scaling depends on the armament you’re using, but you typically need to hit level 20 for the best gains in early game. Try to eventually hit the soft cap around level 50, but it’s not worth it to go beyond level 80.

The defensive attributes (vitality, magic defense, etc.) hit a very steep drop-off after level 60.

How do the soft caps in Elden Ring influence my build strategy in 2025

Soft caps in Elden Ring significantly influence your build strategy by marking points where investing additional attribute levels yields diminishing returns, encouraging more balanced stat distribution rather than maxing a single attribute. For example, Vigor’s first soft cap at level 40 reduces the health gains per level, and a second one at 60 further diminishes returns, meaning pumping beyond these points is less efficient for survivability. Similarly, Mind, Endurance, Strength, and Dexterity all have multiple soft caps where their benefits taper off, guiding players to prioritize complementary stats to optimize overall performance.

Understanding these soft caps helps you avoid wasting runes on stats that no longer provide substantial benefits and instead focus on building a well-rounded character tailored to your playstyle-whether that’s melee combat, spellcasting, or a hybrid approach. For instance, melee builds often aim to reach Endurance soft caps to balance stamina and equipment load for better mobility and defense, while spellcasters manage Mind and Intelligence to maximize FP and spell power without over-investing. Ultimately, soft caps shape your leveling decisions by signaling when to diversify your attributes to maintain effective scaling and survivability throughout the game’s progression.

How can I optimize my build by hitting soft caps at levels 40 and 60 in 2025

To optimize your Elden Ring build by hitting soft caps at levels 40 and 60 in 2025, focus on maximizing the efficiency of your stat investments where returns start to diminish but still provide meaningful benefits.

Level 40 Soft Caps: This is typically the first major soft cap for many key stats like Vigor, Strength, Dexterity, and Intelligence. For example, Vigor up to 40 grants strong HP gains (+48 per level initially), but after 40, the increase per level drops significantly. Hitting this cap ensures you get the most substantial boosts in survivability and damage without wasting runes on inefficient scaling.
Level 60 Soft Caps: This second soft cap offers smaller but still valuable returns. For Vigor, going from 40 to 60 continues to increase HP but at a reduced rate (+26 to +13 HP per level). For physical stats like Strength and Dexterity, reaching 60 allows you to equip heavier armor and weapons while maintaining good damage scaling. This cap is especially recommended for frontline melee builds that need both offense and defense.

Build Optimization Tips:

Prioritize reaching the first soft cap (around 40) in your primary stats to maximize early and mid-game power efficiently.
If your build relies heavily on survivability or heavy weapons, invest further up to the 60 soft cap to gain additional HP, stamina, and equipment load benefits.
Avoid over-leveling beyond 60 in a single stat unless you have a very specialized build, as returns diminish sharply past this point.
Use the runes saved by not overshooting soft caps to invest in complementary stats like Endurance for stamina and equip load or Mind for FP, balancing offense and defense.

By strategically allocating points to hit these soft caps, you ensure your character is powerful and resilient without wasting valuable runes on inefficient stat increases.