Mastering Armor Upgrades in Elden Ring: A Complete Guide
As an avid Elden Ring player and content creator, I‘ve learned that upgrading your armor is absolutely vital to survive the brutal challenges of the Lands Between. But with cryptic mechanics and scarce upgrade materials, it can be confusing to figure out where to start.
In this comprehensive guide, I‘ll cover everything you need to know about upgrading armor – how to access upgrading, what materials you need, suggestions for top armor sets, and tips to optimize your equip load. Let‘s dive in!
Accessing Smithing Tables and Menus
The starting point for upgrading armor is interacting with Smithing Tables scattered across the world. The first is located right next to Merchant Kalé at the Church of Elleh.
Speak to the table and select the armor piece in your inventory you wish to upgrade. You‘ll see a menu listing available upgrade levels and the required smithing stones and runes.
[Image: Smithing table menu]As you explore the world, keep an eye out for more advanced Smithing Tables that allow higher upgrade levels.
Elden Ring Smithing Stones – Explained In Depth
Smithing stones are rare upgrade materials dropped by miners and found in mines/tunnels. They come in tiers that correspond to maximum weapon upgrade levels:
| Smithing Stone | Max Weapon Level |
|---|---|
| Level 1 | +3 |
| Level 2 | +6 |
| Level 3 | +9 |
| Level 4 | +12 |
| Level 5 | +15 |
| Level 6 | +18 |
| Level 7 | +21 |
| Level 8 | + 24 |
| Somber Smithing Stone | +10 |
Ancient Dragon Smithing Stones are incredibly rare, but upgrade gear to max level (+25 normal, +10 somber).
To reach higher armor upgrade levels, you‘ll need to collect the corresponding smithing stone tier. I suggest saving rare stones for end-game armors you plan to keep for multiple NG cycles.
Efficient Smithing Stone Farming
Some of my favorite farming spots include:
- Tunnels with miners – drop Smithing Stone (1) and Smithing Stone (2)
- Socorro Volcano Manor – Smithing Stone (4)
- Altus Tunnel – Smithing Stone (5)
- Farm Celebrants for a chance at Somberstones
Use gold pickled fowl foot consumables to boost rune gains while farming.
With an ample smithing stone supply, you can start seriously reinforcing your defenses!
Special Armor Upgrade Paths
While most armor can be upgraded normally to +25, some special sets take Somber Smithing Stones to +10 and have unique properties:
Mushroom Set – Unparalleled poison, scarlet rot and immunity boosts. Upgrade for even higher resistances. Invaluable for Lake of Rot or against Malenia.
Bull Goat Set – Extremely heavy but highest defenses in the game. Must-have for tank builds able to handle the equip load.
White Mask – Boosts attack power whenever bleed status effect procs on enemies. Fantastic for bloody PvP builds.
Prioritize upgrading these armor sets first if going for niche poison immune, hyper-tank or bleed focused builds. Their unique upgrades bring major benefits.
Top Armor Sets & Analysis
While personal preference rules all in Elden Ring fashion souls, some armor sets stand out as top-tier choices due to excellent defense to weight ratios or resistance buffs.
Tree Sentinel Set – Best Holy Damage Protection
The golden armor of the notorious field bosses provides a whopping 36 holy damage negation at +10 – the highest in its weight class.
It also has fantastic physical defenses and above average robustness, only weighed down slightly by mediocre immunity.
Against late game holy damage threats like Elden Beast‘s smiting lightning spear this set really shines. I used it to finally achieve victory against that celestial menace!
[Image: Stat comparison of Tree Sentinel set]Radahn‘s Set – Huge Poise & Decent Protection
The armor of Starscourge Radahn truly lives up to his unbreakable swordsmanship and hulking size. With 61 poise, this incredibly heavy set has the highest stability in the game, meaning you can tank endless hits without being interrupted or stance broken.
It does require massive endurance investment and can limit mobility. But the sheer hyper armor advantage combined with good physical defense makes it a top pick if you plan to play aggressively without dodging.
Plus it just looks amazingly imposing! Feel like a demigod as you relentlessly smash foes through their combos.
[Image: Radahn wearing his set]Lionel‘s Set – All Round Physical Defense
Former Knight of the Cuckoo Lionel‘s armor offers some of the best all-around physical damage reduction in Elden Ring.
With extremely solid resistances to slash, strike, and pierce damage, it‘s an excellent generalist choice for melee focused builds. Upgraded to +25 I relied on Lionel‘s protection during my successful solo melee attempts against the intense Ordovis greatsword barrage.
It is quite heavy so pairing it with Great Runes or the Arsenal Charm can help mitigate equip load issues without losing defensive capabilities.
[Stats for Lionel‘s Armor compared to other top sets]There are of course many other excellent sets like Malenia‘s for crit boosts or Raging Wolf for balanced mobility and protection. Evaluate your build needs and upgrade accordingly!
Optimizing Equip Load
As you upgrade heavier and heavier sets, monitoring equip load will become critical to avoiding sluggish "fat rolling" with long recovery. Here are the breakpoints:
- 0-30% Equip Load = Fast Roll
- 30.1-70% = Medium Roll
- 70.1-100% = Fat Roll
I highly recommend staying at Medium Roll or lighter. The extra invincibility frames of fast roll do help but aren‘t essential if you optimize positioning and use damage negating talismans like the Haligdrake +2.
If you want to wear incredibly heavy armor like Bull Goat or scaled up Radahn‘s without fat rolling try:
- Leveling Endurance – Increases max equip load
- Activating Great Runes like Radahn and Godrick‘s to temporarily boost equip load
- Arsenal Charm – Raises max equip load by steady 15%
Getting the most defense out of your armor while still keeping mobility is key!
I hope this guide has shed some light on the admittedly convoluted process of upgrading armor in Elden Ring. Take the time to collect enough smithing stones, test out new armor sets, and balance your equip burden. It will really pay off, letting you venture deeper into Forbidden Lands protected against even the most devastating attacks.
Let me know if you have any other questions! I‘m happy to provide more tips to fellow Tarnished armor enthusiasts.
Stay tuned for my next guide going in depth on the most powerful defensive talismans and consumables. Don‘t go hollow just yet!
