How Many Smithing Stones to Fully Upgrade Weapons to +25 in Elden Ring

You need a total of 144 regular smithing stones and 12 Ancient Dragon Smithing Stones to fully upgrade any regular weapon from +1 to the maximum level of +25 in Elden Ring.

Here is a breakdown of the exact numbers required per upgrade level:

As you can see, you need 12 stones of each tier to progress to the next upgrade level, until you reach Ancient Dragon Smithing Stones for the final upgrades.

Why Upgrading to +25 is Vital

Reaching +25 with your favorite armaments provides a massive boost to attack power, scaling, and overall performance. At max level, unique weapons gain new abilities and skills as well. This makes a huge difference in defeating Elden Ring‘s toughest enemies and bosses.

For example, my +25 Bloodhound‘s Fang curved greatsword has over 50% higher base damage and improved Dexterity scaling compared to a +24 version. It shreds through late game bosses like Malenia in just a few hits!

Locations to Find Smithing Stones

Here are some of the best places I‘ve found to collect smithing stones while exploring the Lands Between:

Smithing Stone [1] – [3]

• Limgrave Tunnels
• Stormfoot Catacombs

Smithing Stone [4]

• Raya Lucaria Crystal Tunnel
• Altus Tunnel

Smithing Stone [5]

• Minor Erdtree Catacombs
• Academy of Raya Lucaria

Somber Smithing Stone [8]

• Farum Azula
• Palace Approach Ledge Road

Ancient Dragon Smithing Stone

• Crumbling Farum Azula
• Deeproot Depths
• Mohgwyn Palace

I also highly recommend getting the Smithing-Stone Miner‘s Bell Bearings from the following bosses as soon as possible:

• Godrick the Grafted (Smithing Stone [1])
• Starscourge Radahn (Smithing Stone [2])
• Mogh, Lord of Blood (Smithing Stone [3])

These will allow you to purchase unlimited quantities of Smithing Stone [1] – [3] to keep your weapons upgraded early on.

Efficient Upgrade Strategies

Instead of trying to max out every single armament, I recommend focusing on your 2-3 favorite weapons first.

Prioritize unique boss soul weapons like Blasphemous Blade, Maliketh‘s Black Blade, or Devourer‘s Scepter. These scale incredibly well to +10 and make the end game much more manageable.

As for regular armaments, somber smithing stones are rarer than normal ones, so use those on special weapons like katanas, greatspears or greathammers. Save normal smithing stones for customizable standard weapons.

Hopefully this guide gives you a very clear answer on exactly how many smithing stones you‘ll need to fully upgrade your gear to max level in Elden Ring. Please let me know in the comments if you have any other questions!