U4GM - Elden Ring: The Ultimate Guide to Item Modifications
Elden Ring is a game brimming with adventure, danger, and a vast array of powerful items. Whether you’re a seasoned veteran of FromSoftware games or a newcomer, understanding how to modify and upgrade your items is essential for success in the world of the Lands Between. This guide aims to provide a comprehensive and reliable overview of Elden Ring items and their modification systems, helping you optimize your gear and dominate your foes.
Understanding Elden Ring Items
Before diving into the specifics of item modifications, it’s important to have a solid understanding of what Elden Ring items are and how they function. Elden Ring features a diverse selection of weapons, armor, talismans, and consumables that contribute to the game’s challenging combat and exploration systems. Each item comes with its own unique properties, from boosting your stats to providing additional resistances or effects in combat.
The key to success in Elden Ring lies in the thoughtful use and modification of these items. Unlike many other RPGs, Elden Ring allows players to enhance, upgrade, and tweak their equipment to suit their playstyle. This flexibility makes item modification a crucial part of your progression through the game.
Types of Item Modifications
There are several ways to modify and upgrade your Elden Ring items, each with its own purpose and benefit. Here are the most common methods:
1. Smithing Stones and Upgrade Paths
One of the most prominent methods for modifying your Elden Ring items is through upgrading your weapons and armor using Smithing Stones. These special items allow you to increase the level of your equipment, making them more powerful and effective in combat. You will find Smithing Stones scattered throughout the world or receive them as rewards from bosses and quests.
Weapons can be upgraded along different paths, such as standard upgrades, affinity upgrades, or unique weapon upgrades. Affinities change the elemental properties of a weapon, adding magic, fire, or other effects to enhance its damage output.
2. Infusions
Infusions are a way to modify weapons in Elden Ring by altering their scaling and elemental properties. Infusing a weapon with different materials or special gems can alter its base stats, allowing you to tailor the weapon to suit your preferred playstyle.
There are several types of infusions, including:
Magic Infusion: Adds intelligence scaling and gives the weapon magic properties.
Fire Infusion: Adds strength scaling while also giving the weapon a fire-based attack.
Blood Infusion: Adds dexterity scaling and gives the weapon blood loss buildup.
These infusions offer significant advantages in combat and provide you with the flexibility to experiment with different builds.
3. Talisman Modifications
Talisman upgrades in Elden Ring offer a way to enhance your character’s abilities outside of weapons and armor. These special items grant various passive effects that can enhance stats, resistances, or abilities. Some talismans provide bonuses to health regeneration, while others might boost your damage output or stamina.
As you progress through the game, you will have the opportunity to upgrade certain talismans at the appropriate NPCs, making them even more potent in battle.
4. Ashes of War
Another important aspect of item modification in Elden Ring is the use of Ashes of War. These are special abilities that can be attached to certain weapons, granting them new skills and attacks. By applying an Ash of War to a weapon, you can not only enhance its capabilities but also customize its moveset to better suit your combat style.
Ashes of War come in various forms, including magic-based skills, elemental attacks, and powerful offensive moves. They allow you to add a layer of complexity to your combat, making each weapon feel unique and giving you an edge against the myriad of enemies in the game.
Elden Ring Items Guide: Best Modifications for Your Playstyle
The sheer variety of items and modification options in Elden Ring means that no two players will have the same experience. However, certain modifications are particularly useful depending on the type of build you’re going for. Here are some suggestions based on different playstyles:
1. Strength Build
For players focusing on strength-based builds, infusing weapons with fire or lightning is highly effective. Infusing a colossal weapon with the Flame Art Ash of War, for instance, can deal devastating damage while also providing a range of additional effects. Using Smithing Stones to upgrade these weapons will further increase their damage output, helping you break through enemy defenses.
2. Dexterity Build
If you're focused on dexterity and agility, infusing your weapons with the Blood or Keen affinity is a great way to increase your damage output and attack speed. The addition of Ashes of War that increase critical damage can also significantly benefit dexterity builds, enabling you to land quicker, harder strikes.
3. Intelligence/Magic Build
For those pursuing a magic-based playthrough, it’s recommended to infuse weapons with Magic or Enchanted affinities. This will allow your intelligence scaling to shine, making your weapon both effective for physical and magical attacks. Ashes of War that add magical projectiles or area-of-effect spells can provide a solid advantage in ranged combat.
4. Faith Build
Faith builds benefit from infusing weapons with holy or fire properties. Talismans that increase your faith-related stats or bolster your healing powers are also essential for this build. Make sure to seek out Ashes of War that synergize with your faith skills for additional support during boss fights.
Where to Find Upgrade Materials
Upgrading your Elden Ring items requires specific materials, and these can be found throughout the world of the Lands Between. Some of the most common places to find these materials include:
Dungeon and Cave Exploration: Many of the rare Smithing Stones and infusion materials can be found in hidden dungeons and caves scattered across the map.
Boss Rewards: Defeating major bosses often grants you high-quality upgrade materials or the ability to modify your gear in unique ways.
Merchants and NPCs: Some upgrade materials can be purchased from specific merchants or NPCs. Be sure to talk to all the NPCs you meet, as they may offer special items that are crucial for item modification.
Item modification in Elden Ring is one of the key systems that make the game so dynamic and personalized. By carefully selecting the right upgrades, infusions, and Ashes of War, you can tailor your gear to suit your preferred playstyle, making your journey through the Lands Between more rewarding. Whether you’re enhancing your weapons, customizing your talismans, or applying powerful infusions, Elden Ring offers countless ways to experiment and optimize your equipment. With this Elden Ring items guide, you're now better prepared to conquer whatever challenges the game throws your way.