Elden Ring / Weapon upgrades
Elden Ring weapon upgrades: Smithing Stones, Somber Stones and Ashes of War
Read reinforcement paths, choose an affinity and avoid mixing different upgrade materials.
Edition covered
Original Elden Ring base campaign and its ten launch classes. Shadow of the Erdtree, Nightreign and Tarnished Pack additions are outside these guides. Publisher screenshots illustrate the base-game world and are not patch-specific demonstrations.
5 items · one picture per entry · open a picture for full size.
Weapon upgrades
Quick notes
- Read the weapon’s reinforcement material. Normal and special weapons use separate material families.
- Use the anvil first and Hewg for further reinforcement. The Church of Elleh smithing table supports early normal-weapon reinforcement up to +3.
- Apply compatible Ashes of War at a grace. Find the Whetstone Knife in the underground chest at Gatefront Ruins, then use the Ashes of War menu at a Site of Grace.
- Choose affinity using your actual attributes. An affinity can change damage types and scaling.
Read the weapon’s reinforcement material
| Path or stage | Material | Result |
|---|---|---|
| Normal weapons | Smithing Stones [1] through [8] | Progress through the normal reinforcement sequence. |
| Normal final step | Ancient Dragon Smithing Stone | Raises a +24 weapon to +25. |
| Special weapons | Somber Smithing Stones [1] through [9] | One matching stone per upgrade, through +9. |
| Special final step | Somber Ancient Dragon Smithing Stone | Raises a +9 weapon to +10. |
| Armor | No smithing reinforcement path | Change equipment or use available tailoring options. |
Useful tip
A shield skill can take priority over your weapon skill; two-hand the weapon or use a compatible No Skill shield setup.
References
| Reference | Website |
|---|---|
| Bandai Namco: combat and weapon upgrades | www.bandainamcoent.com |
| Bandai Namco: gameplay overview | www.bandainamcoent.com |
| GamesRadar: smithing tables and stone tiers | www.gamesradar.com |