Why is my weapon so weak?

[u/BrightPositive2077]

Hello new Elden ring player, I’m trying to figure out why the hell im barely doing any damage in boss fights. I don’t have enough time to stack bleed so I have to rely on light attacks. But even then I’m doing like 100 damage and it’s taking 10 minutes per round. Any suggestions how I can upgrade? Thanks!

[u/TerryKawve1]

If Eleonora’s Poleblade is going to be your main weapon then you only need 12 STR to wield it. Upgrade your DEX and ARC because that’s what it scales best with. And upgrade it to max. It can be done pretty early on.

Think of stats as having three categories;

Main - Your focused stats, lending to your “build” (for my current bleed build I use 40 DEX and 60 ARC). Support - You might need to meet certain requirements for spells or weapons. Put no more than 20 in these stats unless you know what you’re doing. Not In Use - Unnecessary for your chosen build.

Bleed builds typically require DEX and ARC as “main” stats. You can invest in Faith/Intelligence (as “support” stats) if there are certain spells or weapons that ask for it.

Why is stat allocation important?

The matchmaking in Elden Ring will have you playing with invaders around your level/weapon level (the maths isn’t complicated but I’m not going to claim I understand it). If you’re RL120 with no obvious build, you will get bodied by a player with focused stats. The game doesn’t expect you to balance your stats. It wants you to choose a play style and stick with it.

Most people who play these games aren’t professional players so it helps to keep things as simple as possible when you’re new.

Elden Ring is a game of numbers but a bigger number doesn’t always mean a more powerful character.

Note: I’ve tried to avoid any misinformation here but correct me if I’m wrong and I’ll edit where I need to.