Throughout the game, you can collect weapon improvement materials which, if enough are utilised for upgrades, can dramatically improve the efficiency of scaling. If you were wielding the dagger, you'd naturally need to increase dexterity consistently throughout your playthrough. In order to maximise your attacking efficiency, you need to increase the attribute that scales best with the weapon you choose. This is where the term "quality build" comes from amongst the Dark Souls community. Furthermore, weapons can occasionally scale relatively well with two attributes the longsword is one of them. Those are highlighted in blue:Īs a rule, large, slow weapons like hammers and greatswords scale best with strength small, quick weapons scale better with dexterity staves, or magical equipment, scales best with intelligence and chimes and talismans scale best with faith. The table below indicates a few weapons which are orientated towards certain attributes and therefore scale well each scales to an individual attribute best. You've probably heard about strength weapons and dexterity weapons for instance they are simply known as that because they scale well. The letters are indicative of the type of weapon it is. A high strength requirement, for example, often indicates good weapon scaling. Really, it's as simple as that.Īnother simplistic way of determining whether or not the weapon might be effective, is noticing the requirement to wield it (the "Attribute Requirement").
There are six, beginning with E, the pauper of scaling, to S, the supreme overlord of scaling.
Scaling grading is extremely straightforward and operates similarly to School grades, with one small exception. Notice the four images? They are the images from the character attribute screen mentioned earlier.Ĭontinuing to analyse this section, next to the four images indicating attributes, you'll notice a letter next to one, or more of the attributes (in the above image, there are two next to strength and dexterity). The area surrounded by a red box, in the "Attribute Bonus" section, showcases the four attributes from earlier. When you're in the game and looking at the weapon section of the inventory, you should notice this screen. The muscled arm indicates strength, the hand indicates dexterity, the book indicates intelligence and the star indicates faith. Now, it's important to attempt to remember the images alongside the four attributes which apply to weapon scaling, because they are the key to recognising which weapon applies to which attribute. The only attributes which apply to weapon scaling are strength, dexterity, intelligence and faith. See the above image? Vigour, attunement, endurance, vitality and luck aren't really the attributes you need to be concerned with.
There are many character attributes, sure, but scaling definitely only applies to a small portion of them. Weapon scaling is tied to something you're probably already familiar with they're tied to your character's attributes. To begin with, let's go over some simple things first, such as what weapon scaling is.