How to level up weapons in Elden Ring

One of the main goals for players in the early game of Elden Ring is to level up their weapons. For starters, this makes defeating enemies a little easier, as the weapons you are using deal more damage to their target. Improving weapons also means that you don’t need to continually search for better ones throughout your time in Elden Ring. However, the process to improve weapons is a little confusing for newer players.

To break it down, you first need to find a smithing table somewhere in Elden Ring. There are a couple of different kinds of smithing tables but the first one you will encounter is the most basic. It simply allows you to level up your weapons to +3, provided you have enough Runes and the right materials.

To see where to find this smithing table and what you need to level up your weapons, keep reading.

Leveling up weapons in Elden Ring

If you’re struggling to find the first smithing table in Elden Ring, fast travel back to the starting spawn point in Limgrave. From here, go straight north until you reach some ruins. Go into the ruins, and you’ll see a Santa Claus-looking merchant named Kale. You can talk to him if you want, but the thing you desire is directly to his left.

There will be a smithing table next to where Kale is sitting. Upon interacting with the table, you’ll be greeted with a message explaining how to level up your weapons, or “strengthen your armaments.”

By interacting with the table, you will see a menu where you can choose to level up certain weapons. In order to do this, you will need a certain amount of Runes and Smithing Stones. Smithing Stones are found all over the world and have different varieties to them.

Some Smithing Stones will come with a number in parentheses next to them. This just means they can increase a weapon of higher value. You might also need Somber Smithing Stones, which are much rarer and required to level up more advanced weapons. For the most part, though, you’ll need basic Smithing Stones with the correct number next to them.

At the first smithing table, you will only be able to level up a weapon three times to +3. To level it up more, you will need to venture far north, beyond Stormveil Castle and into Liurnia. Here, you can find a better blacksmith who can level your weapons to as high as +10. This will make your weapons deal massive amounts of damage in Elden Ring, but it will take hours to get to that location.

In your first few hours, just focus on leveling your main weapons to +3. Look out for any dead body with an item on them, as they often hold Smithing Stones, and acquire as many Runes as possible so you can always level up new weapons if need be.