What is Poise in Elden Ring? Explained

Have you been browsing your character stats in Elden Ring and noticed an interesting stat called “Poise,” but have no idea what this means? You’re not alone, as the stat has confused more than a few players during the year plus that Elden Ring has been released to the public. Fear not, though, as we’re here to help you understand exactly what Poise is and how it can greatly impact your character during combat.

Poise in Elden Ring explained

If you’re like most of the Elden Ring player base, then you have likely been susceptible to an onslaught of enemy attacks during a fight after your character has simply stopped fighting for a couple of seconds. Your character can also be knocked over completely, which causes players to have to manually get up.  When your character does either of these actions, you are currently out of Poise.

Poise is defined as “the degree to which you can resist collapsing under enemy attacks.” Unlike your HP or stamina bar, though, the Poise bar is invisible in Elden Ring. This means that you won’t be able to see when you’re close to running out. Whenever you do run out of Poise and you are hit by an enemy attack, your character will slump over and become vulnerable for one to two seconds. Luckily, after your Poise bar is depleted, it will refill when your character comes out of their slump.

Another important element of Poise is that enemies have the same invisible Poise bar. If players continually hit an enemy with attacks then that enemy will eventually run out of Poise, and they will be susceptible to a heavy attack that does massive damage. This will be indicated by a red circle that will appear on the enemy’s body. Players can use their heavy attack when this red dot appears to deal a fatal strike, which can sometimes be enough to kill the enemy. Although, if enemies aren’t hit by the player within six seconds, their Poise bar will refill to its maximum level.

In Elden Ring, you can increase your Poise by wearing certain armor, equipping specific Ashes of War, mixing specific Wondrous Physick bottles, casting incantations and spells, and using consumables. You just have to look out for any item that can increase Poise. It’s an important stat in Elden Ring, so you don’t want to overlook it.