Elden Ring Runes in Elden Ring are the backbone of character progression. They act as your experience points, your currency, your upgrade material investment, and sometimes your biggest heartbreak when you lose a huge stack to a surprise ambush, gravity, or a dog that somehow hits harder than a demi-god. Because Runes are tied to so many parts of the game, learning to use them wisely is essential if you want to progress efficiently, avoid setbacks, and build a powerful character without unnecessary grinding.

This guide dives into how to spend Runes intelligently, which stats matter most, when to upgrade your weapons, and how to prevent those classic “I just lost everything” moments. Whether you're a newcomer or a returning Tarnished starting a fresh build, these principles will help stretch every Rune further.

What Runes Do

Before discussing how to use them, it’s important to understand what Runes actually do. Runes serve three major functions:

Leveling Up:

You spend Runes at Sites of Grace to increase your stats. Each level increases the cost, but it also defines the foundation of your build, scaling, and survivability.

Buying Items:

Merchants sell weapons, armor, crafting materials, spells, and utility items. Everything costs Runes, and early-game purchases can heavily influence how smooth your journey feels.

Upgrading Gear:

Blacksmith upgrades can dramatically boost your damage output, sometimes more than leveling up will. Almost every build becomes stronger through weapon upgrades, and this is often where most players don’t spend enough.

Because Runes are divided between three major resource demands, you need to prioritize carefully. That starts with smart early-game decisions.

Part 1: The Smart Way to Spend Early Runes

1. Upgrade Your Main Weapon ASAP

One of the biggest mistakes new players make is dumping all their early Runes into leveling up. While leveling is important, upgrading your weapon has a significantly bigger impact on your damage output.

A simple +1 or +2 weapon can easily add more damage than ten levels in Strength, Dexterity, or Intelligence. In fact, a +3 or +4 weapon often carries you through entire regions without needing major stat increases.

Why upgrading early matters:

Your early damage skyrockets

You kill enemies faster

Faster kills mean fewer mistakes

Fewer mistakes mean fewer lost Runes

More damage equals smoother boss fights

Prioritize upgrading your main weapon to +3 or +4 as soon as possible. Early Smithing Stones are plentiful in Limgrave’s caves, tunnels, and optional dungeons. Visit the blacksmith, reinforce your preferred weapon, and enjoy the noticeable power spike.

If you're using a special weapon (one that requires Somber Smithing Stones), you only need one stone per upgrade. This makes Somber weapons extremely efficient for early leveling, especially if you happen to pick up a strong unique weapon.

2. Buy Only What You Actually Need

It’s tempting to grab every cool item a merchant offers, but this is one of the fastest ways to drain your Runes without meaningful benefit.

Early-game merchants sell many items that seem useful but aren’t essential. What you should spend Runes on depends on your build and playstyle, but here are the most universally valuable early purchases:

Crafting Kit from the first Merchant

Necessary weapon or shield upgrades

A better starting weapon if yours feels too slow or too weak

A torch if you plan on entering caves

A few Arrows/Bolts for utility

Avoid buying early armor sets unless they drastically improve your defenses or poise. Most armor in Elden Ring has only small stat differences, and you’ll find plenty of sets just by exploring.

Consumables such as fire pots, knives, and bombs are useful but can also be crafted cheaply. Save your Runes for upgrades and key items instead of stocking up on items that disappear quickly.

Part 2: Soft Caps — The Hidden Rune Saver

Soft caps are one of the most important yet overlooked concepts when deciding where to spend your Runes. A soft cap is a point at which increasing a stat gives noticeably smaller returns. This prevents players from blindly leveling a stat to 60 or 80 without understanding what value they’re getting.

Here are the important soft caps for key stats:

Vigor: 40 is the first major soft cap (always get at least this)

Endurance: 25 and 32 depending on stamina vs equip load goals

Strength/Dexterity: 20, 55, and 80

Intelligence/Faith: 20, 50, and 80

Arcane: 20 and 45

If you level past a soft cap too early, you waste Runes on stats giving tiny improvements. Instead, spread your levels across stats that still offer high-value gains. Once your core stats hit their first soft caps, you can reassess where the next Rune should go.

Soft caps act as natural guidance for efficient leveling. They keep you from overspending, ensure consistent power growth, and help you avoid a scenario where you’re level 60 but still hitting like a level 30 build because your weapon isn’t upgraded.

Part 3: Spend Runes Based on Your Playstyle

Every Tarnished plays differently, and your Rune spending should match your preferred style. Here are common playstyles and how they affect Rune priorities:

Aggressive Melee

Focus on:

Vigor to survive exchanges

Endurance for stamina-based combat

Weapon upgrades to maximize damage

Aggressive playstyle relies on fast kills and trading hits, so Vigor and weapon upgrades matter more than raw stat scaling early on.

Defensive / Tanks

Focus on:

Vigor and Endurance

Heavy armor (found, not bought)

Shields and guard boost upgrades

You won’t need high damage early, but your Rune investment should strengthen your survivability and stability.

Spellcasters

Focus on:

Mind for FP

Intelligence or Faith to reach spell requirements

Upgrading your casting seal or staff

Casters should never overinvest in damage stats early. Meeting spell requirements and boosting FP efficiency is far more important.

Hybrid Builds

Focus on:

Hitting minimum weapon requirements

Balancing damage scaling between stats

Upgrading your weapon before dumping into two stats at once

Hybrids become powerful later but need careful early Rune management to avoid spreading stats too thin.

How to Avoid Losing Your Runes

Even the most experienced players lose Runes, but you can reduce the chances significantly by following a few habits:

Spend Runes before exploring unsafe areas

Use the Grace menu to level as soon as you have enough

Keep a few Rune consumables for emergencies

Avoid hoarding massive stacks

Use the Spectral Steed to retrieve lost Runes faster

Smart Rune management is about not treating them like a high-risk investment.

Final Thoughts

Runes are the foundation of everything you do in Elden Ring, but using them wisely can dramatically change the difficulty curve, reduce frustration, and make your build far more powerful from start to finish. Prioritize weapon upgrades, spend Runes only on essentials, follow soft caps for efficient leveling, and match your investing strategy to your playstyle. With the right approach, you’ll progress smoother, die less, and avoid those soul-crushing moments when 90,000 cheap Elden Ring Runes vanish forever.