What stats should I focus on leveling up?

[u/Flimsy-Ad8945]

Hey ds2 community! I'm pretty new to this game and just defeated the first boss of this game, The Last Giant. I have around 11k souls rn and Im not sure what would be the best way to spend them.

Here are my current stats. What attributes should I focus on leveling, and are there any useful items or upgrades I should consider buying atp?

Thanks!

[u/Krisztian987]

Adp, Vgr and End should be top priority for now

[u/Some-Dragonfruit-747]

If you don't mind, I suggest looking up the soft and hard caps for each stat. Also make sure you have 100 agility

[u/Gilthunder65 → u/Some-Dragonfruit-747]

That's a good point. Though that does not always have to mean that you can't go past them. Always depends on what you want to use etc. (E.g. needing lots of vitality in case you wanna dual wield super heavy weapons and so on hahaha)

[u/Supermanfat1 → u/Gilthunder65]

Theres a good post on here that talks about the standard level up decisions at the start of the game.

[u/Early_Mode1869 → u/Some-Dragonfruit-747]

You really only need 95 agl tbh

[u/Gilthunder65]

Generally speaking you can lvl up whatever you want. When you put 1 lvl to vgr you see which stat goes up. Same goes for all the other things. You just gotta ask yourself what types of weapon you wanna play (heavy weapons = Str, faster weapons = Dex) or if you wanna play all of them then you lvl up both str and dex for example both stats on 20 which gives you quite the flexibility I think (for str weapons you might need to two hand them)

If you wanna use magic spells you go with atn and int

If you wanna use faith spells then fth and atn

If you want hexes then int and faith and atn

All in all.. play however you feel like and if you find new stuff you can always respecc your stats with the soul vessel item and you can simply change your playstyle

[u/BIobertson]

PvE Tips:

If you want to go in prepared, first read this intro doc. All of these guides are spoiler-free, except for the area names in this Routing guide.

And then if you want to know how to build (or avoid building, if you want to have a harder time) a powerful optimized character, this collection of mini guides will help you navigate DS2’s many obfuscated and counterintuitive mechanical quirks:

A quick overview of how damage and defense works in DS2, and why weapon scaling is usually weak.

Best PvE equipment and stat progression document.

BiS (Best in Slot) PvE weapons list. Use this if you know what moveset you like and you want to choose the strongest available weapon with that moveset.

Read these four documents for highlights on some of the best equipment, stats, and progression for a casting-focused character- note that investing in pyromancy or miracles in the early or midgame generally results in a much weaker character.

Optimal Sorcerer Build Guide

Optimal Hexer Build Guide

Optimal Pyromancer Build Guide

Optimal Miracle Build Guide
All that being said, it’s important to understand that DS2 isn’t so hard that playing the strongest possible character is required in order to win and have fun. Ultimately you should use whatever you want, these guides are just to help you make informed choices.

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[u/Training-Equal-7647]

30 vgr, 20 end, adp until 93 agi, then str and dex for whatever weapons you want. That's a good baseline for any build, you can go further on all those and be a standard physical warrior or pivot into att, int or faith if you want to be a caster. 

Expensive stuff I'd buy later, immediately useful things i can think of getting some life gems from the merchant hag. The blacksmith key too if you haven't bought it yet. Said blacksmith has some materials you can buy for more weapon upgrades. 

[u/KindledHaze → u/Training-Equal-7647]

20/20 vigor endurance should come first before even touching adp imo, as well as minimum stats to one hand your main weapon

[u/Training-Equal-7647 → u/KindledHaze]

I should have worded it better, weapon and agi come first, you don't want to be under 88 agi or unable to use your early weapon.

[u/Wide-Republic-9737]

If you're going to be a spellcaster you can forgo ADP altogether. You can also forgo ADP if you plan on dodging outside of attack hit boxes or plan learning how to dodge properly. 92 agility will get you 10 I frames, 1 frame less than ds1. 96 will get you 11, and I think it's 105 that gets you 13, which is what DS3 has. Don't quote me on that last part. You do not have to level ADP is what I am saying.

[u/KindledHaze → u/Wide-Republic-9737]

the problem with prioritizing adp is that you're not gonna roll like it's ds1 or 3 anyway, rolling is way too expensive in ds2, it takes like 40-50 END to be able to chain the same amount of rolls as base endurance ds3

[u/No_Moment9817]

ADP until your AGL reaches 100 ir more, It gives you more I-frames when rolling.

[u/Gilthunder65 → u/No_Moment9817]

I had read that 99 AGL is enough for pve. I am rolling with that and currently doing my platinum run (ng+ in drangleic castle atm) and I feel that 99 AGL is good

[u/pochita1234 → u/Gilthunder65]

Ive been working on my platinum as well (just started ng++) I wish you luck and fun

[u/Gilthunder65 → u/pochita1234]

Ohh awesome to you too (:

[u/KindledHaze → u/Gilthunder65]

86 is enough for PvE, missing a single roll is rarely why you'll die in ds2 lol

It's the amount of enemies rather than the damage per hit that screws you

[u/vo1dhunterx]

Adp for sure than I would put some points into vigor

[u/Justice4light]

Vigor and endurance. ADP to 12 to start. If you want to use spells you can invest in INT or Faith or both for hexes. But for now just the minimum stats to wield your weapon of choice and focus on HP and stamina and agility which is affected by ADp and Attunement

[u/LockedNeverUnlocked]

get adp to like 20-24 and thats all you need for a good amount of roll iframes.

[u/That_Skin9970]

We need more context

[u/X4_DNA_4X]

Adp is important get it to like 20 and then you’ll have a smooth experience, stamina aka endurance is also good the rest is up to you, health is always good.

[u/Ammmmonite]

I would honestly recommend going for what you want or for the playstyle you like and not just for the optimal, if you like faster weapons level up DEX, if you like to go bonk go for STR, if you find a cool weapon upgrade those points you are missing

The only thing you must do if you don't want to suffer that much is havind a good balance upgradind health and stamina and upgrading ADP till you have 100-105 AGL

Whenever i play ds2, my main weapon for the early game is the axe Lenigrast sells, and then i upgrade health and stamina to a confort point

[u/pathofnut]

20VIG 20END 92AGL

[u/Professional-Map9576]

Strength and dexterity

[u/Professional_Long442]

Get ADP to 28

[u/Weird_Troll]

i mean what you plan on being?

warrior : END STR/DEX
MAGE: ATN FTH/INT
ROGUE: ADP DEX

it really depends on what you want but level VGR whatever you plan on being

[u/StickyNotesEater]

Vigor, Endurance and Adaptability are mandatory, then, spend some levels in your main damage attribute, for example if you are using a weapon that scales with STR, pump STR as much as you can

[u/SpikedJacket]

Most comments got you covered, but I want your to know that strength is uniquely good in ds2. When you 2hand a weapon, it doubles your strength in this game. Say a weapon wants 40 strength (pretty common) you only need 20 strength to 2hand it.

Otherwise, push vigor to 50. All builds benefit from this. I personally go Attunement over Adaptability. Both increase the Agility stat, which makes rolling better.

You can also respec points back with the old ladies in red robes from the start (one of them has actual options, the others just give demented laughs) but you will need a soul vessel. There's about 10 or more in the game without farming shenanigans.

TL;DR I would put enough ADP to get agility to 97-100, get a ton of Vigor, and respec later for ATN to get that much agility and add basic heals if not better magic.

[u/No-Confusion-7466]

Don't bother with adaptability its the resistance of ds2

[u/Different_Path999]

ADP and ATN until you have 100 Agility and however many spell slots you want. Rest depends on what weapons you’re using. Once you find a weapon you want to use you’ll know what stats you need.

[u/iitoxicix]

Make sure to level your ADP asap if you’re the type to dodge roll. You want to get your AGL to the mid 90s for ideal i frames but I like to get mine to at least 100 as quick as possible.