Something to keep in mind with attack skills, every 10 points sees diminishing returns, the amount of increased damage you gain decreases per point put in. IE, get about the same 1-10, then 11-20 get the same each point, but less than you got per point 1-10. And so on and so forth till about 50 or 60 I think it is when the increase is very marginal per additional point. The change at 10 rule also applies eventually with vitality and Endurance when you get into the 30 and 40s.
This has the
list of stats and what they do
Items burden is your maximum inventory weight, IE. total sum of all items, equipment, and weapons that you can carry on your person, the rest you have to leave behind (and if you leave the level it will be gone for good) or give to stockpile Thomas.
Intelligence you get extra spell memory slots at 10, 14, 18, 24, 30, 40 and more MP, but not more magic damage. The
Magic stat is what ups spell attacks damage (those cast with a catalyst).
Faith ups attack skill for miracles (cast with a talisman) and gives more miracle memory slots at 10, 16, 24, 36.
Each spell or miracle, depending on how badass it is, takes up a certain number of memory slots (1, 2, or 3) which you can switch out at any time at a vendor.
Even if you don't intend to use magic / miracles as your primary attack it is still useful to have 2 or 3 spell and miracle slots for buffing spells/miracles like Warding, Second Chance, light weapon, etc. or utility miracles like evacuate.
Stamina is lost per weapon swing and also absorbs some of the damage when attacks hit your shield/blocking weapon. More stamina = more weapon swings before you have to stop to let it recharge and the more hits you can take before your guard is broken. If your guard is broken you are stunned for a moment, wide open to an enemy's next attack. Stamina continues to increase per point of endurance until 40 at which point it maxes out at 160 stamina. Most people stop at 40 unless they wish to roll unrestricted with heavier weapons/armor (see next paragraph).
Max Equip burden determines how much equipment / weapons you can wear before it hampers your movement.
Equip burden full range of movement, rolling, etc.
50% Max equip burden < equip burden limited rolling and sluggish sprinting
Equip burden > Max equip burden -> no rolling, no sprinting
(IE. with max equip burden of 100 you have full range of movement up to 50 equip burden, limited range of movement from 50.5 to 100 equip burden, and very restricted movement at 100.5+ equip burden)
Strength and
dexterity up the physical damage of the weapon depending on the base stats of the weapon and how it has been modified by ore. For instance crushing weapons crafted with greystone use strength as the sole modifier to determine damage so one would only want to put enough minimum dexterity to wield the weapon as any more than minimum will not up damage. If you do not meet the minimum requirements of a weapon, it will do substantially less damage. Some weapons have a magic or faith requirement.
Two-handing a weapon multiplies your strength by 1.5 (IE 20 strength is 30 strength when two-handing) so if a weapon does the majority of it's damage with Faith, Magic, or Dexterity; two-handing will do hardly or no additional damage. Increased strength while two-handing also means your base strength just needs to be 2/3rds the minimum requirements of the weapon in order to wield it two-handed with no damage penalty. If you want to two-hand a lot of the time, make sure to keep in mind the rule of 10 for diminishing returns. IE two-handing at 33 base strength (effective strength of 50) will see a much bigger increase in damage than two-handing at 60 base strength (effective strength of 90).
Luck increases the QUANTITY of drops but not the QUALITY of drops so, for instance, it doesn't increase the likelihood of obtaining a pure bladestone from a black skeleton, or higher quality ore from crystal lizards since they always drop something. I always leave it at base.
[quote name='billyrox']Noob question.
which stats do you upgrade first? I have a Royal with a Cresent Simatar[/QUOTE]
A lot of people choose to upgrade
vitality because it increases HP and how much stuff you can carry.
Endurance because it ups so many other things (how heavy armor/weapons you can carry, all resistances except magic and disease, and arguably most importantly, stamina).
If you intend to stick with a crescent or moon weapon, damage is primarily determined by your magic stat, so you only want to get enough strength/dexterity to meet the minimum requirements of the weapon. Magic will also increase the damage your spells do.
Some weapons you may want to look for to craft moon / crescent.
moon: claymore, knight sword, Mirdan hammer, Uchigatana, winged spear, great sword, great axe, guillotine axe, or
Full weapon list at bottom
crescent: estoc, falchion, Uchigatana, Kilij or
full weapon list at bottom
Play around with the various weapons one-handed/two-handed in the Nexus as you collect them and chances are you will find a weapon with a move set you prefer. For instance a spear or Estoc is great when paired with a shield and a great sword, Mirdan hammer, or great axe are nice for two-handed builds.
I would determine how many spell memory slots you want, and increase intelligence to that. Up magic to a multiple of 10 like 40 or 50, get enough faith for a few miracle slots if you want to use 1 or two of the buffing miracles, then put the rest in endurance or vitality. If you are unsure of what you want your primary weapon skill to be, vitality and endurance are fairly safe skills to dump points into as they are required for most builds.
edit: been adding to this for the last hour or so.
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Oh and most importantly, if you ever accidentally hit a vendor in the Nexus enough that they become hostile, immediately press the PS button on your remote and exit out of your game so that it won't save. Vendors which become hostile to you / are killed will NOT BE USABLE AGAIN until you finish the game and start a New game+.
