How to Level Up in Dark Souls 2: A Complete Guide – In Dark Souls 2, you must level up your character in order to strengthen him/her stat’s, get stronger and more capable of overcoming the obstacles in the game. But, it is a little bit different than in the rest of the Souls series entries. This guide will provide a detailed breakdown of how to level up, including tips and strategies to optimize your character’s progression.
Understanding Leveling Up in Dark Souls 2
Levelling up in Dark Souls 2 raises your characters’ stats, which enables them to wield more powerful arms, cast heavier spells, and withstand more formidable foes. To level up, you need souls, which serve as both currency and experience points.
Unlike other Dark Souls games where you level up at bonfires, in Dark Souls 2, you must visit an NPC called the Emerald Herald to increase your level.
Step-by-Step Guide to Leveling Up
1. Meet the Emerald Herald
The Emerald Herald is the guide to getting stronger in Dark Souls 2. You’ll find her in Majula, a peaceful hub area you’ll reach shortly after starting the game.
Once vanquished of the first enemies and then walked through the tutorial, you’ll find a trail that leads to Majula.
Find a woman in a green cloak by the bonfire. This is the Emerald Herald.
2. Gather Souls
Souls are the currency you’ll use to level up. You can obtain souls in several ways:
- Defeating Enemies: Each enemy gives a predictable quantity of souls at the end of each battle.
- Consuming Soul Items: Items such as Soul of a Lost Undead can be consumed and the number of souls will be added to the player.
- Boss Souls: Finishing bosses rewards you with very potent soul items that can be eaten for a high number of souls or posted to exchange for special weapons.
3. Visit the Emerald Herald
Once you’ve collected enough souls: Once you’ve collected enough souls:
- Go to Majula and interact with the Emerald Herald.
- From the menu, pick the “Level Up” option.
4. Distribute Souls to Stats
On reaching higher levels of progression, you will be able to allocate points between the various stats towards your gameplay and build. The cost of leveling up increases with each level, so choose wisely.
Understanding Stats
Before you can level up, it’s important to know the purpose of each stat so you can build your character as you choose.
1. Vigor (VIG)
- Increases your maximum HP.
- Perfect for players who are looking to stay in the fight for longer.
2. Endurance (END)
- Increases stamina which grants you higher number of attacks, blocks, and dodges.
- Essential for melee builds.
3. Vitality (VIT)
Raises your upper cap on equip load, so you can wear heavier armor and larger weapons.
4. Attunement (ATT)
- Raises the number of spell slots and slightly improves casting speed.
- Crucial for magic-focused builds.
5. Strength (STR)
Increases your ability to wield heavy weapons and boosts physical attack power for strength-based weapons.
6. Dexterity (DEX)
Improves your performance of weapons that scale with dexterity (e.g., katanas and bows).
7. Adaptability (ADP)
- Increases agility, which affects your rolling and dodging speed.
- Also boosts resistance to certain status effects.
8. Intelligence (INT)
- Increases the power of sorceries and other magic spells.
- A must-have for mages.
9. Faith (FTH)
- Boosts the power of miracles and other faith-based spells.
- Ideal for cleric builds.
10. Luck (LCK)
Improves item discovery rates and some minor effects.
Tips for Efficient Leveling
- Plan Your Build Early
Decide on your character’s playstyle before allocating stats. Are you going for a tanky melee build, a nimble dexterity-focused fighter, or a spellcaster? This will help you distribute points effectively.
- Farm Souls Strategically
Revisit locations with respawning enemies that provide a lot of souls.
Employ items such as the Covetous Silver Serpent Ring, in order to elevate soul capture.
- Use Boss Souls Wisely
Boss souls can be consumed for a large amount of souls, but they can also be traded for powerful weapons. Think carefully before using them.
- Prioritize Vital Stats
Early in the game, focus on Vigor and Endurance to survive longer and fight more effectively.
Avoid spreading points too thin across multiple stats; instead, focus on 2–3 core stats for your build.
- Explore for Soul Items
Many soul items are scattered throughout the world. Thorough exploration can provide a significant boost to your leveling process.
Common Mistakes to Avoid
- Ignoring Adaptability
Quite a few newbies do not take Adaptability for granted, though it’s very important to further improve the dodge roll, and resistances against status effects.
- Wasting Souls on Unnecessary Stats
Avoid leveling up stats that don’t benefit your build. For example, a pure melee fighter does not have to allocate points to the Intelligence or Faith attributes.
- Hoarding Souls
While it’s tempting to save souls, holding onto them increases your risk of losing them upon death. Consume them immediately to level up or upgrade their equipment.
Farming Souls for Faster Leveling
If you’re struggling to gather enough souls, here are some effective farming locations:.
- Heide’s Tower of Flame
Enemies here drop a good number of souls and are relatively easy to defeat once you’ve mastered their patterns.
- The Forest of Fallen Giants
This early-game zone is particularly good for farming, in particular in the vicinity of the Cardinal Tower bonfire.
- Iron Keep
Iron Keep becomes an ultimate farming location much later in the game, both because of the amount of hostiles and because of the frequency of their soul drops.
Leveling Up for Different Builds
Melee Build
- Focus on Strength, Dexterity, Vigor, and Endurance.
- Heavy armor and combat weapons, “Invest in Vitality” if you intend.
Magic Build
Prioritize Intelligence, Faith, and Attunement.
The combination of statistical and sorcery provides flexibility with the power of magic and miracles.
Hybrid Build
Achieve Balance Between Strength and Dexterity and Intelligence and Faith for a multidimensional figure.
Conclusion
Improvement of levels in Dark Souls 2 is an important step to progress in the game and in defeating its inherent difficulties. Unearthing the leveling process, planning your build, and farming souls effectively allows you to build a character that fits your preferred way of playing and advances you through the hazardous landscape of Drangleic.
With patience, practice, and strategic planning, you’ll find yourself not only leveling up but also mastering the art of Dark Souls 2. Good luck, and may the flames guide you!