Anyone who's played a Souls game before knows that there's more to becoming stronger in Elden Ring than simply scouring the world for weapons that are stronger than the ones you currently have. In the right situation, a sword that you get early on in the game can be just as good as a shiny new weapon you get from a difficult dungeon. This is largely thanks to Smithing Stones: These useable items can be used to upgrade a weapon up to 25 levels, granting it higher stats.

Smithing Stones can be found anywhere in the open world; you can pick one up from the ground or pillage one from a defeated enemy. In order to use them, you'll need to have discovered the Roundtable Hold hub area. There, you'll encounter a blacksmith named Smithing Master Hewg, who will upgrade your weapons to make them even stronger.

There are different tiers of Smithing Stones throughout the Lands Between, denoted by ranks like "Smithing Stone (1)" and "Smithing Stone (2)." Smithing Stones have nine ranks in total, with the most valuable being the Ancient Dragon Smithing Stone. Each tier will help you upgrade your weapons to higher levels. For example, "Smithing Stone (1)" can upgrade your weapon to +3. To level a weapon up more than that, you'll need a "Smithing Stone (2)," and so on and so forth.

If you can manage your Smithing Stones well, then you'll be well on your way to becoming the next Elden Lord.

Elden Ring is currently available on several platforms.