Elden Ring Leveling and Runes
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Runes are both your currency and your experience. You level up by spending them at a Site of Grace, and the cost of the next level rises each time you buy one. If you die holding runes, the exact amount you were carrying drops where you fell and you get one chance to pick them up; die again before you do and they are gone.
How to level up
Rest at any Site of Grace and choose the option to level up. Early on, the ability to level comes from talking to Melina after you reach the first Site of Grace outside the tutorial, and the Roundtable Hold becomes available shortly after. From then on any Site of Grace works, whether you are in Limgrave or the Realm of Shadow.
Spending runes well early
The early game is not the place for a balanced spread. Two habits make the first ten hours much easier:
| Priority | Why |
|---|---|
| Vigour first | Health is the stat that decides how many mistakes you survive |
| One damage stat | Strength, dexterity, intelligence, or faith, but not three at once |
| Meeting weapon requirements | A weapon you cannot wield properly is a liability |
| Upgrades over levels | Smithing Stones raise damage faster than a level does |
You can leave a fight, spend what you have, and come back. Nothing in the world punishes you for levelling in a different region.
Losing and protecting runes
Some fights are worth entering with an empty purse. If you are carrying enough runes to level up two or three times, spend them before a boss attempt rather than after a failed one. Two other habits help: use a Sacrificial Twig if you want to guarantee the runes survive a death, and remember that the marker on your map shows exactly where you dropped them.
Levelling is not a substitute for reading a fight, but it is the cheapest way to widen your margin for error.