To upgrade weapons in Elden Ring you bring Smithing Stones and runes to a smith: regular Smithing Stones take ordinary weapons all the way to +25, while special weapons use Somber Smithing Stones and top out at +10. Once you hand the right Bell Bearings to the Twin Maiden Husks, you can buy every stone except the Ancient Dragon ones in unlimited numbers.
Who upgrades your weapons
Reinforcing is done by Smithing Master Hewg or by War Counselor Iji. Each step costs runes and consumes the stones. If you are wondering what those extra levels actually do to your damage, the Weapon Scaling guide explains how upgrades push your stat bonuses up.
Regular vs Somber Smithing Stones
Most weapons in the game are “regular” and use the standard stones. A smaller group of special weapons, the unique and legendary ones, need the rarer somber stones instead. The two systems work quite differently:
- Regular weapons go up to +25. Each tier of stone covers three upgrade steps, and those steps cost 2, 4 and 6 stones, so 12 stones per tier. The final step from +24 to +25 needs a single Ancient Dragon Smithing Stone.
- Somber weapons go up to +10 and each step costs just one stone. The number on the stone matches the level it brings you to, and the Somber Ancient Dragon Smithing Stone handles the last step to +10.
Regular Smithing Stone upgrade table
| Stone | Upgrades | Stones needed |
|---|---|---|
| Smithing Stone [1] | +0 to +3 | 2 / 4 / 6 |
| Smithing Stone [2] | +3 to +6 | 2 / 4 / 6 |
| Smithing Stone [3] | +6 to +9 | 2 / 4 / 6 |
| Smithing Stone [4] | +9 to +12 | 2 / 4 / 6 |
| Smithing Stone [5] | +12 to +15 | 2 / 4 / 6 |
| Smithing Stone [6] | +15 to +18 | 2 / 4 / 6 |
| Smithing Stone [7] | +18 to +21 | 2 / 4 / 6 |
| Smithing Stone [8] | +21 to +24 | 2 / 4 / 6 |
| Ancient Dragon Smithing Stone | +24 to +25 | 1 |
Somber Smithing Stone upgrade table
| Stone | Upgrade |
|---|---|
| Somber Smithing Stone [1] | +0 to +1 |
| Somber Smithing Stone [2] | +1 to +2 |
| Somber Smithing Stone [3] | +2 to +3 |
| Somber Smithing Stone [4] | +3 to +4 |
| Somber Smithing Stone [5] | +4 to +5 |
| Somber Smithing Stone [6] | +5 to +6 |
| Somber Smithing Stone [7] | +6 to +7 |
| Somber Smithing Stone [8] | +7 to +8 |
| Somber Smithing Stone [9] | +8 to +9 |
| Somber Ancient Dragon Smithing Stone | +9 to +10 |
Where to find Smithing Stones
Both kinds of stone turn up all over the Lands Between and the Realm of Shadow. Some enemies drop them, a few merchants sell small batches, and mines and tunnels such as Morne Tunnel have stones you can harvest on the spot. The real long-term answer, though, is the Bell Bearings below.
Ancient Dragon Smithing Stones
These cannot be bought from the Husks, and each one only takes a single weapon from +24 to +25. A full playthrough holds 21 of them: 13 in the base game and 8 in Shadow of the Erdtree.
Base game (13)
| Area / source | How to get it |
|---|---|
| Quest reward | Nepheli Loux gives you one at the end of her questline. |
| Merchant | After Nepheli’s questline, Gostoc sells one for 20,000 runes in Godrick’s throne room, if he is still alive. |
| Quest reward | Side with Jerren at the end of Sellen’s questline. |
| Quest reward | Gurranq gives it after his ninth Deathroot, or drops it if you kill him. |
| Mountaintops of the Giants | On a corpse in the mouth of a huge skull southeast of the Church of Repose grace. |
| Consecrated Snowfield | Dropped by the two Night’s Cavalry guarding a caravan at night, along with their armor set. |
| Consecrated Snowfield | Inside the Yelough Anix Tunnel. |
| Consecrated Snowfield | On a corpse in the frozen waterfall above Great Wyrm Theodorix. From the Cave of the Forlorn grace, go out, turn left, hug the right side and jump up the ledges. |
| Crumbling Farum Azula | Dropped by the dragon that swoops in while you cross the curved platform in the southwest. |
| Crumbling Farum Azula | On a corpse on a floating platform north of the Dragon Temple, guarded by a Beastman. Follow the path of dragon statues, climb the spiral stairs on the right, and use the floating pillar to the south to reach the platform. |
| Crumbling Farum Azula | Dropped by the stationary dragon raining red lightning at the back of the plaza southeast of the Dragon Temple Rooftop grace. The gazebo behind it holds a Somber Ancient Dragon Smithing Stone. |
| Miquella’s Haligtree | On a corpse beneath the hugging statue, guarded by a Lesser Leonine Misbegotten. |
| Miquella’s Haligtree | In a chest further on after you beat Loretta. |
Shadow of the Erdtree (8)
| Area | How to get it |
|---|---|
| Gravesite Plain | Interact with the furnace in the Ruined Forge Lava Intake; you also get the Anvil Hammer. |
| Gravesite Plain | Dropped by the Magma Wyrm inside the Dragon’s Pit. |
| Gravesite Plain | In a chest at the top of the Suppressing Pillar. |
| Scadu Altus | Interact with the furnace in the Ruined Forge of Starfall Past; you also get the Ancient Meteoric Ore Greatsword. |
| Jagged Peak | Dropped by Ancient Dragon Senessax, west of the Jagged Peak Summit grace. |
| Jagged Peak | Next to three Skeletal Slimes just before the last spiritspring on the way up to the Jagged Peak Summit grace. |
| Rauh Base | In Taylew’s Ruined Forge, on a balcony beside the central platform in a room with two Smithing Golems. |
| Rauh Base | Interact with the furnace at the end of Taylew’s Ruined Forge; you also get the Taylew the Golem Smith spirit ash. |
Somber Ancient Dragon Smithing Stones
These are just as limited. In the base game you can collect:
- Three in Elphael, Brace of the Haligtree.
- One from Latenna when you finish her questline.
- One in Mohgwyn Palace.
- One in Leyndell, Ashen Capital.
- One in Crumbling Farum Azula.
- One dropped by Anastasia, Tarnished-Eater in the Consecrated Snowfield.
In Shadow of the Erdtree, every Ghostflame Dragon you kill also gives you one.
Smithing-Stone Miner’s Bell Bearings
There are four of these, and together they unlock Smithing Stones [1] through [8] at the Twin Maiden Husks.
| Bell Bearing | Where to find it | Unlocks at the Twin Maiden Husks |
|---|---|---|
| Smithing-Stone Miner’s Bell Bearing [1] | Inside the Raya Lucaria Crystal Tunnel in northeast Liurnia of the Lakes | Smithing Stone [1], Smithing Stone [2], Glintstone Scrap |
| Smithing-Stone Miner’s Bell Bearing [2] | Inside the Sealed Tunnel in the Capital Outskirts | Smithing Stone [3], Smithing Stone [4], Explosive Stone |
| Smithing-Stone Miner’s Bell Bearing [3] | In the basement of the Zamor Ruins, Mountaintops of the Giants | Smithing Stone [5], Smithing Stone [6] |
| Smithing-Stone Miner’s Bell Bearing [4] | Reward for beating the Godskin Duo in Crumbling Farum Azula | Smithing Stone [7], Smithing Stone [8], Ruin Fragment |
Somberstone Miner’s Bell Bearings
Five of these cover Somber Smithing Stones [1] through [9].
| Bell Bearing | Where to find it | Unlocks at the Twin Maiden Husks |
|---|---|---|
| Somberstone Miner’s Bell Bearing [1] | Reward for beating the Fallingstar Beast in Sellia Crystal Tunnel | Somber Smithing Stone [1], Somber Smithing Stone [2], Glintstone Scrap |
| Somberstone Miner’s Bell Bearing [2] | Reward for beating the Crystalian duo in Altus Tunnel | Somber Smithing Stone [3], Somber Smithing Stone [4], Cracked Crystal |
| Somberstone Miner’s Bell Bearing [3] | On a corpse just outside the First Church of Marika, Mountaintops of the Giants | Somber Smithing Stone [5], Somber Smithing Stone [6] |
| Somberstone Miner’s Bell Bearing [4] | On a corpse by the Tempest-Facing Balcony site of grace, Crumbling Farum Azula | Somber Smithing Stone [7], Somber Smithing Stone [8], Sanctuary Stone |
| Somberstone Miner’s Bell Bearing [5] | On a corpse in front of the altar at the bottom of the lift, before the Beside the Great Bridge site of grace in Crumbling Farum Azula | Somber Smithing Stone [9] |
A few practical tips
Since the Ancient Dragon stones are so scarce, commit them only to weapons you know you will keep. Grabbing the first Bell Bearings early, especially the one in the Raya Lucaria Crystal Tunnel, saves a lot of farming, because buying low-tier stones in bulk lets you keep several backup weapons at a useful level. If you upgrade spirit summons too, the Spirit Ash upgrade guide covers the glovewort equivalent of this system.