Talk:Resistance/@comment-115.164.185.107-20150324103524/@comment-143.238.1.52-20150324110836

It's true that you're free to play as you want, but that's not why people feel Resistance is useless. Resistance, in and of itself, can be useful. However, it doesn't exist in a vacuum: there are other stats present which offer other benefits, in addition to watered-down effects of Resistance.

To apply economics to the situation, players are always comparing the marginal benefits gained from an extra level in a stat and the marginal cost of spending Souls. For instance, when a player levels up Endurance, they get more stamina, equip load, as well as a little defence boost. All in all, it's generally worth the Souls. Same goes with Strength/Dexterity. Investing an extra point in STR/DEX might be the difference between using a Broadsword and a Zweihander single-handedly. Worth it? Hell yeah, plus you get a bit more defence.

Then there's Resistance. For all you invest in it, you get a little bit of defence and poison resistance. Sure, these build up over time, but let's think about it in terms of a boss battle. Say you invested 20 points in Resistance as opposed to Endurance. That 40 - 160 defence is not going to make much difference to how much damage you take. In contrast, you could have used the Souls spent on Resistance to increase Endurance, which would have allowed you more freedom in combat, as you have a higher amount of stamina and can equip a wider variety of stuff.

Apologies for the mini-essay, but I was only trying to explain why people keep saying "Resistance is useless". Resistance is not completely useless, but it is the least useful stat in relation to the benefits of other stats. At the end of the day, feel free to play as you see fit. Not dissing playstyles for the sake of it, just trying to explain why it is not considered optimal.