Stats (Dark Souls)

Base stats
The following stats may be fortified - raised by 1 - with a given number of souls; this number rises with Soul Level.


 * Vitality
 * Affects max HP and defensive parameters.
 * Recommended to some extent for most builds.


 * Attunement
 * Affects attunement slots, enabling you to carry more spells and pyromancies at once.


 * Endurance
 * Affects Stamina and Equip Load. Stamina stops increasing at around endurance level 40-45.
 * Raises defensive parameters.
 * Recommended for absolutely every character. Equip load affects movement speed at 25%, 50% and over 100% [ max equip load]


 * Strength
 * Affects specific classes of weapon damage (maces, axes, etc.) Required for all shields.
 * See Param Bonus.
 * Required for certain weapons; having less than the requisite Strength will significantly lower swing & block speed as well as damage.
 * Wielding a weapon two-handed lowers this detriment by temporarily multiplying strength by 1.5. So someone with 27 strength can wield a weapon requiring 40 strength if they Two hand it.
 * Recommended for those specializing in classical heavy warrior weapons and great shields.
 * Recommended for those specializing in classical heavy warrior weapons and great shields.


 * Dexterity
 * Affects some classes of weapon damage (bows, rapiers, spears, etc.)
 * Also decreases casting time for spells {spells are casted more quickly] up to dexterity level 45.
 * See Param Bonus.
 * Required for certain weapons that emphasise speed such as daggers and katanas.


 * Resistance
 * Affects resistance to Poison.
 * Affects physical and magical resistance by a higher level than other stats.


 * Intelligence
 * Affects certain classes of weapon damage and the damage of some spells.
 * See Param Bonus.
 * Required for some spells.
 * Required for certain weapons. Increases damage of sorceries and Enchanted/ Magic weapons.


 * Faith
 * Affects certain classes of weapon damage. Increases damage of offensive miracles and Occult/Divine weapons.
 * See Param Bonus.
 * Required for certain Miracles - they can't be cast at all without requisite Faith.
 * Required for certain weapons.

Derived stats

 * Soul Level
 * Raises by 1 every time a stat is fortified. Cost to fortify stats raises with this value.


 * HP
 * Short for Health Points. If this falls to zero, the character will die and you lose all your souls and Humanity. You also go Hollow. You leave a Bloodstain ten seconds before you died, which can be touched to regain souls and Humanity, but you still don't get your own body/soul back [You remain Hollow] . Any Bloodstain that already exists when killed is lost forever. You can wear a Ring of Sacrifice or Rare Ring of Sacrifice to avoid this.


 * Stamina
 * Decreases when performing actions such as attacking, parrying, dodging, etc.
 * Regenerates quickly with shield down, and slowly with shield held up.
 * Decreases slowly when dashing.
 * When you block an attack with too low stamina, your guard will be broken and you may take some damage in addition to being stunned for a long time. If your guard is broken by a heavy attack, you will take a critical hit and will take heavy damage. If all stamina is used up, it will take a slightly longer period of time for it to BEGIN recharging.


 * Equip Load
 * Determines movement speed when equipped with specific items, including the weapon/shield that are in the off hand.
 * Current weight level has no effect on weapon swing speed or shield use.
 * The player may equip anything they like, even if it goes over their weight limit, but mobility will suffer the higher you equip load:
 * 00~24%: Full speed, excellent maneuverability
 * 25~49%: Slightly slower, can still roll fairly quickly
 * 50~100%: Much slower, roll is a "flop" and dodging is hindered
 * 100%+: Can only walk very slowly. Rolls and backsteps become awkward wiggles and stumbles. Avoid at all costs.


 * Defense


 * [[File:Def atk phy.png]]Physical Defense
 * Lowers damage taken from normal attacks. Divided into three subtypes:
 * [[File:Def atk strike.png]]VS Strike - Blunt weaponry such as maces.
 * [[File:Def atk slash.png]]VS Slash - Slashing weapons such as swords and axes.
 * [[File:Def atk thrust.png]]VS Thrust: Piercing weapons such as spears and rapiers.


 * There is also Regular damage that is affected by ONLY regular physical defense. In general, Armors have high slash defense, more or less equal regular and thrust defense, and strike defense is their lowest physical defense. May not apply to all armor sets.


 * [[File:Def sorc mag.png]]Magic DEF
 * Lowers damage taken from general magic and miracles.


 * [[File:Def sorc fire.png]]Flame DEF
 * Lowers damage taken from fire-enchanted weapons, Firebombs, fire magic.


 * [[File:Def sorc lght.png]]Lightning DEF
 * Lowers damage taken from lightning-enchanted weapons, lightning magic.


 * [[File:Def res poise.png]]Poise
 * Offers resistance to being staggered.High Poise also allows players who would normally be knocked down by an attack to instead be heavily stunned by it.


 * [[File:Def res bleed.png]]Bleed, [[File:Def res poi.png]]Poison, [[File:Def res cur.png]]Curse Resist
 * Resistance to these status effects.
 * Bleeding is caused by attacks from sharp weapons or sharp objects and will accumulate even through block. When bleeding tolerance reaches zero { the bar fills] The target will take sever bleed damage. About 30% / [50% for certain weapons] of their maximum health.
 * Poison and Toxic are caused by contact with venomous opponents or poisoned weapons and will afflict players through block. Both will inflict damage over time until poison tolerance is back to normal. {The tolerance bar will fill at first and when full you will be poisoned. From there, the bar will empty itself back to normal and thats when the poisoning will stop. It can be argued that a high poison resistance will result in an arduously long poisoning.] Toxic is similar except it inflicts damage at a MUCH greater rate, easily killing players.
 * Most important is Curse Resist, as Curse will instantly kill the player and halve their max HP on revive. Players can be cursed more than one time, but stops when the players HP is about 1/8 of original. A player can temporarily Curse themselves with a Transient Curse to attack Ghosts without dying or halving their health points so getting this on purpose is inadvisable.

Performance

 * Damage Type
 * Determines which of the enemy's physical defenses is applied, e.g. blunt defense, slash defense...


 * Physical damage
 * Amount of raw physical damage dealt. How this is decreased by an enemy's equipment depends on its damage type.
 * Most of the early game items deal purely physical damage.


 * Magic damage
 * Amount of magic damage dealt. Decreased by enemy's magic defense.


 * Fire damage
 * Amount of fire damage dealt.


 * Lightning damage
 * Amount of lightning damage dealt.

Param Bonus
All items have a rating from - to S in four stats. When all stat requisites are met and the relevant stats are higher than the item's reuqirements, the item will receive a damage bonus.

Some items have no param bonus whatsoever, like all of the Dragon Weapons (i.e. Drake Sword).


 * Strength
 * Often governs blunt instruments such as axes, hammers or mauls.


 * Dexterity
 * Often governs fine instruments such as daggers and bows.


 * Intelligence
 * Often governs items that deal magic damage and affects the strength of some Spells.


 * Faith
 * Governs Occult/Divine items and affects the strength of some Miracles.