Elden Ring Fans Debate The Best Time To Use Smithing Stones

thegamer.com:

You might think Elden Ring is an action game, but it's really a game about resource management. Do you save up those runes to level up? Or do you spend what you have now to buy better armor? Do you use your Wondrous Physick to kill a pack of difficult enemies or save it for the dungeon boss? And do you save your smithing stones for later or do you use them right away?

That last one is being debated on the Elden Ring subreddit where wuml_md asked: "Is there a consensus on when to use smithing stones?" I can see this as an honest question for new players who don't know what weapons are worth upgrading or if smithing stones are a limited resource. Eventually, Tarnished are able to find bell bearings that let them simply buy most smithing stones from the Twin Maiden Husks for runes, but they're not an unlimited resource until significant progress has been made.

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A good rule of thumb is to upgrade your weapon to the maximum level any given area's smithing stones allow. Limgrave and the Weeping Peninsula have smithing stones (1) and (2), so weapons can be freely upgraded to level six. Liurnia has smithing stones (3) and (4), so that means you should try to level up weapons to level 12. Altus Plateau should allow for weapons to level 18, and Mountaintop of the Giants to level 24. By then, a Tarnished should have a good idea of their favorite weapons in order to use the truly limited ancient smithing stones to reach the maximum level of 25.

Of course, other Tarnished provided somewhat less nuanced advice. "Smoke 'em if you got 'em," offered user YourfriendPizza, while RealNumberSix gave the perspective of Tarnished with all-strength builds: "When your unga lacks