Demon's Souls
Demon's Souls

Crafting & Upgrading Explained — Demon's Souls Guide

Master weapon and shield upgrades in Demon's Souls. Our guide explains upgrade paths, required materials, and finding the right blacksmith to enhance your gear.

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Crafting & Upgrading Explained

In the treacherous lands of Boletaria, simply finding powerful equipment isn't enough. To truly stand a chance against the demons that plague the realm, you must master the art of upgrading your weapons and shields. This guide will walk you through the intricate process, from understanding the different upgrade paths to locating the essential materials and craftsmen.

The Blacksmiths of Boletaria

Your journey into crafting and upgrading begins with the blacksmiths. There are two primary blacksmiths you'll encounter, each with unique capabilities:

  • Blacksmith Boldwin: Located in the Nexus, near the Archstone of the Small King. Boldwin is your go-to for basic weapon upgrades using common ore types. He can upgrade weapons along the standard path, as well as Sharp, Crushing, Quality, and Dragon paths once you provide him with the necessary Searing Demon Soul.
  • Blacksmith Ed: Found in Stonefang Tunnel (2-1), accessible by taking the elevator down from the main area. Ed is the master craftsman, capable of forging unique weapons from Demon's Souls and handling more advanced upgrade paths like Moon, Blessed, Tearing, Mercury, and Fatal. To unlock his full potential, you must bring him the Searing Demon Soul from the Flamelurker boss in Stonefang Tunnel (2-2).

Understanding Upgrade Paths

Demon's Souls offers a diverse array of upgrade paths, each altering a weapon's properties in distinct ways. Choosing the right path depends on your character's build and preferred playstyle. Here's a breakdown of the most common paths and their effects:

Standard Upgrades

This is the most basic upgrade path, increasing a weapon's raw physical damage. It uses readily available ores and is a solid choice for any weapon you plan to use early on or as a foundation for other paths.

  • Materials: Hardstone, Sharpstone
  • Blacksmith: Boldwin (Nexus)
  • Strategy: Focus on upgrading your primary weapon to +3 or +5 early to significantly boost your damage output against initial threats.

Attribute Scaling Upgrades

These paths modify a weapon's attribute scaling, making them more effective for specific character builds.

  • Sharp: Improves Dexterity (DEX) scaling.
    • Materials: Sharpstone
    • Blacksmith: Boldwin (Nexus) after Searing Demon Soul
    • Best For: Dexterity-focused builds, daggers, katanas, rapiers.
  • Crushing: Improves Strength (STR) scaling.
    • Materials: Greystone
    • Blacksmith: Boldwin (Nexus) after Searing Demon Soul
    • Best For: Strength-focused builds, greatswords, axes, hammers.
  • Quality: Improves both Strength (STR) and Dexterity (DEX) scaling.
    • Materials: Clearstone
    • Blacksmith: Boldwin (Nexus) after Searing Demon Soul
    • Best For: Quality builds (even distribution of STR and DEX), versatile weapons.
  • Moon: Adds Magic damage and Magic scaling (INT).
    • Materials: Moonlightstone
    • Blacksmith: Ed (Stonefang Tunnel) after Searing Demon Soul
    • Best For: Magic users, hybrid builds.
  • Blessed: Adds Magic damage, Magic scaling (FTH), and HP regeneration.
    • Materials: Faintstone
    • Blacksmith: Ed (Stonefang Tunnel) after Searing Demon Soul
    • Best For: Faith users, builds prioritizing sustain.

Specialized Upgrade Paths

These paths offer unique properties beyond simple damage or scaling adjustments.

  • Dragon: Adds Fire damage. Does not scale with attributes.
    • Materials: Dragonstone
    • Blacksmith: Boldwin (Nexus) after Searing Demon Soul
    • Best For: Characters with low offensive stats, or for exploiting enemy fire weaknesses.
  • Tearing: Increases critical hit damage.
    • Materials: Bladestone
    • Blacksmith: Ed (Stonefang Tunnel) after Searing Demon Soul
    • Best For: Weapons with high critical multipliers (e.g., daggers, rapiers), builds focused on backstabs and parry-ripostes.
  • Mercury: Adds Poison damage.
    • Materials: Mercurystone
    • Blacksmith: Ed (Stonefang Tunnel) after Searing Demon Soul
    • Best For: Inflicting status effects on enemies, particularly useful against high-HP targets.
  • Fatal: Greatly increases critical hit damage, but significantly reduces base damage.
    • Materials: Marrowstone
    • Blacksmith: Ed (Stonefang Tunnel) after Searing Demon Soul
    • Best For: Dedicated critical hit builds, often paired with the Kris Blade for maximum effect.

Obtaining Upgrade Materials (Stones)

The key to powerful upgrades lies in collecting various types of "stones" (ores). Each stone type is typically found in specific Archstones and dropped by certain enemies.

Common Stones

  • Hardstone: Found in Stonefang Tunnel (2-1, 2-2), dropped by Scale Miners and Crystal Lizards. Essential for standard upgrades.
  • Sharpstone: Found in Stonefang Tunnel (2-1, 2-2), dropped by Scale Miners and Crystal Lizards. Used for standard and Sharp upgrades.

Specialized Stones

  • Greystone: Primarily found in Stonefang Tunnel (2-2, 2-3), dropped by Rock Worms and the Large Bearbug. Used for Crushing upgrades.
  • Clearstone: Found in Stonefang Tunnel (2-1, 2-2), dropped by Crystal Lizards and the Red-Eyed Knight in 1-1 (rare). Used for Quality upgrades.
  • Dragonstone: Found in Stonefang Tunnel (2-2, 2-3), dropped by Dragon God and Large Bearbugs. Used for Dragon upgrades.
  • Moonlightstone: Found in Shrine of Storms (4-1, 4-2, 4-3), dropped by Crystal Lizards and the Reaper. Used for Moon upgrades.
  • Faintstone: Found in Valley of Defilement (5-1, 5-2, 5-3), dropped by Depraved Ones and the Leechmonger. Used for Blessed upgrades.
  • Bladestone: Found in Shrine of Storms (4-1, 4-2, 4-3), dropped by Black Skeletons and the Adjudicator. Notoriously rare, especially Pure Bladestone. Used for Tearing upgrades.
  • Mercurystone: Found in Tower of Latria (3-1, 3-2), dropped by Man Centipedes and the Fool's Idol. Used for Mercury upgrades.
  • Marrowstone: Found in Valley of Defilement (5-1, 5-2), dropped by Giant Ticks and the Dirty Colossus. Used for Fatal upgrades.

Pure Stones

The final stage of many upgrade paths requires a "Pure" version of the respective stone. These are exceedingly rare drops, often from specific Crystal Lizards or as guaranteed drops from certain bosses or unique enemies. Farming Pure Bladestone, for example, is a rite of passage for many Demon's Souls players due to its abysmal drop rate from Black Skeletons in 4-2.

Forging Unique Weapons with Demon's Souls

Blacksmith Ed, after receiving the Searing Demon Soul, gains the ability to forge powerful unique weapons and spells from the souls of vanquished demons. This is where some of the most iconic and potent equipment in the game comes from.

  1. Defeat a Boss: Obtain a specific Demon's Soul from a boss.
  2. Acquire a Base Weapon: You'll need a specific type of weapon, often upgraded to a certain level (e.g., a +8 Dagger, a +7 Spear).
  3. Visit Blacksmith Ed: Speak with him in Stonefang Tunnel (2-1).
  4. Select "Forge Demon's Soul Weapon": Choose the desired weapon from the list.

Example: To forge the Large Sword of Moonlight, you need the Large Sword of Moonlight Demon's Soul (from the Moonlight Butterfly) and any +6 Greatsword or Curved Sword.

Tips for Efficient Upgrading

  • Prioritize a Main Weapon: Focus your early upgrade materials on one or two primary weapons that fit your build. Spreading resources too thin will leave you underpowered.
  • Farm Crystal Lizards: These elusive creatures drop valuable upgrade materials. Learn their spawn locations and routes (e.g., Stonefang Tunnel 2-1, Shrine of Storms 4-2). Remember they flee quickly, so be decisive!
  • World Tendency Matters: Pure Black World Tendency in certain areas can increase the drop rate of rare upgrade materials from enemies. However, it also makes the game significantly harder.
  • Stockpile Shards: You'll need many Shards of each stone type before you can use Chunks and Pures. Always collect them when you can.
  • Don't Be Afraid to Experiment (in NG+): While your first playthrough might be about efficiency, New Game+ is a great time to try out different weapon types and upgrade paths.

By understanding these mechanics and diligently collecting materials, you'll transform your humble starting gear into legendary armaments capable of slaying even the most formidable demons Boletaria has to offer.