What does Focus do in Elden Ring?

Elden Ring is the kind of game where you will find a new enemy at every corner. Some of them are easy to defeat, while others will take you dozens of tries. To defeat them, you need to make your character strong by investing in whatever stats fit your build. However, there is one stat that many players don’t pay any attention to, and it’s Focus. In this guide, we are going to explain what Focus does in Elden Ring and why you should consider using it.

Related: What is the max level in Elden Ring?

What is the Focus stat in Elden Ring?

While the primary stats in Elden Ring are HP, FP, and Stamina, there are some other ones that you need to invest in. This is because the enemies you’ll encounter will deal different types of damage, and you need to be prepared for all of them. As for Focus, it increases your resistance against Sleep and Madness effects. In other words, it acts as a defensive stat.

Now, it is important to remember that there aren’t many enemies that inflict Sleep or Madness. However, you will still encounter them at some point, especially after you have made significant progress in the game. When enemies inflict Sleep on your character, he will fall asleep for 60 seconds or until the enemy hits him. As for Madness, this makes your character lose FP and take damage for as long as the effect is there. Having a higher Focus makes it harder for these effects to happen, so it’s something to look at as you progress.

Related: Where to find all bosses in Elden Ring | All Elden Ring boss locations

How to increase Focus in Elden Ring?

To increase Focus, you need to invest in the Mind stat. As you increase it, your character’s resistance against Sleep and Madness effects will increase. However, make sure that you don’t overdo this, as you need to invest in other stats as well. For those wondering, the soft cap for the Mind stat is 55, so we’d recommend not going beyond that until your other stats as satisfactory for your build.

To that, it might be better to simply find some items that increase Mind for when you come against enemies that use Sleep or Madness. Here are some items we’d suggest adding to your inventory for those situations:

• Rift Shield
• Mottled Necklace
• Spiralhorn Shield
• Shield of the Guilty
• Clarifying Horn Charm
• Astrologer’s Trouser
• Fire Prelate Gauntlets
• Fire Prelate Greaves
• Cohryn’s Robe Chest Piece
• Greathood Headpiece
• Gold Waistwrap
• Mushroom Arms Gauntlets
• Mushroom Leg