Elden Ring PvP – how much poise is needed
Poise has been around forever, but how good is it for PvP this time around?

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Elden Ring has just recieved a DLC in the form of the Colosseum PvP almost a year after the release of the game. This comes all at the cost of…nothing. In Elden Ring PvP, how much poise is needed to go up against your fellow Tarnished? Well, we have made a calculative decision. Here’s the breakdown.
If you’re looking for ways to change your poise stats easily, without having to grind – check out our guide on how to respec stats in Elden Ring here.
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How does poise work in Elden Ring?
Poise is the stat that determines how much you will hyper-armor through enemy attacks without being staggered. This means if you’re in the middle of an attack animation while getting hit, your character will not stop and will keep going through with their attack. It’s perfect for heavier two-handed builds especially.
Poise can be increased by wearing armor. It can also be raised by various other equipment, ashes of war, Wondrous Physick combinations, sorceries, incantations, and consumables.
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What types of poise are there in Elden Ring?
There are two main schools of poise within Elden Ring:
- Passive Poise: Withstanding attacks without getting stunned regardless of if you are standing still or attacking.
- Hyperarmor Poise: Withstanding attacks during attack animations, usually from heavy weapons (e.g. colossal swords).
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How much poise is needed for PvP in Colosseum?
For PvP, many have argued that the sweet spot for poise is 50+, especially if you’re on wireless connection. However, many have also considered the actual benefit of poise in Elden Ring to begin with.
We would suggest that players make use of the poise increasing items, courtesy of the Elden Ring wiki page:
- All Armor comes with varying amounts of poise (the Bull-Goat Set set provides the highest possible poise, 100 for the complete set)
- Bull-Goat’s Talisman increases poise by ~33%
- Baldachin’s Blessing / Radiant Baldachin’s Blessing increases poise by 52%
- Endure (bugged as of patch 1.03 but may be fixed later)
- Leaden Hardtear seems to make the user unable to be staggered, but does not stop knockdowns.
- Ironjar Aromatic seems to do the same as above, but have not tested to see if it stops knockdowns.
There are constant bugs and flaws behind the technical design of poise in-game, leaving many fans wondering the actual intended utility of it in fighting other players.
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Hyperarmor Poise, whilst considered to be the much needed incentive for heavier and slower players that deal more damage, has fallen by the way side. Passive Poise alone at 100+ allows most players to tank through any hits, even from massive weapons like colossal swords. This means that there really is no upside to playing big strength builds.
For the sake of build diversity, players in the Elden Ring community have also suggested that 125 Poise be the new meta of sorts, allowing players to try new weapons, spells and other attack strategies.
How much poise in Elden Ring PvP FAQs
What is the best armor for poise in Elden Ring?
- All Armor comes with varying amounts of poise (the Bull-Goat Set set provides the highest possible poise, 100 for the complete set)
What does the most poise damage in Elden Ring?
Using heavy attacks is always the best way to deal massive Poise damage; these attacks usually deal twice the Poise damage of a light attack and almost triple if fully charged. However, Colossal Swords will deal the most poise damage out of any weapon.