To level up in Elden Ring, you must rest at Sites of Grace. These are similar to Bonfires in other Souls games, but you can only increase your stats after finding Melina, who will offer you the ability to turn Runes, the game’s version of souls, into strength. Of course, you’ll want to level up whenever you have the opportunity, as Elden Ring is massive and its challenges many.
In this Elden Ring guide, we’ll tell you where to find Melina through the easiest means possible so you can start to level up your stats as soon as possible.
How to Find Melina in Elden Ring
Once you enter Limgrave in the open world of Elden Ring proper, you’ll arrive at the Site of Grace called The First Step. Here, you’ll meet a shady NPC who doesn’t give his name. He’ll mock you for being “maidenless,” then tell you about the “guidance of grace,” which is basically a guidance system you’ll see as a trail of golden light leading into the distance once you rest at the Site of Grace.
From here, you can go anywhere you want, venturing off to fight the Erdtree Burial Watchdog or anything else you’d like. Instead, follow the light to the north until you reach a ruined church called the Church of Elleh. Rest at the Site of Grace here, and talk to the merchant Kalé. He’s got some good stuff, including crafting cookbooks, that will help on your journey. Afterward, head northeast.
You’ll pass through a small wooded area and into a large field. Straight ahead will be another ruin and castle gate to the left. Don’t go that way. Instead, continue northeast around the structure until you come to another Site of Grace called Agheel Lake North next to a small yellow bush. This is, by far, the best starting path to take.
Resting at this third Site should bring Melina to you and grant you the ability to level up (and give you access to Torrent). If you don’t follow this series of Sites, you can possibly find Melina on the path toward Stormveil Castle at the Stormhill Shack location, but there are many enemies (some very difficult) to get through to reach this point.
This is where she appeared for another player at GameSkiny, but it’s also possible it may take longer to find Melina. There are complicated systems behind the scenes that determine when she shows up, so be sure to find her fast using the steps outlined here.
How to Level Up in Elden Ring
Once you find Melina, you’ll be able to level up your stats at any Site of Grace; unlike some other Souls games, you don’t have to visit her to increase your stats. But first and foremost, you’ll need Runes. By now, you probably know that you can get them from just about anywhere in Elden Ring, though that doesn’t make them plentiful. Hunt wildlife, defeat enemies, mini-bosses, and bosses, and look around the environment to find Runes on graves and in other places.
Once you have a handful of Runes, rest at the Site, then choose the “Level Up” option beneath “Pass Time.” This brings up your stats screen, complete with attribute points, base stats, attack power, defense power, and body resilience (immunity, robustness, focus, and vitality).
You can also see your overall player level, number of Runes held, and the number of Runes needed to use one attribute point in the upper left portion of the screen.
As with other Souls games, the number of Rune required to level up increases with each player level, with each point becoming increasingly more expensive.
Assuming you have enough Runes to level up, simply highlight the attribute point you want to increase, and press right on the D-pad or click the right arrow on the attribute. This moves the attribute up one level. Once you’ve allocated your points, choose “Confirm” at the bottom of the screen.
Hover over attribute categories to see which stats they impact in the categories to the right of the attributes menu. As you increase point (before confirming your selection), you can see the specific stats attributes will increase, including their new values marked in blue, in the same categories to the right.
And that’s how where you find Melina and how you level up your stats in Elden Ring. As we mention elsewhere in our best starting classes guide, you can put Runes into any attribute you’d like, making your own class with its own strengths, no matter which class you begin with. For more tips, head over to our Elden Ring guides hub.
