Why these systems belong under Builds
A build is not only a weapon recommendation. It is the interaction between eight current attributes, a movement class created by total equipment weight, and the option to repair earlier choices through the Iron Corpus. That is why this stable /mechanics/ URL appears beneath Builds in the information architecture.
Use Stats Explained before allocating points, Equip Load Explained before changing armor or adding a second weapon set, and the Respec Guide before spending Fallen Embers.
The three decisions that shape every build
Damage lane
Strength, Dexterity, Intelligence, and Faith scale weapons that explicitly use them. The iconography of a weapon is not enough; its live requirement and scaling panel is the authority. A hybrid investment needs a tested hybrid weapon, not the hope that every attribute helps every attack.
Resource loop
Health is the error margin, Stamina funds most actions and the escape after them, and Focus funds rune attacks. A build that spends every resource on offense has no plan for the enemy's reply. Count the full sequence, including the disengage.
Movement target
Equip Load interacts with the combined weight of armor, weapons, shields, bows, quivers, and secondary equipment. Add it when a real loadout crosses into the movement behavior you want. Do not invest against an imaginary endgame set and then spend ten hours carrying lighter gear with the same class.
Current-build boundary
Together Patch 1 altered several systems around these mechanics: damage reduction, lifesteal, ring identities, facets, enchantments, and bow behavior. Hotfix 8 later reworked Thorns and adjusted duel behavior. The base attributes remain the current Early Access model, but Moon Studios has announced a redesigned class and progression system for 1.0.
That makes these pages useful now and explicitly temporary as launch rules. Their URLs will be retained and the content re-verified for 1.0 rather than duplicated into a second mechanics tree.
A practical diagnostic
When a build feels bad, name the failure before changing stats:
- Cannot equip the chosen weapon: requirement problem.
- Can equip it but damage is weak: scaling, upgrade, roll, or execution problem.
- Dies during recovery: stamina, timing, or moveset-fit problem.
- Dodge feels wrong after changing gear: Equip Load problem.
- Rune is always unavailable: Focus generation or cost problem.
- Attribute plan is irreparably split: respec problem.
This diagnosis keeps you from solving every problem by grinding levels. Often the fastest improvement is removing one attack from the combo, taking off an unused heavy secondary, or choosing a rune whose cost matches the Focus the build actually earns.
Where to go next
The Builds hub turns these rules into archetypes. The Weapons & Gear database provides the current item vocabulary. If a patch changes a cost, breakpoint, or attribute model, the version bar and evidence list on each page show exactly when the answer was last checked.
