Dark Souls II Scholar: Builds and Respec
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Begin with a weapon you like using. Meet its Strength and Dexterity requirements, then raise the attributes that improve its scaling rather than levelling every damage stat. Vigor and Endurance help you survive and keep attacking; Adaptability and Attunement both feed Agility, which affects defensive movement and item use. Read Agility and Adaptability before trying to cure every missed dodge with more damage.
Infusion, elemental casting, and weapon scaling all change what a useful level looks like. Check the status screen with the weapon equipped. If a new infusion makes the letters or damage relationship worse for your current attributes, it may be a build change rather than an upgrade. Keep one reinforced fallback weapon while testing unfamiliar tools.
When the character has moved too far from its original idea, use a Soul Vessel at Strowen in Things Betwixt. The reset returns attributes to the class floor and lets you place earned levels again. Write down the minimum requirements for your intended weapon, spell, and armor first. Start the redistribution with survival and requirements, then add damage. That gives you a character that can play immediately instead of a perfect number sheet that cannot survive the next area.