There are five core stats in The First Berserker: Khazan, each with its own unique effect on Khazan's abilities, strengths, weapons, and more. Determining which stats to upgrade first can be confusing without knowing what each one does, and resetting them requires using a relatively uncommon and somewhat costly item. All the stats affect Khazan's weapons in different ways, but they also increase resistance to the various status effects in the game, such as flame, poison, chaos, etc.

Before you get to the first boss, i.e., Yetuga in The First Berserker: Khazan, you'll have access to all three weapon types, and this is when your stat investment will start to matter more. The three weapon types scale with different stats, which is universally true with all weapons in a specific category. It's easiest to think of stats as having defensive and offensive effects, with offensive effects tied to weapon scaling and defensive to attributes and resistances.

Which Stats You Should Upgrade First In The First Berserker: Khazan

Vitality & Endurance Are All-Purpose Options

Stats can be upgraded at any Nexus Point, assuming you've earned the Lacrima to invest. They can also be reset using Primeval Regression Orbs, though these can be costly; it pays to invest your stats wisely.

As you get started, you may not be entirely sure which weapon you want to stick with, and that may change as you acquire newer weapons and encounter tougher bosses in The First Berserker: Khazan. Luckily, there is overlap between stats and their weapon-scaling effects, so you can switch between weapons to some degree without having to re-spec entirely.

Vitality & Endurance are universally useful stats that don't affect weapon scaling.

If you haven't decided yet which weapon type you'd really like to lean into, Vitality & Endurance are universally useful stats that don't affect weapon scaling. However, they will increase your overall performance during tough fights. Vitality is the best stat to invest in early, especially as you gear up to take on the Blade Phantom boss. While all stats increase your maximum health to some extent, Vitality increases it more than any others, increasing attack damage and ALL resistances. Endurance is another safe bet because you will need to manage your stamina effectively.

What Each Stat Does In The First Berserker: Khazan

Strength, Willpower & Proficiency Buff Your Weapons

As mentioned above, Vitality and Endurance don't directly impact weapon scaling but have more universal benefits. Vitality is the primary health booster, increasing max health much more than any other stat.

Endurance is the only stat that directly increases your maximum stamina, and should not be ignored.

Vitality and Endurance are definitely the first stats you will benefit from in The First Berserker: Khazan, and you should invest in them continually as you advance in level. Health and stamina are essential to any fight, and only after these are sufficiently buffed should you start investing in the weapon-scaling stats.

For Dual Wield and Greatsword builds, you are going to need strength, though it's useful for the Spear as well because it increases general attack damage slightly more than the other weapon-specific stats. Strength will also decrease the amount of stamina damage you take from enemies. Both the Dual Wield and the Spear scale with Willpower, which reduces the stamina damage you take from guarding. Finally, both the Greatsword and Spear scale with Proficiency, which decreases the cost of stamina for dodging.

The weapon stats you choose will be dependent on your preferred weapon choice. I'm a big fan of the Spear, and invested heavily in Endurance and Proficiency because I tended toward dodging as I learned the ropes. Since I stuck with the Spear for the majority of the early game, Willpower and Proficiency ended up being my primary stats, alongside Endurance for the increased stamina. However, both the Dual Wield and Greatsword weapons were viable at any point due to the overlap between the three weapon scaling stats in The First Berserker: Khazan.