Equip load is the quiet stat that shapes how your character moves. It decides whether your dodge roll is a nimble hop or a sluggish flop, and getting it wrong can make an otherwise strong build feel terrible to play. The good news is that the rules are simple and fixed, so you can plan your loadout precisely in the build planner.
This guide explains the roll thresholds, how Endurance raises your ceiling, and how to budget armour and weapon weight so you land the roll type you want without dumping unnecessary points into Endurance.
The roll thresholds
Your roll type depends on the percentage of your maximum equip load that your equipped gear takes up. The thresholds are exact: at or below 30 percent you get a light roll, which is fast and travels far; at or below 70 percent you get a medium roll, the standard dodge; below 100 percent you get a heavy roll, which is slow and short (often called the fat roll); and at 100 percent or more you are overloaded and cannot roll or run at all.
Most players aim for a medium roll, which keeps you under 70 percent. A medium roll gives good invincibility frames and mobility without demanding the strict weight discipline of a light roll. The planner reports your roll category from the equipped-weight percentage you enter.
Why the planner asks for a percentage
The exact weight of your gear depends entirely on which armour pieces, weapons, shields and talismans you equip, and those values differ from build to build. Rather than guess at your loadout, the planner takes the equipped-weight percentage directly from you and applies the fixed threshold logic. That keeps the result accurate to your actual setup instead of a generic assumption.
To find your percentage in game, check your equipment screen, which shows current weight against maximum equip load. Enter that percentage into the planner and it will tell you which roll tier you are in and how much headroom you have before dropping to the next.
Talismans and weight
Certain talismans raise your maximum equip load or reduce the weight of what you carry, effectively giving you more room. If you plan to use one, account for it when you estimate your percentage. The inventory planner guide covers building a coherent talisman loadout around your stats.
How Endurance raises the ceiling
Your maximum equip load rises as you invest in Endurance. More Endurance means a higher ceiling, which means you can wear heavier armour while staying in the same roll tier. This is the lever you pull when you want a poise-heavy armour set but do not want to drop into a heavy roll.
Endurance has softening returns like every stat, so the goal is not to max it but to invest just enough that your chosen loadout fits under your target threshold. If you only ever wear light armour, you may need very little Endurance; if you want a full heavy set, you will need considerably more. The attributes guide places Endurance among the utility stats for this reason.
Poise and the armour trade-off
Heavier armour generally gives more poise, which lets you absorb hits without being staggered mid-attack, and more damage negation. The trade-off is weight. Planning equip load is really about balancing three things: how much poise and defence you want, how much Endurance you are willing to spend, and which roll tier you insist on keeping.
A clean way to plan is to decide your roll tier first (usually medium), then choose the heaviest armour that keeps you under that threshold at your planned Endurance. If nothing fits, you either add Endurance, use a weight-reducing talisman, or accept lighter armour. Model the percentage in the planner and adjust until the roll category reads the way you want.
Light, medium or heavy: which to choose
Each roll tier suits a different playstyle. A light roll gives the fastest, farthest dodge and rewards players who rely on precise timing and mobility, but it forces very light armour and thin defences. A medium roll is the all-purpose choice, balancing solid invincibility frames with enough equip load for respectable armour. A heavy roll is rarely chosen deliberately, since its short, slow dodge is hard to rely on.
Most builds settle on a medium roll because it asks the least of your Endurance while keeping your defences reasonable. Reserve the light roll for characters built around dodging everything, and treat the heavy roll as a warning sign that you are carrying more than your Endurance supports. The planner's roll readout tells you instantly which tier your loadout lands in.
Fine-tuning your weight budget
Getting the roll tier you want is a balancing act between four levers: your Endurance, your armour weight, your weapon and shield weight, and any weight-related talismans. If you are just over a threshold, you can shed a heavy piece of armour, add a point or two of Endurance, or equip a weight-reducing talisman — whichever costs your build the least.
Plan this in the planner by entering your equipped-weight percentage and watching the roll category as you imagine swapping pieces. Because talismans and Endurance both move the ceiling, small adjustments often recover a roll tier without a major rebuild. The inventory planner guide covers assembling a loadout that fits your target tier from the start.
Plan this build for real
Load these numbers into the free planner and watch your rune level, rune cost and roll type update as you go.
Open the build planner