Which Stats to Level Up First in Super Mario RPG

Every single time you level up in Super Mario RPG on the Nintendo Switch, you’ll get a choice to increase one of three different stats. Find out which stats you should level up in the first few hours of your Super Mario RPG adventure.

Which stats should I level up first in Super Mario RPG?

Unlike other roleplaying games, which can require a strict leveling strategy to get the most out of a character initially, Super Mario RPG is relatively simple. In fact, rather than always selecting a particular stat, I’d focus on taking advantage of the stat bonuses.

When you level up, you’ll notice that stats feature substats. For example, if you hover over the Magic stat, you may see both Mg. Attack and Mg. Defense. It’s these substats that you’ll want to pay particular attention to when deciding what to level up in the beginning in Super Mario RPG.

While two of the three stats you can choose on the level-up screen may only put two or three points into its substats, there’s almost always one with a bonus. This means you may see one stat with four or five points going into its substats. I highly recommend that you choose this one every time to get the most out of the system and get your characters’ stats up as quickly as possible when starting out.

During later levels, it will become even more apparent. As often, two of your stats will only go up one level, while one stat will go up three or even four levels. So, you basically want to chase the bonuses every level up to get the most out of your character.

While it may be tempting to pump all your stats directly into ATK for Mario, for example, he will overall be weaker by the end of the game if you use this strategy. Plus, equipping new weapons is the primary way to power up your characters’ damage. So, you should focus on their overall stat build instead in Super Mario RPG.

Super Mario RPG is available now on the Nintendo Switch.