A cartridge for stapling tissue is disclosed. The staple cartridge comprises a plurality of staples, wherein each staple has a base and a leg extending from the base. The staples are arranged in the staple cartridge, such that once the staples are fired into tissue in a staple line, the staple line can include a first portion having a first flexibility and a second portion having a second flexibility, wherein the second flexibility is different than the first flexibility. A method comprises adapting an anvil with an anvil plate having an arrangement of staple-forming pockets that differs from the staple-forming pockets in the anvil.
