by Without going around it too much, if you know a minimum of Elden Ring you will have realized that it is an immense game, an open world like never before, and a production with unprecedented features in the whole landscape of soulslike. Although in FromSoftware ‘s great masterpiece , and as in other souls titles, it will be with the progression in game that we will develop our character and our style , it will be necessary to start on the right foot, and choose a class that refers to our style of game. So here is our initial guide to the Elden Ring classes , which will help you choose which one to start with (and consequently with what equipment) your adventure.
We remind you that if you are a novice player, or if you are creating your character now, we have also prepared for you a guide dedicated to which initial gift to choose (and why) during creation, and a beginner’s guide with all the initial advice of the game.
Elden Ring Class Guide
The Elden Ring classes available are in total 10 , and they are very useful to give an initial imprint to your game, which is why we compile the guide. Let’s say initial because you will be led to refine your technique during the hours of play, and as you will understand which attributes you will need to increase more – and when – to get the type of character that suits you. The character’s attributes will change , in full RPG style, which will be higher or lower depending on who you choose. Clearly, the initial equipment will also change , which also affects the first hours of the game and progression.
Attributes
The attributes have an effect on the damage you will inflict, on life, on stamina and so on, going to mix with the equipment you will have available, here they are described:
- Level : This is the level of the character with which you will start the adventure.
- Vitality : increases the character’s Health Points (HP, red bar).
- Mind : increases the character’s Concentration Points (FP, the blue bar).
- Toughness : increases the stamina of the character (the green bar), also allows you to increase the maximum weight load it can carry.
- Strength : affects the damage modifier and the ability to use weapons, even heavy ones, which rely on Strength.
- Dexterity : Affects the damage modifier and the ability to use light melee weapons based on Dexterity, and some ranged weapons. It is also the secondary damage modifier of most weapons and required for many of them (to equip them). Also slightly increases the cast speed for Spells and Sorcery.
- Intelligence : affects the modifier and the use of Sorcery, but also of some Spells.
- Faith : affects the modifier and use of Spells, but also some Sorcery.
- Arcane : Functions as a modifier and required for the use of some Sorcery and Spells. In addition, it increases the percentage of Discovery of objects in the game world.
Which class to choose?
Hedge knight
The Hedge Knight is a good character for novice players, taking up one of the base classes of FromSoftware’s soulslike ones. Equipped with a good dose of initial vitality and vigor, he can be exploited by players to learn the basics of combat very quickly, perhaps also focusing on damage (and therefore increasing Strength and Dexterity , attributes in which he specializes). Starting vitality is the highest in Elden Ring , making it tough enough to take more damage than other starting classes.
The starting equipment is fairly standard, with a long sword, a halberd, a shield, and a fairly heavy armor set – all of which makes it quite fast in attacks and very good at blocking damage from opponents. However, the weak point lies in the slow dodge (fat-roll), since to reach the mid-roll (medium speed) you will have to remove some parts of the armor – or the halberd – to go below 70% of the occupied weight. You can devote much of the growth by dedicating Stamina points to better equip yourself with more pieces of heavy armor.
Nomadic warrior
The Nomadic Warrior makes dexterity his strong point, dedicated more to hand-to-hand combat and weapon skills. Of course he doesn’t even mind ranged weapons like bows. The initial equipment sees him with two scimitars, one in each hand, and a shield that in case you can alternate : in this way you can adapt the Warrior according to your style of play or the needs required by combat. You will then move from a more light-hearted style based on attacks and dodges, to a more defensive one similar to the knight.
Clearly agility will be one of the basic characteristics, so try to stay light during your games, don’t get too loaded and use armor that will protect you enough without sacrificing the speed of roll. Clearly boosted Stamina and Dexterity .
Hero
Already from its appearance it is obvious that the Hero relies on Strength , which is also the highest statistic at the beginning. Recommended for players with a “tank” nature and who are prone to suffer a lot of damage, also predisposed to the use of heavy melee weapons . Therefore, the possibility of taking as many hits as possible, and of equipping weapons with considerable weight, is very important: even in this case it is easy to guess, always keep the Vitality and the Stamina high .
You will start the game with 16 Strength points and a large ax, but if in the early game you decide to spend a few more points on it, you will have access to some really good heavy weapons very soon. Agility is not his forte, but by balancing the equipment you may be able to have a strong and versatile Hero at the same time.
Outlaw
Not a bad guy the Outlaw , good both up close and from a distance, with a strong predisposition for stealth tactics (essential if you want to play this class). More than looking for brutal and direct confrontation, this class will ask you to master the art of silence , using backstabs or long-range shots from good snipers, since the starting equipment in addition to a dagger will also provide you with a short bow .
Put a lot of emphasis on his dodging skills and try to always be in fast-roll , and train a lot in parry and counterattacks (although these will require a good dose of stamina). His attributes see him poor in many sections, but he starts with a good Arcane level , which will also help you discreetly in the discovery of objects from the beginning of the game. Being in any case a very balanced class in the stats, you can adapt it a lot to your style of play. Not recommended for novices .
Astrologer
The Astrologer is the class that in Elden Ring starts with the highest level of Mind , which together with 16 points of Intelligence make him a very powerful user of magic . However, his weakness lies in a very low defense and Vitality, making him one of the most “fragile” classes ever. You can partially overcome this problem by spending your first few puti on Vitality and Temper , making it less squishy and a little more agile.
It is clearly not suitable for players who favor melee, and slightly seasoned players will be able to find a way or two to create a tantalizing build without sacrificing too many points for defense. From the very beginning it possesses powerful Sorcery capable of attacking single or multiple targets. Be greedy for power .
Prophet
Unlike the astrologer, the Prophet begins with a large amount of Faith , the other side of magic dedicated to Spells . Compared to his “darker” counterpart, the Prophet is more balanced in the rest of the non-magic stats. He clearly has a tendency to inflict less damage than the Astrologer.
He could be one of the most complicated characters to play from the beginning , because he focuses more on support than offense, making him a perfect healer for his companions and a good spell castor, who in any case manage to do their part even in the damage. Always try to keep your Mind level high to increase Spell slots and to have more mana to spend.
Samurai
The Samurai is a very balanced class , which however makes magical qualities secondary. If we remove this, it is one of the most complete and versatile classes in Elden Ring , proposing itself as a sort of hybrid between the Nomadic Warrior and the Hedge Knight. The Samurai has good basic stamina, good and balanced strength and dexterity right from the start, and also a long bow for ranged attacks.
You can focus on dexterity and skill, but always have the option of hitting from afar as good. Magic is not for you. It can be an easy to learn choice for novice players, geared more towards agility and dodging than the Knight.
Prisoner
Another class that we could define as hybrid. The Prisoner takes the Warrior’s quickness and quickness of hand-to-hand combat and combines it with the cunning and Intelligence -based skills unique to the Astrologer, so as to be lethal even from a distance. The D extremity makes it suitable both for casting spells, for handling a fair number of weapons, and for being quick-tempered. If used well he is able to inflict a lot of damage in a short time . A class that we recommend to those who know how to adapt , and who have a good knowledge of soulslike.
A good way to make it more balanced in the early stages is to spend some Runes to upgrade HP and Toughness , as they aren’t super high right away and will take a lot of them. Dexterity, for the reasons described above, should remain a priority for you .
Confessor
One of the surprises of Elden Ring , and one of the most balanced classes in the game , as it is capable of doing everything quite well. The Confessor can be defined as a character similar to the Prisoner, because he is able to homogeneously mix the melee abilities of the Hedge Knight with the focus on the Prophet’s Spells. Starting with a good score in Strength and Dexterity, the Confessor has a great choice of how to build his equipment during the game, being able to wield a fair amount of weapons.
If we remove the Sorcery, it is the most balanced character in the game, which can be grown depending on the style of play and the eventualities, in progress. He doesn’t excel at anything, but he does everything damn well. He can be the perfect character for anyone who starts playing , and at the same time wants to experience something with magic.
Unfortunate
Finally, let’s move on to the neutral class par excellence, which starts as usual from level 1. Like all the others of this type that you have known over time with the Souls, the Unfortunate is the character that you will build totally from scratch , enhancing what you consider most appropriate man as you play. All parameters start at 10 , and the only piece of equipment he has is the club , a blunt melee weapon that will lead you.
Certainly the most complicated class to start with, especially because getting results in the early stages of the game will require a lot of time and a lot of luck with the drops and the search for objects. This class is only recommended for experienced players of FromSoftware titles, but it could also be a good choice for your second Elden Ring playthrough .
