Elden Ring: Tips for Beginners
This post is intended to help those who are going into the Lands Between for the first time with the Switch 2 version. If that's not you, scroll away.
You might be wondering, why should you listen to me, a random guy on the internet? Well, I have over 800 hours on the game, and I've completed 6 unique boss no-hits, which will be linked at the end of the post so as to avoid spoilers.
A general mindset you should have while playing this game is to accept failure as part of success; it's very normal to die in this game. Just learn from your mistakes and go again. You should use the open world to get stronger for the next challenge; failing to do so is failing to engage with the game's intended design. If an enemy is too strong for you, try to leave and come back later; you can decide how hard this game is for you. If you're wondering, "what's over there?" Go see; the reward is almost always worth the journey.
How do I pick a weapon and build into it? The best weapon is the one you have fun using. Pick a weapon you think is cool, maybe check the wiki to see what infusions it's best on or what stats it scales with, and allocate your stats accordingly. If you're stumped on how to build into it, look up a build guide.
How should I pick a class? Classes only govern starting stats and equipment; you can start as a samurai and end as a mage. However, if you like Melee combat, Vagabond, Hero, and Samurai are all safe picks; if you like magic, pick Astrologer; if you like incantations, pick Prophet; if you like a mix of Melee and either magic or incantations, pick Prisoner or Confessor, respectively. I can't advise on the new classes, because they aren't out at the time of writing this.
What does each stat do?
Vigor is HP, Mind is FP, and Endurance governs stamina and equipment load.
The offensive stats are as follows:
- Strength is the first physical damage stat; it gains a 50% bonus when two-handing your weapon and is typically best for large, heavy weaponry such as greatswords and hammers.
- Dexterity is the second physical damage stat; it does not get the two-handing boost and is typically better for lighter, more DPS-based weapons such as katanas or curved swords.
- Intelligence is the first spell-casting damage stat; it governs magic damage on your weapons, and leveling it allows you to access intelligence-based sorceries.
- Faith is the second spell-casting damage stat: it governs holy and flare art damage on your weapons; leveling it allows you to access faith-based incantations.
- Arcane is just weird; a few spells are tied to it, it scales physical damage on weapons with an Arcane scaling, and also governs status buildup on weapons with Arcane scaling.
What is equipment load? Everything you equip onto your character has a weight value; your equipment load is displayed as an x/y. X is the weight you have on, and Y is the total amount you can carry. At 0-30%, you will light roll; this gives you the most agility, but unless you have a lot of levels into endurance, you might have to sacrifice armor. At 30-70%, you will be at medium roll; this is where most people play the game and balances armor and agility. At 70-100%, you will be at heavy roll; don't use it, it sucks. At 100%+, you will be unable to roll at all.
SPOILER WARNING - This advice contains light spoilers; if you still want to experience the game blind, this is your time to turn back.
What order should you fight the bosses? Generally, for the base game, you should fight them in this order: >!Margit!< -> >!Godrick!< -> >!Red Wolf !<-> >!Rellana!< -> >!Radahn!< -> >!Draconic Tree Sentinel!< -> >!Golden Godfrey!< -> >!Morgott!< -> >!Fire Giant!< -> >!Godskin Duo!< -> >!Maliketh !<-> >!Gideon!< -> >!True Godfrey!< -> Final boss. There are more optional bosses such as >!Ghost Loretta!<, >!Sewer Mohg!<, >!Real Mohg!<, >!Real Loretta!<, and of course, >!Malenia!<; do these whenever.
As for the DLC, do them in this order: >!Divine Beast!< -> >!Rennala!< -> >!Commander Gaius!< -> >!Romina!< -> >!Messmer (These two are interchangeable)!< -> >!Leda and Allies!< -> >!DLC Final Boss.!< There are more optional bosses such as >!Midra!<, >!Putrescent Knight!<, and >!Metyr!<. Do these whenever. Note: >!Radahn!< in the base game and >!Commander Gaius!< in the DLC are not required, but are highly recommended.
All of this being said, there are plenty of small dungeon bosses for you to fight; you don't have to fight all of them, but I'd recommend fighting a lot of them during your first playthrough.
How do I get into the DLC? In order to access the DLC, you must defeat both >!Radahn!< and >!Real Mohg!<, the latter of which is found in a secluded location.
So, this wraps up my beginner's guide to Elden Ring. Thank you for reading this far. Learn well the Lands Between, my fellow Tarnished.
