Elden Ring Beginner Guide - The Ultimate New Player Guide- In this Elden Ring Beginner Guide I’ll share with you my top tips for getting started, including things I wish I knew sooner! Keep in mind Elden Ring is a very big and really complex game, so this guide will give you a short crash course on things to be on the lookout for rather than go in-depth with mechanics.
Elden Ring Beginner Guide - The Ultimate New Player Help Guide
Few things affect your playthrough as much asCharacter Creation, since your Starting Class determines whatEquipmentyou can use right out of the gate. Let’s begin here before getting into other topics that will make your playthrough go a bit more smoothly.
Elden Ring Getting Started - Character Creation
The firstBossof the game starts strong with a complex character creator. But do not fret, you can change your appearance, name and gender soon after starting the game and as many times as you want. You will not, however, be able to change yourClassandKeepsake, so these are important early choices.
Elden Ringclasses are simply starting points, but the starting equipment is not found as easily so you should pick something that best represents your gamestyle. My personal favorites areAstrologer,SamuraiandConfessor. The Astrologer is a mage build with easy range that will give you lots of room to breathe. The Samurai has goodArmorand a wickedKatana. The Confessor can be turned into a paladin for your faith-strength combos. If you are lost, make good use of ourBuilds pageas we will be publishing multiple starter builds right away!
For Keepsake, you’ll want to pick theGolden Seed, Lands Between Rune or Stonesword Key. The healthTalismanis an easy pickup not long into the game, and the other items aren’t really worth it. If you want more details on this, check out our Character Creation Guide on the Youtube Channel.
Elden Ring Tips & Tricks - Your First Hour
The game gives you several early tutorials to introduce you to controls and the basics ofMultiplayer Mechanics. If you are new to the souls in general, you’ll want to pay attention. You can read all these tips in your inventory under “info” - so don’t be too worried if you miss something.
To set the tone of the game, you first need to obtain a few vital items. Hit theSite of Graceat your starting Point (Stranded Graveyard), then the one outside (The First Step) and run directly North toChurch of Elleh. The merchant here has 3 main items you will want: buy theTorch,Crafting KitandTelescopeas soon as you’re able to. Then head over toGatefront Ruinsby following the grace and you’ll meetMelinaand obtainTorrent, your mount. Be sure to get the Whetstone Knife item that allows you to slotAshes of Waron yourWeaponas well, since this no longer occurs automatically. You can now begin exploringLimgraveat your own pace, but make sure to return to Church of Elleh after you have made some progress and rest at the Site of Grace there, as this will unlock a conversation with Renna that gives youLone Wolf Ashesand the Spirit Calling Bell which you need to useSpirit Ashesin the game.
you’re able to now begin to follow ourGame Progress Routeto get things done with some direction. That wiki page will be vital to your efforts so ensure to bookmark it!
Elden Ring Beginner Guide - Combat Tips
If you are new to souls, there’s a lot to unpack on the depth of theCombat, and you can read about it and status effects etc on ourWiki pages. For this guide, we’ll focus on some essential tips to keep you alive. These are: Gear, Tactics and Mount.
For Gear, you will want to get equipment that suits your build or playstyle and is easy to pick up. OurBuild Guideshave recommended pickupLocationsfor good gear, but you can also sort this out yourself by opening ourEquipment pageand using the comparative tables, then finding items that are near you. Basic recommendations are to get the Brass Shield from the guards in Gatefront Ruins as it has 100% physical block, the Demi-Human Queen Staff from Weeping Peninsula’s Demi-Human Forest Ruins, and the Kaiden Sellsword Ashes fromMurkwater Catacombs. If you use Sword and Shield, get theBarricade Shieldfrom theNight’s CavalryinWeeping Peninsula. For any class Ash of War: Glintstone Phalanx is amazingly useful and you can check theWikifor its location.
YourMountis a very important part of combat and many encounters, particularly dragons, are better done mounted. Magic users should note that even if you are locked on, your spells will fire in the direction that you are facing, so you have to be looking toward enemies to hit them. Everyone needs to make good use of Torrent’s Sprint to get out of enemy range but be mindful that this consumesStamina.
The most important combat mount tip is: If you are fighting mounted, YOURWEIGHTDOESNT MATTER. This means even if you are a mage, if you are on torrent you can equip the heaviest Armor in your inventory and move at the same speed. This is indispensable for avoiding damage in many encounters, so make full use of it when fightingNight’s Cavalry, Dragons, and any mount-friendly boss!
Elden Ring for New Players - Exploration Tips
Elden Ring is a game that heavily rewards exploration. Don’t leave any specific location unchecked! Some general tips for this are:
Stonesword KeyImp Gates: These gates require a Stonesword Key. There are many of these around so be sure to purchase any you see from vendors.
Catacombs have Ghost and GraveGlovewort, which are used to upgrade yourSpirit Ashes. You will also find more Spirit Ashes within these sections, that usually have traps and puzzles to solve.
Catacomb puzzles are solved in one of these ways: A) Gain access to a different floor: either by finding a ladder, jumping ON TOP of fire and slashing traps to rise with them, or dropping UNDER elevators. B) Access a secret area: some catacombs have illusory walls that you must hit to reveal a hidden path.
Caves and Tunnels usually have special equipment andore. You will find most lifts have mid-way drop-off points that guide you to some special equipment. Whenever you see a tunnel, make sure to go in and gather as manyUpgrade Materialsas are available.
Towers and Rises have magic and magic equipment. Many will give youMemory Slots, which are indispensable for mages. Towers feature several puzzles, including finding “Wise Beasts” (turtle spirits, they are hidden around the area and sometimes clinging to the walls, trees, or even cliffs). Other puzzles require you to do a gesture like “Erudition”, so make sure to collect the gestures. Lastly you may be told that something “Guides the way”. This is a hint that there’s an invisible platform. Pay very close attention to nearby cliffs and look for misty signals of a possible way on what should be air.
Militia Camps can have good equipment and spells so make sure to clear them out when you find them rather than ride by. The same goes for Forts and similar larger structures. Oftentimes there are quests associated with these or you receive key materials.
You can run by any largebossor section that you feel you’re not ready for. Find a nearby site of grace and summon some help if you need!
Beware that if you get dismounted while exploring, you’re about to be invaded by anNPC! Some of these encounters can be very difficult, so always verify to unlock every Site of Grace when you see them.
Elden Ring Progression Tips
The game doesn’t give you any firm guidance on what to do or where to go. You get hints from NPC dialogue and ITEM DESCRIPTIONS so this is where you need to focus to plan your progression. Even with this, you will find yourself roaming about wondering if this is where you should be, as the game has areas with noticeable difficulty spikes. As mentioned before, your best bet is to bookmark ourGame Progress Routeas it will evolve to include all NPC sidequests and such. That said, your immediate aim should be to do Limgrave, Weeping Peninsula andStormhillbefore heading intoStormveil Castle. From here you should go North toLiurnia of the Lakes.
If you get stuck, revisit NPCs and trigger their dialogue to find out where they tell you to go, or read the descriptions in yourKey Itemsinventory. If all fails, theWikiis always there. This is a massive game with multiple branching paths and many secret locations that can only be accessed by NPC and quest progression. Avoid being overwhelmed by it by approaching the game methodically and not rushing from one zone to the next or skipping dialogues.
For your character, remember that upgrades outpace leveling. Putting more points into yourStatswithout upgrading your weapons will yield sub-par results. Gather upgrades for both your Spirit Summons and Weapons and improve your chosen armaments often and diligently. You should also focus your stats: spreading them about does not help and you will not be able to re-spec until after the main boss of the legacy dungeon in Liurnia of the Lakes, which is estimated at level 50+. UpgradeVigor,Enduranceand your main weapon stat (Strength,Dexterity,FaithorIntelligence) only.
Upgrade materials are not hard to come by, and a special smith in Western Liurnia of the Lakes sells several. You can also find Bell Bearings to give to theTwin Maiden Husksand unlock purchase of all upgrade materials.
For your weapons, you can freely change “affinity” to optimize their scaling to your desired stats, and apply skills that are useful in combat. There is no best weapon or best armor, but many pieces have Special Effects. We have made a list ofEquipment with Special Effectsthat you can find on theWiki, and will help you determine which individual pieces to match to optimize your damage output.
NPC Questlines & Inventories
Elden Ring has some of the more complexNPC questlinesin the souls series. This is mostly because the game is so large and non-linear that it’s very easy to miss a step on their progress, or advance the main quest past the point where they can be found. It is prudent to keep track of their whereabouts, talk to them whenever possible and re-visit old areas after major plot points. If an NPC disappears or dies, you may find their equipment and bell bearing at their corpse, or their stock may directly appear with the Twin Maiden Husks at theRoundtable Hold.
You can also advance your magic progress by giving scrolls to anNPC at Liurnia of the Lakes, who doesn’t have a death flag. If you anger an NPC or commit some sin, there is an absolution mechanic that can also be found at the same NPC at the Church of Vows in eastern Liurnia of the Lakes.
There is a lot more to learn to master Elden Ring, and there are so many tips that I can’t possibly fit them all into one article. If you have your own tips to share, make sure to do so on the comments! Or head over to theWikiand help the community by editing and adding information about the game. Also make sure to check out ourElden Ring Review, Character Creation, and Builds that we have coming out.
