Instructions for choosing the right character class for beginners Elden Ring

Having a good understanding of Elden Ring's classes, and knowing what is a good place to start, will really help in the early stages of doing the Lands Between quests.

The game has 10 character classes to choose from and each has different stats and weapons. Whether you're new to FromSoftware's game or a seasoned Soulsborne pro, the following tips are sure to be helpful in helping Elden Ring players choose the right class for them.

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Attributes and how layers work in Elden Ring

Attributes are the stats about the character, along with the amount of weapons that are pre-issued. Each Attribute affects certain things about the player's character and gameplay in the Elden Ring.

Defeating enemies will provide Runes that can be used to level up and Attributes, to build your character and play to your strengths.

Players can start using points in different Attributes to diversify their character's abilities whenever they want.

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For example, if the build is focused on melee weapons, the player may decide he wants to join the Sorceries, so need to start spending points to increase his Intelligence attribute.

Here are all the attributes in the Elden Ring, as well as what they affect:

1. Vigor: Increases character's Health (HP, red bar).
2. Mind: Increases character's Focus (FP, blue bar).
3. Endurance: Increases character's Stamina (green bar) and maximum equipability, allowing the character to hold heavy items or multiple items at once.
4. Strength: Damage modifier and usage requirement for Strength-based heavy weapons.
5. Dexterity: Main damage modifier and usage requirement for lighter, Dexterity-based melee weapons and some ranged weapons. It also modifies the secondary damage and requirements for most other weapons, and also slightly increases the speed at which Sorceries and Incantations can be used.
6. Intelligence: Damage modifier and usage requirement for Sorceries, but also some Incantations.
7. Faith: Damage modifier and usage requirement for Incantations, but also some Sorceries.
8. Arcane: Damage modifier and usage requirement for certain Sorceries and Incantations. Also speed up the discovery of items in the world.

Character classes suitable for beginners Elden Ring

Vagabond: Vagabond is said to be a good class for Elden Ring beginners. Melee builds of this class are often easy to pick up without having to be familiar with the multitude of systems in the game, making them great for those new to the FromSoftware gameplay. Vagabond's large Vigor makes it easy to control, along with good Strength and Dexterity allowing players to freely try out all sorts of melee weapons.

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Hero: Similar to Vagabond, the Hero class in Elden Ring is the starting point for melee-focused builds. With Strength being the best Initial Attribute, this class focuses on dealing a lot of damage with each hit. If you don't mind experimenting with magic or more sophisticated weapons to increase Dexterity, choose Hero for a pure melee experience.

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Confessor: If you're struggling with choosing to fight based on magic or weapons, then Confessor is a good class to start with. It allows players to immerse themselves in the intricacies of Incantations without sacrificing too much melee ability to get a balanced build from the start.

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Jessica Tanner

Update 25 February 2022