Whether you’re a newcomer to the Souls series, have mastered all of FromSoftware’s titles, or are returning to the game now that the DLC is upon us, choosing the right starting class in Elden Ring is vital. This is what we recommend for your first game.
Elden Ring includes many of the starting classes you’d expect from a Souls-type game. There are spell-casting mages, powerful knights, enchantment-casting clerics, and even a naked class for those who enjoy FromSoftware’s unique brand of punishing the player more than most. The game also features the standard Dexterity builds such as bandits and rogue characters, but this time it also includes a samurai class for those who like to play with medium weight armor and katanas.
While the class you choose doesn’t lock you into a specific playstyle, it will dictate your first few hours. Therefore, be sure to choose a class that suits your preferred combat style, as well as one that benefits your additional abilities. Souls veterans may already have a good idea of which class to start with, as they already have their build planned.
Elden Ring features a lot of flexibility when it comes to choosing classes. Just because you’re a mage doesn’t mean you can’t wield a katana. Or that if you’re a knight you can’t dabble in enchantments. The game also allows you to create builds similar to those offered in Demon’s Souls and Dark Souls 1-3. However, this time, there is even more freedom to be creative.
While we covered how stats work in another guide, you may need a little more guidance. When it comes to your first run, this article may help you further.
Choosing the right class for your playstyle is one of the biggest decisions you’ll have to make in Elden Ring.
Best Starting Elden Ring Class for Beginners: Wanderer
Vagabond starting equipment: longsword, halberd, shield.
If Elden Ring is your first Souls game, you might want to try a tough character who can hold his own in combat and help you learn the basics. The wanderer is the knight character of the Elden Ring and comes already equipped with heavy armor, a sword and a shield.
The Vagabond starting class is essential for the Strength, Vigor and Stamina build, but you can tailor them to your liking, adding some spells to your arsenal or whatever else you want. You could turn the drifter into a competent battle mage, or stay on the strength and heavy weapons route.
However, we recommend increasing your Faith stat a bit to take advantage of enchantments in combat to buff yourself and take out enemies. This starter class starts at level 9 with stats spread evenly across the board.
Best Elden Ring Melee Starting Class: Samurai
Samurai Starting Equipment: Uchigatana Sword, Long Bow, Bone Arrow, Fire Bone Arrow, Red Thorn Round Shield.
The Samurai is primarily a melee fighter, but is also skilled with bows, shields, and a variety of different weapons. Dual-wielding katanas are also an option and something you’ll see a lot of Samurai do in Elden Ring PVP. It is also the ideal class to create the deadly bleed build.
This is a good starter class for those who have experience with Souls games and want to create a powerful Dexterity class that has a lot of flexibility and customizable options. It can also be mixed with Faith and Intelligence magic for a complete build.
Overall, we feel that Samurai is the best starting class for skilled melee fighters. His combat style is more complicated and risky than the Drifter, but deadly in the right hands.
Best Elden Ring Magic Class: Astrologer
Astrologer Starting Equipment: Astrologer Staff, Short Sword, Small Shield.
If you like to take fights from a safe distance and rely on a variety of spells while your summons do your bidding, the Astrologer starting class may be right for you. This is the ideal starting class for wizards.
Although he starts out at a low level 6 with relatively low health, the Astrologer is stronger when it comes to casting spells. With Mind, Dexterity, and Intelligence stats leading the way, your abilities will deal the most damage possible early in the game.
The idea with this starter class is to create a classic wizard character that is dangerous from a distance, but weaker up close. However, once you reach your magic stat level caps, you can start building up your other attributes to make your Astrologer tougher in close combat.
And these are the best classes for your first run in the Elden Ring!
Hi, its Martin, I am a gamer and a writer. I love exploring games of varied genres and writing blogs about them.