Elden Ring - Beginner Guide. The Ultimate New Player Guide

Elden ring ultimate new player help guide

In this Eldon Ring beginner guide, I'll share with you my top tips for getting started, including things I wish I knew sooner. Keep in mind that this is a very big and very complex game, so this guide will give you a short crash course on things to be on the lookout for rather than go into in-depth mechanics and spoilers.

Few things affect your playthrough as much as character creation, since your starting class determines what equipment you 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 ).

Character creation

The first boss of the game starts strong with a complex character creator, but do not fret, you can change your parents' names and gender soon after starting the game as many times as you want.

You will not, however, be able to change your class or keepsake. These are important early choices. Held in ring classes, these are simply starting points, but starting equipment is not found as easily, so you should pick something that best represents your game style. My personal favorites are Astrologer-Samurai and Confessor.

Your first hour

The game gives you several early tutorials to introduce you to the controls and the basics of multiplayer mechanics. If you're new to the Souls games in general, you'll want to pay attention.

You can read all these tips in your inventory under information, so don't be too worried if you missed something. To set the tone of the game, you first need to obtain a few vital items. Hit the sites of grace at your starting point, the stranded graveyard, and then the one outside the first step, and run directly north to the church of Ella.

The merchant here has three main items. You'll want to buy the torch crafting kit and telescope as soon as you can. Head over to Gatefront Runes by following the arrow, and you'll meet Melinda and obtain your mount. Be sure to get the whetstone knife item that allows you to slot ashes of war on your weapon as well as inside the ruin, since this no longer occurs automatically.

You can now begin exploring Limgrave at your own pace, but make sure to return to the church of Ella after you've made some progress and rest at the sight of grace there, as this will unlock a conversation with Renna that gives you loneloth ashes and the spirit calling bell, which you will need to use spirit ashes in the game.

Combat tips

If you're new to Souls, there's a lot to unpack in the depth of the combat, and you can read about it and its status effects etc on our wiki pages. For this guide, we'll focus on some essential tips to keep you alive; these are gear tactics and mount.

For gear, you'll want to get equipment that suits your build or playstyle and is easy to pick up. Our build guides have recommended pickup locations for good gear, but you can also sort this out yourself by opening our equipment page and using the comparable tables, then finding items that are near you.

Basic recommendations are to get the brass shield from the guards and gate front ruins as it has 100 physical blocks, and the demi-human queen staff from the Weeping Peninsula's demi-human forest ruins. If you have a sword and shield, get the barricade shield from the knights of the cavalry and weeping peninsula.

Elden Ring - beginner

For any class, the ashabor glinstone phalanx is amazingly useful, and you can check the wiki for its location. For tactics, it's best not to approach groups of enemies full on. Always check the corners and ceilings when exploring catacombs and runes, as you will find enemies waiting in ambush at clever angles.

Expect the unexpected or you'll get ganged up on and killed by a mob. You can choose to play stealthy and backstab stronger enemies, or hit them and run away until they lose aggro and then return to finish them off. You should do whatever feels like it matches you best, so think creatively, and if you get stuck, consider coming back later or rethink your gear, ashes of war, and spells.

You should also experiment with the many, many consumables available to apply damage effects to your weapons. You can throw bombs at enemies or boost your own defenses. Your mount is a very important part of combat, and many encounters, particularly with dragons, are best done mounted. Magic users should note that even if you're locked on, your spells will fire in the direction you are facing, so you have to be looking towards enemies to hit them.

Exploration tips

quot;Elder Ring" is a game that heavily rewards exploration. Don't leave any specific location unchecked. Some general tips for this are Stone's word, key, and imp gates. These gates require a stone word key. There are many of these around, so be sure to purchase any you see from vendors. The catacombs have ghost and grave glove warts, which are used to upgrade your spear dashes.

You'll 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: gaining access to a different floor either by finding a ladder, jumping on top of fire and standing traps to rise with them, or dropping under elevators.

Elden Ring - beginner guide

Access a secret area. You'll find most catacombs have loosery walls that you must hit to reveal a hidden path. Caves and tunnels usually have special equipment and ore. You'll find most lifts have midway drop-off points that guide you to some special equipment. Whenever you see a tunnel, make sure you go in and gather as many upgrade materials as are available.

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