Elden Ring - Which Class Is Best For You

The first choice you'll be presented with upon booting up Elden Ring is which class to pick, like most Souls games. Starting classes aren't a one-lane highway that dictates how you play the rest of the game; rather, they're a collection of attributes, equipment, and spells that jump start your play style until you build into what you want.

As a result, lower level classes will start weaker but level up easier and will be more adaptable as a result. Here's a quick breakdown of which class you should choose in Eldon Ring. The Vagabond is your prototypical sword and shield user, and the heater shield has full damage absorption, and the long sword is a great starter weapon that initially scales with strength and dexterity but can be modified and improved to take you far into the game if you so choose.

You can also come equipped with a halberd if that's more your speed or you want to fight from horseback. Vagabonds have the highest vigor of any of the starting classes, which means more HP, but your high defense starting armor means your role won't be effective, also known as a fat roll. Fortunately, you can just unequip your halberd when not using it to get your mobility back.

The warrior trades the vagabond's high HP and defense for quick movement and two scimitars. You'll probably want to invest more in dexterity rather than strength since your deck starts at 16, with mind being your second best stat, which means you can use Armament and Ashes of War abilities more freely or even spec into magic if you so choose.

Although there are better starting classes for that, the hero is the best choice for a high-strength build as it starts with the highest strength in the game as well as very good endurance should you wish to equip better armor and weapons. Although the battle ax is a great weapon to start with, as it does good damage for how quick it is, and the shield you start with isn't bad either.

You could, however, choose a two-handed weapon for more damage and forego the shield if that's more your speed, but blocking and parrying will surely come in handy in a pinch, Foreign. You'd think the Bandit would be a dexterity powerhouse, but it actually starts with the highest arcane of any class, which maximizes your discovery, or the rate at which you find items on corpses, and while you won't excel in any of the Marshall stats from the very beginning, your light armor load and the great knife's quick attack speed let you circle around enemies and backstab with ease, or even parry with your small shield if you're feeling fancy.

And if distance is what you're looking for, your short bow will allow you to either pick off enemies from a distance or kite them one by one, although you're not wearing much armor, so just don't get hit. Even though the astrologer starts at a lower level, it has both the highest intelligence and the highest mind of any of the classes, so your Glenstone skills will be stronger and you can use them more often.

The trade-off is having low HP and low strength, although you have decent dexterity, so you're not completely helpless with physical attacks. You'll want to get new supplies as soon as you can, but Glenstone Pebble and Glenstone Arc aren't two bad ones to start with, especially as the latter can hit groups.

If the astrologer is the intelligence-based Caster, the profit is the same for Faith, although a bit more martial-minded as you start with decent strength and dexterity and a spear to make use of those attributes, but Faith is the real highlight of the prophet, and you come equipped with two face spells or incantations: heal and catch flame.

Catch Flame is a quick offensive spell you can use in between spear thrusts, but you'll no doubt want to grab new incantations as soon as you can early on. Make sure you dance out of range and use the spear's excellent reach to poke and jump attack from afar because the shield is just straight up boo-boo trash.

The samurai is your non-magical all-rounder, with all physical attributes in the double digits, an excellent starting weapon that can inflict bleed in the uchigatana, and a longbow for longer ranged encounters. The samurai starts with higher dexterity than strength, but you can easily invest a few levels in the former to get it up to 16 if you want a better shield.

The Samurai armor also provides decent physical protection, and the uchigatana starts with an excellent array of skills unsheathed, which you can use to unleash a wide-sweeping quick attack or smash down on your enemies from overhead. The prisoner starts with the s in an excellent rapier that scales well with dexterity as well as good support sorcery in Magic Glintblade.

If you want the freedom to switch back and forth between physical attacks and magic and do them both well, the prisoner is a great starting point. Just make sure to go about it carefully. If you're looking for a faith-based character that's more physically capable than the prophet, the Confessor is an excellent choice.

The Samurai is the physical all-rounder. The Confessor is the same for magic. While the wretch may seem to fit its name all too well at first glance, it's actually a good way to ensure that you don't neglect any starting attribute, as they all start at 10. Your starting level is also one, meaning it's very easy to begin leveling how you want right away.

Your first weapon is nothing to write home about, and you'll need to pump up one or two of your stats if you want to equip weapons and armor you can grab early on, like the ones you get from the soldiers' chests in the gatefront ruins. Choose the wretch if you want a blank slate that's difficult at first but with a very high upside, and that's all of them.

Remember that you're not beholden to your starting class, as there might be a weapon, armor, or spell you need that's just out of reach of your attributes with a few levels, and while we wouldn't recommend trying to spread out your stats too much, a bit of adaptability can really help when you meet bosses with certain resistances, or realize you need distance fighting to help with one or two encounters, and, if you truly feel your stats are heading in the wrong direction, there is a way later in the game to respect your character.

Check out our wiki on {341} to find out how.