Elden Ring Beginner Guide – The Ultimate New Player Guide

Elden Ring Beginner Guide

This beginner guide offers a crash course in getting started in Elden Ring. It focuses on character choices, early objectives, combat, exploration, and progression rather than detailed mechanics or spoilers.

Character creation

• Your starting class determines your initial equipment and playstyle, but you can develop your character in other directions later. The guide recommends Astrologer for ranged magic, Samurai for armor and a katana, and Confessor for faith-and-strength builds.
• Your appearance, name, and gender can be changed later; your class and keepsake cannot.
• Suggested keepsakes include the Golden Seed, Lands Between Rune, and Stonesword Key.

First steps

1. Visit the Church of Elleh and buy a torch, crafting kit, and telescope from the merchant.
2. At Gatefront Ruins, meet Melina, obtain Torrent, and find the Whetstone Knife for equipping Ashes of War.
3. After making some progress, return to the church and rest at its Site of Grace to meet Renna and receive the Spirit Calling Bell and Lone Wolf Ashes.
4. Pay attention to the tutorials; their explanations are also available in the inventory’s Info section.

Combat tips

• Choose equipment that suits your build. The guide highlights the Brass Shield, Demi-Human Queen’s Staff, Barricade Shield skill, and Glintstone Phalanx as useful pickups.
• Avoid charging into groups. Check corners and ceilings for ambushes, use stealth or hit-and-run tactics, and reconsider your equipment or return later if an encounter is too difficult.
• Experiment with Ashes of War, spells, and consumables.
• Use Torrent’s sprint to escape danger, but watch your stamina. Mounted combat is especially useful for some encounters, including dragons. While mounted, your equipment weight does not slow Torrent, so heavier armor can help protect you.
• When casting, face your target: lock-on alone does not ensure spells fire in the right direction.

Exploration

Search locations thoroughly and unlock Sites of Grace as you find them. The guide recommends buying Stonesword Keys when available.

• Catacombs contain upgrade materials for Spirit Ashes, as well as more summons, traps, and puzzles. Look for hidden paths, alternate routes, and ways to use lifts or traps to reach new areas.
• Caves and tunnels often contain equipment and weapon-upgrade materials; lifts may have intermediate stops leading to rewards.
• Towers and rises can provide spells and memory slots. Their puzzles may involve hidden turtle spirits, gestures, or invisible paths.
• Check camps, forts, and other large structures for equipment, spells, quest steps, and key items. You can leave a difficult boss or area and return later.

Progression and character upgrades

• NPC dialogue and item descriptions provide clues about where to go. A suggested early route is Limgrave, the Weeping Peninsula, and Stormhill, followed by Stormveil Castle and then Liurnia of the Lakes.
• Explore methodically and avoid rushing through areas or skipping conversations. Revisit NPCs after major story events if you are unsure how to continue.
• Weapon and Spirit Ash upgrades are crucial: leveling stats without improving weapons can produce poor results. Upgrade your chosen gear regularly.
• Focus your stats rather than spreading points thinly. The guide recommends prioritizing Vigor, Endurance, and a main damage stat—Strength, Dexterity, Faith, or Intelligence.
• You can change weapon affinities and skills to better suit your build. There is no single best weapon or armor set; some equipment has special effects worth considering.
• Upgrade materials can be purchased from a smith in western Liurnia, and Bell Bearings can unlock additional materials for purchase from the Twin Maiden Husks.

NPCs and quests

• NPC questlines are easy to miss in the game’s large, nonlinear world. Keep track of characters, speak with them whenever possible, and revisit earlier areas after major plot developments.
• If an NPC disappears or dies, their gear or shop stock may become available through a Bell Bearing or at the Twin Maiden Husks in Roundtable Hold.
• Scrolls can be given to a sorcerer in Liurnia to expand available magic. If you anger an NPC, absolution is available at the Church of Vows in eastern Liurnia.

Featured gamers and sources

Fextralife is the source of the guide. The narrator mentions their preferred starting classes—Astrologer, Samurai, and Confessor—but no other individual gamers are identified.