Elden Ring is an absolute behemoth that can feel impenetrable for new players. Being an RPG-based open-world game, the player is destined to explore the Lands Between and become an Elden Lord. It is easy to get overwhelmed if you don’t know what you’re doing but that doesn’t change the fact that Elden Ring eliminates some of the roadblocks from previous games From Software has released like Dark Souls. You can simply follow some different strategies if you’re stuck as the possibilities are abundant.
When you play the game, you’ll inevitably run up against bosses or areas that will humble you. When you’re encountered by an obstacle you’re not strong enough to face yet, you can simply decide not to face them but come back when your character is stronger through skill and creativity. These design choices from the developers don’t block your progress, instead, they are the path and this is what makes Elden Ring so intriguing in utter honesty.
We have compiled a tips and tricks guide that is sure to make your storyline progression easier (still not ‘easy’) and more effective.
The Starting Character Class
When you start the game, you’re given the option to choose from multiple starting characters, some use magic, some have ranged weapons, and some excel in melee but it is important to remember that your starting class doesn’t dictate your build, in fact you, yourself do as the desired character can be built in any direction.
If you haven’t settled on a build yet, you cannot go wrong by leveling Vigor for HP and Resistance, Endurance for Stamina, Equipment load, or Mind to increase your Focus Points.
As the best way to progress is a combination of both staying up close with the enemy and fighting from a distance with respect to the scenario, we suggest that the weirdo hybrid Prisoner class is the best for a beginner. It seems like the best of both worlds as you could get stabby or you could attack from a distance depending on the circumstances.
Avoid One-sided Fights
There are multiple instances in the game where you would find yourself at the feet of an enemy boss who is just too powerful for you to fight and stay alive. The best way to get around this is to just stay put and avoid the fight for the time being. Stealth is an option, and it is heavily recommended to use this trick to avoid the early boss, Tree Sentinel, as it will prove to be a challenge if you fight them as soon as you see them. Instead, it will be greatly beneficial to just pass them and come back later when you are better equipped. You need to explore the map more and get better equipment in order to stand a chance against the upcoming bosses.
Flow of Combat
Combat is the crux of everything in Elden Ring, but it’s also the hardest part. It is quite easy to get dismayed and disillusioned if you’re stuck beating your head against the first main boss, however, a few healthy tips and tricks in combat can help you propel past the bosses and enhance your battle skills.
Learning the attack patterns of your enemy is very essential as once you are familiar
with the combat tactics of the enemy, you can master any fight essentially. You might die a few times in order to learn the attack patterns but eventually, you’ll know when to dodge, block and unleash a barrage of attacks.
- You can use the roll button to dodge enemy attacks as rolling will avoid the stamina hit you take while dodging
- Make sure equipment load is under 70% so rolls are fast and effective
- Block fast enemy attacks, and roll through slower ones
- After blocking an attack, retaliate through a Guard Counter to break enemy Super Armour
- You can two-hand your weapon to prioritize damage over defense. Two-handed stance grants a new moveset and deals greater super armour damage as well.
- Achieve Powerstancing by equipping two weapons of the same class, one in each hand. With this, you’ll get access to a special attack that utilizes both weapons dealing more damage. A combo of attacks can also be used in jumping attacks to cover huge distances mid-fight.
Starting Gifts
Each starting gift or Keepsafe has its own value and use. Some are definitely more useful than others but if you’re not sure which one to choose then;
- The Crimson Amber Medallion is a good shot as it will grant you a small boost to the overall max health of the character.
- Choosing a Golden Seed will give you an extra use of your healing flasks at the very beginning of the game once you use it at a Site of Grace, under the flasks category, making it an excellent and worthy choice regardless of your play style. Keep an eye out for the Golden Seeds which can be found at the base of a tiny golden tree sapling
- Stonesword Keys are rare single-use items enabling you to break seals on locked rooms or areas containing valuable items
Explore!
Exploration is the key to leveling up in Elden Ring, embrace the open nature of the game and go for a stroll. Gather runes, do a little bit of flower-picking, and you’ll find hidden things around the world. West Limgrave has items, caves, catacombs, enemy camps, characters to meet, and quests to start.
Find Melina to Level Up
Shortly after resting at three Sites of Grace in the open world, you’ll be given a visit by a mysterious woman named Melina. Melina acts as a place to level up your character in simple terms. She provides you with a Spectral Seed Whistle which you can use to summon your horse mount for faster travel around The Lands Between.
To the player’s luck, finding your first three Sites of Grace won’t be too overwhelming, as the game offers you timid but noticeable rays of guiding light that point you in the direction of your goals. Following these early on will ensure that you come across three Sites of Grace very quickly and unlock the ability to begin leveling your character.
Valuable Human Skulls on the Grounds
When you’re out and about exploring the Lands Between, you might come across human skulls on the ground with glowing eye sockets. When you see these skulls in the early stages of the game, make sure to break them with a melee attack or just run over them with a torrent to reveal a golden rune consumable item that can grant you 200 runes instantly. Runes are a type of currency that you can collect to improve both your stats and purchase items.
The runes can be used further down the story or when coming across a Merchant in exchange for some items. It is always a good practice to have a few gold runes up your sleeve when needed. Later in the game, variations will grant you a larger number of runes which can potentially make the difference when the player is short on leveling up just before engaging in a boss fight.
Improved Stealth at Night and more Runes
This trick is easily overlooked but extremely important: Stealth is considerably more useful at night than during the day. During the day, stealthing in front of an enemy will alert them and your cover will be blown from quite a handsome distance away but at night time, things aren’t as difficult. This means that you can get away with walking closer to a front-facing enemy under the cover of night, making this the absolute best option for making your way through massive packs of enemies you may not be prepared to tackle quite yet.
At night, you’ll notice that the earth tree occasionally sheds leaves filling the air with flecks of gold granting you an aura that temporarily increases the amount of runes you receive from killing enemies by almost four to five times.
Use of Crafting
A lot of Elden Ring players have confessed to neglecting the crafting element of this RPG. This mechanic certainly isn’t compulsory, but it can make combat slightly easier, especially when it comes to ranged attacks. You can buy a Crafting Kit from the merchant at the Church of Elleh for just 300 runes, which unlocks crafting for the rest of the storyline.
Spirit Summoning
If you visit the Church of Elleh at night, you’ll meet a character that gives you a Spirit Bell, which allows you to summon NPCs to fight alongside you. As long as you have enough Focus Points, and the Rebirth Monument symbol marks the encounter as difficult, the spirits will fight alongside you until death.
Death and Resurrection
When you die, you will drop all of your runes at your point of death. Be sure to pick them up during your next life, or otherwise they will be gone forever. Make sure to use your compass to seek out the runes or invest them in items for your character. When you die, you can choose to be resurrected at a Site of Grace, or sometimes at a Stake of Marika.
If you see this statue after resurrection, it is an indication that you’re in an area, or near a boss, as a Stake of Marika is nearby. Respawning at a Stake of Marika will usually make your run back to your runes less severe so it is better to choose that option unless you’d prefer to move on from what killed you.