Understanding what Elden Ring class to choose and what the best options are, will really help in the early stages of the game. Each class comes with a loadout of weapons and pre-levelled stats with an emphasis on certain statistics known as Attributes which affect different things about your character and, as a result, gameplay.
Defeating enemies will give you Runes you can use to level up your character to hone your build. And, due to an uncapped levelling system, you can spend points in different Attributes at any point to diversify your abilities whenever you want. For example, if you’ve been using a melee build, you might decide you want to get into magic, so you can just start spending points on boosting the relevant Attributes. Be aware, though, that this is something you should only consider late game, once you’ve already considerably levelled other stats and know what you’re doing.
Defeating enemies will give you Runes you can use to level up your character to hone your build. And, due to an uncapped levelling system, you can spend points in different Attributes at any point to diversify your abilities whenever you want. For example, if you’ve been using a melee build, you might decide you want to get into magic, so you can just start spending points on boosting the relevant Attributes. Be aware, though, that this is something you should only consider late game, once you’ve already considerably levelled other stats and know what you’re doing.
Category
🎮️
GamingTranscript
00:00 [MUSIC]
00:05 Understanding what Elden Ring class to choose and what the best options are
00:09 will really help in the early stages of the game.
00:11 The Vagabond is great for starters if you favour melee,
00:13 while the Prophet or Astrologer is a great choice for more experienced players who want more magic options,
00:18 while the Wretch is for the masochists only who really want a challenge.
00:22 Each class comes with a loadout of weapons and pre-leveled stats
00:25 with an emphasis on certain statistics known as attributes,
00:28 which will affect different things about your character and as a result, gameplay.
00:32 Defeating enemies will give you runes which you can then use to level up your character to hone your build further.
00:37 But, due to an uncapped levelling system, you can spend points in different attributes at any stage
00:42 to diversify your abilities whenever you want.
00:44 For example, if you've been using a melee build, you might decide you want to get into magic,
00:48 so you can just start spending points on boosting the relevant attributes.
00:51 Be aware though that this is something you should only consider late game
00:54 once you've already considerably levelled up other stats and you really know what's going on.
00:59 The Vagabond is probably the best beginner-friendly Elden Ring class
01:02 that can be specialised for strength or dexterity to craft a strong and relatively simple melee build.
01:08 You'll start with a standard longsword, halberd and heater shield,
01:11 although we reckon it's best to stick with the longsword and shield for fast attacks and good blocking.
01:16 With the highest starting health of any class and a nice set of armour for decent protection,
01:20 the Vagabond will be able to take far more hits from the start.
01:23 Although wearing a full armour set initially means you'll have a slow dodge roll
01:26 unless you boost your endurance to carry more or take some off.
01:29 In contrast, the Wretch is the most pro-player option in the game.
01:33 This is a blank slate class, starting with 10s across the board in all attributes
01:37 and no equipment bar or club. They don't even get clothes.
01:40 This means starting from scratch and finding your own weapons and armour.
01:43 This class is really only recommended for players with a lot of experience with previous FromSoftware games
01:48 and even then it would be better picked for a second playthrough once you really know what's going on.
01:53 The Warrior is a dexterity-focused melee class,
01:55 favouring lighter melee weapons that require a bit of finesse or ranged weapons like bows.
02:00 You'll start with two scimitars and a shield and a base dexterity of 16
02:04 which will give you some nice early melee damage with those scimitars.
02:07 That will allow you to focus on boosting endurance for more dodge rolls and attacks.
02:10 The Hero focuses on all-out strength, using heavier weapons with slow attacks that deal massive damage.
02:15 You'll start with 16 points in strength and a big axe
02:18 and putting even more points into strength will help you meet the requirements
02:21 of some truly hefty strength-based weapons early on.
02:24 Heroes start with more health and stamina, meaning they're a little tanky and agile too.
02:28 You can boost these attributes more in the early levels to make the Hero more balanced
02:32 or you can focus purely on strength to up your damage as much as you can.
02:35 The Bandit class is basically a stealth assassin, with a dagger and a small shield.
02:39 Bandit players need to avoid direct conflict and should instead focus on critical hits
02:44 with backstabs or sniping with the starting shortbow.
02:46 If things do go loud, you'll have to rely on dodging and parrying.
02:49 However, the Bandit's stats are generally low and balanced enough
02:53 that re-specialising into different playstyles shouldn't be too difficult,
02:56 providing you can find the right gear.
02:57 The Astrologer class is one of the few options built for magic from the start
03:01 with an impressive 15 mind and 16 intelligence.
03:04 It means they can cast many powerful sorcery spells,
03:07 making it a quite destructive ranged magic class.
03:09 However, all the other stats are quite low,
03:11 so it might be a good idea to spend your first runes boosting health and stamina
03:15 to be a little less squishy.
03:16 Then you can focus on bringing up your intelligence
03:18 to meet even more higher attribute requirements for better spells
03:21 and making the older ones powerful in the process.
03:24 The Prophet class is the other side of the magic coin,
03:26 focusing instead on faith to cast incantations,
03:29 which are generally more supportive than offensive.
03:31 This will make you a holy warrior role,
03:33 backing up yourself and allies with healing incantations
03:35 while smiting foes with fire and holy damage.
03:38 So long as you have good attribute to healing spells,
03:40 focusing your runes on the mind attribute
03:42 will increase how many incantations you can cast.
03:44 The Samurai class is a sort of vagabond and bandit hybrid,
03:47 and all about dexterity-focused melee,
03:49 combining good strength, the highest base endurance of any class,
03:52 and great dexterity,
03:54 with ranged sniping as a secondary option thanks to the starting longbow.
03:57 Samurai players should focus on mastering dodges, parrying,
04:00 and the two-handed weapon stance to deliver precise strikes and attack combos.
04:04 Sitting between the warrior and astrologer,
04:06 the Prisoner combines both good dexterity-based melee
04:09 with intelligence-based sorceries to deal a range of damage.
04:12 That high dexterity also has the added bonus of quickening spellcasting,
04:15 so prisoners have potential to deal a lot of damage very quickly.
04:19 This class is let down, however, by low vigor and endurance,
04:22 so boosting HP and stamina should definitely be a focus initially for leveling up,
04:26 while putting a lot of points into dexterity
04:28 is going to improve your melee and magical capabilities.
04:30 Similar to the Prisoner, the Confessor blends the balanced melee capabilities
04:34 of the Vagabond with the faith-focused incantations of the Prophet.
04:37 Base strength and dexterity stats of 12 mean there's a lot of freedom
04:41 in which weapons Confessor players can specialize in,
04:43 but we recommend pooling your runes into either one or the other
04:46 to get either strength- or dexterity-focused weapons, rather than trying to use both.
04:51 Balance this with levels in faith, vigor, and endurance
04:54 to keep your incantations up to speed and your Confessor healthy.
04:57 That should give you a relatively balanced character,
04:59 competent in both martial and magical attacks.
05:01 So there's your guide to Elden Ring classes,
05:03 and a few suggestions for beginners and pros alike.
05:06 Remember, the Vagabond is great for starters if you favor melee,
05:09 while the Prophet or Astrologer is a great choice for more experienced players
05:12 who want more magic options,
05:14 while the Wretch is for the masochists only who really want a challenge.
05:17 For more help with Elden Ring in general, don't forget to like and subscribe to GamesRadar.
05:21 [MUSIC]
05:26 [Music]