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.
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00:00ELDEN RING CLASS
00:05Understanding what Elden Ring class to choose and what the best options are will really help
00:09in the early stages of the game. The Vagabond is great for starters if you favour melee,
00:13while the Prophet or Astrologer is a great choice for more experienced players who want
00:17more magic options, while the Wretch is for the masochists only who really want a challenge.
00:22Each class comes with a loadout of weapons and pre-levelled stats with an emphasis on
00:26certain statistics known as attributes, which will affect different things about your character
00:30and as a result gameplay. Defeating enemies will give you runes which you can then use to level
00:35up your character to hone your build further. But, due to an uncapped levelling system,
00:39you can spend points in different attributes at any stage to diversify your abilities whenever
00:44you want. For example, if you've been using a melee build you might decide you want to get
00:47into magic so you can just start spending points on boosting the relevant attributes.
00:51Be aware though that this is something you should only consider late game once you've
00:55already considerably levelled up other stats and you really know what's going on.
00:59The Vagabond is probably the best beginner-friendly Elden Ring class that can be
01:03specialised for strength or dexterity to craft a strong and relatively simple melee build.
01:08You'll start with a standard longsword, halberd and heater shield, although we reckon it's best
01:12to stick with the longsword and shield for fast attacks and good blocking. With the highest
01:16starting health of any class and a nice set of armour for decent protection, the Vagabond will
01:20be able to take far more hits from the start, although wearing a full armour set initially
01:25means you'll have a slow dodge roll unless you boost your endurance to carry more or take some
01:29off. In contrast, the Wretch is the most pro-player option in the game. This is a blank slate class,
01:35starting with 10s across the board in all attributes and no equipment bar a club.
01:39They don't even get clothes. This means starting from scratch and finding your own weapons and
01:43armour. This class is really only recommended for players with a lot of experience with previous
01:47FromSoftware games, and even then it would be better picked for a second playthrough once you
01:52really know what's going on. The Warrior is a dexterity-focused melee class favouring lighter
01:56melee weapons that require a bit of finesse or ranged weapons like bows. You'll start with two
02:01scimitars and a shield and a base dexterity of 16 which will give you some nice early melee
02:05damage with those scimitars. That will allow you to focus on boosting endurance for more dodge
02:09rolls and attacks. The Hero focuses on all-out strength, using heavier weapons with slow attacks
02:14that deal massive damage. You'll start with 16 points in strength and a big axe, and putting even
02:19more points into strength will help you meet the requirements of some truly hefty strength-based
02:23weapons early on. Heroes start with more health and stamina, meaning they're a little tanky and
02:27agile too. You can boost these attributes more in the early levels to make the hero more balanced,
02:32or you can focus purely on strength to up your damage as much as you can. The Bandit class is
02:36basically a stealth assassin with a dagger and a small shield. Bandit players need to avoid direct
02:41conflict and should instead focus on critical hits with backstabs or sniping with the starting
02:46short bow. If things do go loud, you'll have to rely on dodging and parrying. However, the Bandit's
02:50stats are generally low and balanced enough that re-specializing into different play styles
02:55shouldn't be too difficult, providing you can find the right gear. The Astrologer class is one of the
02:59few options built for magic from the start, with an impressive 15 mind and 16 intelligence. It means
03:05they can cast many powerful sorcery spells, making it a quite destructive ranged magic class. However,
03:10all the other stats are quite low, so it might be a good idea to spend your first runes boosting
03:14health and stamina to be a little less squishy. Then you can focus on bringing up your intelligence
03:18to meet even more higher attribute requirements for better spells and making the older ones
03:23powerful in the process. The Prophet class is the other side of the magic coin, focusing instead on
03:27faith to cast incantations, which are generally more supportive than offensive. This will make
03:32you a holy warrior role, backing up yourself and allies with healing incantations while smiting
03:36foes with fire and holy damage. So long as you have good attribute to healing spells,
03:40focusing your runes on the mind attribute will increase how many incantations you can cast.
03:44The Samurai class is a sort of vagabond and bandit hybrid, and all about dexterity-focused
03:49melee, combining good strength, the highest base endurance of any class, and great dexterity,
03:54with ranged sniping as a secondary option thanks to the starting longbow. Samurai players should
03:58focus on mastering dodges, parrying, and the two-handed weapon stance to deliver precise
04:03strikes and attack combos. Sitting between the warrior and astrologer, the Prisoner combines
04:07both good dexterity-based melee with intelligence-based sorceries to deal a range of damage.
04:12That high dexterity also has the added bonus of quickening spellcasting, so prisoners have
04:16potential to deal a lot of damage very quickly. This class is let down, however, by low vigor and
04:21endurance, so boosting HP and stamina should definitely be a focus initially for leveling up,
04:26while putting a lot of points into dexterity is going to improve your melee and magical
04:30capabilities. Similar to the Prisoner, the Confessor blends the balanced melee capabilities
04:34of the Vagabond with the faith-focused incantations of the Prophet. Base strength and dexterity stats
04:39of 12 mean there's a lot of freedom in which weapons Confessor players can specialize in,
04:43but we recommend pooling your runes into either one or the other to get either strength or
04:48dexterity-focused weapons, rather than trying to use both. Balance this with levels in faith,
04:53vigor, and endurance to keep your incantations up to speed and your Confessor healthy.
04:57That should give you a relatively balanced character, competent in both martial and
05:00magical attacks. So there's your guide to Elden Ring classes, and a few suggestions
05:04for beginners and pros alike. Remember, the Vagabond is great for starters if you favor melee,
05:09while the Prophet or Astrologer is a great choice for more experienced players who want more magic
05:13options, while the Wretch is for the masochists only who really want a challenge. For more help
05:17with Elden Ring in general, don't forget to like and subscribe to GamesRadar.