Elden Ring Beginner’s Guide#

Welcome to the Lands Between! Elden Ring is FromSoftware’s biggest and most freeform game yet — this guide takes you from zero and covers every core mechanic

Class Choice#

Your starting class only affects your initial stats and gear — you can allocate points and swap equipment freely later on, so pick whichever one you like

Advice: beginners should pick Samurai (strong katana plus a ranged option) or Vagabond (a shield makes everything feel safer)

Basic Controls#

Core Mechanics#

Sites of Grace#

Sites of Grace are the Lands Between’s checkpoints — they work like the bonfires in Dark Souls

Flasks#

Note: Sacred Tears can be found in churches across the world — there are about 12 in total, and collecting them all raises the maximum to +12

Death Mechanics#

Spirit Ashes#

Recommended Opening Route#

→ Caria Manor → Caelid (the red wasteland to the lower right) → Altus Plateau
→ Leyndell, the Royal Capital → Mountaintops of the Giants → Consecrated Snowfield → gradually into the ending routes

Early Progression Checklist#

Beginner FAQ#

FAQ#

Weapon Strength Reference#

Gameplay Tips#

1. HP first — pump Vigor to 30-40 early on; damage comes from weapon upgrades. Health is the most important stat
2. Jump attacks — jump + R2 has huge stance damage — most enemies stagger after 3-5 jump attacks
3. Mounted combat — fight field bosses on horseback — keep your distance → ride in for one slash → ride away, repeat
4. Shields are nothing to be ashamed of — even casters should carry a medium shield. A 100% physical block shield is an insurance policy
5. Exploration beats pushing forward — when a boss walls you, exploring elsewhere and leveling up works better than grinding it out
6. Co-op trick — summoning a helper cuts boss difficulty by roughly 40%. Use the Withered Finger so the boss’s HP doesn’t increase
7. Status effect weapons — bleed, frost, and scarlet rot weapons shred bosses — percentage damage ignores defenses
8. Make the most of Ashes of War — Ashes of War change a weapon’s skill and stat scaling, and one weapon can swap between different ashes for different situations

Early Area Cheat Sheet#

Advanced Tips#

1. Items that never drop on death — smithing stones, Grave Glovewort, Golden Seeds, Sacred Tears, Memory Stones, and talisman pouches are never lost when you die — unlike runes, there is no need to rush back for these
2. Power stance scaling — when dual-wielding two weapons of the same type, the left-hand weapon’s damage scaling stacks — two greatswords power-stanced deal double damage
3. Elemental matchups — every boss’s resistances are different. Fire works well on living creatures and beasts, holy works on the undead, and magic works on magical beings
4. Use gravity — leaping down onto an enemy deals bonus damage and greatly boosts stance damage — exploit every height difference
5. First priorities — get the horse → get the Flask of Wondrous Physick → grab the Meteorite Staff (casters) → unlock graces across the map → clear the Weeping Peninsula → finish the Limgrave main story
6. The jar warrior — Alexander’s questline is one of the best NPC stories in the game — when you meet him in Caelid, remember to smash the jar he is stuck in
7. Watch the golden arrow — when you open the map, the golden grace arrow points to your next required destination — check it whenever you feel stuck
8. Sell spare smithing stones — sell weapons you pick up but don’t need — golden weapons and valuables in particular fetch high prices
9. Whistle to lure enemies — using the whistle pulls enemies out of a group one at a time — avoids getting swarmed in a 1vN
10. Flask combo — Flask of Wondrous Physick + Opaline Bubbletear (one-time damage reduction) + Green Burst Crystal Tear (unlimited stamina) is the ultimate escape combo
11. “Determination” Ash of War — the old general’s “Determination” Ash of War grants a one-time 60% damage boost — pair it with a colossal jump attack for five-digit damage
12. Permanent damage reduction — Dragoncrest Talisman (physical) + Spelldrake/Flamedrake Talisman (magic/flame) + Pearldrake Talisman (non-physical) — the trio gives 65%+ permanent damage negation
13. Before the fog gate — you get a few seconds of invincibility after stepping through a boss fog gate — enough to safely apply buffs. Use it for any buffs that require standing still
14. NG+ difficulty — NG+1~2 is relatively easy (you are strong, enemies are not), and from NG+3 enemies get noticeably stronger. NG+7 is the cap
15. Sprint-past strategy — ride through areas you don’t want to fight in at full speed — most enemies can’t keep up. Boss fog gates are safe zones
16. Early armor choice — the best defensive stats in the early-mid game are on the Knight set (buy at the Roundtable Hold) and the Tree Sentinel set (drops from the Limgrave boss)
17. Don’t fear NPC invaders — some areas have red phantom NPC invaders — beat them for unique weapons and talismans

Beginner Notes to Keep in Mind#

Take it slow, rest at every grace you pass, and the Lands Between will open up faster than you expect.