Elden Ring: Best Build For Beginners

Image: FromSoftware Inc. via HGG

Human Made

Penned by Gibson Vasela

My name is Gibson Vasela. I am a freelance writer who has been playing video games for almost 20 years now. I play all kinds of games, but I especially love immersive sims and RPGs.

Reviewed by Benjamin Barr

Elden Ring is the latest game made by FromSoftware Inc. It features some of the best combat seen in any action game, as well as some of the best character building in any RPG! If this is your first time playing Elden Ring (or any FromSoftware game to speak of), then you might be a little confused about which build you should go for on your first run. That is why we’re here to tell you everything you need to know about the best build for beginners in Elden Ring.

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We’ll cover which class you should choose when making your character, as well as how you should level up, and what gear you should go for.

Let’s jump right into it!

Choosing Your Class

When firing up the game for the first time, one of the very first things you’ll need to do is pick your class. There are many different classes to choose from — Bandit, Astrologer, Prisoner, etc. — but the one we’re focusing on today is the Vagabond.

The Vagabond is a melee-based class that starts out its journey at Level 9. Vagabonds also begin the game with higher vigor, strength, and dexterity. High vigor is important in Elden Ring, as this stat governs your overall health. As a beginner, you’re bound to make mistakes in combat, and having high health will make those mistakes less lethal.

I prefer to play as a tank, and I recommend this build for any first-time players. Strength increases your physical damage with heavier melee weapons with lower attack speed, while Dexterity increases damage with lighter melee weapons with faster attack speeds. Don’t pay much attention to other stats like Faith and Intelligence, as those are reserved for magic builds.

Leveling Up

Now that we’ve gone over which class you should choose for the best beginner’s build in Elden Ring, let’s talk a bit about leveling up. Early on in the game, you’re going to want to focus on increasing your vigor. As previously mentioned, it’s crucial to have as much health as possible while you’re still getting used to combat.

I also recommend increasing your endurance if you find yourself using shields a lot. Every time you absorb damage with your shield, your stamina bar goes down. Increasing your endurance (thereby giving you more stamina) will improve your defensive capabilities. It also allows you to attack more often, as every swing of your sword also lowers your stamina.

As for the more offensive stats, let’s talk about Strength and Dexterity. Choosing one over the other is really down to personal preference, but it’s best to level both equally. Strength weapons do more damage but are more punishing if you miss, as they tend to swing slower than Dexterity weapons.

Because of this, I recommend focusing on Dexterity, at least at first. Using these types of weapons is less punishing if you happen to miss a few swings.

Choosing Your Gear

Finally, let’s briefly talk about your gear. Due to the Vagabond’s starting stats, it’s best to use melee weapons as your primary mode of attack. You start out the game with a halberd, which is a great melee weapon for hitting targets at longer ranges.

If you want to get a great sword early on, you can head east from spawn and then turn south, towards the Weeping Peninsula. Then just go to Castle Morne, shown in the image above. Here, once you defeat the boss Leonine Misbegotten, you can acquire the Grafted Blade Greatsword!

Ranged weapons can make a good sidearm. If you went with higher Strength, go for crossbows and ballista. If you chose to level up Dexterity more, you’ll want to get your hands on bows. Alternatively, you could double down on melee weapons and keep a lance at your side instead. Lances have better range than your typical sword.

As for your armor, heavy armor is best suited for the Vagabond’s playstyle. You’ll want to play him as a tank, and using heavier sets of armor will protect you the most. I wouldn’t stress too much about armor early on, as you’ll want to put all your focus on leveling up your attributes and getting better weapons.

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