Elden Ring is the biggest and most ambitious game yet from famed developer FromSoftware. As you explore the rich open world of the Lands Between, you’ll encounter dangerous foes, mystifying lore, and plenty of rewards for the most intrepid Tarnished. This comprehensive guide breaks down everything you need to know to survive this unique action RPG.

What Exactly is Elden Ring?

Elden Ring is an open-world action role-playing game developed by FromSoftware and published by Bandai Namco Entertainment. Often described as a spiritual successor to FromSoftware’s Dark Souls series, key features of Elden Ring include:

• Vast Open World – Elden Ring takes place in the Lands Between, an expansive open world with diverse environments to explore like misty forests, stormy mountaintops, and imposing castles.
• Customizable Character Builds – Players can customize their hero with builds focused on melee combat, magic spells, or other playstyles. Over 100 skills to mix and match.
• Epic Boss Battles – FromSoftware is renowned for intense, punishing boss fights. Elden Ring amps it up with spectacular battles versus huge mythical creatures.
• Rich Storytelling – Cryptic lore and characters weave a mysterious mythology drawing inspiration from Celtic and Norse legends. Unraveling the story is optional but rewarding.
• Seamless Multiplayer – Elden Ring integrates competitive and cooperative online elements like invading other players’ games or teaming up against bosses.

First announced at E3 2019, Elden Ring launched on February 25, 2022 for PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and Microsoft Windows. A current-gen version for PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S released shortly after. As FromSoftware’s first open world game, Elden Ring evolved Dark Soul’s formula while preserving the franchise’s famous challenge.

Traversing the Vast Open World of Elden Ring

A defining feature of Elden Ring is its open world structure. Rather than a linear sequence of levels, players are free to explore the realm known as the Lands Between at will. This vast kingdom comprises six main regions each with distinct terrain, from the lush meadows of Limgrave to the ominous gloom of Caelid.

Elden Ring gives you several tools for navigating this expansive open world, including:

• Spectral Steed – Summon your trusty ghostly elk steed to swiftly gallop across land and even double jump over obstacles. Available immediately.
• Fast Travel – Maps scattered throughout the world let you instantly warp between sites of lost grace (bonfire-like checkpoints).
• Field Map – Track your location, sites of grace, terrain details, points of interest and more via your map.

Veterans of FromSoftware’s earlier titles may initially find Elden Ring’s vastness intimidating. Focus first on following golden grace trails towards major story objectives. As you unlock more tools, backtrack to uncover hidden secrets off the beaten path at your own pace. Thorough exploration rewarded with superior gear.

Mastering Elden Ring’s Combat Systems

Combat in Elden Ring follows the action-RPG foundations established in FromSoftware’s esteemed Dark Souls series, with a few twists. Key elements for players new and familiar include:

Weapons

All those badass swords, spears, axes and bows you discover offer unique movesets, special skills, stat scaling and upgrade capabilities. Testing different armaments is crucial – find one suiting your playstyle. Pay attention to attribute scaling which improves damage output.

Magic

Magic isn’t just ranged offensive spells anymore. Attach sorceries, incantations or powerful skills to your weapons as Ashes of War for a spellblade hybrid build. Learn spells from teachers like Rogier and Brother Corhyn.

Defense and Evasion

Don’t neglect dodging and blocking. Time your rolls to become temporarily invulnerable. Blocking with 100% physical absorption shields mitigates damage entirely. Combine both defensive maneuvers seamlessly.

Mastering offensive and defensive techniques against regular field enemies prepares you for Elden Ring’s challenging dungeon and dragon battles. Patience and attentiveness above all else is key.

What Class Should You Pick in Elden Ring?

During Elden Ring’s character creation, you must pick one of 10 classes that determines your starting stats, weapons, armor and abilities. Don’t worry about picking the “best” class – you can eventually shape any class into your preferred build. However, your initial class selection sets the early challenge level:

Class	Description
Astrologer	Ranged magic user with high Intelligence
Bandit	Dex-focused build well-suited for bows or dual-wielding
Confessor	Balanced melee acolyte wielding sword and shield
Hero	High Strength warrior adept with heavy axes and greatswords
Prisoner	Spellcaster with expansive magic and decent dexterity
Prophet	Caster of holy incantations and healing miracles
Samurai	Skilled katana swordsmaster with good base Endurance
Vagabond	Knight in heavy armor boasting high Vigor and Strength
Warrior	Hardy soldier familiar with ranged and melee combat
Wretch	Wretched unclothed weakling for extreme challenge seekers

I recommend Astrologer and Samurai for beginners, plus the balanced Vagabond. Magic or ranged builds allow safer first playthroughs. Avoid Wretch unless you desire a hardcore handicap!

Once you have a handle on a starting class through the first few areas, don’t hesitate to experiment. Elden Ring gives you tools to reshape your hero’s stats and skills later on.

Early Game Tips for Elden Ring Beginners

Here are some essential early game tips to help you survive your maiden voyage through the Lands Between as a Tarnished newcomer:

• Follow golden trails from Sites of Grace towards critical story objectives first. They indicate suitable levels for early game progression.
• Level Vigor to increase base health/survivability ASAP. Having sufficient vigor is infinitely more valuable early than damage stats.
• Dodge, dip, duck, dive and dodge. Movement and evasion are as vital as sword swings. Don’t rely on blocking alone.
• Try stealth and guerrilla tactics. Pull single enemies away from groups using ranged attacks or stealthy assassinations.
• Discover and unlock Sites of Grace whenever possible. These checkpoints allow you to replenish healing flasks and level up.
• Don’t worry about losing Runes upon death! Dying drops your current runes, but you can recover them to prevent total loss. It’s part of the learning process.

Stick to these fundamentals during your fragile first steps in the Lands Between to steadily gather strength without pulling too much threat. Soon you’ll gain confidence taking on greater challenges!

Respeccing and Resetting Your Build

Perhaps you chose astrology to start but now yearn to wield massive weapons instead of spells. Fret not! Elden Ring provides special Larval Tears allowing complete respec of attributes and skills. Here’s how it works:

• What: Larval Tears enable players to respec their hero by resetting all attribute points allocated up till that time. You customize your build distribution again from scratch.
• Where: Obtain your first Larval Tear by defeating the pumpkin-headed watchdog boss in Academy of Raya Lucaria. Find ~10 more scattered around the Lands Between.
• How: Bring Larval Tears to Rennala Queen of the Full Moon boss arena in Raya Lucaria Academy. Interact with the egg she guards to respec for free anytime.

Before using precious Larval Tears, plan your new build wisely through research and gear drops. But respec liberally until discovering your ultimate archetypal Tarnished! You can always farm more tears later on.

Surviving Elden Ring’s Epic Boss Battles

Ahh, FromSoftware boss battles. These climactic clashes versus terrifyingly powerful foes see you frantically chugging flasks while trying to land a few opportune strikes between dodges. Survival requires understanding attack patterns and managing relentless aggression. Here are some universal tips:

• Observe and Learn – The first few attempts should focus solely on dodging and blocking while studying move sets without attempting to attack much.
• Maximize Vigor First – Boss battles test health/damage thresholds. Having 40-60 vigor by endgame is recommended.
• Use Spirit Ashes – Summonable ashes like skeleton militiamen draw boss aggro so you can breathe.
• Co-op with Friends – Playing co-op lets friends distract bosses so you can land hits. Share the struggle!
• Equip Great Runes – Remember to activate and equip Great Runes for big stat boosts before major encounters.
• Try Different Weapons – Faster or ranged options help counter certain movesets compared to heavy/slow weapons.
• Stay Calm – Patience and composure prevents panic rolling from punishing mistakes. Persist and