Elden Ring’s release is just around the corner and all the players are extremely hyped for it. The game has been developed by From Software and they are known for some of the best games in the industry. Elden Ring is scheduled to release on the 25th of February 2022 and the anticipation for the game is growing higher by the minute.
Elden Ring is a game that will provide the player with a full-fledged fantasy gaming experience. In the game, the players can create their characters through a class selection system and play through the campaign while developing their playstyle according to class they have chosen. Choosing a class in a game like Elden Ring can be a stressful decision and having an idea of what a specific class will be able to provide helps them get a better idea for their decision.
Elden Ring has a wide range of classes to choose from, players would need to analyze the stats, strengths, weakness and much more before coming to their final decision. In total there are 10 classes that a player needs to choose from. Here are all the classes and their descriptions in Elden Ring, check them out to make your life a whole lot easier:
Hero
The Hero is a straightforward melee-focused class that begins the game with high Strength, Endurance, and Vigor stats alongside a one-handed axe and a medium-sized shield for some extra protection in a pinch. This no-frills class should make Dark Souls melee fans feel right at home.
As a Hero, your primary stats will likely continue to be Strength and Vigor. Strength will ensure you can wield large weapons that scale specifically with that stat, while having a high health pool with your increased Vigor stat will assist you with the fact that you’ll spend most of your time in close-quarters encounters.
Bandit
The Bandit doesn’t bring much to the table for the more commonly desired stats, instead offering a lot of points in Arcane. Some high Dexterity is helpful, too, though all of the other stats begin at fairly low levels. That being said, the Bandit begins the game with a dagger and bow and arrows, making it the perfect stealth-based starting class if that’s your thing.
The Arcane stat helps you find more items on defeated foes and has some use in certain sorceries and incantations, but it’s best suited for niche builds and won’t be optimal for more typical playstyles. As such, the Bandit isn’t one of the better starting classes for most players who want to min-max their stats at the end of the game.
Vagabond
The Vagabond is a tried-and-true knight, coming equipped with heavy armor, a straight sword, and a solid shield in preparation for close-quarters showdowns. Its high starting Vigor makes it the tankiest of the starting classes, while the nearly even split between Strength and Dexterity makes it perfect for Quality builds, which bring both stats to at least 40 to specialize equally in all melee weapon types.
The Vagabond’s low Intelligence, Faith, and Mind stats don’t do much to set it on a path for using sorcery or incantations, but they’re not so low that you couldn’t pump a few points in them to make use of spells as a backup option. But if magic is something you’re wanting to use more frequently, you’re much better off with a class that specializes in it.
If you like a tank-like character, the Vagabond is the right pick for you.Astrologer
The Astrologer is a class that is really well-suited to newcomers who want to have both melee and sorcery options in battle. This magic-based class comes equipped with a staff for casting sorceries and a short sword for some light melee. It boasts large bonuses to Intelligence and Mind that ensure that you’ll hit hard and have plenty of casts at your disposal for ranged combat.
Making the most of the Astrologer will mean spending the majority of your points in Intelligence to keep your magic damage high. Unless you want to rely heavily on a melee weapon as a backup option, you’ll want to pump up your Mind stat, too, so you can increase the number of times you can cast spells. As long as you can keep a little distance between yourself and your enemies, you’ll find a lot to love here.
Warrior
On the surface, Warriors offer one of the most appealing initial stat packages in the game. Their high Dexterity allows them to access a variety of unique weaponry (as well as the dual-wield swords they start with), while their respectable Mind and Intelligence stats mean that they will be able to utilize basic magic abilities relatively early on.
The biggest problem with learning to effectively play a Warrior is dealing with the fact that their initial build means that they’re designed to stay on the offense as much as possible while rolling out of the way of incoming attacks. Learning to manage your stamina in a way that allows you to consistently do both those things can be difficult. Furthermore, getting the most out of Elden Ring’s dual-wield system will take quite some time due to both the unique nature of that playstyle and how long it will take you to acquire the proper equipment/upgrades.
If you’re comfortable with dodge rolling and more aggressive melee playstyles, though, then you will probably learn to love this class fairly quickly. It’s also nice that they’re able to fairly easily “scale” into ranged and magic abilities (even if there are similar classes that arguably outstrip them in both respects).
Prisoner
I could easily entertain any arguments that suggest the Prisoner class should be a couple of spots higher on this list, but I ultimately went with a slightly more modest placement that best represents their unique nature.
Simply put, Prisoners are your basic “Spellsword” class. That means that they’re able to effectively utilize a basic melee strategy that is often bolstered by a small collection of key spells as well as weapon enhancement abilities. They’re often slightly more of a spellcaster than a melee fighter at the end of the day, but effectively using a Prisoner (at least at first) means learning to balance your use of both strategies.
Confessor
The Confessor is a hybrid class that comes with plenty of points in Faith while also having solid Strength and Dexterity stats, which makes it a good choice if you’re looking to use spells while also having some freedom in weapon choices. It comes equipped with a broadsword and a finger seal for casting incantations.
If you’re hoping to start off your experience with a character that can cast incantations without sacrificing melee capabilities, you may enjoy the Confessor. Your low starting Vigor, however, means that you won’t be able to take many hits in the beginning, but you can raise that stat for some extra protection if you’re hoping to stay in close quarters often.
Prophet
On the surface, the Prophet bumps up against some of the same stat problems that make other magic-based classes tricky to learn (low defenses/health and their reliance on spells that come later in the game). They’re not the class you want to choose if you want to maximize your chances of surviving the occasional early mistake.
What separates Prophets from similar classes is the fact that they are noticeably more durable than other “mage” classes at the start of the game, but can effectively utilize melee attacks when needed. Furthermore, they bost a jaw-dropping base Faith stat (16) that grants them early access to some of the most powerful spells in the game.
I’m a little hesitant to rank this class so high given their relative lack of survivability compared to other class options, but you will start to get a lot out of this class very early on and will be able to carry that momentum into the late game.
Samurai
The Samurai comes equipped with a powerful katana and a longbow, as well as visually-impressive armor that fits its namesake. It’s a class focused heavily on Dexterity, though its decent spread in both Vigor and Endurance ensures that you’re starting out with a little bit of survivability, too.
You won’t have much in the way of magic due to low Intelligence and Faith, but that doesn’t mean you can’t invest in those stats. Ultimately, the Samurai is no doubt one of the more versatile starting options, but unless the aesthetic of the class is important to you, you’ll likely find that the Vagabond is a better option for hybrid builds.
Wretch
The Wretch is a blank slate character that starts with all stats set to level 10 and wields only a club for boinking baddies. This is a worthwhile option if you merely enjoy the concept of starting from nothing and having to scrounge for loot. And having even stats across the board means you have a lot of freedom to build your character however you’d like.
The downside of the Wretch is that, because every stat begins at 10, you can’t min-max for optimized builds at the PVP level cap. No matter what build you hope to achieve, you’ll always have a few extra points in useless stats that would’ve been lower on a specialized starting class. Those few points won’t always make or break your build entirely, but PVP can be brutal, so you should be aiming to maximize your potential, and that’ll never be possible here.
However, it is a little easier to talk about Elden Ring‘s starting classes. If you’re coming into this game cold (meaning you have little to no experience with previous Soulsborne games), you should know that there are certain classes in the game that are harder to play due to the nature of the game, that classes’ optimal playstyle, and how they’re equipped to handle some of the earliest challenges this game will throw at you before you’re able to properly build your character and make them your own.
