What Is Elden Ring?
In Elden Ring players journey through the Lands Between, a new fantasy world created by Hidetaka Miyazaki, creator of the influential Dark Souls video game series, and George R. R. Martin, author of The New York Times best-selling fantasy series, A Song of Ice and Fire.
By unraveling the mysteries of the Elden Ring’s power, players will encounter adversaries with profound backgrounds, characters with their own unique motivations for helping or hindering your progress, and fearsome creatures.
What Platforms Will Elden Ring Release On?
Elden Ring will be available for X Box One, X Box One S|X, Playstation 4, X Box Series X|S, Playstation 5 and PC.
Elden Ring Starting Classes
Elden Ring has 10 starting classes to choose from which will determine your starting weapons, armor, attributes, skills and spells. Keep in mind that this is just a baseline for your character and it won’t necessarily lock you into one path or another.
Elden Ring Character Stats And Attributes
The basic stats present in Elden Ring will be familiar to anyone who previously played Dark Souls. These include HP, FP, and Stamina.
There are 8 Main Stats or Attributes available in Elden Ring that will further determine your character’s combat ability including: Vigor, Mind, Endurance, Strength, Dexterity, Intelligence, Faith and Arcane.
Each Stat and its corresponding effects are listed below:
- Vigor – increases total HP.
- Mind – increases FP.
- Endurance – increases Stamina and Equip Load.
- Strength – increases attack power of Strength-based weapons such as Greatswords and Battle Axes.
- Dexterity – increases attack power of Dexterity-based weapons including Bows and Daggers.
- Intelligence – required to cast Sorceries and increases their damage.
- Faith – required to cast Incantations and increases their potency.
- Arcane – increases your chance at Discovery.
Elden Ring Keepsakes
Keepsakes in Elden Ring are special starting gifts selected during character creation. Any class can choose any Keepsake to begin the game. All Keepsakes can also be obtained later. Think of these as an extra bonus to help your build survive early on. You can also choose to NOT take a Keepsake if you prefer.
There are 9 possible Keepsakes to choose from in Elden Ring, including:
- Crimson Amber Medallion: a medallion inlaid with Crimson Amber. Increases Maximum HP.
- Land’s Between Rune: consume this item for Runes, allowing you to level up quickly.
- Golden Seed: Used to upgrade your Flask.
- Fanged Imp Ashes: A spirit summon.
- Cracked Pot: Crafting item component used to craft throwing pots.
- Stonesword Key: Opens an Imp Gargoyle Lock.
- Bewitching Branch: Five sacred branches charged with beguiling power.
- Boiled Prawn: Five pieces of prawn that boost physical damage negation.
- Shabriri’s Woe: Increases madness buildup.
Wondering how each Keepsake works? Check out our Full Guide: Which Keepsake Is Best In Elden Ring?
Elden Ring Tutorial Level
Like many other FromSoft titles, Elden Ring will send you against a difficult boss encounter very early on that most players will not be able to defeat immediately. Don’t worry! There is a way to return to this area later on.
Players are then encouraged to take on an easier tutorial level to learn the basics of the game including attacking, stealthing away from enemies and more.
The Elden Ring Game World
The game world of Elden Ring is quite massive, the biggest of any Soulsborne title to date and includes 6 distinct regions or biomes including windswept fields, mountainous crags and poisonous swamps.
Each region is incredibly large and diverse, potentially being dividied into sub-regions. For example the first region of Limgrave has it’s own further definitions which shape the landscape including the sweeping plains of Western and Eastern Limgrave, the coast of the Weeping Penninsula and forboding Stormveil Castle.
Each region contains a Legacy Dungeon – a sprawling and deep dungeon encounter that will remind players greatly of the Dark Souls franchise. These dungeons include challenging packs of enemies, mini-bosses and an epic final boss encounter against one of the game’s demigods.
Each zone also includes many, smaller caves, delves, mines and other subterranean encounters expanding the overall content of the region substantially.
Regions in Elden Ring don’t need to be cleared in any specific order and legacy dungeons and the main bosses within don’t necessarily need to be defeated either before the player can move on to the next region. Elden Ring is a true open world experience with few limitations on the player in this way.
Multiple routes to your objective can exist such as breaching the castle gate or going through a lesser known side entrance when trying to tackle Stormveil Castle. Looking for alternate routes especially if you’d rather avoid combat or employ stealth will be important.
A complete underground area also exists in Elden Ring. This is not just one cave or underground dungeon we are talking about here – this is a massive playable area that will greatly increase the total size of the Elden Ring map. So As big as the above ground world is, this underground zone will add a ton of land to that as well.
The Elden Ring World Map
The World Map for Elden Ring has a beautiful hand-drawn style that also includes a Fog of War, limiting your view of regions you have yet to visit.
Several different types of icons can be placed on the map by the player, allowing you to designate points of interest to return to at a later time including challenging bosses, treasure, NPCs and more.
Beacons can also be placed anywhere on the map. Those Beacons will then appear in the game world as tall pillars of blue light, helping you more easily track down your desired objectives.
Map Fragments for each region can be collected by players thoughtout the world, revealing the map’s Fog Of War in advance of actually clearing that area.
Elden Ring Gameplay vs. Dark Souls
The gameplay loops in Elden Ring should be quite familiar to players that have played games like Dark Souls, but this game is much more than simply Dark Souls 4. Some of the best gameplay systems of the Soulsborne franchise have returned and some new systsems have been introduced as well.
For example, Souls in Dark Souls are now called Runes in Elden Ring. Just like other Souls games you can use these Runes to level up your character or purchase items from NPC merchants.
Bonfires are now Sites Of Lost Grace. These are spread out all over the open world and allow for similar tasks to bonfires like leveling up and placing attribute points.
Dying in Elden Ring will send you back to the nearest Site of Lost Grace, or if one is nearby a Stake of Marika. On death, you also drop all your Runes on the ground and have a chance during your next life to retrieve them.
Speaking of death, Fall damage has been significantly reduced to help you better navigate the massive world of Elden Ring. And Jumping is now a part of Elden Ring, adding even more mobility and exploration options into the core gameplay.
Elden Ring Difficulty
It’s important to not that there is no difficulty slider or easy mode available in Elden Ring. Instead, players that are struggling are encouraged to continue exploring for better weapons, armor and abilities, level up their character further or seek the help of other players via co-op.
Both New Game Plus and multiple endings will exist in Elden ring, though a recent interview with one of the game’s developers noted that it would be impossible to 100% Elden Ring in your first playthrough due to multiple branching pathways, especially towards the late game.
Estus Flasks in Elden Ring
Estus Flasks for both HP and FP will return in Elden Ring. Much like Dark Souls 3, players can choose how many of their total flasks are dedicated to restoring each resource.
In Elden Ring, players even have the ability to mix their own Flasks, mixing effects like stamina restore and even explosive damage. This comes from an item called the Flask of Wonderous Physick which is obtained later in the game.
Finally, defeating groups of enemies will often refill your flasks on the fly, helping you to keep moving forward in the midst of intense combat without having to return to a Site Of Lost Grace.
Player Messages in Elden Ring
Phantoms, Blood Stains and Player Messages all return to Elden Ring, allowing you to see traces of other players and their most recent actions in the game world.
Sites Of Lost Grace in Elden Ring
Sites Of Lost Grace are Elden Ring’s version of Bonfires from the classic Dark Souls series. Sites Of Lost Grace allow you to perform several actions including:
- Pass Time
- Level Up
- Flasks
- Memorize Spell
- Mix Wonderous Physick
- Sort Chest
- Ashes Of War
- About Melina
- Leave
Through your map you can instantly fast travel to any Site Of Lost Grace that you’ve discovered, though there are some dungeons and other areas where this is disabled. Dying will also take you back to the nearest Site Of Lost Grace or Stake Of Marika.
Resting at a Site Of Lost Grace will restore your HP, FP and heal any status ailments. It also refills all of your flasks and allows you to change their distribution.
Most enemies you’ve already defeated will be revived when you rest at a Site Of Lost Grace and most crafting resources you find out in the world will also be replaced at their spawn points.
Sites of Lost Grace are small and relatively easy to miss out in the world, so to help with this, these sites shoot a faint stream of light into the air so that they’re easier to spot behind brush, rocks or other debris. Once discovered, the rays of light will often shift in direction, pointing you toward your next closest objective or Site Of Lost Grace. This is known as the Guidance Of Grace.
For More tips on Sites Of Lost Grace, check out our complete guide: How To Use Sites Of Lost Grace In ELDEN RING
Combat In Elden Ring
Spells In Elden Ring
Spells in Elden Ring are powerful magical abilities that come in the form of Sorceries or Incantations. Sorceries require a specific amount of the Intelligence Stat in order to use while Incantations require the Faith Stat. Both types use FP to cast.
Spells in Elden Ring can also be charged and often have entirely new effects compared to their normal cast, not just more damage. For example some charged spells may also knock down mounted enemies or place longer lasting effects in the world. And this is for the same amount of FP as the regular version of the spell.
Spells in Elden Ring must be memorized first before they can be cast. Each Spell requires 1 or 2 memorization slots depending on the Spell’s strength.
For more information on how Spells work in Elden Ring check out our complete guide: Every Known Magic Spell in ELDEN RING
Elden Ring Ashes Of War
Ashes Of War are unique combat arts that can be acquired in Elden Ring. Ashes can be applied to most weapons and are interchangeable, allowing you to mix and match combat styles between various weapons in the game. You can think of Ashes Of War as Weapon Arts or combat styles in the world of Elden Ring.
Ashes provide powerful combat effects that also cost FP to cast. These can be purchased, found in the world, or looted from slain enemies. Some unique and legendary weapons have an Ash Of War that cannot be changed out and only works with that specific weapon.
Guard Counters In Elden Ring
Attacks can be guarded against by using the left bumper on a controller – this is obviously most effective if you have a shield equipped. Guarding when timed correctly with your own attacks can result in an effective move called the Guard Counter. A unique visual and sound effect is played when you guard counter and this can also break an enemies stance as well. As you might expect in Elden Ring, Guarding consumes Stamina, and if you run out of stamina your stance will be broken.
Stealth In Elden Ring
Moving via the Crouch button, AKA Stealth, can also have a big impact on your combat within Elden Ring if you want it to. Enemies will be less likely to notice you in a crouched state, and this is amplified even further during the night cycle. Attacking enemies while crouched can result in big critical damage.
Elden Ring Spirit Horse: Torrent
Torrent is your trustworthy and magical steed in Elden Ring. This Spirit Creature moves at exceptional speeds, greatly increasing both your mobility and combat options in the game. While riding Torrent you can jump and even double jump to greater heights by pressing the jump button in quick succession and sprinting on Torrent allows you to out-maneuver dangerous field bosses and packs of enemies.
Players can use most weapon arts and even cast spells while mounted on Torrent. These may have different animations and even different cast times when compared to using them on the ground, so make sure you take the time to practice on weaker enemies to get your timing right before you fight anything stronger like a field boss.
While mounted, R1 and R2 give you light and heavy attacks respectively using your equipped weapon for that side, and the same is true for L1 and L2 on the opposite side. And charged heavy attacks while mounted are even possible if you hold down that heavy attack button though these often have a greatly extended charge time, leaving you vulnerable to attacks. Still, these seem like an extremely powerful way to defeat enemies in the open field if you can time them just right.
If you take too much damage while on horseback you will fall off, landing flat on your back and leaving you vulnerable for several seconds, most likely getting you killed in the process. Its much better in this case to dismount or jump from your horse before this happens.
Another amazing thing you can do while mounted is use Jump Pads throughout the world known as Spirit Springs. Jumping on a Spirit Spring while mounted on Torrent will give you an extra powerful boosted Jump, pushing you extremely high in the air. Riding that current of air from the Spirit Spring can help you reach new and difficult to reach areas. Also note that you won’t take fall damage on Torrent if you land or fall into a Spirit Spring while mounted, even if falling from very high up, so this is yet another useful traversal method.
Elden Ring Spirit Summons
Another type of Spirit in the game are your Spirit Summons. Spirit Summons in Elden Ring function as items and summon powerful creatures or even packs of spirits to aid you in combat.
Spirits can only be summoned in difficult areas, usually a boss fight or when fighting a large static pack of enemies. You’ll know that summoning a spirit in the area is possible if you see a Rebirth Monument nearby or the Monument Icon on the left side of the screen.
Summoning Spirits in Elden Ring costs FP and you can only have one Spirit equipped at a time, so it’s important to be selective. One useful tactic is to use your Spirit to draw the attention of multiple enemies or a boss to serve as a distraction. Keep in mind that some Spirits have low amounts of both health and armor so they can easily fall in combat as well.
The Power level of Spirits seems to be related to their cost in FP, so especially early on you might not have enough FP total to cast a summon, requiring you to upgrade your mind stat before you can actually use it. Eventually, Spirit Summons can also be upgraded.
For more information on how Spirits work in Elden Ring check out our complete guide: Every Known Spirit Summon in ELDEN RING
Elden Ring Weapons, Armor and Upgrades
A vast array of weapons exist in Elden Ring including Swords, Spears, Clubs, Lances, Axes and much, much more.
Light, medium and heavy armor types exist as well, giving you plenty of options for defending yourself in the Lands Between. Heavy armor in particular provides higher poise for your build, making you less likely to stagger from enemy attacks. Wielding a heavy weapon with two hands also provides a similar effect.
An equip load system is present in Elden Ring, with this system, when you carry more than 70% of your maximum equipment load your dodge rolling becomes slower and more clumsy, leading to the classic fat roll. And if you exceed the max equip load you will lose dodge rolling completely.
Rings in Elden Ring have been altered to be more like consumable items. You’ll see this for example in the ring that summons Torrent. Instead players will unlock slots for Talismans. Some Talismans give you powerful bonuses to specific weapons like increased damage on the final strike using a twin blade, while other Talismans give you powerful stat boosts to HP, FP, or Stamina.
Smithing tables can be used in the world to complete some minor upgrades to weapons. This costs an increasing amount of both runes and smithing runes. In the Network Test, the maximum upgrade was +3, but we have reports from those who’ve played the full game of upgrades to at least +12.
Crafting in Elden Ring
Players will be able to get a crafting kit fairly early on in the game. In the network test, this was purchased from the merchant Kale.
Basic crafted items include things like ranged items such as arrows, throwing knives, and bombs, consumables buffs, and Weapon coatings that can increase the damage of your equipped weapons by adding special effects and more. More advanced recipe books can be found out in the world or purchased from NPC merchants.
Crafting ingredients can be found literally anywhere in the game, dependent on that regions biome, like butterflies or fruits in the fields of Limgrave or mushrooms and roots in the caverns below.
More To Come!
We’ll continue updating the Elden Ring Wiki as more information becomes available. Stay tuned to RPGDOJO.com for more, and make sure to Subscribe to our YouTube Channel for more Elden Ring Videos!
More ELDEN RING Guides
Elden Ring World Map
The Elden Ring World Map is massive and beautiful! Here’s everything we know so far.
Read More ->
Sites Of Lost Grace
Bonfires from the Souls franchise have been replaced with Sites Of Lost Grace in Elden Ring!
Read More ->
Elden Ring Magic
Every Magic Spell we could find in ELDEN RING, including Sorceries and Incantations!
Read More ->
Elden Ring Keepsakes
Keepsakes in Elden Ring are special starting gifts selected during character creation.
Read More ->
Elden Ring Legacy Dungeons
Legacy Dungeons in Elden Ring are massive and sprawling dungeon encounters that will remind players greatly of the Dark Souls franchise.
Read More ->
Stakes Of Marika
Stakes Of Marika are a new mechanic in Elden Ring that will make it easier to resurrect.
Read More ->
Hack The Minotaur (HTM) is a professional Gaming Blogger and Youtube Creator with decades of experience in Gaming. Hack is the owner of HackTheMinotaur.com - an Elder Scrolls focused site for character builds and guides, and now RPGDOJO.com - your source for upcoming RPG news, builds, guides and more!
Hack loves gaming content, particularly Traditional RPG's, Action RPG's and MMO's. Go check out his YouTube Channel for even more builds and guides on popular series like the Elder Scrolls, Fallout and Cyberpunk and make sure to check out his social media for updates on what content is coming next!
ELDEN RING VIDEOS
ELDEN RING NEWS
Elden Ring Wiki Is Now Live!
Our NEW Wiki Guide for Elden Ring has gone live! Get up to date information on Skills, Armor, Weapons, Magic, Maps, Lore and More!
There are so many combat options in Elden Ring that the amount expression you can have with a build is nearly endless. As you might expect in a Souls-style game, Weapons can be one handed or two handed. Two-handing weapons also gives you access to unique Weapon Art type attacks called Ashes of War, more on this later. Charged attacks are also possible in Elden Ring resulting in even more health damage as well as posture damage.
Posture damage on enemies is going to be a huge part of combat in Elden Ring, though there is no visible meter on enemies that shows you how much posture damage they’ve taken. Once you break an opponent’s posture it’ll be easier for you to land a massive critical hit.
Powerstancing makes an epic return to Elden Ring, allowing players to unlock new and powerful movesets while using two weapons at the same time. The only restriction here is that both weapons need to be of the same type.
We touched on Jumping earlier in Elden Ring as a new means for movement and exploration, but jumping also serves a purpose in Combat. For example, jumping attacks seem to have iframes to help you avoid damage within a relatively short window, and jumping attacks also do significantly more health and posture damage to enemies. These are also great for doing addiitonal damage to mounted enemies and knocking them down.