Elden Ring: The Best Builds for Beginner Players

Elden Ring is considered one of the most difficult games of all time, but within FromSoftware's creations, it remains the most accessible and recommended title for beginners in the Soulslike genre.

The main reason for this is that the game has an open world, full of mechanics and things to explore, offering the player total freedom to venture into the Lands Between.

Although it’s indeed a challenging game and, at a certain point in the gameplay, quite punishing, there are tips that first-time players can follow to play more easily and not suffer so much at the beginning.

In this article, we explore five initial builds that you can use throughout your gameplay without problems and even overcome fearsome bosses like Malena and Radahn.

The idea is simple. Start the game and follow the steps of the build you like best among the five, and your gameplay will be much easier than it normally would be.

Samurai

This build focuses on Dexterity and Arcane stats, forming a hybrid Bleed/Dex build that fits the Samurai class very well. To begin, the chosen class will obviously be the Samurai, starting with the Land of Reeds set (samurai armor) and the Uchigatana sword, as well as a long-range bow. Choose Golden Seed as your gift, which will grant an extra healing flask.

The Uchigatana is one of the best starting weapons in the game, possessing a very useful combat skill and the passive ability to apply bleed to enemies with its strikes through the Hemorrhage effect.

The bleed mechanic works like any debuff in the game; each strike increases the target's hemorrhage bar, and when this bar reaches its maximum, bleed activates, causing bonus damage to the enemy. It's a very useful mechanic, especially against enemies with high health.

The bow and sword skills are very strong for the early game and add a lot of value to this build. Focus your rune points on increasing Dexterity and Mind, two important stats for improving your weapon use and damage, as well as improving the use of Ashes of War (skills). Never forget that Endurance and Vigor are also very important, especially in melee builds, and reserve some points for Arcane for better use of bleed.

Vigor: 15-20

Mind: 11

Endurance: 15

Strength: 15

Dexterity: 25

Intelligence: 9

Faith: 8

Arcane: 10+

Mage

Much is said about the mage in Elden Ring and how magic-focused builds are the game's "Easy Mode," but the truth is it's not that simple. The Mage has the advantage of being able to attack and command battles from a distance, using the game's magic to their advantage. However, you must know how to use your abilities and stay safe, as you won't have the physical attributes for melee combat.

The starting class will be Astrologer, and Golden Seed is also an excellent gift for this build, as you’ll need a lot of FP points (blue bar) to cast spells. A repertoire of spells is extremely important at the beginning of the game, and to develop your spellbook, it's ideal to start the quest from the NPC Sellen, which you can find in Waypoint Ruins, located east of the lake in Limgrave.

The secret to this build is using spells correctly and keeping your repertoire updated. Focus your points on Intelligence and Mind for enhanced use of FP, and reserve some points for Vigor, Endurance, and Dexterity.

Vigor: 20

Mind: 20

Endurance: 14

Strength: 8

Dexterity: 18

Intelligence: 30-40

Faith: 7

Arcane: 9

Paladin

A very powerful build that combines melee combat with the power of enchantments. The starting class can be whichever you prefer, but the Confessor has some items that align well with this build, and its set is quite nice.

The combat strategy of this build is to act like a tank, defending against enemy attacks with your shield and then counter-attacking with a powerful charged attack. This combination allows you to stagger enemies, which is simply throwing them off balance, opening a window to land a critical hit.

At the beginning of the game, focus on farming equipment that provides greater defense, as well as a better shield. A good option is to acquire the Sacred Blade enchantment, found around the Third Church of Marika, east of Limgrave. Leaving the Third Church, head north and you’ll find an enemy that drops this enchantment when defeated.

Vigor, Endurance, Strength, and Faith will be your main attributes. Strength and Dexterity should be worked on early so you can use any starting weapon you want, in addition to shields. Once you have good stats, start focusing on Faith to improve enchantments. Put some points into Mind as well to make better use of FP (Power Points).

Vigor: 15-20

Mind: 13

Endurance: 15

Strength: 20

Dexterity: 15-20

Intelligence: 9

Faith: 20+

Arcane: 9

Quality - Str/Dex

Quality is the name given to the most common and simple builds in Elden Ring: combat builds, where you focus on dealing physical damage and using weapons. The idea is to be able to use any weapon in the game to its maximum potential, possessing a large health bar and the ability to use the best armor for damage blocking without movement restrictions.

The recommended class is Warrior, as it provides the best stats and equipment to start your journey without difficulties in combat. One of the best starting weapons for this build is the Bloodhound's Fang, which can be acquired through the quest from the NPC Blaidd, whom you find in a forest east of Limgrave. You will hear him howling at the moon atop a ruined tower (talk to the merchant in Church of Ellen to find out how to talk to Blaidd and follow the NPC's initial quest to obtain the sword).

Focus your points on Vigor, Endurance, and Str/Dex according to your preference. Use armor as you advance your stats and your weapon of choice. Focus on developing healing flasks and improving your dodging skills to prepare for combat. Knowing how to dodge and attack will be extremely important in this build, as you won't be able to rely on other tactics and your goal is to deal damage more directly.

Vigor: 20-25

Mind: 12

Endurance: 20

Strength: 20+

Dexterity: 20+

Intelligence: 10

Faith: 8

Arcane: 9

Bleed

Now I'll talk about one of the most broken builds at the beginning of the game, a build that focuses on Bleed and making the most of this debuff. To start, you need to choose the ideal class, and in this case, I recommend the Samurai class, just like in the Samurai build. However, this build focuses entirely on Bleed, and you’ll need a specific weapon right from the start.

Go to the upper part of the map, just above the lake, where there’s a bridge. In the area under the bridge, you’ll be invaded by an NPC, but don't worry, you’ll have help from another NPC, and this NPC is the one that really matters. Defeat the invader, and after the fight, you will find the NPC who helped you going upstream; kill him to obtain the Nagakiba, a long katana that applies hemorrhage. (Keep in mind that by killing the NPC, you won’t be able to complete his questline).

You’ll also need to acquire an enchantment and a special Ash of War. You will find the Bloodflame Blade in the Liurnia of the Lakes area, which can be accessed through a passage next to Stormveil Castle. Once in Liurnia, look for an island with a church heading west from the ruined city. You’ll find the enchantment on a Scarab.

Ash of War will be the Double Slash, located on the rooftops of Sellia, Town of Sorcery. The quickest way to get there is through a trap you can find in the lake ruins in Limgrave. You will be transported to a dungeon, whose exit leads to Sellia (once transported, go to the right until you find a site of grace. The exit is very close to the grace).

This is a very complex build to acquire, as it requires many steps and the player may struggle to find everything they need (I can make a more detailed guide on this build soon). The big issue is that this item combination gives the player absurd power at the beginning of the game, being able to literally destroy any boss.

The strategy is to imbue the Nagakiba with Bloodflame and apply the Double Slash to the target, simulating another well-known item in the game and much more difficult to acquire, the Rivers of Blood. However, this build allows you to reach the same stats and effects as Rivers of Blood with a katana that’s easier to obtain.

Arcane is more important for this build, as it governs the blood debuff.

Vigor: 15-20

Mind: 11

Endurance: 15

Strength: 15

Dexterity: 25

Intelligence: 9

Faith: 8

Arcane: 15-20

This concludes another article. Leave your questions, suggestions, criticisms, and/or compliments in the comments. Thank you for reading, and until next time.