Elden Ring Classes: Which to Choose (2024)

One of the most interesting things about Elden Ring is that you can choose from a variety of classes, each with their own unique playstyle. This can be overwhelming for new players, so we’ll give you a breakdown of the different classes available in the game and what you should consider when choosing a class for your journey in The Lands Between. Keep in mind that different classes may be suitable for different playstyles. It’s worth experimenting to find the class that works best for you. Beginners may gravitate toward strength classes like Hero and Vagabond, while players with experience playing From Software’s Dark Souls games will feel at home with the Samurai and Astrologian classes. With that said, it’s time to take a deep dive into the Elden Ring classes and understand each one.

The beauty of Elden Ring is that its RPG elements allow players to build their characters however they like. However, rather than forcing the player to build a character from scratch, classes help set the player on the right path. Choosing a class can be difficult, as each class specializes in one skill and offers different starting weapons. However, in this article we will try to ensure that players are not overwhelmed with choices. But before we learn more about each Elden Ring class, let’s take a look at the key attributes or statistics that define them.

Elden Ring class: Role of each attribute

In Elden Ring, stats are shared between classes, and players can level up in each attribute at any time through runes. Elden Ring offers a total of eight stats that players can improve and experiment with. These attributes determine how the player deals with enemies throughout the game. For example, if a player wants to swing a heavy sword around and deal incredibly high damage, they will naturally want to spend points on Strength and Endurance. Below we detail how attributes help tune the characteristics of the Elden Ring class.

How many classes are there in Elden Ring?

Elden Ring players can choose from 10 different classes . Each class has several additional points focused on their respective attributes and options for customization as the player continues to play, starting with a variety of weapons and spells. Throughout the game, players can use runes dropped by enemies or picked up from the world as items, and change the attributes of each to make their character behave and play the way they want.

Elden Ring classes: everything you need to know

Similar to Dark Souls and Bloodborne, Elden Ring’s classes are unique and specialize in specific playstyles. Of course, these classes start out like blank slates, and you have the opportunity to tweak them depending on your playstyle as the game progresses. Now let’s take a look at what each class has to offer.

hero

• Starting level: 7
• Starting Weapon: Battle Ax and Large Leather Shield

The hero class is a typical melee-focused character who can wield heavy weapons early on in Elden Ring, and outperforms other classes when it comes to strength. Most of the base stat points are allocated to Vitality and Strength, making it a great choice for those who prefer large health and heavy weapons such as hammers (such as ring-finger hammers) or greatswords.

Unfortunately, the hero class has very few points allocated to Mind, Intelligence, and Faith, so players will have to spend twice as much time if they want their character to perform magic or spells.

thief

• Starting level: 5
• Starting Weapons: Great Knife, Short Bow, Buckler Shield, Bone Arrow

The thief is a typical dexterous character, known to players who played past From Software titles such as Dark Souls. Agile, fast, and efficient with blades and bleeding weapons, the Bandit class can crouch and silently walk behind you to take down enemies, or snipe them from a distance with arrows to create a stealth experience in Elden Ring. This is for players who want to enjoy the game.

This class is also for players who want to use bleed-based weapons more often, as their higher Dexterity points allow them to attack faster. However, thieves are not physically strong. Most of Bandit’s points are allocated evenly to Vitality, Spirit, Endurance, and Dexterity, but a significant portion is also allocated to Arcane, which allows the player to use certain spells such as Silent Step .

astrologer

• Starting level: 6
• Starting Weapons: Short Sword, Astrologer’s Staff, Wooden Shield of Scripture, Greenstone Pebble (Magic), Greenstone Arc (Magic)

The Astrologer class focuses strictly on magic-based attacks and construction, and has access to a wide variety of sorcery. elden ring . Blessed with high Spirit and Intelligence stats, Astrologer players can effectively utilize almost all the magic and sorcery available in the game. Furthermore, thanks to Dexterity, Astrologer players can also use certain Dexterity-based weapons to continuously level up their stats. Astrologer is recommended for players who want to try out the many new magical options at hand.

Unfortunately, the Astrologer class, while good at magic and sorcery, lacks health and stamina, forcing players to keep their distance and use magic to their advantage. In addition to this, it completely ignores your faith stat, making it almost impossible to try spells.

warrior

• Starting level: 8
• Starting Weapons: 2 x Scimitars, Riveted Wooden Shield

Warriors act like bandits when fighting enemies head-on, and are classified as a class that emphasizes dexterity. However, it is far from Bandit in terms of usage and leveling. Due to high dexterity, this class can use bladed weapons effortlessly and deal bleed damage to enemies faster.

An even distribution of points across nearly every skill makes the Warrior one of the most versatile classes in Elden Ring , giving players many options for fine-tuning. Users can combine strength or intelligence with dexterity to create a character who is adept at handling both. However, due to the low points allocated to Arcane and Mind, warriors may have a hard time improving these stats or using spells.

prisoner

• Starting level: 9
• Starting Weapons: Glint Staff, Estoc, Glint Shield, Magic Glint Blade

Another dexterity-focused character, the Prisoner combines fast attacks with magic to create a character that allows the user to utilize magic and fast weapons to deal damage. Thanks to the distribution of points to most stats, compared to other dexterity-oriented classes such as Bandit or Astrologer, Prisoners can wear armor to protect themselves from incoming attacks.

Unfortunately, like the Warrior, the Prisoner has low arcane and divine points, making it difficult to level up if the player wants to use spells.

confessor

• Starting level: 10
• Starting Weapons: Broadsword, Bluecrest Heating Shield, Fingerseal Armament, Urgent Heal (Spell), Assassin’s Approach (Spell)

The Confessor class combines powerful melee attacks and magic thanks to the faith attribute that allows players to perform spells. With points distributed evenly across all stats, Elden Ring’s Confessor class can handle offense and defense, and bring in spell support during play.

Furthermore, thanks to the distribution of stats, players have a wide range of options to make their Confessor a specialist character or a jack-of-all-trades.

miserable

• Starting level: 1
• Starting Weapon: Club

A fan-favorite return from the Soulsborne series, Wretch is a classic that every club-wielding maniac has likely encountered at least once in a PvP environment. This character allows players to customize it in a way that suits them, and each stat is assigned 10 points, starting at level 1. However, leveling up a Wretch is difficult because characters don’t have specializations like other classes.

vagabond

• Starting level: 9
• Starting weapons: longsword, halberd, heater shield

Vagabond is a balanced class in Elden Ring that brings good health, good point distribution, and allows you to use heavy swords and armor during combat. Points are distributed evenly between Strength and Dexterity, so Vagabond can switch weapons mid-battle and still manage to deal damage.

Wanderers can struggle with spells and sorcery due to their low point distribution for Faith and Intelligence. One thing to note is that while Warrior and Vagabond are similar in usage, there are subtle differences in the weapons available and how they are used.

prophet

• Starting level: 7
• Initial Weapons: Short Spear, Finger Seal, Rickety Shield, Heal (Spell), Catch Flame (Spell)

The Prophet is a spell-focused class in Elden Ring, with higher faith and arcane stats for players to perform magic. This class has low vitality and endurance, but thanks to the option of defensive and offensive spells, the Prophet can switch to melee attacks and defend his position if necessary.

However, if the player chooses the Prophet class, they should focus on using spells, as this class is specialized for prophets. Furthermore, thanks to the point distribution, players also have room to add strength or dexterity to their builds later in the game.

samurai

• Starting level: 9
• Initial weapons: Uchikatana, longbow, red thorn, bone arrow (sheet pile), firebone arrow (sheet pile)

A newcomer to the Soulsborne genre, the Samurai utilizes his high durability and dexterity to use swords and longbows during combat, creating combos during combat. This character can also deal bleed damage efficiently thanks to his starting weapon, the Uchikatana. The Uchigatana is a great dexterity-based weapon (and one of the best in the game).

Apart from that, the samurai class is better at cavalry combat thanks to their high dexterity, making them less likely to be knocked off their horses by enemies.

Elden Ring classes: detailed stat comparison

Which class should you choose in Elden Ring?

With 10 different classes available in Elden Ring, the decision to choose one to start the game can be a difficult task. So here are some examples to determine the class. Please note that classes are only useful at the start of the game, how they play and behave is up to the player and what stats they are looking for.

Elden Ring classes that beginners should choose

Elden Ring expands on ideas introduced across past FromSoftware titles such as Dark Souls, Bloodborne, and Demon Souls. As such, the classes are heavily inspired by the aforementioned games. Regulars of the series can always get used to the harsh gameplay, but beginners can find it unpleasant, especially if they choose the wrong class.

Luckily, Vagabond exists to solve that problem. Vagabond comes as a quality build character , perfect for beginners to the Soulsborne genre. High strength and moderate dexterity allow the player to perform terrifying actions against strong enemies and deal decent damage throughout the title. In addition to this, Vagabond leaves room for players who want to experiment with attributes, so you can always aim for a combination of melee and magic eventually.

A class to experience pure physical fitness

If players want to wield giant swords and weapons to become an unstoppable force on the battlefield, Heroes and Vagabonds are the classes for them. While Vagabond allows players to use a myriad of weapons based on their strength, with hammers and longswords becoming available in the mid-game, Warrior can wield most heavy weapons thanks to its Strength and Endurance points. You can use them faster, which makes it easier to level up faster.

Apart from the above, both characters have good vitality points, giving them a large health pool from the start and creating a solid strength-based build.

Classes to choose for quick attacks and agile playstyles

If a player enjoys using small weapons such as knives or fast swords and wants to quickly damage enemies, the Bandit class is the best choice. Bandit is not only fast on the battlefield, but can also counter almost every attack in the game. Additionally, the Bandit is agile, allowing him to silently take out his enemies. However, please note that this class is not for beginners. Experienced Soulsborne players will also do well with the Bandit class, as they have the know-how to fine-tune their weapons and bows for damage.

Elden Ring class that balances agility and strength

Vagabond is an ideal class to consider if you want to enjoy equal amounts of strength-based weapons and dexterity. Similar points are allocated to Strength, allowing players to use almost any Strength-based weapon in the game, as well as allowing players to use shields to dodge attacks or try faster weapons. The same amount of Dexterity points are also allocated to allow you to do so.

Vagabond allows players to experience high-quality builds, builds that allow for both Strength and Dexterity-based build specs. This allows users to experiment with weapons to suit their strength and dexterity, giving them an extra edge throughout the game. Additionally, this class has great vitality and stamina, allowing it to take damage on the battlefield without flinching.

A class for players who enjoy Magic-based builds

If players want to enjoy Elden Ring’s many magic and sorcery options, Astrologer and Prophet are great classes to look for first. Astrologer has a good Intelligence stat, allowing users to pursue a pure magic-based build. Prophets have high level points given to faith and can try out many spells in the game.

Sorcery in Elden Ring is very powerful and allows users to create pure magical builds, but note that spells work best when used with another weapon.

In this article, we looked at the different classes available in FromSoftware’s Elden Ring and the factors you should consider when choosing a class for your playthrough. Personally, by choosing the Vagabond class and following a high-quality build, I was able to successfully overcome many of the game’s challenges. Now, it’s always interesting to see which starting class other players choose. So, let us know which class you chose for your Elden Ring experience in the comments below. Did you choose a powerful magical build using the Astrologer class or a pure strength-oriented build using Vagabond? Share your experience with us.