Elden Ring came out after years and years of hype, anticipation, and long-time excitement. As we all know, From Software rarely ever misses as a company, and with Elden Ring, they went above and beyond the typical loop to provide one of the unique gaming experiences in the history of action RPGs. Not only was the game fantastically paced, but it also had the biggest enemy variety we've seen in any Souls game. Now, combine that with a build system that gives you the most choice you've ever had, and you have a world of opportunities for your play style.
The first step in starting your journey in Elden Ring begins with choosing a class. Your class is what determines how the early hours in the game will go for you, as well as giving you a head start in the stats you want to invest in. There are many classes in Elden Ring, and all of them serve a purpose. So, here MMOGAH shares a rundown of all of the classes and how they will help your playstyle.
Best Class for Beginners
Samurai is by far the best starting Elden Ring class for any new player, and even if you're a veteran, this class will serve you well. This Elden Ring class is a mainly melee-based class with stats invested in Dexterity, Strength, Vigor, and Endurance; however, it also comes with a bow for ranged attacks. This gives you a ton of variety in ways to tackle both enemies and bosses. This class is especially effective against early game bosses as you will have a fantastic starting weapon known as The Uchigatana Katana, which deals a ton of bleed damage after a few consecutive hits. The downside to this class is that you won't have effective magic stats, so that could hinder your progress a bit if you're not careful enough while leveling up in Elden Ring.
Best Class for Aggressor Build
You also have Warrior class and this Elden Ring class comes equipped with two scimitars for dual-wielding. These are great for doing a ton of damage in the early game and have stats invested in dexterity, strength, bigger, and endurance. However, just like Samurai, this class isn't great for magic. Not to mention, it also doesn't feature a bow for ranged combat. This class is essentially built for players who want to play as aggressively as possible. If you're starting as a Warrior, make those jump attacks and quick dodge rolls away from oncoming hits, keeping the enemies on their toes.
Best Class for Tank Build
Vagabond is also an option for new players, but this one particularly specializes in high health and tanking enemy attacks. The stats here rely on strength as the first and foremost attribute, with vigor and endurance as the second. It comes equipped with a long sword, which deals a ton of damage, and you can combine that with a decent shield for protection measures. This Elden Ring class was meant for players who like to push themselves and try not to dodge, relying on shields to tank damage and throwing that damage back with a heavy weapon.
Best Class for Turtle Build
Hero class was built for players who are often referred to as turtles. A turtle will cover themselves with thick pieces of armor, combined with a hugely heavy weapon that deals a devastating amount of damage. The knockback here, though, is that this is a slow class, and we'll be quite burly as compared to the other classes on this list. This Elden Ring class is for players that want to invest most of their stats into strength, which will enable them to equip extremely heavy armor and very heavy weapons that are taxing for other classes.
Best Class for Assassin Build
If you're looking to build an assassin in Elden Ring, Bandit class is your best bet. This class relies on two attributes; dexterity and arcane. It is a weaker class in comparison to the strength-heavy classes, but if you're using daggers and knives, then you can deal a ton of damage and do a lot of bleed buildup. Not to mention, it will also let you be stealthy, and it helps you in finding rare loot due to the high arcane stats. Everything about this Elden Ring class is that it comes with a short bow, so you can take down enemies stealthily, even from range. This quick and agile class will offer you the best choices for taking enemies down stealthily, but you will need a lot of items to keep this class functional in the mid and late-game areas. You can search for them in the game world and spend time grinding, or you can simply check out various Elden Ring items to find everything you're looking for.
Best Class for Aggressive Build
Prophet is a class designed to make you feel good about using incantations in Elden Ring. Most of the time, Elden Ring's incantations are there to enhance your melee abilities, but with this class' superior faith and mind attributes, you can go wild with some crazy stuff. In the early game, you come equipped with a spear and a shield, along with a healing incantation and the 'Catch Flame' incantation, which deals damage from range. This is a versatile class, but it mainly relies on enhancing your character with buffs to make you essentially unkillable, though that unkillable part may take some time and rune investment still.
Best Class for Sorcerer Supreme Build
If you've always wanted to create a fully spell-based build, then now is the time to do it. Astrologer is one with the stars as this class is built on intelligence and mind being the core attributes. This class gives you a ton of variety and how you want to tackle the game. Not only does it give you access to full-scale spellcasting, but it also gives you access to intelligence-based weapons such as the Moonveil Katana. It is objectively the most powerful class if you invest points in this. Intelligence and dexterity go hand in hand, which can lead you to some of the most powerful builds in the game. However, if you just like to do the range build, then have a playstyle that depends entirely on the range. Spell casting is the way to deal the most damage. The best way to get spellcasting going is to invest in the sorcerer's supreme play style. You will have to commit to this class, though. Spells can get ludicrously high when it comes to intelligence points requirements.
Best Class for Pious Swordsman Build
Confessor class has got to be the most all-rounded one in the game. This Elden Ring class has high starting stats for faith, mind, strength, dexterity, and even the vigor and endurance attributes are high. It also comes equipped with a great early weapon, as well as the option to use and plantations such as the healing spell that you get in the beginning. This class is for players looking to have a perfectly balanced experience, as this is a substitute for the Prophet class but with much better melee and damage bonuses. This is one of the best beginner classes as well. However, if you want to combine your incantations enhancements with your melee weapon damage, there is no class better at the beginning of the game than Confessor.
Best Class for Weasel Build
If you started with Prisoner class, then you can essentially weasel your way out of anything in the game. This Elden Ring class comes equipped with a super-fast starting weapon, as well as a ton of speed and mobility due to its light armor and high endurance. However, this class also comes equipped with staff for spellcasting and decent intelligence and dexterity points to get you started on your journey as a sword-wielding wizard. This class was built for fast-paced gamers who are looking to dodge their way out of trouble, deal a ton of damage with their spells, and then go in for the final hits with their sword.
Best Class for Veteran Build
If you're familiar with the way that these games work, then there is no better class than Wretch to truly challenge yourself with a difficult experience. This Elden Ring class starts with no attribute points, no stats, and is at the first level of the game. Moreover, the only weapon you get is a club that deals minimal damage, and you also have no armor to protect yourself from heavy hits. If you're a veteran of this genre, you need to utilize this particular class because it will give you a blank slate on how to design your character moving forward. Not to mention, the Stockholm syndrome of the Dark Souls universe is perfectly encapsulated in this particular class. Though if you're picking Wretch and want to get enough runes in Elden Ring to level yourself up fast, check out the easiest ways to acquire Elden Ring Runes.
That is our list of the best classes to choose, depending on your playstyle in Elden Ring. Ultimately though, you have to keep in mind that the classes will only determine the early game. The more you play the game, the more deeply and intimately you can craft your character and your build to be as accurate to your playstyle as you want. If you want some help in crafting your character in a particular way, you can create the perfect Elden Ring build on your playstyle.