3 best Elden Ring starting classes to pick

Classes in Elden Ring work a little differently than you might expect if you’ve played other RPGs. Rather than locking you to a specific skillset and restricting you to certain abilities, the class system is simply a way to get a head start in any particular discipline. That doesn’t mean they aren’t important, though. Depending on your play style, there are particular classes we’d recommend over others. In this guide, we’ll show you the best starting classes in Elden Ring.

How Elden Ring classes work

At the beginning of the game, you’re instructed to select a class. Each of them starts you off with specific stats, items, weapons, and gear. Thankfully, you aren’t locked to a particular class. Someone who starts off as an Astronomer — who specializes in sorcery — can easily rebuild to a character that prioritizes melee.

The thing is, if you want to build your character a specific way, you should pick a starting class that aligns with that playstyle. For instance, if you want to utilize a melee build, it’s recommended to pick a class with high strength or dexterity stats. If there’s a particular weapon you want to wield as early as possible, you should pick the starting class that gives you the stats needed to use it (or as close as possible).

Sure, you won’t be able to utilize the Dismounter right away, for example — which requires 19 strength and 16 dexterity to use — but picking a class like the Vagabond will get you as close as possible since it starts you off with 14 Strength and 13 Dexterity.

The best Elden Ring starting classes

3. Hero

• Level: 7
• Vigor: 14
• Mind: 9
• Endurance: 12
• Strength: 16
• Dexterity: 9
• Intelligence: 7
• Faith: 8
• Arcane: 11

If you’re wanting to use a pure powerhouse melee build, you should start with the Hero class. This class gives you access to the Battle Axe, which works well against early enemies, along with a leather shield.

As you can see, this class has high Vigor and Strength, meaning you’ll be able to withstand more damage and wield powerful melee weapons. It’s hard to go wrong with a strength build since most enemies in the game are susceptible to basic melee attacks. This is not the class to start with if you’re wanting a Faith or Intelligence build.

2. Prophet

• Level: 7
• Vigor: 10
• Mind: 14
• Endurance: 8
• Strength: 11
• Dexterity: 10
• Intelligence: 7
• Faith: 16
• Arcane: 10

There are two types of magic in Elden Ring: Sorceries and Incantations, which align with Intelligence and Faith, respectively. In previous Souls games, Sorceries would give you a tremendous advantage right from the start, but that doesn’t seem to be the case with Elden Ring. That isn’t to say you should avoid using Sorceries, but the Incantations are more useful at first.

With that in mind, we advise going with the Prophet class, which prioritizes a Faith build. This class starts you off with a Finger Seal for casting Incantations, along with a high Faith stat of 16. It also gives you access to the Heal Incantation, which — as its name suggests — allows you to heal yourself, as well as nearby allies. It comes with the Oh, Flame! Incantation, which functions as a fireball of sorts.

1. Samurai

• Level: 9
• Vigor: 12
• Mind: 11
• Endurance: 13
• Strength: 12
• Dexterity: 15
• Intelligence: 9
• Faith: 8
• Arcane: 8

For our final class, we recommend the Samurai. Not only does it flat-out look badass, but this is a great way to get started with a dexterity build. So, if there’s a weapon you’d like to use that requires a high dexterity stat, we advise going with this class. The other perk is that it comes with the highest endurance stat out of the bunch, which is tied to your stamina and equip load, both of which are crucial.

Finally, this class gives you access to a bow right away, and while it won’t do a ton of damage, it’s a great way to get an enemy’s attention so you can single them out, rather than taking on a whole group of foes at once.