Best Elden Ring Classes: Which Starting Class To Choose

You'll want to know what the best Elden Ring classes are when starting the game, as you are presented with several to pick from, and it's not obvious at this point which ones are more powerful. Elden Ring is a notoriously tough video game, but it also gives you lots of options to make the experience a bit easier, and this all starts when selecting your class. So, if you want to know how each class pans out for the rest of the experience, check out our list of the best Elden Ring classes. 

• Regardless of your class choice, you're going to need Runes to start levelling up. To make that job a lot easier, here is How To Get 70K Runes in Elden Ring in Your First Hour.

Best Elden Ring Classes: A Bit Of Advice

Ideally, you want to choose the class best aligned with the kind of playstyle you have in mind. Now, if this is your first playthrough of the game, that’s a bit of a tall ask. However, as is true for most of Fromsoftware’s games, choosing a class is not at all a choice that locks your character to one particular path.

Your class is simply a starting point, something that has a lot of effect on the early game but next to none once you have made a decent bit of progress. What’s more, even if you continue down a particular build path, your choices can be redone with an Elden Ring Larval Tear. So, while this choice is important, it is not the end of the world to get it wrong.

• A crucial resource to keep an eye out for in the early game is Golden Seeds. For locations on where to find them, check out all the Elden Ring Golden Seeds locations.

Best Elden Ring Classes List

Elden Ring Classes: Vagabond

The Vagabond is the ideal choice for the indecisive. This class has no real speciality, albeit leaning more toward physical fighting. This class is great for new players looking for an uncomplicated way to get started in the game. You’ll start with a sword, a shield and a halberd so you have some weapon choices to get used to.

With these starting stats, you will have a decent amount of health and enough stats to pick up and use almost any regular weapon you find. Starting with so much gear does run the risk of having a heavy equipment load, so be conscious of that when you want to dodge roll and you’re rolling slowly.

• Another great way to get the Runes flowing in quicker is to grab the Golden Scarab. Check our Elden Ring Golden Scarab guide to learn more. 

Elden Ring Classes: Warrior

With the Warrior, we are getting a little more specific in our intent. Where the Vagabond had a bit of everything physical, the Warrior specializes more into Dexterity. This means the Warrior wants to use fast, light weapons. Rather than greatswords or axes, think katanas and short swords.

The Warrior starts with two swords as dual-wielding is their speciality. Dual-wielding weapons is maybe more effective in Elden Ring than in previous Fromsoftware games, so if the idea of double sword action appeals to you, the Warrior is a great starting point. They are also well suited to the new class of weapons, Twinblades. Go for these if you fancy doing your best Darth Maul impression.

• While out exploring Limgrave, you might discover this half-wolf warrior. To learn more on this important NPC, check out what you should know about the Elden Ring Blaidd quest.

Elden Ring Classes: Hero

The Hero class looks like your typical fantasy barbarian for a good reason. This is the class to choose if you like to swing very large weapons at very large monsters. The Hero is heavily focused in Strength and Vigor, they are built to deal damage and take it in kind.

About as straightforward as a class can be, and a good choice for new players. Where dexterous or magical characters often have more things to collect and unlock to become powerful, the Hero is doing just fine hitting things with a big stick. Honestly, there is no going wrong here, just keep juicing up that strength stat to hit bigger monsters with even bigger sticks.

• Your first major challenge in Limgrave is Margit, The Fell Omen. For tips on how to take him down, check our Elden Ring Margit Boss Fight walkthrough. 

Elden Ring Classes: Bandit

The Bandit is your archetypal rogue character. This one is all about getting in, doing damage, and getting back out. If even, because the Bandit also comes with a bow for ranged attacks. The starting stats of the Bandit are broadly allocated, with only Dexterity and Arcane as standouts.

Starting at level five means your Bandit can easily become anything you want, but it is the ideal starting point for players who like to play the sneaky rogue. If you enjoy a good backstab, the Bandit is the class for you.

• The ultimate goal of an Astrologer is to find the strongest spells in the game. We can help you with that, so check out how to get the Elden Ring Comet Azur.

Elden Ring Classes: Astrologer

The Astrologer is the ideal place to start for any pure mage. There are three stats that govern magical abilities in Elden Ring, each relating to different forms of magic. Intelligence magic is arguably the truest form of magic, this stat governs basically all magic done with a staff. This can range from tiny glintstone projectiles, to summoning magical swords, to casting giant torrents of magical energy that do massive damage.

As well as high Intelligence, the Astrologer also has a high Mind stat. This governs your character’s FP, or Focus Points. This is a meter that drains when performing magical abilities, so starting with a high pool of FP is vital. This also makes the Astrologer particularly suited to summon Spirit Ashes, which can make great cannon fodder for mages trying to stay away from the fight. 

• The legendary Moonlight Greatsword returns in Elden Ring. To learn more, check out how to complete the Elden Ring Ranni questline.

Elden Ring Classes: Prophet

Where the Astrologer is the Intelligence mage, the Prophet is the Faith mage. Faith governs the magic of Incantations, a different class of magic than what the Astrologer would use. Incantations are most notable for being fire-based magic, so choose the Prophet if you want to throw some pretty mean fireballs.

Incantations are very broad, though, as there are many kinds of these spells. For example, you can gain Incantations from dragons that are also governed by Faith, and these can range from fire attacks to rotting abilities.

Incantations often deal in healing as well, with abilities that heal not just the player but others around them. This makes the Prophet an excellent choice for partaking in some jolly co-operation. 

• A really useful Ash of War for Dexterity characters like the Samurai is the Bloodhound Step. For more, check out how to get the Elden Ring Bloodhound Step.

Elden Ring Classes: Samurai

Well, it’s a Samurai. That alone is probably enough information for many of you. The Samurai is a physical fighter, with broad abilities but primarily focused on Dexterity. The class starts with a really great set of armour, as well as a katana and a bow. The Samurai comes out of the gate well prepared for the Lands Between, and is pretty much the best pick for players who want a fast fighter.

One of the most powerful abilities in the game is causing bleed. A weapon that does bleed damage causes the effect to build up, and when the meter is filled the opponent will take a massive amount of damage. Samurai are the best suited for this style of play. Fast weapons like katanas are great for bleed damage, and the Samurai-inspired Seppuku ability greatly increases bleed damage.

In short, the Samurai is an excellent starting point to build a character that will annihilate bosses and invaders very quickly. 

• Made your way through Limgrave and not sure what to do next? Here is What To Do After Godrick in Elden Ring.

Elden Ring Classes: Prisoner

The Prisoner is a bit of an odd one, but can be a great starting point for a powerful build. With very high Dexterity and Intelligence, the Prisoner is effective with both a staff and a sword. The Prisoner isn’t well suited to much more than a short sword or a katana, and their lower Mind means they aren’t going to be belting out spells either.

The Prisoner is likely to be a difficult starting point, not a good choice for new players. However, if you are starting a new character or you’re coming to Elden Ring with experience from previous Fromsoftware games, the Prisoner could be a good choice to build a glass cannon with devastating damage output, both magical and physical.

• One of the absolute most powerful abilities in Elden Ring is the ability to summon a mimic of yourself. To learn how, here is Elden Ring Mimic Tear.

Elden Ring Classes: Confessor

As you may guess by looking at them, the Confessor is a battlemage specialising in Faith Incantations. This is another character with broadly spaced stats, and one of the highest starting levels of any character. That is something to bear in mind, while you can reallocate your stats with Elden Ring Larval Tears, you can never go lower than your starting stats. The Confessor is a commitment, but also a strong starting point.

Starting with high Faith means the Confessor can go all-out on Incantations as a speciality, or focus on their physical attributes while keeping their Faith a handy tool in their back pocket. The Confessor can be a good class for new players, a high starting level means no weapon should be too far out of your skillset, and you have Faith to play around with.

• One of the first sidequests in the game, and one of the most important takes place at Elden Ring Castle Morne.

Elden Ring Classes: Wretch

New players might be confused seeing the Wretch on the class selection screen. Yes, there is a class where you start practically naked with nothing but a club and completely flat stats. There is a very good reason for this, the Wretch exists for the purists. No, we don’t mean the nudity, or even to suggest this is for players looking for the ultimate challenge. Sure, the early game is extra tough for the Wretch, but there is a more important reason to choose them.

Quite simply, the Wretch is a blank slate. Anyone looking to craft a character exactly to their specifications, particularly experienced players looking to create a very specific PVP build, can use the Wretch as a starting point.

That said, if you really do want to give yourself the ultimate Elden Ring challenge, there is no better way to do that than starting as the Wretch.

There you have it, every starting class in Elden Ring. For more tips on starting the game, check out what Elden Ring Keepsakes are worth picking up.