Elden Ring was officially released on 25th February 2022, much to the elation of fans who had been waiting for the collaboration between fantasy novelist George R. R Martin and game director Hidetaka Miyazaki.
Players can expect a thrilling adventure in the quest to be the Lord of Elden Ring. However, do not let the excellent gameplay and Elden Ring’s enchanting landscape fool you into thinking the game is a breeze.
Whether you’re a beginner or a hardened gamer, Elden Ring will push you to your limits. You will be constantly tested, and as you battle it out with the hideous bosses in the game or interact with the vast terrain, you will discover Elden Ring wasn’t made for the faint-hearted.
This supposed difficulty shouldn’t dissuade you from playing Elden Ring. With a few tips and persistence, you’ll also discover amazing rewards which make up for all the difficulty.
Read on to learn more about tips and tricks to consider when playing Elden Ring as a beginner.
1. Don’t Waste too Much time Choosing Character Origins
So many first-time players spend a lot of time choosing their character’s origin. You don’t have to.
While each character’s origin has different stats and attribute levels from the other, they are too far out, and the minor differences don’t have an impact on the character’s success.
Just pick a random origin or one you like and get on with the quest. You’ll have a lot of time to spec and level up your character.
2. Train in and Practice Combat Maneuvers
This can’t be emphasized enough. Your ability to effectively fight off your enemies lies with how polished your attacking and defending moves are.
You can learn various maneuvers from Elden Ring’s tutorial section. However, the best way to hone your combat maneuvers is by engaging low-level bosses and their minions.
Practice maneuvers like stealth, blocking, dodging, guard counters, or heavy attacks.
Also, when leveling up your character’s attributes, do not level up the Equip Load past 70%, as this will affect your character’s ability to block or dodge enemy attacks.
At 100% Equip Load, your character will “fat roll” when dodging enemy attacks and would be vulnerable to these attacks.
3. Highlight Important Places on the Map
Maps in Elden Ring do not come with a detailed legend like in other games.
It would be best if you, therefore, marked some of the important places on the Map. This may help you identify areas with bosses you are not ready to fight, or you could use this option to highlight places in Elden Ring with spawn locations or useful NPCs.
4. Find Melinda the Finger Maiden and Accept Her Offer
Early on in the game, look for Melinda the Finger Maiden. To interact with Melinda, visit and rest for more than three times at any of the two Sites of Grace near Gatefront Ruins.
Accept Melinda’s offer to be your maiden, and in exchange, she’ll give you the Spectral Steed Whistle, which enables you to summon your horse, Torrent.
Accepting Melinda’s offer also means you’ll be able to trade your Elden Ring Runes for additional weapons and even to level up your character’s attributes.
With Torrent, you’ll be able to cover vast distances, while the ability to trade Runes will help you spec your character into a battle-ready status.
5. Find Renna
After your first interaction with Melinda the Finger Maiden, wait for night to fall, then travel to the Church of Elleh.
The interaction is brief, and after Renna confirms you have Torrent in your possession, she’ll give you the Spirit Calling Bell.
The Spirit Calling Bell will help you use Ashes of War, which gives you increased abilities and increased damage when using your weapons. You’ll also be able to use the Spirit Calling Bell to summon spirits who will help you fight your enemies.
6. Bid Your Time
As you start out in the game, your character will be low spec, and you won’t fare well in battle with minions and bosses. You should know this is normal for everyone starting out, so don’t panic.
You may instinctively want to storm Castle Stormveil and get on with finishing your quest. While you can do this right from the onset, we advise against it.
Your character should be adequately leveled up to be successful in your quests that become increasingly complex. Otherwise, you’ll be beaten consistently by the bosses and their minions.
Instead, stay in Limgrave or explore the nearby countryside, taking on low-level bosses and their minions. This will allow you to polish your battle skills and also present you with an excellent means of earning Elden Ring Runes for each enemy you kill.
However, once you are ready, proceed with your quest to become the Lord of Elden Ring.
7. Make use of Sites of Grace
As much as possible, rest at all Sites of Grace. Your vital stats like Health Pool (HP), Focus Pool (FP), and even stamina.
You’ll also be able to rest undisturbed until night time when you can effectively use stealth when attacking enemies at night.
8. Learn all of Your Enemies’ Attacks
You’ll encounter fiendish creatures as enemies throughout Elden Ring. And while you may have a smaller health bar than your enemies, you shouldn’t shy away from facing them in battle.
A key strategy to defeating your enemies in Elden Ring is to watch your enemies’ attack moves and strategically time your blows when they are most vulnerable and unprepared. By watching their limited attack moves, you’ll also better anticipate attacks and block or dodge as necessary.
9. Keep all Your Runes up Until When You Want to Use Them
Runes are the currency in Elden Ring and are crucial when purchasing armaments or leveling up your character’s attributes.
However, all of your Runes remain where the character died when your character dies. Once your character respawns, go back and collect the Runes you left behind.
Make sure that your character doesn’t die when collecting the Elden Ring Runes after the first respawn, or you’ll lose the Runes forever.
Fortunately, you can’t lose Golden Elden Ring Runes, provided you store them in inventory. It would be best if you only converted the Golden Runes to Elden Ring Runes when you are ready to use them.
10. Avoid Toggling the Menu Option Unnecessarily
Unlike most games you’ve played, when you go through your menu, the gameplay does not pause.
We know it’s frustrating since maybe you wanted to strategize or even toggle between equipment and weapons. Unfortunately, Elden Ring is built this way to give you an extra challenge.
To sort this, customize your controls such that the frequent toggles you need, like summoning Torrent, can be accessed using easy-to-reach buttons.
One thing stands out of all the tips— the need to adequately level up your character’s stats. To level up your character, you’ll need a lot of Elden Ring Runes.
You can buy Elden Ring Runes and quickly level up your character’s stats. You’re more likely to complete your quest in Elden Ring with a fully specced and optimized character and become the Lord of Elden Ring.
However, don’t be too hard on yourself if you can’t progress as fast as you’d want. Give yourself time to understand the quests, controls, strengths, weaknesses of your characters, and so on. And don’t forget; the most important thing is to have fun as you play. Stop and smell the roses.
