Elden Ring Beginner's Guide: Surviving Your First Hours in the Lands Between

Welcome to the Lands Between

Elden Ring is one of the most rewarding games you'll ever play — but it does not hold your hand. If you've just started and found yourself dying to the very first enemy, you're in good company. This guide covers everything you need to get a foothold in the game's early hours.

Before anything else: Elden Ring is designed to be explored. If a path is blocked by a seemingly impossible enemy, go a different direction. The world is enormous and there are always alternative routes.

This guide covers Elden Ring on PlayStation (DualSense / DualShock 4). Default button layout is used throughout.

Picking Your Starting Class

Don't stress too much about your starting class — you can invest in any stat as you level up. That said, here are the best picks for beginners:

• Vagabond — High vigor (health) and strength. Forgiving for melee newcomers.
• Astrologer — Strong starting sorceries. Good for keeping enemies at range.
• Wretch — Naked with a club and balanced stats. For masochists who want full freedom (not recommended for beginners).

Vagabond is the most popular beginner choice because tanking a few hits while you learn enemy patterns is far easier than dying in two hits.

The Most Important Early Mechanics

Grace & Leveling

Sites of Grace are your checkpoints — rest at them (press Triangle when prompted) to restore flasks and respawn enemies. To level up, take your Runes to the Roundtable Hold or any Site of Grace after learning from Melina.

Runes are your XP and currency. You lose them on death, but you get one chance to retrieve them from your death location. If you die again before retrieving them, they're gone forever.

Combat Basics

• R1 — Light attack
• R2 — Heavy / charged attack (hold for charged)
• L1 — Guard (raise shield)
• L2 — Skill / weapon art (the unique ability of your equipped weapon)
• Circle — Dodge / roll (press + direction to roll, press without direction to backstep)
• Square — Interact / pick up items

Roll timing is everything. A well-timed dodge (pressing Circle just before an attack lands) triggers an i-frame invincibility window that passes through damage completely. This is the core skill of Elden Ring.

Flasks of Crimson Tears

Your healing items. They refill at Sites of Grace. Increase your flask count by finding Golden Seeds and offering them at any Site of Grace. Use the heal flask by pressing down on the D-Pad.

Torrent

You receive Torrent (your spirit horse) early from Melina. Press L3 to call Torrent and Triangle to mount / dismount. Use Torrent constantly for traversal — he's faster, can double-jump (press Cross again mid-air), and you can fight from horseback.

Early Game Priorities

1. Explore Limgrave — Collect everything, find Sites of Grace, open the map fragments (golden items lying on the ground — press Square to pick up).

2. Find the Church of Elleh — A blacksmith's anvil is here to upgrade weapons early.

3. Visit Roundtable Hold — Unlocked after finding your second or third Site of Grace. This is your home base.

4. Level Vigor first — More health (Vigor) lets you survive long enough to learn. Aim for at least 20 Vigor before anything else. Level up at a Site of Grace: press Triangle → Level Up.

5. Stormveil Castle before Margit — Clear the castle's optional areas to collect powerful early gear.

Beating Margit: Quick Tips

• Equip Margit's Shackle — Purchased from Patches (found in Murkwater Cave) for 5,000 Runes. Press Triangle near Margit to slam it down — staggers him twice per fight, giving you free damage windows.
• Use Spirit Ashes — The Lone Wolf Ashes (given to you early) summon three wolves that distract him. Open your pouch (hold Triangle → select the ash) then press the assigned slot. Always use them.
• Watch his staff — His glowing yellow staff attacks have delayed timing designed to catch you mid-roll. Wait a beat longer than feels natural before pressing Circle.
• Be patient — He has two phases. When he summons a second weapon in phase 2, stop being aggressive and play defensively until you learn his new moves.