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If you’re new to Elden Ring, start by treating the opening tutorial as practice, not a test, and remember that you can leave a hard fight and return later. Your starting class shapes your first hours but does not lock your character into one path. Sites of Grace, the map, Guidance of Grace, beacons and fast travel help you recover your bearings as you explore.
What should a new player know first?
Elden Ring is an open-world action role-playing game. Its early hours ask you to learn how its combat feels while also deciding where to explore. If you have not played a FromSoftware game before, unfamiliar terms and demanding encounters can make the opening feel less clear than it needs to be. You do not need prior experience to begin: Bandai Namco’s official starter guide is intended for newcomers as well as players familiar with the studio’s other games.
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Elden Ring (PS5) (European Version) | $34.00 | Buy on Amazon |
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Elden Ring, 1 PS5-Blu-ray Disc | $73.93 | Buy on Amazon |
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Elden Ring: Nightreign - Seekers Edition /PS5 | $43.95 | Buy on Amazon |
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Bandai Namco Entertainment Elden Ring (PS5) | $40.00 | Buy on Amazon |
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Elden Ring - PlayStation 5 | $39.99 | Buy on Amazon |
Keep these ideas in mind as you start:
- Use the tutorial to learn by doing. The Stranded Graveyard tutorial introduces basic controls and techniques, including using a weapon one-handed or two-handed and performing guard counters.
- Your class is a starting approach, not a permanent rule. Choose a style you want to try; do not worry that one choice will decide your whole run.
- A difficult enemy is not necessarily a signal to keep trying immediately. Bandai Namco specifically describes Limgrave’s Tree Sentinel as very tough for a beginning player. You can explore elsewhere, grow stronger and come back.
- Use the map as a practical navigation tool. Guidance of Grace points toward key locations, a map beacon appears on your compass, and you can fast travel by selecting a Site of Grace on the map.
- Shadow of the Erdtree is an expansion, not a standalone game. It requires the Elden Ring base game.
The most useful early habit is to treat setbacks as information: practice a technique, notice what an encounter is asking of you, and decide whether to try again or take another route.
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The official Elden Ring class page presents ten starting classes. They begin from different approaches and equipment, but none is described as the one mandatory beginner choice. Bandai Namco says that “your class is never a limitation.” In practical terms, a class gives your character an initial shape; it is not a promise that you must use only that style for the rest of the game.
#1 Best Overall
- Collaborating with George R.R. Martin to create the ELDEN RING mythos has been a genuinely delightful experience and a source of wonderful inspiration. The team is working hard to ensure that the world of ELDEN RING will be a fascinating place for players to explore, filled with peril and wonder from its furthest reaches to its lowest depths. This is a FromSoftware title through and through, rich in fantasy and RPG action. We sincerely hope you look forward to it.
- Building the world of ELDEN RING with Miyazaki-san and his team was a treat! The graphics, mythos, and action-RPG gameplay will deliver an unforgettable experience. I can’t wait for people to see what ELDEN RING has in store for them.” Said George R.R. Martin.
Pick the approach you are curious to play
If you want to focus on close-range weapon combat, choose a class whose starting approach and equipment appeal to you. If you would rather begin with ranged sorcery, Astrologer is one of the official examples. If sacred incantations sound more interesting, Prophet is another. Samurai and Vagabond are further examples among the ten available choices. These examples illustrate different starting approaches, not a ranking of which class is easiest or best.
A useful decision is simply: which opening sounds enjoyable enough that you want to learn its strengths? That is more reliable than trying to identify a universal “best” class. The official material supports preference-led choice and does not establish an ease ranking.
What class choice does—and does not—settle
Your starting class gives you an initial play style and starting equipment. It can affect what the first encounters feel like, because you begin with a particular approach rather than an abstract, equipment-free character. But the class page’s statement that class is never a limitation is the important guardrail: do not assume you have chosen the wrong class simply because an early enemy is difficult, or because you later want to explore a different way of playing.
For a first playthrough, make the choice based on interest rather than fear of making an irreversible mistake. If you are undecided, pick one of the listed styles whose description sounds appealing and use the tutorial to get a feel for combat before judging it.
What should you do in the opening area?
Give the Stranded Graveyard tutorial area enough attention to practice. Bandai Namco’s early-game guidance identifies it as the place where the game teaches basic controls and techniques. The tutorial covers both one-handed and two-handed weapon use and guard counters. These are not details to rush past if you are unfamiliar with the combat; trying them in the teaching area gives you a lower-pressure opportunity to understand the actions before relying on them elsewhere.
Practice a technique, then notice what changes
Rather than trying to memorize every instruction at once, use the tutorial to connect an action with its result. Try switching between one-handed and two-handed use as the game teaches it. Practice the guard-counter technique when prompted. The point is not to master every combat situation in the opening minutes; it is to learn that the game offers more than one way to handle a weapon and to recognize the techniques when a later encounter gives you a reason to use them.
Rank #3
- Elden Ring: Nightreign - Seekers Edition /PS5
If you struggle at first, that alone does not mean you have misunderstood the game or selected a bad class. You are still learning how its controls and combat techniques work. Return to the relevant instruction or practice the action again when you need to.
Use a difficult encounter to make a choice
Bandai Namco names Tree Sentinel in Limgrave as a very tough early opponent for a beginning player. That example matters because the world does not require you to turn every first encounter into a test you must pass immediately. If an attempt is going badly, you can stop, head elsewhere, explore and build experience before deciding whether to return.
There is no need to interpret moving on as failure. It is one of the choices an open world makes possible. You might prefer another attempt because you want to practice, or you might prefer to step away and see what else is available. The sensible option is the one that keeps you learning rather than repeating the same frustrating attempt without a plan.
How do Sites of Grace help you progress?
Sites of Grace are useful for more than marking a place you have found. Bandai Namco’s early-game guidance says you can spend runes to level at a Site of Grace. When you have runes to spend and want to work on character progression, a Grace gives you a place to do that.
Think of a Site of Grace as a point where you can pause and consider your next move: whether to spend runes on leveling, continue toward a place of interest, or use the map to choose a different destination. The official guidance establishes the leveling function; it does not require you to follow one fixed sequence of encounters before using it.
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Make progress at your own pace
If a fight feels beyond your current comfort, leaving it and exploring is compatible with the game’s progression tools. You can visit other areas, find more locations and return to a Site of Grace to spend runes on leveling. This does not guarantee that a later encounter will be easy, but it gives you a way to develop rather than treating one difficult enemy as a barrier to the entire game.
Try to make the reason for your next step concrete. You might be practicing a technique, following a direction suggested by Guidance of Grace, exploring a visible area or returning to a place you marked. A small goal makes an open-ended world easier to navigate than the vague instruction to “find everything.”
How do Guidance of Grace and the map work?
Guidance of Grace is a directional nudge toward key locations, not a compulsory route. The official overview describes it as a system that helps guide players to key locations. You can use that guidance when you want a sense of direction, while still choosing to explore elsewhere. Following a suggestion and roaming away from it are both compatible with the open-world structure described in the official material.
Use a beacon when you want to remember a destination
The official how-to explains that placing a beacon on the map creates an icon on the compass. That gives you a practical way to keep a chosen destination visible while moving through the world. If you spot somewhere you intend to visit, mark it rather than relying on memory alone. The beacon is your own navigation aid; it does not mean the marked location is the required next objective.
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Bandai Namco’s early-game tips say map fragments are generally found at faintly drawn stone monuments, with some exceptions. When a region’s map is incomplete, looking for the monument symbol or a faintly drawn monument can help you work out where to search. Keep the qualification in mind: this is a usual pattern, not a guarantee that every fragment will be at a monument.
Fast travel through the map
The official starter guide says you can fast travel by selecting a Site of Grace on the map. When you want to return to a Grace you have found, open the map and select the destination. This is especially useful when you decide to leave a difficult encounter or move your exploration to another area. It lets you make a deliberate change of destination instead of assuming you must retrace every step on foot.
Combine these tools rather than expecting one to solve every navigation question. Guidance of Grace can point toward key locations; a beacon can keep a personal destination on your compass; map fragments help reveal a region; and selecting a Site of Grace on the map provides fast travel. Each addresses a different part of finding your way.
Best Value
- ELDEN RING, developed by FromSoftware Inc. and produced by BANDAI NAMCO Entertainment Inc., is a fantasy action-RPG and FromSoftware's largest game to date, set within a world full of mystery and peril
- Journey through the Lands Between, a new fantasy world created by Hidetaka Miyazaki, creator of the influential DARK SOULS video game series, and George R. R. Martin, author of The New York Times best-selling fantasy series, A Song of Ice and Fire
- Traverse the breathtaking world on foot or on horseback, alone or online with other players, and fully immerse yourself in the grassy plains, suffocating swamps, spiraling mountains, and foreboding castles
- Create your character in FromSoftware’s refi ned action-RPG and defi ne your playstyle by experimenting with a wide variety of weapons, magical abilities, and skills found throughout the world
- Charge into battle, pick off enemies one-by-one using stealth, or even call upon allies for aid - many options are at your disposal as you decide how to approach exploration and combat
When should you fight, and when should you move on?
There is no universal rule that you must defeat every enemy the first time you see it. The Tree Sentinel example is an explicit reminder that an early opponent can be very tough for a beginning player, and that exploring before a rematch is reasonable. The useful question is not “Am I allowed to leave?” but “What will I learn from another attempt, and would a different route help more right now?”
Try again when you have a specific thing to practice
A rematch can be useful when you want to apply something from the tutorial, such as trying a different weapon-handling approach or practicing a guard counter. Set a small aim for the attempt. You might be testing a technique or trying to understand the encounter better, rather than expecting an immediate win. Even a failed attempt can be useful if it gives you a clearer idea of what you want to do differently.
Explore elsewhere when repeated attempts stop teaching you
If you are making the same attempt without learning anything new, leave and explore. You can follow Guidance of Grace, choose another destination with a beacon, or use the map to fast travel to a Site of Grace. The official early-game tips recommend treating the Tree Sentinel as a tough opponent for a beginner, not as a required first victory. Exploring and returning later is a practical option, not a detour from a mandatory order.
Moving on also helps keep the experience manageable. A tough fight can make a new player question a class choice or assume they are playing incorrectly. Before reaching that conclusion, remember that the game gives you a tutorial to practice, Grace sites where you can spend runes to level, and an open world where you can choose another direction.
What does the expansion require?
Shadow of the Erdtree requires Elden Ring. It is an expansion, not a standalone game, so someone who does not own the base game should not assume purchasing the expansion alone is enough to play it. Check the product listing for the platform and edition you intend to use before buying.
For the PlayStation listing covered by the official source, Elden Ring is listed for PS4 and PS5. Nintendo’s recent official page reports Tarnished Edition availability on Switch 2. Those listings establish specific platform examples; they do not amount to a complete inventory of every current platform, edition or regional listing. Availability can change, so confirm the current listing for your own system. If you are choosing the base game, make sure the platform version matches the device on which you plan to play.
What is the simplest plan for your first session?
You do not need to solve every system before setting out. A short sequence of choices is enough to get oriented:
- Choose a class by starting style. Pick a melee-oriented approach, Astrologer if ranged sorcery interests you, Prophet if sacred incantations appeal, or another of the ten official classes. Treat the choice as a beginning, not a lock-in.
- Work through the Stranded Graveyard tutorial. Pay attention to the basic controls and practice one-handed and two-handed weapon use and guard counters.
- Use a Site of Grace when you want to level. You can spend runes there, giving you a clear place to make a progression decision.
- Use navigation aids for different jobs. Follow Guidance of Grace if you want a nudge, place a beacon to keep a destination on your compass, look for faintly drawn stone monuments when searching for map fragments, and select a Site of Grace on the map to fast travel.
- Decide whether a hard fight is worth another attempt now. If you are learning something from the attempt, continue; if not, go explore and return later. Tree Sentinel in Limgrave is a documented example of a tough early opponent.
- Check the base-game requirement before buying the expansion. Shadow of the Erdtree requires Elden Ring, and platform listings should be checked for the system you use.
This plan leaves plenty of room for discovery. Its purpose is to prevent avoidable confusion about your class, your direction and whether an early setback means you need to stop.
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