The best class to choose in Elden Ring

It takes around 58 hours to complete Elden Ring, but the calculations don’t involve the time players spend while creating their characters. While some players can just skip forward to the process to jump right into the action, others may take their time to ensure they get the perfect start.

So, here is our guide for the best starting classes in Elden Ring.

What is the best class in Elden Ring?

There’s no best class in Elden Ring since your choice at the beginning won’t impact your endgame experience. Runes allow players to level up and improve their stats, allowing them to build their character in any way they like regardless of their starting class.

Elden Ring class guide

If you are looking to optimize your early game experience, however, deciding on how you’d like to play your first hours in Elden Ring will be essential while picking a class. Having a goal in mind is the most important part of choosing your class, though you can always pivot to more advanced or different builds as the game features an extensive respec mechanic.

Here’s each of the classes in Elden Ring broken down with their advantages, disadvantages, and some advice.

Astrologer

• Best for magic users.
• Can easily pivot into a Dex-Int build.
• Low on defense.

The Astrologer is the go-to class for any mage build, no matter if you’re going for a spell-sword build or focusing on overall spell usage. It’s a bit weak with sub-par health and stamina, though that can easily be upgraded with the first few levels, with subsequent leveling and respecs allowing for even more options.

Bandit

• Well-rounded stats.
• Great for Dex and Bleed builds.
• Low base stamina.

The Bandit is a very rounded off class option for players looking to hop into quick and lethal Dexterity and Bleed builds. The starting gear is also solid, with a parry shield there for those who love a proper riposte. However, since it’s oriented around Dex, it needs way more stamina than it has, though the low starting level helps with the level-up costs, allowing you to make up the difference rather quickly.

Confessor

• Fantastic general stats.
• Great for quality and Incantation builds.
• High level means expensive level-ups.

If you’re looking for a “catch-all” class to start with, the Confessor is your choice. It has the highest starting level of all classes and, thus, the best overall stat distribution. However, this high starting level means your first level-ups will be more expensive, though there’s pretty much an infinite sea of options for you to choose from, whether it be focused on Dex, Strength, or Incantations.

Hero

• Incredibly specialized but high stats.
• The absolute best choice for big bonk and Strength players.
• Really low secondary stats.

The Hero is the go-to choice for players who have come fresh off of the original Dark Souls and other FromSoftware games with the aim of using the biggest, heaviest weapon they can find to bonk their enemies on the head. With brutally high Strength and Vigor, this class is best for a specialized strongman build, though you can always pivot into some Strength-Bleed mix since the class also starts with some extra Arcane (such as ones using the Bloodfiend’s Arm).

Prisoner

• Yet another general option.
• High Dex and Intelligence, perfect for spell-sword builds.
• Somewhat high starting level.

The Prisoner was FromSoftware’s choice mascot for a reason. The class offers a general starting point for players who avoid using Incantations (which is, I would wager, the majority, especially if they had come off of Bloodborne or Sekiro). Therefore, it’s great for any sort of build you can think of, though I think it’s the best for spell-sword combinations using items such as the Moonveil or other magical Katanas.

Prophet

• Go-to option for Incantation builds.
• Solid starting Dex and Strength for pivots.
• Abysmally low stamina.

The Prophet, as the name implies, is a Faith-oriented class, perfect for those players who love playing with Incantations. There are many of those in Elden Ring and its Shadow of the Erdtree DLC, the most powerful of which are found precisely in the latter. This class also starts with a healthy amount of Dexterity and Strength, in case you find some Faith-oriented melee weapon and pivot into a Cleric-style build, utilizing items such as the Black Steel Greathammer (though, if that’s the case, do be sure to pump that stamina up).

Samurai

• Obvious choice for Katana users.
• Ultimately the best for Dexterity weapons.
• High starting level means pivots into Bleed and others will cost you some runes.

The Samurai is my favorite class in all of Elden Ring. The Uchigatana you start with can and will serve you for the entirety of the game, granting you a quick and deadly weapon with lots of Bleed attached to it. Any Dexterity-oriented build will work with the Samurai, and I recommend it as a starting point if that’s your idea, since the starting stamina is also great. Pivoting into proper Dex-Bleed builds with the likes of Rivers of Blood can see you dumping levels into just Arcane since the starting point for this stat is quite tragic.

Vagabond

• The classic “guy with a sword” class.
• Great overall stats for quality builds.
• Like the Samurai, pretty limited early in terms of build range.

The Vagabond is the “knight” class of Elden Ring, giving you a ton of armor, health, a big shield, and a broadsword. There is quite literally nothing else you’d need to clear this game, what with all the buffs you can add to your weapons and all. However, it’s a pretty limited class which, though you can always respec it when it becomes available, will cost you a ton of levels if you wish to pivot into, say, Intelligence, after finding the Sword of Night and Flame, therefore making it best for general melee shield and sword builds.

Warrior

• Excellent starting dual-wield weapon.
• Immense Dexterity.
• Solid starting stamina.

The Warrior is the mirror image of the Samurai. While the latter is focused more on Katanas, and thus some sort of blend between Bleed and Dexterity, the Warrior loves its dual-wielded scimitars, striking quickly and truly with them. The incredibly high Dexterity means tons of early game damage and, though the stamina is better with the Samurai, the difference isn’t all that big, and the low starting level more than allows for some early dumping without losing much. This class is best suited for builds involving the Backhand Blades, added with the DLC, though its starting weapons are not too shabby either.

Wretch

• Has 10 in all stats, making it the definitive general class.
• Starts at level one, levels are dirt cheap.
• Best suited for more advanced players and those who have zero idea what they want to play.

Every single FromSoftware game has some sort of Wretch class in it. It starts you at level one and gives you general and basic stats, letting you choose your own adventure as it unfurls. However, the class also doesn’t give you any starting armor whatsoever and only a, well, wretched club as a primary weapon, meaning that early game struggles might prove even bigger challenges with this class. It is thus that I believe it best for advanced players who know what they’re doing, though beginners looking for an extra difficulty meter and the broadest build options are also welcome to give this class a try, as it is the ultimate “make your own adventure” class of them all.