Systems Guide

• Introduction
• Storytelling & Lore
• Character Creation
• Starting Origins

Introduction

The Lands Between comprise innumerable caves, ruins, crypts, fortresses, and other discrete locations interconnected by a diverse open world of unprecedented size. As you explore the furthest reaches of this breathtaking landscape, you'll meet an equally colorful cast of stalwart warriors, backstabbing rogues, fallen demigods, and a veritable host of others from the good to the bad to the downright ugly. You'll also find troves of valuable treasure hidden away in the shadowy crypts and fortified citadels scattered throughout the world, not to mention a fair amount of more esoteric loot such as rocks, broken glass, feces, and an octopus that can be worn on your head. Leave no stone unturned - you truly never know what you'll find out there, nor what unfathomable use it might have.

Of particular note are the Legacy Dungeons: unique, self-contained strongholds with exceptionally complex layouts leading to some of the game's most challenging bosses (and some of the most impressive rewards). Each Legacy Dungeon has a specific theme, and because their interiors place just as much emphasis on vertical traversal as horizontal, you'll need to acquaint yourself with the nuances of Elden Ring's platforming gameplay in order to safely navigate their dizzying heights. Fortunately, even if you find yourself unable to progress, a few additional weapon upgrades or a bit of information on where to find a key are often all you'll need to forge a path ahead... and if all else fails, the open nature of the world means you can always simply pick a different direction and explore elsewhere first.

Storytelling & Lore

Elden Ring features lore and world-building by George R.R. Martin and Hidetaka Miyazaki. They've created a world rich in history, inhabited by a deeply mysterious cast of characters. This doesn't mean the game's story is primarily told through cutscenes, however. Rather, it's uncovered through playing the game, talking to the characters, gathering items, building out the history and the world of The Lands Between bit by bit as you progress. This approach gives Elden Ring the feel of a classic RPG.

While exploring, pay careful attention to what NPCs have to say, and be sure to investigate anything that seems out of place or otherwise suspicious. Objectives from NPCs are occasionally marked on your map, but you are otherwise left to freely explore the world on your own terms. Ultimately, you will need to piece together the tales of strife, struggle and woe that befell the world as you explore it. There are moments where NPCs may hint at something, but they'll typically only elaborate if you speak with them multiple times in succession. Heed their words, but choose your friends carefully - some of the people you'll meet are genuinely in need of help, while others are merely looking for an easy mark.

Character Creation

Elden Ring's protagonist is a blank slate whose background and initial abilities are determined entirely by your own choices during character creation. When you start a new game, your very first task will be to craft your avatar and customize their appearance. Your character's build and age have no bearing on stats or skills. What does matter is their stats or abilities; however, the Origin you choose will determine your starting stats, items and armor. The following overview of each available Origin will assist you in making a well-informed choice.

Picking one class over another only affects your starting loadout and won't restrict character progression in any meaningful way, so you don't need to worry about committing to a class that you don't like, as you can always reshape your character as you level up. nevertheless, your starting class makes a noticeable difference during at least the early hours of the game, and can continue to do so even in the long term if you are a proponent of stat optimization.

Attribute Points Explained

As you level up, it's a good idea to focus on passively upgrading your Vigor and Endurance, as these will be key to your survivability. Strength and Dexterity are the most common usage requirements for weapons and can also help you deal more damage with favorable scaling, but they will contribute less to your overall attack power than simply upgrading your armaments. Intelligence, Faith, and Arcane have a similar relationship with spells, serving as both prerequisites and damage modifiers for magical abilities. Before you commit to upgrading a weapon or equipping a spell, be sure to carefully check its usage requirements - if you don't at least meet the minimum stat requirements, you'll be unable to use weapons effectively or cast spells at all.

• Attribute Point Descriptions

Vigor	VIG	Increases HP, Fire Resistance, and Immunity
Mind	MND	Increases FP and Focus
Endurance	END	Increases Stamina, Equip Load, and Robustness
Strength	STR	Damage modifier and usage requirements for Strength-based weapons
Dexterity	DEX	Primary damage modifier/requirement for Dexterity-based weapons; secondary modifier/requirement for most other weapons; slightly increases casting speed of spells
Intelligence	INT	Damage modifier and usage requirement for Sorceries and certain Incantations
Faith	FTH	Damage modifier and usage requirement for most Incantations and certain Sorceries
Arcane	ARC	Damage modifier and usage requirement for certain Sorceries and Incantations,; determines Item Discovery rate; increases Blood Loss buildup on weapons

SPOILER: Reassigning Attribute Points

After defeating Rennala, Queen of the Full Moon in the academy of Raya Lucaria, she'll offer you a "Rebirth" ability at the cost of a Larval Tear for each use. While you cannot decrease your level using this service, you can freely reassign each individual point to refine an existing build or create a completely new one.

Starting Origins

Your starting class, or Origin, will determine your character's initial stat distribution and equipment loadout. Although this will have a significant impact on the earliest hours of the game, the disparity between Origins quickly diminishes as you level up and develop your character.

Your choice of Origin is not at all critical, so it's not something to spend a lot of time pondering. While optimization-focused players intent on squeezing every last drop of efficiency out of their builds will need to carefully consider the adjacent chart before making a selection, for all other purposes there is no incorrect choice to be made here, so feel free to pick whichever Origin you judge best-suited to your preferred playstyle.

Origin	LVL	VIG	MND	END	STR	DEX	INT	FTH	ARC
Vagabond	9	15	10	11	14	13	9	9	7
Warrior	8	11	12	11	10	16	10	8	9
Hero	7	14	9	12	16	9	7	8	11
Bandit	5	10	11	10	9	13	9	8	14
Astrologer	6	9	15	9	8	12	16	7	9
Prophet	7	10	14	8	11	10	7	16	10
Samurai	9	12	11	13	12	15	9	8	8
Prisoner	6	11	12	11	8	14	14	6	9
Confessor	10	10	13	10	12	12	9	14	9
Wretch	1	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	10

Vagabond

A Knight exiled from their homeland to wander. A solid, armor-clad origin.

The Vagabond is a generalist Origin well-suited to any melee setup, although the weight of its starting equipment will cause it to perform a heavy dodge roll by default; you can solve this by unequipping its helmet or Halberd to keep its equipment load below 70%. A minimal investment in Faith or Intelligence will give this class access to healing spells or weapon augmentations, making it equally suitable for hybrid builds.

Warrior

A twinblade-wielding warrior from a nomadic tribe. An origin of exceptional technique.

The Warrior is a light melee class with the highest Dexterity of all Origins. As such, it is purpose-built for utilizing Daggers, Spears, Curved Swords, and other weapons that scale primarily or exclusively with Dexterity. It is initially equipped with a pair of Scimitars, enabling it to perform a deadly series of dual attacks, and a few extra levels of Intelligence or Faith will grant it access to basic healing magic or weapon augmentations.

Hero

Bandit

Astrologer

Prophet

Samurai

Prisoner

Confessor

Wretch