Elden Ring Beginner’s Guide: 9 Essential Tips For New Players

Elden Ring is the largest From Software game to date, certainly the studio’s best work, and full of secrets and challenges around literally every corner. I understand how intimidating the renowned developer’s releases are to a newcomer, so I’ve created an Elden Ring beginner’s guide containing nine essential tips for new players to help make the most of your journey to The Lands Between.

Don’t Miss The Crafting Kit 

The crafting kit is your first purchase after venturing out into the wild. The item can be purchased from the Merchant in the Church of Elleh (north of the start area) for 300 Runes. The Crafting Kit unlocks recipes for potent perfumes, weapon greases, throwable pots, health items for your mount, valuable buffs, and a lot more – all of which will make your time playing Elden Ring more dynamic. 

Learn To Run Away

There are many powerful enemies populating the world of Elden Ring, and you’ll encounter several of them in your first few hours. You aren’t meant to defeat some of the game’s challenges right away. You should instead explore and level up to gain more knowledge and skills. 

Sites of Lost Grace Point To Primary Objectives

Like bonfires and lanterns in From Software’s previous games, Sites of Lost Grace are the checkpoints you’ll be chasing after in Elden Ring. They can be used as safe zones in most dungeons, storage areas, or fast travel points. You can rest at the Site of Grace to restore your health and focus points. These checkpoints also allow you to memorize spells and level up character stats.

You can also use these areas to help you get to the main goal. If you’re feeling lost or you’re not sure where to go next, try finding another Site of Lost Grace and explore the surrounding region.

How to Unlock Spirit Summons

Elden Ring’s most important tool is the spirit summons. They do not cause much damage and can even be upgraded at Roundtable Hold to help you tank damage from large enemies or bosses. You can use them to stop or stun intimidating foes. There are many different kinds of Spirit Summons, all of them resembling opponents you’ve faced in the world. There are many types of Spirit Summons. You can summon floating jellyfish or wolves. Godrick Soldiers have shields and swords. Each companion behaves differently, so it’s crucial to find one that best matches your playstyle or current scenario. These collectible items are littered across the massive world of Elden Ring, and you’ll naturally find them by exploring and fighting enemies. 

You can still miss the Spirit Calling Bell which is necessary to summon spirits. Head to the Church of Elleh during nighttime for it. You’ll find the church ruins just up the hill from First Step, the game’s starting area, but be cautious of the Tree Sentinel guarding the path. After resting at the church’s Site of Grace, a particular NPC will visit you and gift you the Spirit Calling Bell, allowing you to use any of the Spirit Summons you might’ve collected. 

Lastly, know that while you have access to them during every boss fight and in most open-world areas, you can’t use Spirit Summons everywhere. You’ll know you can use Spirit Summons when there’s a blue archway symbol on the left side of your HUD. 

The Dodge Roll Speed is Related to Equipment Load

Every piece of equipment has an associated weight, and if you don’t properly manage your build, you’ll end up being too slow to be effective. The speed of your dodge roll correlates to a percentage of your equipment load: light roll is at 30% equip load, medium roll up to 70%, heavy roll at 71%, and if you exceed 100%, you’ll be over-encumbered and unable to dodge. First-time players should stick to the middle range. To increase your ability to tow heavier equipment while still maintaining faster dodge speeds, it is possible to improve your endurance.

Get your Weapons Upgraded as Soon As You Can

Apart from studying and watching the world, upgrading your weapons is the best way you can get better at Elden Ring. Your weapon level plays a significant role in how much damage you do, particularly against bosses such as Margit The Fell Omen. Visit the Church of Elleh to upgrade your weapon, and then use the anvil beside the merchant. However, you’ll need to visit the Roundtable Hold (unlocked by progressing the primary objective) and speak to Blacksmith Hewg, who will allow you to upgrade armaments and equip or duplicate new weapon skills.

Smithing Stones can be used to upgrade standard weapons up to 25 levels, and special weapons with Somber Smithing Stones can go up 10 levels. Regardless, you’ll need to explore the world or loot enemies to find these resources. Trust me; you’ll be happy when you see them. 

You can upgrade your flasks by exploring

As you explore The Lands Between, you’ll discover Golden Seeds and Sacred Tears, two items used for upgrading your reusable flasks at Sites of Lost Grace. Golden Seeds may be purchased with Minor Erd Trees. They are small saplings which glow with a yellow hue. Sacred Tears can also be found in different churches all over the globe. Golden Seeds can increase your flask charge, and Sacred Tears will boost the amount of each flask you receive. 

By resting at any Site of Grace, you can redistribute your flask costs to your satisfaction. My strength build requires minimal focus points – the resource used for magic abilities and incantations –  so I usually allocate all of my flask charges to the Flask of Crimson Tears for health restoration. If you’re a heavy magic user, you will want to assign charges to the Flask of Cerulean Tears, which restores focus points upon consumption. 

How to Find Map Fragments

At the start of the game, your world map will be entirely blank apart from the few Sites of Grace you’ve unlocked. To clear the fog of war and see a detailed version of the region you’re exploring, you’ll need to collect items called Map Fragments, which you can find at tall stone pillars along main roads or prominent intersections. If you’ve thoroughly explored an area and are still missing the associated map fragment, open your map and zoom in, looking for a tiny icon resembling a pointed stone pillar. These icons will only appear after you’ve visited the area and subsequently removed the fog of war. 

Don’t Miss The Tutorial

It’s possible to skip Elden Ring’s tutorial. After all, there’s a fantastic world waiting for you to explore. But don’t skip the tutorial. This tutorial is only five minutes long and will help you use incantations to counterattack with a shield and sword, stealth takesdowns, as well as other basic skills like two-handed weapon stand, required for special abilities called Arts of War. In the Stranded Graveyard is where you will be found the Elden Ring Tutorial. There’s a spirit sitting in a chair on the edge of a precipice – climb down the rock face and begin.