How to get good/enjoy Elden Ring?
Hey there! Was scrolling through the elden ring tag and saw this, and as an absolute FromSoft-obsessed bozo, felt I could offer some words of advice. I had a pretty similar experience way back when I was first attempting to get into Dark Souls years ago, and it took a while for me to both figure out the game mechanics and rewire my brain to put them into practice. I'll try to split things up into paragraphs so you can reference back to things if you need to.
1. Character Build
It sounds so, so simple, but your enjoyment of the game can heavily depend on how much you like your weapon and playstyle. Unfortunately, it's harder than it seems to find something that clicks for you. Some people find magic easier because it lets you keep your range from enemies, while others prefer melee weapons to keep it up close and personal. In terms of magic, there are a few characters around that can teach you the tricks of the trade. Off the top of my head, Sorceress Sellen can teach you Intelligence-based sorceries, and Brother Corhyn in the Roundtable Hold can teach you Faith-based incantations. If you want to stick to weapons, I highly recommend getting the Dexterity-based Bloodhound Fang sword. It has an extremely useful skill that lets you backflip away from your foes, then turn invisible and rush forward at them afterwards - not only that, but even if your character doesn't currently meet the strength or dexterity requirements, you can wield it in both hands to make good use of it until you do, or find something that better suits your tastes. You can find it over at the Bloodhound Knight's Evergaol, which appears on the map as a little gray circle below Lake Agheel. The fight to get it can be heavily simplified if you meet a wolf-man named Blaidd, whose quest steps you can easily find online. Additionally, Spirit Ashes can make or break your boss fights by giving the enemy something else to target other than you. If you haven't picked up the Spirit-calling bell yet, travel to the Church of Elleh at night and speak to Renna. She will give you the ashes of three wolves as well, who you can use the bell to summon during boss fights to make things a little less hectic.
2. Progression
While Elden Ring is an open world game, the developers did have a definite intent while crafting the path players should take. The immense struggle of the first few bosses, that knight on his horse and Margit the Fell Omen, are no coincidence. The difficulty you felt is in no way because you are bad at the game - Souls veterans still struggle on Margit - but because it is what prompted you to ask yourself the questions you put in your post. "What do I do? Why is it so hard to progress?" And the game has an answer to that, to challenge the previous linear gameplay of the Dark Souls series - exploration. The world of Elden Ring is littered with caves and mines, mountains and beaches, characters and items. Margit is a struggle because he is a message to turn back, get stronger by exploring the world, and then come back with more experience and tools. There's even a character that explicity rewards you for peeking into these caves, who you can buy an item named Margit's Shackle from, that puts him on the floor for a few seconds if you use it while fighting him so you can hit that bastard on the head in sweet, sweet revenge. There is an area towards the bottom of Limgrave called the Weeping Peninsula, that is also full of things to find while exploring. Castle Morne, located there, is a great place to get used to the combat before you pass through the more difficult Stormveil Castle after beating Margit. If you struggle with something, come back later! It'll still be there, and you'll be better equipped to deal with it.
3. Currency/Runes
Trust me, you are not alone in the devastation that is losing all your runes. God, does it hurt. Your priority at this point in the game will be leveling up your Vigor stat so that you can have more health to take some hits with before you die, and any other stats you need to wield your weapons or spells of choice. Unless you are in a dungeon like a cave, or being actively attacked by an enemy, you can always fast travel to a site of grace, rest, and see if you have enough to level up. Killing enemies will always yield more runes than finding items does, unless those items are Golden Runes, which you can typically find near burial sites, inside of glowing skulls after hitting them with your weapon, or just sitting around on corpses. I recommend saving up on those until you are next to a Grace, then using them up all at once to get the boost you need to level up.
4. The Mindset
Elden Ring is a challenging game, but it really is about as challenging as you want to make it as long as you try to research or ask about ways to make the game more welcoming for you. If you want to dress your character up, you can always run around on your horse (even around Stormveil castle and into the next area!) and pick up armor sets that are lying around. If you want to have fun with friends or strangers, you can invite them to your world to help with bosses or running around the map. You can always use helpful items like Spirit Ashes or Margit's Shackle or Rune Arcs (which raise your health until you die). You can explore, die, explore again, die again, explore, succeed, relish in victory, and then weep over a character questline. I won't lie, it's hard to get accustomed to at first, but I really hope you can find it in you to love this game and triumph over the challenges it presents. And even if you don't, nobody will blame you for setting it down and just engaging with the lore or the community instead - there's so much there to learn from creators like VaatiVidya, The Tarnished Archaeologist, Zullie the Witch, Quelaag, SmoughTown, and other lore nerds who can give you a detailed rundown of anything and everything the game has to offer. I hope this helped, even if just a bit, and if you have any more questions, feel free to shoot!
Gosh tysm, just a few hours ago i was on brink of just giving up but honestly this post gave me much needed hope! As i’ve said i’m totally new to the whole concept of soulslike games but to see someone explain everything to a newbie like me so thoroughly for sure keeps me motivated to try harder and engage in the community.
I’ll definitely check out everything you’ve recommended to me and explore more caves even though they’re still pretty stressful to me lol :]
Again thank you sooo so much, it’s always refreshing to hear good advice from a genuinely nice person. I’m very grateful that you’ve given me your time and explained all this to me. I salute you for your help and now with my newfound spur i’ll go play the game.
Take care and have a nice day!
