Need help to git gud

[R2G2x]

New to Souls/Elden. I have no idea what I'm doing. Started STR build. Then got Bloodhound Fang. Should I increase DEX now instead? Using greatshield but is it better to 2H or dual wield instead? Should I immediately use or save smithing stones? If I'm melee do I need spells? Tons of inventory -- no idea what people sell vs craft. Got a short bow but equipping gives me heavy load. Ash of war seems to reduce stats and doesn't work on Bloodhound? Currently level 38, STR 27, Vigor 21, Dex 18, Edur 16, others 7-10. What to increase? Do people switch weapons on foot vs horseback or for different enemies? Should I lighten armor to get back down to medium load?

[Alby]

Avoid heavy roll at all costs if you’re new

[Zogtar]

You're doing fine, different strokes for different folks.

End/Vit/Str/Dex are all good stats to focus for a first playthrough balanced build. Going balanced lets you try most weapons.

Later on, if you get to level 200+; you'll have stats everywhere, the ability to respec, and the ability to cast most spells/incants.

[Citizen of Zozo]

STR build is an excellent choice for a new player. If you like the Bloodhound Fang then use it. Don't be wishy washy though. Pick a weapon, keep upgrading it, and raise the stat the weapon scales best with. Commit to a build if you want to be effective.

Two-handing a weapon can be helpful for staggering larger enemies, but if you feel more comfortable behind a greatshield rather than relying on dodges then by all means go for that.

Smithing stones can eventually be bought. So they aren't a finite resource.

A STR or DEX build has no need of spells. Get yourself a crossbow or a bow if you feel you need a ranged option.

Keep Medium Load at all costs. If you need to pack more gear, level Endurance or else lose some weight somehow.

Get Vigor to at least 30 before doing anything else. Health is super important. I wouldn't even stop at 30. As a new player, you're going to take a lot of punishment. Damage can wait while you make yourself tanky enough to survive.

I personally find horseback combat to be a pointless diversion that is never wise nor necessary unless you're fighting a dragon. In that case it can be helpful for closing the distance when a dragon flies a good distance away.
You can use whatever weapon you normally use on horseback. You don't need a weapon specifically for horseback.

[SirFuzzWuzz]

Don't worry about getting dex if u don't feel like it, damage is mainly from upgrades early and the bloodhound's fang still scales with str and now u can use a big shield too.
2H increases effective str by 50% so u will do more damage with any weapon scaling with str or ease the str stat requirement. Dual wielding generally does more damage if u use the dual wield specific attacks.
Smithing stones get easier to come by as u play, somber stones are usually more convenient.
Having something ranged is always nice but u don't need it equipped unless you intend on swapping to it quickly. You never *need* spells but they can be fun to play with.
Try not to heavy roll unless u really want to rely on a shield.
Respec exists after a certain point so don't worry about it, just get the stats to be able to use what u want. Also vigor.

[Tetsuya_Kurogane]

Some say that you should get only enough STR/DEX to wield the weapons you like. It is kinda true, but STR give solid result by pumping it to 40 at first.

It is good to have a short fast weapon (dagger, curved sword, or a mace.) Either has a backup to finish them off, for enemy that moves a lot or to better manage your stamina.

A long reach one (greatsword, halberd, whip). For horseback, 2H charged attack and some powerful Ash of War.
You might have to switch stuff around if you are heavy. Maybe go for a lighter medium shield that can still tank 100% physical dmg.

Also, going pure melee can be hard at first playthrough. STR and FAITH is a classic combination. You can still wait later into the game before putting point in casting. Throw lighting and buff yourself.

Or stick with the bow and turn money into power. The arrow you craft are a little weaker, so it is good to know what merchant sells special arrow.

There are 2 in Caelid (astray from highway and in Dragonbarrow isolated hut,) that will sell you poison arrow, fire arrow and toxic stone clumps. Those toxic projectiles will quickly apply poison before you rush in to finish a boss.

[DiegoBrando]

vigor first. when weapon strengthen level is low, add stat not make a much difference.
so just add vigor, and find smithing stone as soon as you can. You can just add to the state, in which you can just equip the weapons.
Somber smithing stone is very easy to obtain. You can get weapon+9 without beating any bosses

[Geth Android]

I'm a pretty ordinary Souls/Elden player and also went strength build. But based on your stats I would put more into Endurance as its really annoying running out of stamina mid fight and being vulnerable. And will help you to avoid overloading. And maybe a few more points in Vigor. Your strength and Dex are fine for now. Pick one melee weapon and stick with it for now. Using a bow and staff at range can be handy sometimes but I wouldn't fuss about getting those weapons to a high level atm. I was using a curved great sword for ages now and it held up fine. Later when you find some special weapons you can consider putting a few points into other stats that aren't core to your build if it helps you to wield them and doesn't detract too far from your core ones.

Main thing is to adapt. If you notice 1 stat is lagging behind in your fights, put more into it the next few levels. If you're getting beaten easily, don't be afraid to farm runes for a bit (there's a great place near warmasters shack in Limgrave where there's about 5 giants you can kill on horseback pretty easily for 1000 runes each to help level up quickly). Also make sure to pick up herbs wherever you can as you can sell a good bunch for a large amount of runes every so often too.

Learn enemy types and how to fight them. That's part of the fun in these games. Also definitely learn how to time blocks to get the counter attack as that'll help deal large damage and take down foes quicker.

[Aertes]

- Started STR build. Then got Bloodhound Fang. Should I increase DEX now instead?
Up to you, if you want your character to use that weapon or not. Whatever build you make, be sure you will find weapons fitting it, you can either make a cahracter and look for the weapons or upgrade your character according to the weapons you want him to wield.

- Using greatshield but is it better to 2H or dual wield instead?
Again, Up to you. 2 handed wielding deals more damage and makes it easier to stun enemies, but big weapons are slower to swing and, despite they give certain block capacity, they don't matcha shield in that regard.

- Should I immediately use or save smithing stones?
Uuup to you. By the end of the game you will be able to max upgrade a handful of weapons, I'd recommed not to upgrade all the weapons you find, but pic some favored ones.

- If I'm melee do I need spells?
YOu can either full melee, full spell or mix. Using a spell object (staff or amulet) and a single hand weapon is a flexible choice, but you will have to learn to deal with both things at a time. Certain spells even improve melee combat or are short ranged ones and suitable to use while in melee.

- Tons of inventory -- no idea what people sell vs craft.
Since unequipped inventory doesn't matter, In case of doubt, don't sell. Some objects, even armors, are key for certain quests.

- Got a short bow but equipping gives me heavy load.
Heavy load makes you roll slower and worse, try to avoid it. If you want to wiled certain weapons and that makes you carry heavy load, think about wearing lighter armor.

- Ash of war seems to reduce stats and doesn't work on Bloodhound?
Ashes of war give two things to a weapon, abilities and properties. Some of them give a weapon the property "Heavy", which makes the weapon get better the higher the carrier's Strength is, no matter the original stats of that weapon. You have to pay attention to that, but that can also be changed with certain objects.

- Currently level 38, STR 27, Vigor 21, Dex 18, Edur 16, others 7-10. What to increase?
Sorry to repeat but, up to you. What weapon you prefer? what kind of combat? do you block? roll? jump attack? run attack?. Just try it all and see what suits you better.

- Do people switch weapons on foot vs horseback or for different enemies?
I do at least. I use to keep a little selection of weapons, be it single haded with shield or spell object, two handed heavier weapons, long ranged for horseback fights, thrust spears, maces, a torch... I try to be ready for all kind of situations.

- Should I lighten armor to get back down to medium load?
I highly recommend it. YOu can also get used to the heavy roll but I wouldn't.

[Xaelon]

Originally posted by R2G2x:

New to Souls/Elden. I have no idea what I'm doing.

That is par for the course here in souls-land. Enjoy the ride you're in for a treat.

Originally posted by R2G2x:

Started STR build. Then got Bloodhound Fang. Should I increase DEX now instead? Using greatshield but is it better to 2H or dual wield instead?

If you like the weapon go for it. You'll unlock the ability to respec in one of the first areas after Limgrave so you can always change things up later if you want.

In terms of Dual Wield VS 2H VS 1h + shield it's really a question of what playstyle you like. 2H or dual wield (assuming both weapons are the same type) tend to have higher DPS but a shield can block most faster attacks so it can make some fights more forgiving, I went through the entire game with a medium shield and it worked well enough for me, I did switch to 2handing my weapon for a few fights though.

If you do want to dual wield make sure you're using two weapons of the same type (type being "straight sword", "greatsword" or "curved greatsword" for example) because doing that gives you access to some unique attacks. If you press the button that normally blocks attacks you'll instead use a special combo that hits with both weapons and tends to do higher DPS than the weapon's normal combo. Some other attacks change too. Try experimenting sometime if you happen to have two weapons of the same type.

Originally posted by R2G2x:

Currently level 38, STR 27, Vigor 21, Dex 18, Edur 16, others 7-10. What to increase?

Vigor is always pretty useful because more HP. If you feel like you're dying too fast it's probably time to put some points in to vigor. Endurance is also pretty useful, but as long as you keep yourself at mid load that's good enough.

At the start of the game you should generally only invest into the other stats IF you want to use something that requires more of a stat than you currently have. Once you figure out what kind of build you want to run you're free to increase useful stats pretty evenly or just start dumping points into Vigor. Investing into mind can also be useful as that allows you to use more spells, weapon arts or summon more powerful spirits.

Keep in mind that there's a soft cap of 60 for all stats. Raising a stat higher than 60 will not provide much benefit.

Originally posted by R2G2x:

If I'm melee do I need spells?

Maybe? Miracles are pretty useful. Spending some stat points on faith will give you access to some pretty great support spells and allow you to cleanse various status ailments like poison. I can't comment on the int based stuff because I didn't use them at all in my playthrough. I would suggest choosing to use either Miracles or Spells though. Trying to use melee, miracles AND spells will likely spread your stats too thin at the beginning of the game.

Originally posted by R2G2x:

Do people switch weapons on foot vs horseback or for different enemies?

I found that swapping between 1h and 2h movesets was generally enough to deal with most situations, mounted or otherwise. I did keep a one ranged weapon of each type in my inventory though. If keeping it equipped made me too heavy I would just unequip it once I was done using it. Throwing daggers or Kukri are also an option if you need a ranged attack to pull single enemies.

Originally posted by R2G2x:

Should I immediately use or save smithing stones? If I'm melee do I need spells?

I would at least try a weapon's moveset and weapon art first but if you like a weapon feel free to upgrade it. If you need more smithing stones take a look at your map and look for caves. Some of those are mines and those are a great way to get more smithing stones. Assuming you don't upgrade every single weapon you find you'll have enough stones to go around.

Originally posted by R2G2x:

Tons of inventory -- no idea what people sell vs craft. Got a short bow but equipping gives me heavy load. Should I lighten armor to get back down to medium load?

Yes. Absolutely swap to some lighter armor till you can mid-roll again. You're better off blocking than fat rolling. Once you have enough END then you can swap back to the heavier armor if you feel you need it.

If your inventory is getting too cluttered feel free to throw some stuff into your stash the next time you're at a grace. Your inventory and stash are infinite and gear sells for so little there's no real reason to sell anything unless you have a ton of duplicates of something.

Originally posted by R2G2x:

Ash of war seems to reduce stats and doesn't work on Bloodhound?

Some weapons in this game are special and you won't be able to apply an ash of war to them. The Fang is one such weapon. If you want a curved greatsword that can use an Ash of War one can drop from the viking-looking guys in Limgrave.

The reason why the ash of war looks like it's reducing a weapon's damage is because the infusion changes a weapon's stat scaling. That's what the letters at the bottom are. If you use an ash of war to infuse a weapon to be "heavy" and you have high strength you'll likely do more damage than if the weapon scaled off both STR and something else. Some infusions can also make a weapon do elemental damage, which is useful if you're fighting something with high physical resistance.

[Grub]

just youtube a quick guide if your having a hard time. plenty of very helpful videos out there

[Xendo]

Some basic rules:

Vigor is king. 50 vigor is my minimum at level 150 (recommended max level for both game and Pvp)

never do heavy load

Choose 2 stats that affect combat to max out. These are Strength, Dexterity, Intelligence, Faith, and Arcane

Certain stats mesh better with others. Dexterity and Intelligence go together well while Strength and Faith mix better. Strength and Dexterity can do awesome together but you will lack any buffs or magic support

Intelligence has range as well that can put you at a distance advantage. It's also just kinda powerful

Arcane doesn't really always mesh well with other stats, but can be the most overpowered if you use Status Effects, specifically Bleed (Hemorrhage) that is listed on weapons as an icon then a number

Intelligence, Faith, and Arcane are usually associated with magic are usually associated with magic and spec ing into two of these at once will make offensive options a bit limited, however there is a really good sword you can get if you spec int both faith and intelligence

Mind is used for magic

Endurance is key for maintaining a medium equip load

Roll into attacks generally. You'll find more nuance with this as you learn to dodge better

Ashes of War are REALLY good, basically spells without stat requirements. But they do make damage pretty low in the early game

Changing weapons throughout a playthrough is good and often necessary, but doing so mid battle is not always the best choice, as weapons have a lot of weight.

Using shields, two handing, and dual wielding are all good but interchangeable, depends on your strengths. Two handing is kind of a middle ground. Shield is defense, dual wield (commonly known as powerstancing) is more offense

If you go shield, USE THE BRASS SHIELD. Best shield in the game, its medium but has good block boost (less stamina drained from blocking) and it has 100% physical damage negation

Stat scaling on weapons increases damage the higher the stat is. E is the worst and S is the best. A and S scales are pretty rare so don't always choose those. Two stats with C or B scaling is probably better than one stat with A or S scaling (exceptions of course)

Ranged weapons (like the short bow) suck, and using them is usually considered a challenge.

Ashes of War can only be used on certain weapons. Weapons upgraded with somber smithing stones almost always cant and normal smithing stones almost always can.

Melee + spells is a healthy balance, but sorceries are more offensive spells and incantations are more passive, usually buffs.

Incantations are usually affected by faith and sorceries are usually affected by intelligence

If you have runes to level up, DO NOT SAVE THEM. This is a surefire way to lose like 3 level ups in one go. (happened to me around 3 times)

If you dont plan on keeping a weapon, dont upgrade it, because you cant take it back.

Scaling on weapons improves with upgrades.

Strength usually is slower weapons, while dex is usually quicker (bloodhounds fang is an exception, and also an excellent weapon you should use if like)

Covered this ig during Brass shield part but greatshields are only good for high strength builds. Also carian shield is the best medium shield in my opinion, but cant have ashes of war. (it already has a great one tho)

Once you beat the main boss of Liurnia (place after Limgrave) you can respec using an item called Larval Tears. One time use, so make sure you know what you're doing

Very much recommend watching Fextralife to get ideas for builds. Watching them gave me enough knowledge to plan out my own builds that I plan to make videos on. Fextralife also has the Elden Ring wiki which is the single most important thing you can have in the Lands Between

[yuzhonglu]

If you don't know what to do, put points in Vigor. Can't hurt.

[SnakeshyperTTV/Kick]

Go for a str build that deals massive damage two handing increases str by 1.5
Star fists are a good weapon with crageblade with blue dancer, rotten wing sword insignia, green turtle talisman, and axe talisman.

Level vigor at least to 20.
Feel free to respec if you have a different starting class.
Here is a build that I made spoiler warning
1. Start off as a confessor and select the land’s between rune for 3.2k runes and farm for 3k runes and level up I recommend 12 end, 14 str, 13 dex, and 15 faith.
2. Get the flail and head to Limgrave tunnels make sure to get 12 smiting stone 1's for the enemies in the mine I recommend guard counters.
3. Get as many golden seeds and sacred tears that you can sparta kick Kenneth Haight of the bridge and loot the graveyard for the sleep pot recipe.
4. Head to Fort Haight for the Left Dectus medallion, get the axe talisman in the mistwood ruins, and spiked cracked tear.
5. Head to Caelid and hit the Fort Gale grace then head to Fort Faroth and loot the skul for 2 smithing stone 7’s and 1 smithing stone 8.
6. Head to the bridge in Limgrave that takes you to Liurina hit the scenic isle grace and get the dex tear it is near the grace and get the str tear found near the stormhill shack grace make sure to get the golden seed in the shack.
7. Then head back to Fort Faroth get the right Dectus medallion, gold rune 12, and radagon's soreseal get a gold pickled fowl foot then kill Greyoll allocate your flasks to mana flasks and put the str tear and dex tear in your physik get the golden vow ash of war found above the deathtouched catacombs southwest and the lance below.
8. Level up I recommend 20 vig and 26 str.
9. Head to raya lucaria academy hit the grace, do some grave robbing, and get the key hit the main gate grace and get the golden seed.
10. Then head to redmane castle, get cragblade, grab the smithing stone 6 on the tower, and rune farm and level up make sure to farm for a dagger and put golden vow on it for the mace wild strikes with the heavy affinity.
11. Hit the Bellum Highway grace and head down the spirit spring into Raya Lucria Crystal Cave and get 12 smithing stone 2’s and 12 smithing stone 3’s make sure to buy a mace and use guard counters for the boss.
12. Head to the church of inhibition and make Vyke commit suicide by falling of a the cliff and hit the grace.
13. Head to the sealed tunnel and get the smithing stone bellbearing 2 and get 5 smithing stone 5’s and 3 smithing stone 6’s bewary of the virgin below you might die.
14. Get two smithing stone keys and head to the old altus tunnel and get 8 smithing stone 5’s.
15. Head to seewaterterminus and hit to the craftsmen shack and piss off the bear into breaking the statue and get the 3 smithing stone 6’s.
16. Buff up and kill Borgot for his balls optionally wrong warp to Leyndell royal capital for the star fists and give the necklace to rya and warp to volcano manor and get 6 smithing stone 6’s and level up the balls to + 19.
17. Head to Lenne's rise loot the graveyard and hit the grace then rest until night if you have a extra gold pickled fowl foot 1 can be found near the first step grace and a other one in the sealed tunnel and a smithing stone bell bearing 2 cheese the knight's calvary pop a gold pickled fowl foot and hot swap to the golden scarab talisman man for 60ishk runes level up I recommend 25 vig, 15 end, 32 str, and 12 arc.
18. Head to murkwater cave bully the invader then fight Patches if you want the bull goat armor spare him if not kill him.
19. Head to Stormveil buff up make sure that you have margit's shackle and the spiked tear in your physik then bully Margit and then pop a gold pickled fowl foot and hot swap to the gold scarab and level up and then head to Stormveil castle to get the claw talisman and then head to the sage cave found in Altus for the raptured black feather's armor then head through Stormveil main gate and kill Gostoc then bully Godrick then do the same thing for extra runes pop his remembrance for 20k runes and level up.
20. Then do white mask varre’s questline and rune farm until 125, 150, or 181. The stats for that I recommend for level 125 are 60 vig, 27 end, and 55 str. For level 150 60 vig, 15 mind, 35 end, 58 str, and 27 faith. For level 181 60 vig, 20 mind, 49 end, and 70 str.
21. Then head to Raya Lucaria Academy and clap Rennala then do the same thing for extra runes pop then her remembrance for 20k runes and level up.
22. Then fight Radahn then do the same thing for extra runes pop his remembrance for 40k runes and level up.
23. Then head back to volcano manor hopefully you activated the bridge then make sure you have enough sleep pots for the godskin noble and bonk his fatass to Mcdonald's do the same thing for extra runes level up then head to the two stone sword key fog gate then use two of the stone sword keys make your way down there for the dagger talisman if you rely on staggers and then royal knights resolve.
24. Then get the serpent hunter spear and level it up to at least +6 then do ranni's questline and get the mimic tear and level it up to +10 and then head to the four belfries picking up the jellyfish shield along the way hit the four belfries site of grace and make sure that you have good enough armor and 2 stone sword keys then get the imbued stone sword key and activate the Crumbling Farum Azula teleporter and wrong warp to the main side of it by selecting the roundtable hold grace and hitting alt f4 at the right time then get somber bell bearing 4, 5, hero's rune 5, lords rune found near dragon temple lift grace along with a golden seed and gold rune 12, and a ancient somber dragon smithing stone.
For the godskin duo get enough sleep pots to put to sleep the noble 9 can be found near the albernic village and the right haligtree medallion then do Nephli loux's quest line for a ancient dragon smithing stone as a other imbued stone sword key can be found in sellia then get revenge on the grafted scion and get the storm hawk spirit ashes. Then head back to Farum summon in recusant Bernal buff up and summon in mimic tear for a easy time then do the same thing for extra runes then level your weapon up to +25 or level up.
25. Then head to the Swamp of Aeonia bully Commander O'neil get the gold needle then head to Gowry get the needle repaired and then do Millicent's questline then head to the shaded castle for valkyrie's prosthesis and give it to Millicent then head to the windmill village summon in Millicent and mimic tear buff up if you are maidenless then kill her for her talisman p.s if you kill her then I will go Big Boggart mode on you and rip you to shreds and go full dung eater mode on your corpse.
26. Then warp back to volcano manor and bully rykard for rykard I recommend at least the plus 6 serpent hunter or if your wrong warped to farum +9 or 10, claw talisman, and raptor's black feather's buff up and summon in mimic tear then trade in his rememberance for blasphemous blade and level it up to +10 it is good for clapping Malenia's rotussy to the point of her saying harder daddy also make sure to duplicate his remembrance at the bell walking maslum's as it along with Malenia's and elden beasts grant's 50k runes.
27. Then get all the sacred tears in Altus.
28. Then bully the draconic tree sentinel summon in Great Horned Tragoth, Millicent, and mimic tear and buff up.
29. Then bully Goldfrey then do the same thing for extra runes also make sure to bully the Erdtree Avatar for a lords rune.
30. Then bully Margott margit's shackle also works on him then do the same thing for extra runes and head back to limgrave for the dragon communion seal found in the starting area and the blue dancer charm found in the Highroad cave wear no armor for extra damage at a lower equip load.
31. Then head to the shunning grounds to get Mogh's shackle and head back to Moghwyn palace and bully Mogh for being a pedophile or ♥♥♥ if you want to take it to extreme levels of toxicity make sure to put the purifying blood tear in your flask if you are not doing the comet azura cheese.
32. For late game areas I recommend at least 40-60 vig to avoid being one hit killed.
33. Then get the smithing stone bell bearing 3 and two sacred tear also be wary of Borealis, the freezing fog and the Rivers of Blood invader make sure to kill the Rivers of Blood invader as it is good for farming four toed fowl feet and with the right build and buffs it can clap Malenia's rotussy to the point of her saying daddy chill if you want to respec into a Malenia destroyer build.
34. Then head to Castle Sol for the right Haligtree Medallion.
35. Then head to the Consecrated Snowfield to Ordina make sure to get the sentry torch to see the black knife assassin's and head to the Haligtree I recommend BHS for the area to avoid most of the deadly attacks and a good armor with holy damage negation.
36. Then carefully make your way around the mages for a Hero rune 4 found before you fight Loretta make sure to get the shortcut first if you die.
37. Then bully Loretta then do the same thing for extra runes or level up your other weapon if you are using a other weapon.
38. Get Marika’s soreseal, dragon commission seal, and blood flies level the seal up to +10 to cheese the ulcerated tree spirit.
39. Then finish Millicent's questline make sure to save her then develop crippling depression p.s if you invade her I will go Hoarah Loux on your ass and break every bone in your body and then defile you even worse than the dung eater.
40. If you are struggling with Malenia I recommend using the Greats stars AoW prelate’s charge and Knight’s Calvary Halberd AoW blackflame tornado along with a friend that knows how to dodge waterfowl dance here are some tips for waterfowl dance using a shield with 100% damage negation AoW barricade shield she can still heal even with 100% damage negation and then roll into the attack at 1 a clock and then 6 a clock for waterfowl up close circle around her make sure to lock on and then roll straight 2 times lock on again move close to her and evade to the left lock on again and move to the right then back lock on again to make sure that you do not move into her. A other option is using a light load and roll backwards 3 times for the first two flurry’s and roll into the third flurry. For her second phase run under her and then roll. For her spirit clone attack just run and roll.[/]

[Geth Android]

Originally posted by yuzhonglu:

If you don't know what to do, put points in Vigor. Can't hurt.

Vigor is overrated imo. Most bosses can kill you in a few hits if they get a bit of momentum. I find it's better to have high damage output so you can take them down quickly before they pull out some bs 5 hit combo.

[Xendo]

Originally posted by Geth Android:

Originally posted by yuzhonglu:

If you don't know what to do, put points in Vigor. Can't hurt.

Vigor is overrated imo. Most bosses can kill you in a few hits if they get a bit of momentum. I find it's better to have high damage output so you can take them down quickly before they pull out some bs 5 hit combo.

no