first time player. best starting class for a magic / melee build?

[NDN Shadow]

i love playing hybrid classes in fantasy games, like arcane warriors / mage knights / spellswords, etc.

what class should i start off with that will best help me pull that sort of thing off in this game?

i would like a playstyle that uses magic to augment my melee abilities or close range aoe as opposed to just shooting things with spells from far away,.

[Vinyltavia]

You'll probably want to dabble a bit in sorcery and potentially Pyromancy then.
Greater Magic Weapon is fairly good; couple it with a pyromancy (power within or carthus flame beacon), and pontiff's right eye and you'll have yourself a real frenzied fighter.

[Eftwyrd]

useful links:
wiki: http://darksouls3.wiki.fextralife.com/Dark+Souls+3+Wiki
build calculator: https://www.mugenmonkey.com/darksouls3

look up the spells available, see what the stat requirments are, try expirimenting with builds in the build calculator to see what works best for you

[Lil Grandpa]

Best starting class for you will probably be a knight.

My advice is do not start off as a mage or hybrid in this game.

That said, spellsword build is a faith build. You're going to want to put 60 faith into it, or 15 faith for just a blessed weapon build (which is my most effective build at the moment. Blessed weapon + exile greatsword can tear through gank squads).

At the start, pump vigor to 30 and endurance to 20. Infuse your chosen weapon at raw. Every other stat doesn't matter until mid.

[Chanchoberto]

As an alternative, you could go with a pure physical class and take advantage of the resin type items, which let you coat your weapons with elemental damage.

I agree it may not be as cools as being a badass spellsword battlemage, but its fun as well.

[Vinyltavia]

Originally posted by Poot (Weaponized Autism):

My advice is do not start off as a mage or hybrid in this game.

That said, spellsword build is a faith build. You're going to want to put 60 faith into it, or 15 faith for just a blessed weapon build (which is my most effective build at the moment. Blessed weapon + exile greatsword can tear through gank squads).

At the start, pump vigor to 30 and endurance to 20. Infuse your chosen weapon at raw. Every other stat doesn't matter until mid.

>imlying sorcery can't do a spellblade build.

[Lil Grandpa]

>imlying sorcery can't do a spellblade build.

They can, but faith has more options.

And to be honest, I have never seen a sorcerer rely on buffing his weapon.

[Vinyltavia]

Originally posted by Poot (Weaponized Autism):

>imlying sorcery can't do a spellblade build.

They can, but faith has more options.

And to be honest, I have never seen a sorcerer rely on buffing his weapon.

any pure sorcerer is going to be blasting you in the dairyblaster so hard you wish they were using a buffed weapon instead.
Any Spellblade is going to use the utility of his spells to their fullest in order to accomplish their goal (Chameleon for incognito, Spook for silence and safe fall, Magic/Great/Crystal for the various buffs, Snap Freeze for Frostbite Status, etc.)

[Lil Grandpa]

Originally posted by Vinyltavia:

Originally posted by Poot (Weaponized Autism):

They can, but faith has more options.

And to be honest, I have never seen a sorcerer rely on buffing his weapon.

any pure sorcerer is go--

Nice joke, cuh.

This isn't DaS 1 or 2. Any pure sorcerer is gimped out of the gate.

[Vinyltavia]

Originally posted by Poot (Weaponized Autism):

Originally posted by Vinyltavia:

any pure sorcerer is go--

Nice joke, cuh.

This isn't DaS 1 or 2. Any pure sorcerer is gimped out of the gate.

Nice joke.
I've been making it work; The fact nobody wants to take the time to learn that your magic needs setup to actually hit is the problem people struggle with.
Therefore take your weaponized autism elsewhere.

[Lil Grandpa]

Originally posted by Vinyltavia:

Originally posted by Poot (Weaponized Autism):

Nice joke, cuh.

This isn't DaS 1 or 2. Any pure sorcerer is gimped out of the gate.

your magic needs setup to actually hit is the problem people struggle with.

Since rolling in this game is basically consequence free and you get iframes like candy, of course this will lead magic into being near useless against any halfway competant player.

My fix for it? Make spells "holdable" like with lightning arrow or make them faster, or have a bigger hitbox. Remember DaS 1? Crystal soul spear had zero load time and the hitbox was bigger than a train.

[Vinyltavia]

Originally posted by Poot (Weaponized Autism):

Originally posted by Vinyltavia:

your magic needs setup to actually hit is the problem people struggle with.

Since rolling in this game is basically consequence free and you get iframes like candy, of course this will lead magic into being near useless against any halfway competant player.

if you're saying rolling is infnite iframes, I have some bad news for you...

[NDN Shadow]

so should i still start with knight even if i'm planning on using some sort of spells?

[Vinyltavia]

Originally posted by NDN Shadow:

so should i still start with knight even if i'm planning on using some sort of spells?

Knight is excellent if you're going for a dual start and want to invest into a little bit of everything as your faith and int are both equally at 9 (you need 10/10 for Carthus Flame Arc and more pyromancies but from here you can spread out as you need to.)

[Lil Grandpa]

Originally posted by NDN Shadow:

so should i still start with knight even if i'm planning on using some sort of spells?

Starting class doesn't matter except for some minor stat adjustments. Knight starts off with a great amount of attunement, vigor, endurance, and pretty much everything you need except for luck which is your dump stat. You can adjust faith or int (whichever you choose) at your leisure. But like I said, pump vigor and endurance as quick as you can. Pick fire gem as your starting gift. Put it on your longsword.

You start off with arguably the best weapon in the game, a 100 percent block shield, and great armor both aesthetically and defense-wise.

Final bit of advice is not to rely on your shield. Dodging should be your main way of avoiding damage. If you rely too much on your sheild, it'll kill you quicker than simply not dodging at all.

[Dialask]

I've been having a moderate bit of success as a 40 dex/60 int/24 attunement build in SL 120 dueling. Crystal magic weapon, homing crystal soul mass, crystal soul spear, and snap freeze (for spacing and getting room to set up). It's pretty squishy (27 vigor and ring of favor +3) and has a hard time going after runner/dodger types, but its very versatile in most scenarios. It can kill quickly and get the jump on people thinking to push aggressively becuase they see sorceries.
The early levels are difficult starting as sorcerer, I suggest focusing dexterity until you get a few really good spells.