The time of Elden Ring is finally upon us! If you read Keith’s review, then you already know Fromsoft’s newest Souls-like game brings along with it a vast new open world and some tweaks to their tried and true formula. Whether you’re a longstanding, grizzled veteran, or experiencing it for the first time, the game is going to feel a tad daunting. So with that in mind, I’ve got five tips to help you get started, Tarnished.
Get to Stormveil Castle:
When you exit the tutorial area, you’ll see a pretty shady dude in a mask right outside, near a Site of Grace. He’ll give you the rundown on what it’s like being a Tarnished and all that jazz before suggesting that you find yourself a maiden. He then points you toward the large castle looming high above Limgrave known as Stormveil Castle suggesting that you go there first. After that, you’re pretty much let off the leash and it’s up to you to decide where to go.
However, it’s worth listening to our masked friend as you’re left without a way to level up until you at least reach the “Gatefront” Site of Grace. Upon reaching this point, you’ll be approached by Melina, who becomes our Maiden. Not only can you now increase your stats from any Site of Grace but Melina also hooks you up with your faithful steed, Torrent. Continue up the path to find your first Golden Seed (more on that below) and get to the “Castleward Tunnel” Site of Grace. Activate the site, then continue up the path to the boss. You’ll most likely die but that’s good. Once you do, use the Site of Grace in the tunnel.
This time, you’ll be approached by Melina again and this time, she’ll take you to the Roundtable Hold. This place is a safe haven for Tarnished like yourself and it’s mostly full of NPCs that mostly insult you. However, there are some important people here, the most important one being the Blacksmith. The man who will upgrade your gear as you proceed through this dangerous world. If you’re unhappy with your character’s appearance, there’s also a mirror in a room near the blacksmith that will allow you to completely change the way they look. Turns out our masked buddy wasn’t so bad after all, huh?
Go Explore:
Once you reach the Castleward Tunnel Site of Grace, you’ll probably want to continue onward and see what lies ahead. That’s totally fine but you’re in for a rude awakening as Margit, the Fell Omen will swoop down from the castle walls to humble you. He really showed me that I, perhaps, wasn’t ready for this part of the castle. It encouraged me to saddle up and wander out into the world, maybe find some runes in the process.
I’m glad that I did because it actually helped me learn a lot about the game. One great feature provided by the Sites of Grace is that some of them offer up guidance to the players. If you’re feeling a bit lost, simply check your map for the Site’s pointing in a specific direction. What I love about this feature is that it doesn’t take you to the intended destination like a standard waypoint marker or breadcrumb trail would. It simply nudges you toward a path. How you get there is up to you. Through exploration, you’ll find pieces of your map, learn new recipes for crafting, find new equipment and locate more Sites of Grace.
Most importantly though, there are items hidden all over the map that will increase the effectiveness of your flasks. Golden Seeds will allow you to increase the number of flasks you can use and you’ll find these beauties under small golden trees and looted off some bosses. There’s even a wonderful visual cue to guide players to the locations of the seeds should players focus their attention on the large, illuminated ethereal tree towering above the rest of the world. Using Sacred Tears will improve the flask’s effectiveness and can be located in the ruins of churches. It goes without saying that those looking to survive the harsh world of Elden Ring will want to brave every corner of its world. The game can be tough and thankfully, players can fast travel between from one Site of Grace to another and it costs you nothing. So don’t be afraid to abuse it and go out and explore the world.
Torrent the Tank:
Torrent is going to be your best friend as you travel the Lands Between. I really can’t talk enough about how large the world is and getting around it on foot would almost be torture. Thankfully, Torrent is more than happy to lift you up on his back and ferry you almost anywhere you want to go. With his ability to double jump, you can make it to higher ground which makes traversal simpler. Torrent’s Spiritspring Jump will allow him to use spots around the Land Between to leap even higher, reaching even great heights.
Another area where Torrent shines is combat. If you’re in need of some quick runes, bring Torrent along with you. Fighting while mounted is kind of awkward but honestly, it’s one of the safest ways to take out large groups of enemies in the Lands Between. He offers a certain the speed and maneuverability you won’t find anywhere else. With that being said though, you’re just as soft and squishy when mounted on Torrent. He won’t be able to save you from the tougher enemies roaming the world and you can even be knocked off your mount, putting you in a really bad spot. So if you find yourself being confronted by a mini-boss that’s patrolling a road, don’t be afraid to run away. You don’t want Torrent to die either.
That’s right, Torrent, our spectral steed can die. We love him though and he deserves to be protected. Should he die though, players can revive him by feeding him one of their flasks of Cerulean Tears. If you decide to roll a mage character, this isn’t ideal but thankfully, players can heal Torrent with the use of Rowa Raisins. Rowa Raisins can be made using Rowa Fruit, which brings us to our next handy, dandy tip.
Buy the Crafting Kit:
To go along with Elden Ring’s massive, new open world, crafting is also something that proves itself to be essential. As I stated above, exploration is a good way to discover new recipes and various merchants located throughout the world also sell a variety of them as well. Materials are easy to spot in the world as well. Fromsoft has made it so crafting materials give off a slight glow and often close by. However, before you can start crafting however, you need to get the crafting kit.
Don’t worry, you don’t have to go out of your way to get this ability and it won’t cost you much runes. In fact, the moment you happen across the merchant, the game will give you a quick tutorial about how crafting works. Simply head north eastish from “the First Step” Site of Grace and you’ll see the ruins of a church nearby. This church is called the Church of Elleh and inside it is a merchant you’ll want to talk to. Avoid the hulking mini-boss known as the Tree Sentinel, who will happily follow you into the church to ruin your day, and find the merchant located in the corner.
After the game gives you a quick tutorial about crafting, you can buy the kit off of him for the low price of 300 runes. It should be easy to afford, provided you didn’t lose them fighting the “boss” in the tutorial area. Should you be low on runes however, look just outside of the church. You’ll see some poor saps wandering around looking to become hashtags so you can buy some equipment and recipes from your new friend. You’ll also want to return to this church and locate the woman in white after you unlock Torrent too, by the way.
One final thing worth mentioning is that if you’re looking to take part in the game’s multiplayer, you’re absolutely going to want this kit. In Elden Ring, you need an item called the “Furlcalling Finger Remedy” to see signs put down by other players if you want to co-op or take part in PvP with other people. The merchant in the church sells the item but for an unreasonable amount of runes. Crafting them is the easiest route to take and finding the “Erdleaf Flower” is easy. The item litters the landscape, almost as much as the Rowa fruit.
Find The Maps:
One thing you’ll probably notice the moment you look at your map is that it’s a blank slate. The map in Elden Ring doesn’t fill itself in using the conventional method of exploration either. Instead, players have to wander through the empty terrain looking for specific locations to recover maps.
I’ve currently found two maps myself, Limgrave East and Limgrave West. One consistent thing I’ve noticed is that when you happen across the item, they’re at the bottom of these glowing stone monuments. Sometimes they’re in the middle of an enemy encampment or just casually next to some ruins in the woods. Retrieving the map from the bottom of these monuments will fill in your map, and the monument will stop glowing. Peep the slideshow just below to see the monument in question. Sorry that they’re not glowing as I nabbed the item before taking the screenshots.
Another thing I noticed is that the monument might be marked on your map. I only noticed it happened once, however and I haven’t gone farther north to see it again. However, this is how I obtained the Limgrave East map. At the edge of one of the territories, I saw a rounded little marker on my map as I made my way toward the monolithic trees towering over the Lands Between. I went to it out of curiosity, and there was the monument, in the middle of the Mistwoods. Once you obtain the maps, various points of interest will appear as well, like ruins which contain valuable loot. It’s just another good reason to get out there and explore.
Hope This Helps
I wish I could say that I had more time and experience with Elden Ring under my belt. However, unlike Keith, I haven’t sunk much time into the game due to other responsibilities. I’ve only got about five hours of playtime into the game so far and these tips are what I feel will help players out the most. Most of my time has been spent exploring, getting to know the world, and trying to get stronger so I can deal with the trials to come.
If you have any questions about the game, feel free to hit me up on Twitter on anything concerning the goings-on in Limgrave. Keith can also provide you with some answers for anything further past that point. Our DMs are always open, and you can, of course, comment below. We’re always happy to help our fellow Tarnished.
