8 Elden Ring tips for surviving the Lands Between

Elden Ring is a game deserving of a novel-length post of tips and guides on how to maneuver through its perilous open world. There are enemies to defeat, characters to speak with, and many, many items to find as you snake through the Lands Between. But knowing everything ahead of time would ruin the spontaneity of the game, the precious moments where you stumble into something you didn't even know the game was capable of.

If you've not played a FromSoftware game before, Elden Ring might throw you for a loop early on. FromSoftware makes a lot of assumptions about how much you know about the structure of its RPGs, but they're anything but straightforward. The tips below will help you get started on your way to the base of the Erdtree and provide the tools needed to progress if you get lost—and you will get lost.

Pick a good starting class 

Ask any Souls player and they'll tell you that starting classes don't matter. You can build your stats in any direction, they say, so the starting class is more like a headstart in the direction you'd like to go. That's still true in Elden Ring, but because the game unfolds at a relatively slow pace compared to the much shorter and smaller Souls games before it, your starting class has a big impact on your first dozen or so hours.

Use the explanation option in the menu (E on keyboard or Y on controller by default) to read through the stats and pick one that suits either a melee- or spellcasting-based character. For new Souls players, I'd recommend choosing a class like the Vagabond for their balanced starting stats, or the Hero for their emphasis on Vigor (health) and Strength. If you start the game using a sword and shield and decide early on that you want to use magic, it's not a big deal, but it might mean you'll have to leave some enemies or bosses for later until you've leveled Intelligence up to meet their difficulty.

Pick up everything 

Elden Ring is an open game and, naturally, it has a crafting system. While you gallop through the Lands Between, make sure to spam the button you use to pick up items as you pass over bushes and flowers. The world is packed full of herbs to pick, so you don't need to go out of your way, but you should make it a habit to clean out a path on your way to your destination. That way you can craft useful tools like firebombs, multiplayer summoning items, and arrows. 

Use stealth 

I can't stress this enough, use the stealth system. Elden Ring's stealth system seems to be plucked right from Sekiro. Enemies are pretty lenient on how far away they can hear you when you're crouching, and if they do, they only go looking where they last saw you. That means you can kind of abuse the stealth to get you to items that are past a few monsters or to get yourself in position for a nasty backstab. Some parts of the game almost require it, too, so practicing it early on will give you a leg up when that time comes. 

Don't head for the big castles first 

This is a weird tip to give, but don't go straight to the big castle or buildings planted at the end of every major area in Elden Ring. It feels natural to barrel toward something that looks like it'll move the story forward as soon as possible, but that's not really how the game is designed. If you want a massive challenge, go for it, but Elden Ring is structured like an MMO. The open world is for exploring, doing side quests, defeating minibosses, collecting gear, and leveling up. The dungeons, or castles, are more like raids that jump up in difficulty and hold bosses with multiple phases. 

Prioritize the map fragment icons 

Elden Ring's map is a great way to start investigating a new location. Even if you'd like to let the game lead you to things organically, it's nice to make sure you have the map fragment unlocked in case you need exact directions. When you get to a new section of the Lands Between, open the map and look for a stone tablet icon. That will be where the map fragment item is located. They're usually close to the entrance, but sometimes they take a bit of effort to get to. Once you have it, it'll clear out the fog on the map and you'll be able to see the main roads. You can ignore the map, but if you die and really want those runes back, it'll be nice to have it around to help you get back to your body. 

Don't be afraid to come back later 

Elden Ring's non-linear format means you'll run into bosses or enemies that are way too tough for you right now. In fact, this can happen throughout the game even with bosses located in the same area. Like in a lot of other open world games, you should get used to leaving tough encounters or dungeons for later when you're a little tougher. I played the game for 60 hours for our Elden Ring review, and there's still stuff in the early areas that kicks my butt. 

Make use of Spirit Ashes and NPC summons 

The biggest mistake you could make in Elden Ring is skipping out on the Spirit Ashes. After the opening hour, be sure to find the ruins of a church near the first Site of Grace (bonfire) after the tutorial. Go there at night, meet the lady with a big hat and get the Spirit Bell from her. If you can't find her, head to the game's hub area, Roundtable Hold, and buy it from the two dead maidens (don't ask me how this is possible, it's a FromSoftware game).

Throughout the Lands Between there are bosses and groups of enemies in the open world that are difficult to defeat without really careful play, so it's often much easier to split their attention with AI allies. Whenever you enter a new area or room, check if you get the grave icon on the bottom left of your screen that enables summons. You can find and unlock all sorts of lethal companions, including skeletons, archers, and wolves. If you do enough exploring, you'll even be able to upgrade them to do more damage.

Alternatively, and in addition to, always look out for a yellow NPC summon sign, particularly in the first dungeon, Stormveil Castle. You need to poke around the courtyard area until you find the character, but once you do, they will help you fight the final boss of the zone. Players can be summoned in the exact same way, but when you select the sign, it'll say their name. It's up to you if you want to summon Souldierboy420 instead of an NPC.

Test out different Ashes of War 

Elden Ring introduces a new form of weapon skills that often use your blue FP resource. Ashes of War are abilities tied to weapons and shields that perform special attacks like holy projectiles, magic deflection, and attack power boosts. They also affect how well your weapon scales with certain stats.

Certain enemies and bosses are weak to specific types of damage, so it's smart to play around with which Ashes of War you have equipped on each weapon. If you're doing a boss run, give a few different skills a try and see if you can work them in your rotation. Weapons skills aren't meant to replace normal combat, but they can help you get the edge against a particularly tough boss.