ELDEN RING Elden Souls For Dummies

Introduction

Praise the Fingers, in short, try gesturing...

Time for grass, therefore, try offering friendship...

Elden Ring might have a different name but it's still Dark Souls, for those who have never played Dark Souls, it's all about i-frames from wearing a light equipment load and knowing when to dodge.

You can become a parry god to, but personally, that isn't for me.

Below the guide notes are checklists of all the various things found in the player menu, through out your sign staff for near/far and review the checklist and menu to see what is missing. Right now my lists are mostly complete but also slightly incomplete so bare with me.

Endurance

In my humble opinion, Endurance is probably the most important stat in the game next to Health and attack stats.

Endurance controls equipment load and yields Stamina points which are required for attacking, dodging and running in combat. Having a higher equipment load means being able to equip heavier weapons and armor while maintaining a light equipment load status and grants the largest dodge windows. Running out of Stamina means an inability to dodge or maintain attack combos, it causes the player to have to slow themselves and creates windows of vulnerability in which the player is recovering.

Ergo, Endurance is the most important stat in the game because it decreases character vulnerability and increases combat utility. Heavier weapons do more damage, heavier armor blocks better, being able to assault a boss then quickly evade out of any potential hit boxes is critical to survive.

Having a minimum of 40 points invested in Endurance should be a mandatory character build requirement, it's the first stat I get to 40 just so I can carry things and dodge.

Overall Character Stat Building

Stats in these games almost literally don't matter as long as a main form of damage is chosen and the character has enough health to take hits, enough stamina to perform actions and fast enough rolls to not get hit.

Scaling Arcane to 20 or above early can be a good idea because Arcane controls Item Discovery and a higher Item Discovery yields higher chances for special enemy drops.

Other than that, the only important thing to know is the stat soft capping that occurs at stat level 40 so the crucial thing is simply to raise character stats to 40 in order to soft cap their leveling benefits for utility purposes.

The Five D's Of Dodgeball

Always remember:

Dip, dodge, duck, dive and...dodge!

Light Equipment Load

Always maintain a light equipment load to capitalize on the best dodging capacity possible.

Personally, for my first play through on Fromsoft games like Dark Souls, I like to start with the Deprived class that has nothing to build from the ground up, it sucks a lot sometimes, but in the long run it's better for learning the game and how to survive. Give it a try some time.

If not, pick literally any class then un-equip armor pieces starting with the body until you've reached a light equipment load, then build Endurance from there to raise your equipment load until you can equip better light armor.

The most important part is having a weapon, most encounters will result in heavy damage irregardless of armor stats or defense since everything is about leveled defense stats. Everything important i.e. bosses, the whole game through are going to one to two shot characters so the whole goal is to build to withstand one hit then dodge roll out, heal, rinse and repeat.

It will always be better to cheese through attacks through i-frames than it will to try and take them straight on the chin, especially since there are small shields that block 100% physical damage at the cost of a potential poise break depending on the strength of the blocked hit.

In the case of a poise break, simply mash the space bar to roll and cancel the animation as soon as possible.

Lordsworn Greatsword

This is almost literally the first weapon that most people pick up and pretty decent and the developers obviously gave it to players for the exact reason.

There are probably a bunch of different substitutes, but it is a functional enough weapon to carry through the entire game. It scales well with a Quality build using strength and dexterity to scale or can be set to Raw or Keen for single attribute scaling and does good damage with the Cragblade skill which adds a buff that essentially turns the sword into a club which is good for poise breaking.

It's not the greatest PvP weapon, but as far as PvE, it's suitable to for just about any situation.

Use The Horse Luke...

Unlike the Legend of Zelda, this horse takes damage for you, getting knocked off makes you vulnerable but the horse can be used to take at least one free shot of damage that the player might otherwise have taken, making it a nice damage buffer as well as offering i-frames during the mount and dismount animations.

Other Weapons

Literally every weapon or spell in this game does decent amounts of damage, just pick a play style that works for you and raise the scaling stats to a minimum of 40 to soft cap the damage scaling then max out the weapon to +25 or +10 depending on the type and GG EZ

Quest Lines

At this point, I know almost nothing about the quest lines in the game since I have messed all of mine up and maybe even achieved some things that haven't been done yet in terms of terminating quests or altering them at the wrong points in time. I'm not really even sure at this point...

Early Dungeon Summons

Something I wish I had understood better at the start of the game was how to break up phases of play. Everything starts with an exploration phase to uncover things, the second phase should be dungeon discovery and summoning pool pole activation, i.e. explore for dungeons to active their respective Sites of Grace and Summoning Pools then shaking the near/far option on the personal summoning pole to start being summoned into other peoples dungeons. After everything has been discovered and the player character sufficiently leveled, it's time for a personal dungeon trawl then a wrap up of the area.

Summoning pools to activate right off the bat are:

Coastal Cave

Immediately upon entering Limgrave and spotting the Golden Tree Sentinel, turn to the West and go directly down the coast line, ignore the giant roaming the path down and then double back along the bottom of the cliff where there will be some Demi-Humans guarding the entrance to the dungeon. Head into the cave and activate the Site of Grace and Summoning Pool Pole, then exit and return later after being summoned a few times. Clearing this dungeon early will reward a key item given to a friendly NPC later on and will prevent the player from sending the NPC to the cave so they can be beaten up.

Stormfoot Catacombs

Located northeast of the Church of Elle, there is a waymarker statue on a hill that looks like a some kind of ghoul pointing, activating the statue will highlight the way to the catacomb, travel further north to the foot of the cliffs to open the dungeon.

Groveside Cave

North of the Church of Elle is a pond and further up the hill from the pond is a small cave dungeon.

Limgrave Tunnels

From the First Steps Site of Grace, travel west, jump down to the rocks below and the travel north hugging the cliff wall since there is a scripted dragon encounter in the center of the lake. Avoid the dragon for now and continue north to the Limgrave Tunnels to find Smithing Stones for upgrading weapons.

Dragon-Burnt Ruins

The ruins are located directly west of the First Steps Site of Grace. There is a summoning pool here for summoning players for the dragon fight, the dragon is very easily solo'd later on however.

Waypoint Ruins.

Directly west of the Dragon-Burnt Ruins are the Waypoint Ruins, a summoning pole is located near the main entrance to this area for summoning help. Try using help to clear the surrounding area before clearing the dungeon boss to elongate the usage of the summoning pool.

Murkwater Cave

From the Dragon-Burnt Ruins, travel north up the river bed and this dungeon will be located to the players left about mid-way up. This cave does not contain a boss, there is what appears to be a boss encounter, but the "boss" is the ever lovable Patches NPC. I accidentally over-killed him after missing the cave. There may not even be a summoning pole here.

Continue past Murkwater Cave to discover

Murkwater Catacombs

North of Murkwater Cave at the end of the road is the Murkwater Catacombs.

These are all of the dungeons which the player can immediately access from the very start of the game without any major encounters or having to dodge too many serious enemies.

It is highly suggested to go out and unlock all of these Summoning Pools immediately and then using the Personal Summoning Pool Pole item set to Near/Far and then just chilling out to help other people explore the dungeons in order to accrue early game runes for creating a character build. After gaining some stats so items can be equipped and damaged dealt, feel free to move on with the rest of the game.

The best Summoning Pools to unlock next would be as follows

Siofra River Well Depths

From the Waypoint Ruins follow the road north and then cut west across the forest at a suitable place to do so. Head towards the large Erdtree and near the foot is a large building, enter the building and activate the elevator to descend down into the Siofra River Well Depths. Activate the nearby summoning pool pole and head back to the surface, this area is best cleared at a later time.

Weeping Peninsula Dungeons

After leveling sufficiently, follow the road south from the Waypoint Ruins, watch out for the bridge crossing, it is an ambush and the purpose of character building is to be able to storm the bridge and clear the enemies. After clearing the bridge there will be a friendly NPC just down the road, talk to her and will ask you to deliver a letter to her father. I messed this one up, so the best thing to do might be to head directly for Castle Morne after speaking with her.

Continue south to Castle Morne, if it is night time, be wary of the Nights Cavalry opponent guarding the wall gap, they are very easily beaten later on in the game. Cross through the wall gap and go to the immediate left and cross through into the forest as fast as possible, a large Iron Golem will be shooting great arrows through the gap in the wall as soon as the player crosses so it is best to move fast. Circle wide through the forest and dash for the side of the castle walls then travel up to the main entrance and dash through. There will be a Site of Grace, an elevator and a Summoning Pool Pole at the top of the elevator to the players right.

Castle Morne

Summon help, battle through the immediate field of opponents then climb the ramparts one of two ways, the obvious way which is marginally longer but yields more runes or the "shortcut" which is up the ladder at the end of the dark alley behind the Mad Pumpkinhead enemy.

The player will then be faced with a bridge and three Misbegotten enemies, one on the ground praying and two in the air flying. Dispatch the enemies by whatever means necessary, now instead of jumping down to the Site of Grace, look north across the small wooden bridge and up the final rampart. Jump down on to the uncleared rampart and battle to the end to climb the turret, at the top of the turret is the father of the NPC we spoke to after crossing the bridge to the Weeping Peninsula and who we were given the letter to give to after speaking to her. Speak with the father and continue the quest line however. The unchecked Site of Grace can be returned to and at the end of a bunch of drops is a Misbegotten boss monster.

Impaler Catacombs

From the Castle Morne Rampart Site of Grace, go north hugging the cliff at the top double back for a mage tower called Oridys's Rise or continue north to the Impaler Catacombs. Activate the Site of Grace and Summoning Pool Pole.

Earthbore Cave

From the Castle Morne Rampart Site of Grace go north and take the left fork in the road, midway down the road will be a Site of Grace called the Ailing Village Outskirts, activate the site and turn north, Earthbore Cave will be located at the bottom of some bluffs and the path to the cave is shown by a small candle tree that shows a ghost entering the dungeon.

Morne Tunnel

From the Ailing Village Outskirts Site of Grace head south to find the entrance to the tunnel at the back of the nearby valley.

Tombsward Catacombs

Find a path through the Demi-Human Forest and follow the sound of the tolling bell, the Tombsward Catacombs are decently hidden on the eastern cliff face, look for a graveyard and follow the messages to find a door hidden in the face of the cliff. Activate the site of Grace and head directly west for the next dungeon.

Tombsward Cave

Tombsward Cave is hidden at the foot of the hill that the Fourth Church of Marika is located on. From the Church, walk down the hill directly south of the church and follow the bluff line, there will be a ledge that juts out, roll on to the ledge and the entrance of the cave should be there.

Congratulations, you have just now discovered the first 2/3rds of the starting area and should have a significantly better developed character than when you started.

Now for the top half of Limgrave

Return to Gatefront, storm the gate...don't engage anything just ride the horse up the hill to the shack.

List Of Spirit Ashes

Incomplete list of Ashes of War, I'm missing like 4 or 5 maybe...

Minor Spirit Ashes

Wandering Noble Ashes

Noble Sorcerer Ashes

Nomad Ashes

Putrid Corpse Ashes

Skeletal Militiamen Ashes

Skeletal Bandit Ashes

Albinauric Ashes

Winged Misbegotten Ashes

Demi-Human Ashes

Clayman Ashes

Oracle Envoy Ashes

Lone Wolf Ashes

Rotten Stray Ashes

Giant Rat Ashes

Warhawk Ashes

Landsquirt Ashes

Spirit Jellyfish Ashes

Miranda Sprout Ashes

Fanged Imp Ashes - Can be acquired as a starting item, it is recommended to forego this option as a starting item and purchase them later, however they can be a strong early game spirit ash

Soldjars of Fortune Ashes

Major Spirit Ashes

Archer Ashes

Greatshield Soldier Ashes

Page Ashes

Vulgar Militia Ashes

Marionette Soldier Ashes

Avionette Soldier Ashes

Kaiden Sellsword Ashes

Mad Pumpkin Head Ashes

Fire Monk Ashes

Ancestral Follower Ashes

Man-Serpent Ashes

Crystalian Ashes

Kindred of Rot Ashes

Glintstone Sorcerer Ashes

Twinsage Sorcerer Ashes

Godrick Soldier Ashes

Raya Lucaria Soldier Ashes

Leyndell Soldier Ashes

Radahn Soldier Ashes

Mausoleum Soldier Ashes

Named Spirit Ashes

Stormhawk Deenh

Banished Knight Oleg

Banished Knight Engvall

Bloodhound Knight Floh

Battlemage Hugues

Latenna the Albinauric

Perfumer Tricia

Depraved Perfumer Carmaan

Omenkiller Rollo

Blackflame Monk Amon

Ancient Dragon Knight Kristoff

Redmane Knight Ogha

Lhutel the Headless

Cleanrot Knight Finlay

Mimic Tear Ashes

Puppet Ashes

Finger Maiden Therolina Puppet

Jarwright Puppet

Dolores The Sleeping Arrow Puppet

Nightmaiden & Swordstress Puppets

Nephali Loux Puppet - Feed Nephali Loux the potion given by Seluvis as requested

Dungeater Puppet - Feed Dungeater the potion given by Seluvis after freeing the body

List Of Sorceries

Incomplete list of Sorceries in list order, I am missing a few still...

Raya Lucaria Sorceries

Glintstone Pebble

Swift Glintstone Shard

Great Glintstone Shard

Glintstone Cometshard

Comet

Shard Spiral

Glintstone Stars

Star Shower

Glintstone Arc

Crystal Barrage

Crystal Burst

Cannon of Haima

Gavel of Haima

Shatter Earth

Rock Blaster

Scholar's Armament

Scholar's Shield

Starlight

Terra Magica

Thops's Barrier

Comet Azur

Stars of Ruin

Founding Rain of Stars

Carian Royal Family Sorceries

Magic Glintblade

Glintblade Phalanx

Carian Phalanx

Greatblade Phalanx

Magic Downpour

Loretta's Greatbow

Loretta's Mastery

Rennala's Full Moon

Ranni's Dark Moon

Carian Slicer

Carian Greatsword

Carian Piercer

Adula's Moonblade

Lucidity

Carian Retaliation

Night Sorceries

Ambush Shard

Night Shard

Night Comet

Night Maiden's Mist

Unseen Blade

Unseen Form

Eternal Darkness

Magma Shot

Roiling Magma

Rykard's Rancor

Snow Witch Sorceries

Glintstone Icecrag

Freezing Mist

Frozen Armament

Zamor Ice Storm

Shattering Crystal

Crystal Torrent

Crystal Release

Gravitational, Bubble and Blood Sorceries

Gravity Well

Collapsing Stars

Rock Sling

Meteorite

Meteorite of Astel

Oracle Bubbles

Great Oracular Bubble

Briars of Sin

Briars of Punishment

Death Sorceries

Rancorcall

Ancient Death Rancor

Fia's Mist

Tibia's Summons

List Of Incantations

Incomplete list of incantations as there are more than a few that I still need to pick up.

Two Fingers Incantations

Urgent Heal

Heal

Great Heal

Lord's Heal

Cure Poison

Lord's Aid

Magic Fortification

Flame Fortification

Lightning Fortification

Divine Fortification

Lord's Divine Fortification

Rejection

Shadow Bait

Darkness

Assassin's Approach

Order of the Erdtree Incantations

Golden Vow

Barrier of Gold

Protection of the Erdtree

Wrath of Gold

Blessing's Boon

Blessing of the Erdtree

Aspects of the Crucible: Breath

Aspects of the Crucible: Tail

Aspects of the Crucible: Horns

Elden Stars

Discus of Light

Triple Rings of Light

Radagon's Rings of Light

Litany of Proper Death

Order Healing

Order's Blade

Immutable Shield

Law of Regression

Dragoncult Incantations

Lightning Spear

Lightning Strike

Honed Bolt

Ancient Dragons' Lightning Spear

Ancient Dragons' Lightning Strike

Lansseax's Glaive

Frozen Lightening Spear

Death Lightning

Electrify Armament

Dragonbolt Blessing

Fire Prophecy Incantations

Catch Flame

O, Flame!

Flame Sling

Giantsflame Take Thee

Flame, Fall Upon Them

Flame of the Fell God

Surge, O Flame!

Whirl, O Flame!

Flame, Cleanse Me

Flame, Protect Me

Flame, Grant Me Strength

Fire's Deadly Sin

Bestial Incantations

Black Flame

Scouring Black Flame

Black Flame Ritual

Black Flame Blade

Black Flame's Protection

Noble Presence

Beast Claw

Gurranq's Beast Claw

Bestial Sling

Stone of Gurranq

Bestial Constitution

Bestial Vitality

Blood Oath and Rot Incantations

Swarm of Flies

Bloodflame Talons

Bloodflame Blade

Poison Mist

Poison Armament

Pest Threads

Scarlet Aeonia

Three Fingers Incantations

The Flame of Frenzy

Frenzied Burst

Howl of Shabriri

Inescapable Frenzy

Dragon Incantations

Dragonfire

Agheel's Flame

Magma Breath

Glintstone Breath

Smarag's Glintstone Breath

Rotten Breath

Ekzykes's Decay

Dragonice

Borealis's Mist

Dragonclaw

Dragonmaw

Greyoll's Roar

List Of Ashes Of War

Incomplete list of Ashes of War since I am still missing a few...

Heavy

Stamp (Upward Cut)

Stamp (Sweep)

Wild Strikes

Lion's Claw

Cragblade

Kick

Endure

Ground Slam

War Cry

Barbaric Roar

Troll's Roar

Keen

Spinning Slash

Impaling Thrust

Repeating Thrust

Double Slash

Sword Dance

Unsheathe

Quickstep

Raptor of the Mists

Beast's Roar

Quality

Square Off

Charge Forth

Giant Hunt

Storm Blade

Storm Assault

Stormcaller

Storm Stomp

Vacuum Slice

Phantom Slash

Determination

Royal Knight's Resolve

Magic

Glintstone Pebble

Glintblade Phalanx

Carian Greatsword

Carian Grandeur

Spinning Weapon

Loretta's Slash

Gravitas

Waves of Darkness

Fire, Flame Art & Lightning

Flaming Strike

Flame of the Redmanes

Eruption

Prelate's Charge

Black Flame Tornado

Thunderbolt

Lightning Slash

Lightning Ram

Sacred

Sacred Blade

Prayerful Strike

Sacred Rings of Light

Sacred Order

Shared Order

Golden Land

Golden Slam

Golden Vow

Vow of the Indominable

Holy Ground

Poison, Blood & Ice

Poisonous Mist

Poison Moth Flight

Blood Blade

Bloody Slash

Blood Tax

Sepukku

Ice Spear

Chilling Mist

Hoarfrost Stomp

Occult

Spectral Lance

Lifesteal Fist

Assassin's Gambit

Ranged Skills

Mighty Shot

Barrage

Sky Shot

Enchanted Shot

Rain of Arrows

Shield Skills

Parry

Golden Parry

Storm Wall

Shield Bash

Barricade Shield

Retaliation

No Skill

List Of Melee Weapons

Knives

Dagger

Parrying Dagger

Misericorde

Great Knife

Erdsteel Dagger

Wakizashi

Ivory Sickle

Crystal Knife

Scorpion's Stinger

Cinquedea

Glintstone Kris

Reduvia

Blade of Calling

Black Knife

Swords

Short Sword

Longsword

Broadsword

Weathered Straight Sword

Lordsworn's Straight Sword

Noble's Slender Sword

Cane Sword

Warhawk's Talon

Lazuli Glintstone Sword

Carian Knight's Sword

Crystal Sword

Miquellan Knight's Sword

Ornamental Straight Sword

Golden Epitaph

Sword of St. Trina

Regalia of Eochaid

Coded Sword

Sword of Night and Flame

Greatswords

Bastard Sword

Claymore

Iron Greatsword

Lordsworn's Greatsword

Knight's Greatsword

Banished Knight's Greatsword

Forked Greatsword

Flamberge

Gargoyle's Greatsword

Gargoyle's Blacksword

Sword of Milos

Marais Executioner's Sword

Ordovis's Greatsword

Alabaster Lord's Sword

Helphen's Steeple

Golden Order Greatsword

Dark Moon Greatsword

Ultra Greatsword

Zweihander

Greatsword

Troll's Golden Sword

Royal Greatsword

Grafted Blade Greatsword

Ruins Greatsword

Starscourge Greatsword

Godslayer's Greatsword

Rapiers

Rapier

Estoc

Cleanrot Knight's Sword

Rogier's Rapier

Antspur Rapier

Great Rapiers

Great Epee

Godskin Stitcher

Bloody Helice

Curved Swords

Scimatar

Falchion

Shamshir

Grossmesser

Shotel

Scavenger's Curved Sword

Mantis Blade

Beastman's Curved Sword

Serpent-God's Curved Sword

Nox Flowing Sword

Wing of Astel

Eclipse Shotel

Curved Greatswords

Dismounter

Bloodhound's Fang

Onyx Lord's Greatsword

Magma Wyrm's Scalesword

Morgott's Cursed Sword

Katanas

Uchigatana

Nagakiba

Serpentbone Blade

Meteoric Ore Blade

Moonveil

Rivers of Blood

Dragonscale Blade

Twinblades

Twinblade

Twinned Knight Swords

Godskin Peeler

Gargoyle Twinblade

Gargoyle's Black Blades

Eleonora's Poleblade

Axes

Hand Axe

Forked Hatchet

Battle Axe

Warped Axe

Jawbone Axe

Iron Cleaver

Highland Axe

Sacrificial Axe

Icerind Axe

Ripple Blade

Stormhawk Axe

Rosus' Axe

Greataxes

Greataxe

Crescent Moon Axe

Longhaft Axe

Great Omenkiller Cleaver

Rusted Anchor

Sacred Butchering Knife

Gargoyle's Great Axe

Gargoyle's Black Axe

Winged Greathorn

Axe of Godrick

Hammers

Club

Mace

Morning Star

Warpick

Hammer

Monk's Flamemace

Envoy's Horn

Nox Flowing Hammer

Flails

Flail

Nightrider Flail

Family Heads

Bastard's Stars

Great Hammers

Large Club

Great Mace

Pickaxe

Brick Hammer

Celebrant's Skull

Great Stars

Greathorn Hammer

Envoy's Long Horn

Beastclaw Greathammer

Colossal Weapons

Golem's Halberd

Giant-Crusher

Prelate's Inferno Crozier

Great Club

Troll's Hammer

Dragon Greatclaw

Watchdog's Staff

Staff of the Avatar

Rotten Staff

Ghiza's Wheel

Fallingstar Beastjaw

Spears

Short Spear

Spear

Partisan

Pike

Cross-Naginata

Inquisitor's Girandole

Crystal Spear

Death Ritual Spear

Bolt of Gransax

Great Spears

Lance

Treespear

Serpent-Hunter

Siluria's Tree

Vyke's War Spear

Halberds

Halberd

Banished Knight's Halberd

Lucerne

Vulgar Militia Shotel

Vulgar Militia Saw

Guardian's Swordspear

Gargoyle's Halberd

Gargoyle's Black Halberd

Night Rider Glaive

Pest's Glaive

Ripple Crescent Halberd

Golden Halberd

Dragon Halberd

Loretta's War Sickle

Commander's Standard

Reapers

Scythe

Winged Scythe

Whips

Whip

Urumi

Hoslow's Petal Whip

Giant's Red Braid

Fists

Caestus

Spiked Caestus

Katar

Star Fist

Clinging Bone

Veteran's Prosthesis

Cipher Pata

Grafted Dragon

Claws

Hookclaws

Bloodhound Claws

Venomous Fang

Raptor Talons

List Of Ranged Weapons And Catalysts

Short Bows

Shortbow

Composite Bow

Red Branch Shortbow

Harpbow

Longbows

Longbow

Albinauric Bow

Black Bow

Pulley Bow

Horn Bow

Serpent Bow

Erdtree Bow

Greatbows

Greatbow

Golem Greatbow

Erdtree Greatbow

Crossbows

Soldier's Crossbow

Light Crossbow

Heavy Crossbow

Arbalest

Crepus's Black-Key Crossbow

Pulley Crossbow

Full Moon Crossbow

Ballista

Hand Ballista

Jar Cannon

Glintstone Staffs

Astrologer's Staff

Academy Glintstone Staff

Digger's Staff

Demi-Human Queen's Staff

Azur's Glintstone Staff

Lusat's Glintstone Staff

Carian Glintstone Staff

Carian Glintblade Staff

Carian Regal Scepter

Staff of Lose

Crystal Staff

Meteorite Staff

Prince of Death's Staff

Sacred Seals

Finger Seal

Erdtree Seal

Golden Order Seal

Gravel Stone Seal

Godslayer's Seal

Clawmark Seal

Dragon Communion Seal

Source: https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3010681430

Elden Souls For Dummies