After 100 Hours Of Playing Elden Ring, Here Are Some Tips I'd Like To Share

I've logged over 100 hours in Elden Ring now. My primary character is at level 72 and my secondary character is around level 25 and while I can't claim to be an expert at the game, I will say that I've got some tips to make the game a little easier to manage and help you level up fairly quick. 

Tip #1: Pick your character and focus your attribute points to the primary attack style

Elden Ring offers a lot of character customization from the avatar down to the distribution of attribute points which can seem daunting if you don't fully understand your character and where to distribute your attribute points.

When choosing your character, consider each characters attack style. For instance, the confessor seems to be the build that people find the easiest to play with so I'll use that as an example. The confessor class has a good balance between faith based magic and melee attacks. (Please note that I said faith based magic which is different from spell casting magic which is intelligence based. I'll explain that in a minute.)  

That being the case, you want to focus your attributes to your characters highest base stats. In the case of the confessor the attributes would be strength, dexterity, faith, and mind, but keep in mind to not let your vigor (health bar) or endurance fall too far behind. This is especially important to pay attention to early on because as you level up it takes more runes to purchase attribute points. 

For instance, I'm level 72 on my primary character which is a confessor build and it takes around 30,000 runes to be able to purchase a single attribute point and that's why it's important to make sure to build your class's base stats out as early as possible. Once you get a feel for the game there is a point after you beat Rennala, she's a really hard boss, where you can do what the game calls a "rebirth" and you can redistribute your attribute points from the base stats to your current level after beating Rennala. 

Quick Note on Magic:

I mentioned that there is a difference between faith based magic and the spell casting magic and I'll explain that right here. Faith based magic uses incantations and a small item called a finger seal while the spell caster magic is intelligence based and requires a staff to use the sorcery spells. 

 

Tip #2: Combat is all about efficiency in this game

There are a ton of challenging enemies and bosses in the game and if there's one thing I've learned is that combat efficiency is key in this game. Being efficient in battle is important because there are enemies that can, and will, kill you with just a few hits, so it's important to really learn the mechanics of your character and how to maneuver in battle. 

There are a ton of weapons in Elden Ring and each class of weapon basically all have the same attack pattern based on the weight and shape of the weapon. For instance, there are regular swords and great swords. The great swords are heavier than the regular swords which means you will swing it slower and it will consume more of your stamina with each swing. These things will be a factor in battle because some enemies will have smaller weapons they can swing faster and if they land a blow it can disrupt your swing. 

The next factor to pay attention to is your weight/load and how it effects the way your character dodges and rolls. The more weight your character has equipped the more it will effect your movement and make your dodge and roll slower. 

Here's a story for you: When I first tried fighting Rennala I was wearing a heavy armor set while carrying a shield and Bloodhounds fang (a heavy curved sword). The first phase of the fight wasn't much of a challenge, but once the second phase started I realized that I need to wear a lighter armor in order to be able to effectively dodge her powerful magic attacks. 

The key here is to tryout different weapons, spells, incantations, spells, and defensive techniques because they can, and more often than not, will be the difference between beat a foe or getting crushed. 

Tip #3: Take your time and explore, but take your time exploring

Elden Ring has a vast open world full of tough enemies, traps, and some pretty cool loot, so exploring the open world is something I encourage everyone to do instead of just trying to rush and finish the game. This will also help with leveling up because there are a ton of locations that have mini-bosses that can net you a few thousand runes on top of all the enemies you defeat on the way to that mini-boss. That being said, take your time exploring; between all the traps and enemies hiding around corners, it's best to scope out the area as much as you can and take your time going around blind corners because there's nothing worse than carrying a few thousand runes and then blindly wondering into the den of a powerful enemy and dying thus losing all those runes. 

If you do die, you can try to pick up the runes but sometimes it's not always feasible especially if you've come across a boss that you can't beat at your current level. I can't even begin to tell you how many times I've died rushing into areas not paying attention and died then died again trying to retrieve the runes thus losing them forever. I could be another 2 to 3 levels higher had I taken my time and not lost so many runes. 

While death isn't something you can completely avoid, you can take your time and avoid losing too many by scoping out the area and if it's too tough bailing. Nothing wrong with heading to a new location or breezing past some enemies on torrent to safely arrive in a new location. 

Tip #4: Don't waste your runes buying stuff from merchants

Runes aren't scarce in Elden Ring but you'll get to a point where it costs an enormous amount of runes to level up and if you're spending them buying the different armor or other various items the merchants sell it can take even longer to level up. My advice is to focus on strengthening your favorite weapons, spells, incantations and buying the notes and crafting books. Those will help you far more over the course of the game than buying any of the other items. 

There are exceptions for the torches, lanterns, and sword stone keys. Those are items that are fairly important and you will need them at various points throughout the game, but overall try to focus using your runes early on to level up your character, increase your spell/incantation repertoire, and strengthening your weapons. 

Tip #5:  Don't knowingly go into a boss fight with runes you don't want to lose

Obviously no one wants to lose runes, but if you knowingly go into a boss fight with a lot of runes and you're not able to beat said boss, you can lose a lot of runes. I once had around 10,000 runes and went into a mini-boss fight in one of the caves and the boss wiped the floor with me. When I finally made my way back to traverse the mist, the boss beat me again and I lost all those runes. Sometimes it's unavoidable, but if you have a chance to level up before going into a cave, or just before you get to the boss fight, do it. Sometimes it's better to back out and go to an area you like farming just to get a few more runes to level up before taking on that boss and potentially losing a ton of runes. 

There are obviously a ton of guides out there that go more in-depth, but these are some pretty solid tips that I think will help make the game a little easier and manageable for those just starting out.