Elden Ring looks set to be the release of the year. This open-world action-RPG offers “Souls” veterans and neophytes alike the opportunity to discover the unique gameplay of From Software games. However, advancing your character is a little different from classic RPGs. We explain all this to you in detail.
Elden Ring offers us an event release at the end of February. The latest creation from From Software studios brings us an open-world action-RPG, as appealing to Souls purists as it is to laymen. If regulars of Hidetaka Miyazaki’s creations are already used to his particular leveling system, newcomers can very quickly find themselves confused by the multitude of attribute points with sometimes unique effects and names. But don’t panic, Elden Ring does indeed stand out from the classic action-RPGs on this side, but there are similarities with many other entries in the role-playing genre. We explain in detail the nature and effects of attribute points (or statistics), their impact on the different classes as well as the level system in Elden Ring.
Levels in Elden Ring
As you will have understood, like any good self-respecting RPG, Elden Ring offers a level progression system. Nothing really bad, you might say, except that it’s a fairly particular system common to all From Software games. Indeed, in Elden Ring, you must collect Runes, by killing monsters for example. These Runes, which replace the usual Souls in old From Software games, are a form of currency and it is by spending them with Melina (an NPC encountered at the start of the game) that you can level up. Each level you pass will grant you an attribute point to place in one of your character’s four stats. The “price” of levels is increasing, but so is the amount of Runes that defeating monsters give you.
Attributes in Elden Ring
Your character has eight statistics with specific effects, or attributes. These are Vigor, Endurance, Dexterity, Strength, Spirit, Intelligence, Faith, and Esotericism. Each of these attributes has a different effect on your character, or on their ability to wield a type of spell or weapon.
Vigor
Stamina is your character’s most basic stat. It defines his hit points as well as his resistance to fire and poison. The more points you invest in Stamina, the more damage your character can absorb before dying. So it’s a solid choice for all new players and those who want to eventually “tank” bosses, giving you more leeway in your fights.
Endurance
Stamina is also a pretty basic stat. It defines the amount of endurance of your character, ie its ability to perform actions in combat (dodge, block with a shield, sprint…). It is also related to the maximum load your character can carry, which can give them the ability to carry heavier weapons and armor without reducing their movement and dodge speed too much. It also offers more robustness (resistance to bleeding).
Dexterity
Dexterity is intimately linked to the handling of certain types of weapons (bows, spears, rapiers, katanas…) and increases their damage. It is also needed to wield advanced weapons. It also affects your character’s resistance to fall damage and all knockdown effects and decreases spell casting times. It is an essential stat for all characters wishing to combine melee and attack speed, but is also useful for all mages. It is central in the Prisoner, Samurai and Warrior classes, but also in other classes.
Strength
Like Dexterity, Strength relates to the handling of heavy weapons and two-handed weapons and allows them to be wielded more effectively. It increases the damage of heavy weapons and melee damage in general, and is therefore an essential stat for any somewhat brutal warrior build, such as the Warrior or the Vagabond.
Intelligence
An essential attribute in all RPGs, Intelligence influences the power of your shardstone type sorcery and your resistance to magic. This is a stat only useful in Sorcery builds using Shardstone spells. The higher your Intelligence, the more your Intelligence-related spell and weapon damage will increase. The Astrologer possesses an excellent amount of Intelligence.
The mind
A little particular in Elden Ring, the Spirit influences your amount of “mana”, called CP in the game. It is therefore a pillar of any build oriented around spell casting, but which is also essential for cast certain summons and buffs for other classes. It is therefore important to have a fairly substantial amount of Spirit in any form of gameplay. The Spirit also influences your focus, ie your resistance to the afflictions of madness and sleep. The Prophet, Astrologer and Prisoner are three classes that must invest points in the Spirit.
The faith
Faith is also a stat closely related to magic. It allows the use of sacred incantations and invocations. It influences the amount of damage or healing of offensive and defensive spells. It is central and essential to all characters wishing to use Faith spells, and wishing to have a form of healing. The Prophet and Confessor benefit from excellent amounts of Faith.
Esotericism
Esotericism is the equivalent of Luck in all so-called “classic” RPGs. A relatively neglected stat in mainline builds, it increases your chance to drop extra items from enemies and increases your resistance to Maledeath (a debuff that kills you outright). This is a stat that the Bandit benefits greatly from.