OK, I’m going to post some tips here instead of spamming texts, hope they help! Post any q’s in the comments. I’ll try to post frequently!

4/9: I’ve been struggling to come up with topics! Not because there aren’t any tips to give, but because they tend to be build or location specific. Going for a magic build? Having trouble fighting Godrick or getting through the first major castle? Post your thoughts in the comments and I’ll give you personalized tips!

4/3: Damage Types: If you dig around your stat page you will see your defense rating broken down into eight different categories. Enemies also have defense stats broken down similarly. All armor and enemies have significant differences in damage mitigation. I’m going to break down some of the differences here but a basic thing to remember is that if you are doing significantly less damage then expected you are probably inflicting an ineffective damage type (or you have wandered into an area you are way under leveled for). Note that an attack can normally cause both a physical and an elemental damage type but not normally two of the same.

Physical Damage includes the following:
* Standard: all axes and some swords cause this generic type of damage. There aren’t many enemies specifically weak to this type of damage but it works well against most unarmored or lightly armored enemies.
* Pierce: these attacks poke or jab towards an enemy, often the primary attack of spears and lances. Some swords will have pierce attacks also. It’s worth noting that a single weapon may have different types of physical attacks depending on what motion happens when you attack. Light armor, medium armor, and scales (like dragons) are often weakest to pierce attacks.
* Slash: this is your standard sword attack. VERY effective against light armor. Kinda bounces off heavy armor and hard bodied creatures.
*Strike: hammers and clubs are your main strike weapons and they are most effective against heavy armor and hard bodied creature. My main weapon is a katana but I carry a mace for those stubborn enemies.
Elemental Damages: Very straightforward and include fire (unarmored and undead are susceptible); Holy (zombies and skeletons); lightning (metallic armors and dragons); Magic (generic but good if something is resistant to all physical attacks).

No exciting pictures today but remember to carry a back up option for tricky fights!

4/2: Explore Aggressively!: You have been slowly exploring the starting areas, maybe headed to the castle in the far south, things are going well. You level up a few times, have almost no Runes, and are about to continue what you were doing. Stop; I want to send you on a diversion!

There is a lot of fun to be had by just getting on your horse and riding into places you absolutely shouldn’t be at early in the game. And not just “fun” – profit too. Obviously you’ll be looking for Sites of Grace and map pieces. Another basic thing you’ll find everywhere are Golden Runes.

You can use these items anytime to gain Runes. They come with a level (1-13) and give you more Runes the higher the level they are. Don’t be afraid to use these! They are less meaningful the higher level your character is (because each level and better items takes more Runes to purchase). Level 1 Runes can also be found all over from glowing skulls, just jam on the pick up item button as you crush the skull with your horse to grab it (if you are on foot roll over them instead of trying to smash them).

Next up, tiny glowing trees and churches. You know what churches look like, the trees literally glow. An important church can be found by crossing the bridge east of the starting point, taking the left (Northbound) fork, and following that road until you get to a church. Do it!

I won’t spoil what items these places hide, but they are very useful in powering up your character’s survivability. You’ll certainly find other amazing things, just look for items on the ground and grab them!

4/1: Vendor Basics: Buying and selling uses up precious Runes, but that shouldn’t hold you back. One tip to prevent you from accidentally killing vendors (and other NPC’s): non-enemies aren’t auto-targeted when you press in the right stick. In this posts I’ll make some recommendations about what to buy and point out an important purchase in the early areas.

If you didn’t find Kale (pictured above) warp back to the very beginning of the open world and look for a decrepit building. Talk to him and exhaust his dialogue options (ALWAYS EXHAUST DIALOGUE OPTIONS WITH EVERY NPC). He will recommend you get the Crafting Kit and he’s not lying, DO IT. In addition I recommend you always purchase any cookbooks (crafting recipes), cracked pots (reusable crafting ingredient), and notes. If I don’t have the Runes to get those things from a vendor (or they have something else I want to buy) I’ll always mark them on my map; if I have a few extra Runes to burn in the future I’ll pop back and grab what I want. Don’t forget to read the notes after you buy them, they point you towards alternate things to do besides the main quest.

Kale also sells a torch, needed to see in dark areas and to light things on fire. Post in the comments if you want me to share the location of a better torch that lets you breath fire (which can be found without fighting any bosses at all).

Should you kill merchants? I’m not your mom. All I’ll say is that if you do choose to sacrifice your very soul and murder all the friendly merchants in the game it does technically make shopping easier for you. I personally enjoy marking merchants and returning for a quick chat when I have some extra Runes.

Torches work, but they take up a hand, not great. I recommend you scour the continent South of the starting area as you begin playing through Elden Ring. Look for a merchant in the southwest of that landmass and they might just be willing to part with this must have item.

And finally, as you progress a bit further many merchants will sell Stonesword Keys, this is a limited item in the game which unlocks blocked passages throughout the world. Make sure to note where they are and grab them all when you can spare the Runes.

3/31: The Map! To unlock the sections of the map you just need to pick up an item found throughout the world. You can find this easily on your map by looking for the only symbol that will show up in unmapped areas:

Why does the map matter?!? Because it points you to the places you want to explore on your journey. It isn’t a truly “good” map, instead it’s more of a treasure map. For example, there are little graveyards all over the game, but most don’t even show up on the map. Should you poke carefully around a graveyard that DOES show up on the map?!? Absolutely!!!

One last tip (don’t want to spoil things!) – if you want to do some weapon upgrades look for mines marked like this (dark area with a colored ring around them):