Classes | Elden Ring Wiki

Wretch is S++ class.

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i messed up so bad by picking prisoner and then choosing to do a faith build after i unlocked respeccing. the end-game was brutal af because i was utilizing my levels so poorly but it felt too weird to respec back into int after using incantations for so long so i ended up just suffering through it lol. i have no idea why i even chose that class to begin with, i was never planning on doing an int build i must've been high or something.

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my favourite class is wretch because you can take the teleporter behind the physick church get radagons soreseal, grab the uchi and gold pickle to get 100k souls to put into whatever you want

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Wretch because I constantly change my builds to bring myself refreshness, easier for me to reallocate the points. Also that's why wretch's been my first choice for soul series except for DS1 where almost everyone would start with thief.

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Wretch because I constantly change my builds to bring myself refreshness, easier for me to reallocate the points. Also that's why wretch's been my first choice for soul series except for DS1 where almost everyone would start with thief.

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95% of builds can be effectively min/maxed at RL125 by choosing either Prophet or Astrologer. Given this only matters if you care about wasting as few points as possible, at not much higher levels than meta your starting class becomes basically irrelevant so in that case pick what's fun for you.

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I overthink and second guess everything, but I have never regretted picking deprived/waste/wretch. With any other class I'll agonize over base stats and builds for literal days, but there's something about wretch that just feels right. It puts some part of my neurotic chimp brain at peace, and I can move on. Thank you wretch.

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Every starting class meets the weapon requirements for the torch

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S-Tier - Hero, Vagabond, Samurai.
A-Tier - Astrologer, Bandit.
B-Tier - Prisioner, Prophet.
C-Tier - Confessor, Warrior, Wretch.

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Damn, that class art is really nice.

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Assuming you want a weapon/scaling that needs or has a requirement for strength and dex for a faith fighter build, Vagabond is actually better then the confessor or prophet (min-max of course) since the total of his arcane and int (the two you don't use) are lower meaning less wasted points.

Neat

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i think most people think way too hard of which class is the best, this barely matters in the long run

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Wretch level 1 being a green stat is technically correct, as it requires its own kind of strength.

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For my comment below I forgot that The Man in the Iron Mask has many renditions, but the 1998 version with Leonardo Dicaprio is the most talked about.

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The prisoner class seems inspired by the movie "The Man in the Iron Mask" due to the mask, cloth, prisoner concept, and thrusting sword. In the movie, The Man in the Iron Mask is royalty. The prisoner class is also very similar to the royalty class in Demon's Souls, the armor of said class (wizard set) is in the prison area, so inspiration for this could have been back when Demons Souls (2009) came out (11 yrs after the movie, which was 1998).

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Wretched. Always

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Start with Vagabond and you will get one of the best looking set in the game

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All the classes have the same net sum of stats, and I heard most weapons don't get as much benefit from quality build. Therefore, pick the class with the lowest some of points you don't need; wether its in stats you wont use, or in stats you don't need to level up beyond Stat requirements for items.

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Samurai is very quickly OPed. In 5 min, you run to deathtouched catacombs and get a 2nd uchigatana which will take you all the way to the final boss.

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The best advice I could give to any newcomer is to pick a class with high vigor and endurance, for you are going to use that when you reborn to whatever you want

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sick

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Just gonna say, prisoner is a more diverse starting class, able to go to an Int. or Dex. build, since it has around 14 in both of those stats

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Just use a class calculator with the stats you need for your build if you need to optimize your character perfectly, anyone reading these sprawling paragraphs of advice are gonna say "I'm still not sure" anyway. Get the exact math and get back into the game, I promise it's less tedious than agonizing over your starting class.

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Stop telling others how to min-max their classes oh my gosh, what benefit do you get from others being min-max ?? Also half of you don’t even give good advice anyway..

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For lv125 that doesn't use soreseal
For pure str, str/dex, pure dex or dex/faith: because good weapons in this category usually need 16+str, therefore hero(if str of weapon more than16, 9 mind is enough for pvp,or14mind pve,while the same time you only need 12dex) or vagabond(other situations, you may also choose samurai, just 1more mind which may be useful for some ash of war)
For arc(including arc/faith):hero(unless you need16faith14mind, if so you can also choose prophet),bandit wastes point in int.Also cross naginata needs 16str so hero's 16is not wasted
For pure int:depends on weapon you use,prisoner(str more than11, while the same time dex more than14) or astrologer(others)
For pure faith: depends on if you need14 mind, and the str/dex of weapon you use:hero,vagabond or prophet(if you only use very low str/dex weapons like coded sword as melee in pvp, need at least 14mind, want to use blasphemous blade in pve with soreseal or godricks rune ).
For int/faith:depends on if you need high mind: astrologer or wretch(better than astrologer if you only need very low mind)
For jack of all trade: really?you don't have a plan for your build?Then clearly a little waste in points wouldn't hurt you.Choose Wretch or whatever class you like.
If you use soreseal or if you forcus on low(er) level pvp, or you focus on pve co-op rather than invasion/duel, the best choice might be different. For example:wretch waste more points than others in almost every builds:but all 10 means you can meet many weapons'/spells' requirements with the help of two soreseals, and other equipments that boost your attributes. So it's a very good class(may be best) for invaders of very low level.
For lv150 or more, don't bother a liitle waste in points.

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Why the bandit has the higher Arcane?

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Best starting class: Wretch
You godda lern to club a seal before you can kill god
The stats are 10/10
Nr 1
Chadclass

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So, unlike Dark Soul 2, almost all the classes start with a shield?

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Wish rebirth allowed you to respec stats lower than what you class starts with. Full 9 points in intelligence wasted on my build

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For pure builds:
Str: Hero
Dex: Samurai
Int: Astrologer
Fth: Prophet
Arc: Bandit

For hybrid builds:
Str/Dex: Vagabond or Samurai
Str/Int: Astrologer
Str/Fth: Prophet for 11 dex or less, Vagabond for 12 or more
Str/Arc: Hero

Dex/Int: Astrologer for 10 str or less, Prisoner for 11 str or more
Dex/Fth: Prophet
Dex/Arc: Bandit for 10 str or less, Samurai for 11 or more.

Int/Fth: Astrologer or Confessor for 12/12 str/dex, Vagabond for anything higher.
Int/Arc: Don't try Int/Arc you have minimal options and they all suck.

Fth/Arc: Prophet

Try not to focus three or more stats unless you're very high level or you'll spread yourself too thin and be weak. Get the minimum stats to wield your weapons than then focus one or two.

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Am i the only one who wanted vagabond to come with a great sword like a claymore

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most stat efficient choice if you're going for an int/fth pure caster build is astrologer due to low physical damage stats and higher int/fth, while keeping arcane on the lower side as opposed to the other casting based classes

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Would've been interesting if each class started in a different region of the map. Would help in keeping things fresh on new playthroughs, at least.

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Wretch best class

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if u choose the wrong class just use whatever weapon works with ur current stats the best and build around that until ur able to rebirth and change everything to what u want. it takes more time, more runes, and makes ur build even worse when u try to level up the stats u want with the current build u have

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going samurai for dex/faith

low int and arc with good dex
and just a healthy amount of endurence

not to mention the swag rags and katana power-stance 10 minutes into the game

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Mfs drew the vagabond so cool and mysterious but in game he looks so not that

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Fun fact: Assuming you intend to get some Str on a class (for shield and/or a decent melee armament) and intend not to go full glass cannon, the Hero is by far the most versatile class when respeccing. This is because the hero has "downstats" (under 10) which benefit every single class with surplus points, and no "upstats" (over 10) which do not benefit most classes.

If you intend to try different builds, therefore, but intend to stick to a single character, I strongly recommend the Hero, as opposed to the commonly recommended Wretch. This has the added advantage of decent early game gear (though to be fair, the Club has made its return as a powerful Str weapon, and going naked forces you to learn the game better).

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what would be the best class for early game int/faith?

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I did some computation on the classes to see what combinations were the least compatible with each other. This is that data, it contains the level penalties required to change from one class to another

--------------------key---------------------
the starting class
max level possible for that class
the worst respecs in format: [extra levels needed, class to respec to]
##############################################################
hero
max level: 713
worst respecs: [[19, 'astrologer']]
------------------------------------------------
bandit
max level: 713
worst respecs: [[11, 'hero'], [11, 'prophet']]
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astrologer
max level: 713
worst respecs: [[18, 'hero']]
------------------------------------------------
warrior
max level: 713
worst respecs: [[13, 'hero'], [13, 'prophet']]
------------------------------------------------
prisoner
max level: 713
worst respecs: [[15, 'hero'], [15, 'prophet']]
------------------------------------------------
confessor
max level: 713
worst respecs: [[15, 'hero']]
------------------------------------------------
wretch
max level: 713
worst respecs: [[8, 'astrologer']]
------------------------------------------------
vagabond
max level: 713
worst respecs: [[17, 'astrologer']]
------------------------------------------------
prophet
max level: 713
worst respecs: [[14, 'hero'], [14, 'astrologer'], [14, 'vagabond']]
------------------------------------------------
samurai
max level: 713
worst respecs: [[15, 'astrologer'], [15, 'prophet']]
------------------------------------------------
##############################################################
all class penalties
--------------------key---------------------
the starting class
class respec penalties in format: [extra levels needed, class to respec to]
##############################################################
hero
[[0, 'hero'], [13, 'bandit'], [19, 'astrologer'], [12, 'warrior'], [13, 'prisoner'], [12, 'confessor'], [13, 'wretch'], [7, 'vagabond'], [14, 'prophet'], [9, 'samurai']]
________________________________________________
bandit
[[11, 'hero'], [0, 'bandit'], [10, 'astrologer'], [5, 'warrior'], [7, 'prisoner'], [6, 'confessor'], [8, 'wretch'], [8, 'vagabond'], [11, 'prophet'], [6, 'samurai']]
________________________________________________
astrologer
[[18, 'hero'], [11, 'bandit'], [0, 'astrologer'], [9, 'warrior'], [6, 'prisoner'], [9, 'confessor'], [13, 'wretch'], [14, 'vagabond'], [13, 'prophet'], [12, 'samurai']]
________________________________________________
warrior
[[13, 'hero'], [8, 'bandit'], [11, 'astrologer'], [0, 'warrior'], [4, 'prisoner'], [7, 'confessor'], [10, 'wretch'], [8, 'vagabond'], [13, 'prophet'], [4, 'samurai']]
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prisoner
[[15, 'hero'], [11, 'bandit'], [9, 'astrologer'], [5, 'warrior'], [0, 'prisoner'], [9, 'confessor'], [13, 'wretch'], [10, 'vagabond'], [15, 'prophet'], [7, 'samurai']]
________________________________________________
confessor
[[15, 'hero'], [11, 'bandit'], [13, 'astrologer'], [9, 'warrior'], [10, 'prisoner'], [0, 'confessor'], [11, 'wretch'], [10, 'vagabond'], [7, 'prophet'], [9, 'samurai']]
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wretch
[[7, 'hero'], [4, 'bandit'], [8, 'astrologer'], [3, 'warrior'], [5, 'prisoner'], [2, 'confessor'], [0, 'wretch'], [5, 'vagabond'], [5, 'prophet'], [5, 'samurai']]
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vagabond
[[9, 'hero'], [12, 'bandit'], [17, 'astrologer'], [9, 'warrior'], [10, 'prisoner'], [9, 'confessor'], [13, 'wretch'], [0, 'vagabond'], [16, 'prophet'], [6, 'samurai']]
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prophet
[[14, 'hero'], [13, 'bandit'], [14, 'astrologer'], [12, 'warrior'], [13, 'prisoner'], [4, 'confessor'], [11, 'wretch'], [14, 'vagabond'], [0, 'prophet'], [13, 'samurai']]
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samurai
[[11, 'hero'], [10, 'bandit'], [15, 'astrologer'], [5, 'warrior'], [7, 'prisoner'], [8, 'confessor'], [13, 'wretch'], [6, 'vagabond'], [15, 'prophet'], [0, 'samurai']]

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Wretch is only viable option.

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I feel a bit confused about what class means in this game. I understand they have different stat initialization points, but is some point important as we can get community when leveling up? I choose Samurai to defeat Tree Sentinel as soon as I started playing this game, and really wanted to use that weapon, but according to people, Samurai is not suitable for it? Should I choose a different class and try to beat T.S again?

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best classes for min maxing from my research assuming you lvl up vigor, mind, and endurance (im 5 playthroughs in and i finished wretch, prophet, bandit, confessor, and hero)

hero - pure strength (you can also do str/arcane or str/faith optimally but it will match with prophet if you do anything more than 9 dex)

bandit - pure arcane (if you level up to 11 strength and no int/faith it will be optimal, if its 12 it will match with samurai, and if its 14 it will match with hero aswell, if you put any faith and i recommend prophet will match at 10 strength and will be better at 11 assuming you leveled up dex a little bit)

astrologer - int (if you lvl up dex to 14 and str to 11 prisoner will be better, if not this the perfect class for raw sorcery spam)

warrior - dex or dex/int? (this class is the second to worst min maxing wise only first being wretch, i can hardly make a build with it and i'd say if you're doing dex do samurai, if you want int hybrids do prisoner/astrologer, it will only match samurai if you have 10 str and it will be "better" if you intentionally skew your endurance)

prisoner - int/quality (when i mean quality i mean if you lvl up str or dex whatsoever above 11 and 14 respectively it has the lowest stat and that is faith with 6 out of any class any other stat wise)

confessor - int/faith (sounds weird but this will never be better than prophet faith wise, if you want some holy spells aka putting some int in with little or some arcane or you want to do int/faith at 50/50 12 str and 12 dex gives perfect amount for s&f which is one of the only weapons that natural scale besides the casters, clayman harpoon, and erdsteel dagger)

wretch - all around or rl1 (my first playthrough i did wretch for fun and over leveled to 200 something and have everything state wise, fun class but not optimal in any means)

vagabond - quality (it's the best stat wise for quality and matches with samurai if you do 11 mind, and if you do anything past 14 str and dex it matches with samurai too stat wise, really good all around class)

prophet - pure faith (if you do no arcane vagabond is better but if you pump into str and dex it will match with quality and if you do no dex and str/faith hero is better, personally my favorite class)

samurai - pure dex (if you lvl 14 str or more vagabond matches but if not samurai better, if you do dex arcane bandit will match but samurai will still be optimal)

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This entire article forgets to mention the Memory of Grace starting item

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First time i play souls type of game, since i come mostly from PC experience, I am enjoying most aspects of the game open world and rpg alikeness to other rpg's I used to play. I tend to feel like i`m playing some sort of Diablo 2 3D in a Disciples world, mixed with a path of exile tint, also seeing some resemblance to guild wars 2 weapon/skills system. I found it extremely difficult at start when trying to fight bosses, starting with not such a good choice (bandit). I moved to a prisoner mostly based on int sorcery which was way easyer to advance with. I played about 50h so far and still find it difficult to play a more melee class. So what would we some good steps to improve on defeating bosses/minibosses with a melee class? I tested a bit and enjoyed the dual wielding warrior, watched some videos but it still seems to me to be hard to take down bosses, unless you are really have alot more levels higher over it.

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Which character can use both magic attacks and knights class attacks at the same time

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Idk why fromsoft omitted putting a plank shield or equivalent to the deprived (wretched) in their games after ds1. Especially here in ER, the tutorial tells you to guard before it tells you how to two hand; its probably just me wanting a proper flow in the tutorial part.

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How do I know which class suits my playstyle best?

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Update:
Hero - Strength fighter, Samurai - Dex fighter
Warrior - DexFaith, Confessor - StrFaith
Vagabond - everything high (quality) except low Arcane
Astro - DexIntFai, Prophet - StrIntFai
Prisoner - Int-Arcanist, Bandit - Faith-Arcanist

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what is the best class to use spear?

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Use mugenmonkey to find out what the best class to pick for what your trying to do is. The worst feeling is trying to respec but you picked some dumb class like bandit at the beginning and have a set 15 in a stat you dont want

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The wiki is useful for gathering empirical game data for convenience: everything else is subjective. For example, the Astrologer starting class is great for my battle-astrologer run beyond the stats: I get weapons and spells that I'd otherwise need to purchase with additional runes had I chosen Vagabond. I could still go with Vagabond should I desire it, but I enjoy using the spells ASAP. If I want more Vigor to endure more hits, Endurance for more armor options, Dexterity to utilize a longbow for increased range with physical attacks or Faith to utilize additional ailment-curing incantations, then I spend those points ASAP while leveling is cheap since my Intelligence is perfectly fine in the beginning: the availability of additional sorceries, upgrade materials and staffs can satisfy the damage requirements until I'm ready to invest in more Intelligence later on. Again, use the information collected here to then calculate your personalized conclusions.

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I wonder why they renamed the Knight class from Souls games to Vagabond. Makes it sound so much more negative

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Vagabond actually winds up being the best class for faith builds, assuming you will be leveling endurance above 10 eventually, it has the most "free" points from 7 arc and 9 int, stats you could realistically never level above 10 in a faith character. Prisoner is the best for int builds because all of astrologer's "free" points are lost as soon as you level vigor, end, and str above 10. Possible to avoid but you'd be limiting your character quite a bit.

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Doesn't matter, you will be required to waste points in intelligence, faith, and mind no matter what class you choose. Magic is OP as usual. Armor is **** and mobs will do stupid crap like cartwheels and will be able to change direction in the middle of one if you try to dodge and hit you anyway. You will also be invaded every 3 minutes by the griefer friendly, forced invasion, garbage pvp system making coop play cumbersome, annoying, and extremely slow.

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Why on earth are there so many "the best"-lists on every page on this wiki? Who curates them? Why?

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Vagabond and Samurai have the two lowest combined INT/FAI/ARC out of all the starting classes, making them good for going all in on pure strength, dexterity or quality (str/dex for newbies) builds. Samurai has slightly higher drop rates.

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I like the samurai, his stats are balanced and his starting weapon can be viable all the way to end game, and you can have two +6 uchis early.

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Who is picking these best classes and best weapons on this site? Most are terrible, yes wretch is a decent starting point with everything at 10, but if you know the build you want most classes offer you a stat below 10 so you can specialize better, wretch is a jack of all trades even at re-spec and a huge beginning handicap, definitely not the top class imo.

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Tip for picking classes: Pick whatever class suits your playstyle :)

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try finger but hole

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can we get the starting equipment load?

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Every class starts with 80 points at level 1, adding all their stats together and subtracting level-1. Some have a more balanced base spread than others but ultimately they'll all have the same number of stats at their respective levels.

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Hero was Bandit
Bandit was Thief

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neat little thing i thought of:
wretch, no levels
radagon's soreseal
starscourge talisman
arrow damage talisman
two-hand hand ballista

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Vagabonds will rule with rule with the iron fist

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I think that vagabond makes a pretty good mid shield Hillary damage kind of type. I know that his vigor is high but it is the same lvl as his strength. The gladiators war hammer is what I am running right now with its starting armor set and i was able to beat the first main boss with a lot of ease. Good build for new players who don't have reactions down or for veterans who want to make their experience simple and with no magic

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Hero (Barbarian) - Str builds
Vagabond (Knight) - Shield turtle builds
Astrologer (Sorcerer) - Int mage builds
Prophet (Cleric) - Faith caster builds
Warrior (Wanderer) - Dex builds
Samurai (Warrior) - Quality builds
Prisoner (Assassin) Int hybrid builds
Confessor (Pyromancer?) Faith hybrid builds
Bandit (Thief) Arcane builds

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why does every starting class have faith? i am an atheist, and i need a class with 0 faith. Do it from software.

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TOTALLY NEW TO THE GAME but is there a class that is great at fighting like the samurai and also good at spells like the astrologer?

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wherei s sponegbob

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The total stats for all at lvl 10 is 89 so what you want to do is select a class with higher stats on what you like or lower stats on what you don't like then you won't end up having wasted stat points

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dare someone to get to level 700

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can u get a roman outfit

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I see the BB goons in From still haven't been weeded out. Imagine a warrior class having 10 strength, vitality being renamed incorrectly as vigor AGAIN, creating a bullshit fundamental stat called arcane AGAIN, and lastly wtf is that title screen music.

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The only conflict I have with Soulsbourne games. Trying to decide which class looks the coolest to start with. End up playing Wrench.

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For my fellow Paladins:
Confessor seems like the best at first, but in the long run Prophet has less wasted stats. But personally I'm starting with HERO! It also has 7 Int and can be as efficient as Prophet for the ideal Paladin build. The difference is that you start as a melee fighter and gradually put points into faith as you find useful incantations.

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cannot wait to play this for the next four days off during my weekend

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cannot wait to play this for the next four days off during my weekend

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For my fellow Paladins:
Confessor seems like the best at first, but in the long run Prophet has less wasted stats. But personally I'm starting with HERO! It also has 7 Int and can be as efficient as Prophet for the ideal Paladin build. The difference is that you start as a melee fighter and gradually put points into faith as you find useful incantations. UMBASA

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Vagabond supremacy

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Wretch gang

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Might try out bandit dual wield dagger posion dex based. Already did twin swords mercenary DS3

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Boring old me went with boring Vagabond. Boooorrring …

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I am not sure why anyone would go for Confessor for Faith build, 2 wasted stats on intelligence compared to Prophet.
Same for Int builds, Prisoner is objectively better long term as it starts with lower faith stat.

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Do not fret brothers, it is clear to me now. The wretch is the strongest. For to start with 10 in everything and being level 1 means in the early game your first souls grant you the most level ups. A perfect blank slate

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Whoever did the class tier list might want to reconsider

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Where my Min-Max'ers at??

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liking the setup

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WRETCH I LIKE NAKED WOMAN

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samurai all the way!

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Hi

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Hope they add easy mode !!

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Hi all. 2 days left! Which class choose for a full dex build with longbow and halleberd/spear ?
Dont want to lost points in mind int and faith so i was thinking of hero but maybe 16 str is a bit too much. A good normal shiel need 14 only. Bit samurai/vagabond lost more point in inuaqble stats for dex buil. An opinion? Thx and GG.

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Lol someone trolled

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Aiming for a Str/Faith build, so Confessor it is

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Hi everybody, which class would you choose for a full dex build ?
I like Hero because less point lost in int. and faith but i wan to play spear/halberd and im wondering if 16 strenght is no to much.
Maybe 14 is ok for a normal shield with 100% physical protection.
My opinion samurai or bandit lost too much point in int/faith/spirit.
Chat do you think ?

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It is cool astrologer can summon Alex's mom.
I wonder who Alex is and why you can their mom

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Why is wretch called chud?

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Someone changed Wretch's name...

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