Hero is a starting Class in Elden Ring. The Hero has high Strength and Vigor with some arcane. It starts the game level 7, with a battle axe and leather shield. The Classes of Elden Ring only determine the starting Stats and Equipment of the player, but as the game progresses, players can freely change their build to their preferred playstyle. The Hero is a Strength-based class that begins the game with an axe.
A stalwart Hero, at home with a battleaxe, descended from a badlands chieftain
Hero Starting Equipment for Elden Ring
This class starts with the following equipment:
Armor:
Starting items for Hero in Elden Ring
This class starts with the following items:
- Memory of Grace
- Player Choice of Keepsake
Hero Builds in Elden Ring
Elden Ring Hero Notes & Tips
- This class replaces the "Champion" of the Closed Network Test.
- This class' stats are optimized for:
- Pure Strength builds that do not increase their Dexterity higher than 12, after which Vagabond becomes more optimal.
- Pure Strength weapons include Brick Hammer, Duelist Greataxe, Gargoyle's Great Axe, Giant-Crusher and Nightrider Glaive.
- Strength/Intelligence build that do not require Dexterity scaling, with more than 60 Strength and less than 20 Intelligence.
- Strength/Intelligence weapons that primarily scale with Strength include Ruins Greatsword, Rosus' Axe and Starscourge Greatsword.
- Pure Arcane builds that do not invest any points in other damage stats. If more Dexterity is required, Bandit may be more optimal.
- Infusable weapons with innate status effects that only require 9 or less Dexterity requirement include Spiked Club, Morning Star, Star Fist and Venomous Fang. All of which can be infused with Occult, which affects status effect buildup based on Arcane stat. The Spiked Club in particular has A scaling for Arcane under Occult infusion.
- Strength/Arcane builds that utilize heavy weapons to deal high damage or to inflict status effect via Occult infusion or innate Arcane scaling. At 34 Strength and 60 Arcane, some weapons' attack rating can rival that of Pure Strength builds when applied with Occult infusion; Whereas at 34 Strength, 19 Dexterity and 55 Arcane, it offers the versatiliy of being able to utilize some of the Dex Arcane weapons, such as Bloody Helice and Rivers of Blood while carrying a greatshield simultaneously.
- Strength Arcane weapons with innate status effects include Mohgwyn's Sacred Spear, Great Omenkiller Cleaver, Great Stars, Flamberge, Spiked Club, Grave Scythe, Rotten Battle Hammer and Rotten Greataxe.
- Strength Arcane weapons with high attack rating include Marais Executioner's Sword, Warped Axe, Greatsword and Brick Hammer.
- Strength/Dexterity quality builds that do not intend to increase mind. If you do require more mind, Vagabond becomes more optimal.
- While the Hero class is intended to be used for Strength and Strength Arcane builds in mind, 16 Strength is also the exact mimimum Strength requirement for the Bloody Helice, meaning that this class can also be used for Dex Arcane build that focuses on the use of the Helice.
- Pure Strength builds that do not increase their Dexterity higher than 12, after which Vagabond becomes more optimal.
- Notes, Tips, and Trivia go here
AnonymousCan do bleed build STR+ARC, DEX+ARC or pure ARC variant. Don't need 16 STR? Try Bandit
- Anonymous
If you don't choose this class Horah Loux auto grabs you by the face and shoves you into the ground, the rest of the game becomes a hallucination for your character while a true hero takes the throne.
Best class for str arc, if you use the Soreseal. 14 dex is maximum youd need
- Anonymous
Beat the game with this class, it will forever have a place in my heart. — The Fist of Fury
- Anonymous
starts with highest STR for colossals
needs to level dex to use more than half of them
can use one colossal sword, but it requires int which you also don't have
can't even use a single greatsword
gg hope you like using the great mace and giant crusher
- Anonymous
deep lore comment #6 (was gonna be for astrologist but **** it): this classes simple and blatant origin tied with their equally simple starting kit makes it clear that this is one of the descendants of the "true" tarnished that survived in the badlands with godfrey after his exile and stuck by his side instead of traveling to other lands and establishing their own names for themselves, so the only real question is if your hero is descended from the big g himself or not which would fittingly be completely up to your interpretation at that point
- Anonymous
FTH and ARC on this class are ideal to get easy temporary access to bestial and dragon communion incantations. Get two finger talisman and godricks rune and you can cast all bestial and some dragon spells, drastically expanding variety. Also with the right helmets you can use those sub 12 dex weapons without any permanent investing, greatly enhancing diverse builds on pure strength.
- Anonymous
advice for warriors, invest 4 points in strength, get the greataxe in Limgrave, and get the war ash quickstep
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Too many investments in the Arcane, too little mind, dexterity, intelligence, faith, terrible armor, and weapon, bad shield. In addition to fashion, there is no reason to take a Hero instead of a Vagabond, no matter how beautifully he is called.
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Best starting class if you do not want to use any int/faith required weapons and spells, as it starts with the lowest int and faith stats (7 int + 8 faith)
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Hero is optimal if you want Bloodflame Blade with quality weapons.
- Anonymous
I would like to point that MILLICENT'S PROSTHESIS ( https://eldenring.wiki.fextralife.com/Millicent's+Prosthesis ) is amazing for HERO low Dex. The +5 bonus in DEX helps alot in reaching minimum requiriments for many great weapons like Grave Scythe, Marais Executioner's Sword, Bloodhound Claws and other weapons that make good use of MILLICENT'S PROSTHESIS other qualities.
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Pick this class just to be canonically related to the chad godfrey
- Anonymous
The REAL difference between Hero vs Vagabond is when you minimize Strength and Dexterity stats for a build. Vagabond allows you to use swords and much more variety of weapons, meanwhile the Hero class lessens you to Hammers/Greathammers.
Consider investing 60 to Vigor, and 80 to Faith/Int/Arcane to see my point.
- Anonymous
wretch but with a better weapon, a shield, and overfocused on the good stats except for that one extra stat on Arcane for who knows what reason... i still go with Vagabond since even colossal weapons require a decent amount of dex now.
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perfect class for melee occult/bleed build, you can save like 2-5 rune level compared to vagabond & bandit
- Anonymous
Lowest mind, lowest intelligence and lowest dexterity possible. I love playing Neanderthal.
- Anonymous
At RL150 meta, Hero ties with Vagabond on any melee build that don't put any point in Mind/Int/Fth/Arc. If you don't put any point in Dex and use Radagon's Soreseal, you get 60 Vig and End, 80 Str, and 14 Dex, which is a good stopping point, as most Str weapons require 14 Dex to wield (Golem's Halberd, Lance, Beastman's Cleaver...).
Overall a great class for pure Str and Str Arc build. If you are onto Str build and plan to use some Dex, consider switching to Vagabond.
- Anonymous
This is the best min/max class for melee bleed builds, just like the similar warrior class was in DS3.
- Anonymous
This class is excellent for doing pure strength, or strength with some dabbling into faith. Its worthy to note that you can invest 80 into strength and 15 into faith (the minimum faith needed to use the most advanced Bestial Incantation, Gurranq's Beastclaw) and have base 221 incant scaling , 241 for beast incantations considering the innate boost of the seal, and 267 while holding the cinquedea weapon. Pretty respectable incant scaling for very low faith investment. If you get to 60 vigor, the most important stat at its highest soft cap, that leaves you with 26 levels to throw into endurance, mind, dex or whatever fits your vision for your build. Mind you, if you invest 1 more level into arcane, you will be at 12, which allows you to use all the unnamed dragon breaths. Remember that 15 faith I mentioned before? Now it comes in extra handy as that is the minimum required to use these spells. Of course, theres also the top-tier spell buff, Flame Grant Me Strength, which will benefit your physical and fire damage. This is perfect for strength builds, as Fire affinity scales with strength. Of course, you can always shave off 3 levels of faith to only have 12, which will still allow you to use Flame Cleanse Me which heals rot and poison, and Bestial Vitality, which regenerates your HP over time. However, it is my personal opinion that the benefit you get from being 15 faith is greater than the extra points of whatever other stat you might invest in on this build. You can always use talismans to supplement any stats that you find yourself needing as well. TL:DR The hero actually has fairly optimized stats for a 80 Strength build that wants to invest in both supplemental damage spells and utility spells. Try 15 faith on your pure strength build.
- Anonymous
I'm trying to make a mainly strength build, but I want him to cast incantations (so with a balanced strength & faith, but also vigor & endurance). Should I take hero, or another class? (Also, I'm trying to make him kinda like a nature warrior of some kind). What do you guys recommend?
- Anonymous
Best starter class for fth if you’re hitting 60 vigor, 35 end, using str and not using much mind or dex. Ashes are so much better and cheaper than spells anyways, no need for mind. Golden land melee can one shot on any build, but the darts scale directly off fth and with sacred great mace the darts alone can one shot people. Pretty sure sacred blade is much the same and gives 10% buff. 79 str great mace was so bad but 60 fth great mace bonks hard.
- Anonymous
fr whats the point of putting 11 arcane on a str class, it literally makes it one of the worst classes for strenght builds cz there is almost no way to match str and arcane (The only 2 weapons are the Marais Sword and Mohgwyn's Sacred Spear).
- Anonymous
It is honestly a pretty heavy toss-up between this class and Vagabond for a pure Strength build. If you have no intention to level Dex at all, this class beats Vagabond in terms of stats-to-level efficiency.
That being said, some of the best Str weapons require a small investment in dex (e.g. Guts Greatsword, Zweihander, Lance), and if you decide to go that route, then Vagabond starts being more attractive as it comes with innate 13 Dex whilst still being able to build towards high Str efficiently. Vagabond also has 1 more innate point in mind, assuming ofc you're ignoring leveling that stat. (neglible difference though, 75 fp vs 78 fp)
For Strength hybrid builds, it is roughly the same scenario; both Hero & Vagabond are pretty close to each other in terms of level efficiency, trading back and forth the one odd point in dex or mind. The only exception to this, however, is Strength + Arcane builds, in which Hero wins out to due to starting with a much higher innate Arcane stat. Considering that there are two dedicated weapons (and they're both arguably pretty good) favoring this stat spread, that might factor into your decision.
I'm mostly speaking from the anecdote of meta level 125, mostly. If this is your first time playing the game or you're more of a pve guy, you can safely ignore this ramble of an essay and pick whichever starting class sounds cooler to you.
tldr; Vagabond and Hero are both good candidates for Strength builds, use the class optimizer to decide where the eventual 1-2 point difference between the classes factors into your decision.
- Anonymous
sadly, this class isn't even the best class for strength. Why the **** this class has a high amount of arcane? who knows? Better to start as Vagabond for strength build and Confessor for strength faith. The stats you get with having a higher dex as vagabond actually helps you wield multiple strength weapons or related stuff instead of having to level it up like the guts greatsword(12 dex).
- Anonymous
Best low-mid level pvp class. Why? Best early stat by far is vig, only wretch can get higher earlier. But you also have 2 end, which is good for carrIng stuff, basically the same level the wretch would be now. On top of that you have 16 str, which allows you to (two hand) a lot of weapons. Now the best part: 9 dex is not bad at all, since you want to have radagons soreseal and together with a dex boosting helmet you can get to 16/17 dex. Now you can equip stuff like the epee and pulley xbow, while not wasting precious statpoints. Again this is just true for the low-mid level.
If anyone wants to start an arcane build slot and have a good build at 125; unless you ONLY want to use low str weapons like daggers, Hero is a better class in most cases.
Hero starts with 16 str which is required for weapons like cross-naginata, bloody helice and 14 for morgott's cgs.
In a Dex/Arcane build you are going to need a bit of strength and Bandit doesn't really have an advantage over hero in that regard.
Also hero is a much more versatile class, having the best point allocation for PURE strength build, Strength/Arcane or Strength/Faith builds.
- Anonymous
Overall great starting class. Stat spread allows you to use the Brass Shield with no extra investment, only need one point in dex for lots of good strength weapons, and has good arcane for hybrid builds. Biggest downsides are the lower mind and int, but with the recent update you get more mind per level-up which is fantastic. Currently running a Blood Broadsword and it is clapping cheeks with this class.
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Best class if you don't want any of that spell/incantation nonsense and want to just straight up bonk fools. The only class that takes a point from mind and dexterity. Forces you to put more focus into crafting too which is pretty fun imo.
Perfect for anyone looking for a pure strength build. Early game is really easy too, especially with the Wild Strikes ash of war that comes with your weapon.
- Anonymous
Low Mind, low Int, low Fth, and high Arc. Yes, this class is somewhat better for Str Arc and Dex Arc builds than Bandit and Samurai.
16 Str is just enough to wield Bloody Helice, FYI.
- Anonymous
He's gotta be strong and he's gotta be fast and he's gotta be fresh from the fight
- Anonymous
Heavy Weapons expert. Oh you want big bonk? Hero class is for you.
- Anonymous
Best class to be a fat man brandishing his large hammer or axe. Alternatively, best class to channel your inner WARRIOR and beat the crap out of everything with your bear hands!
- Anonymous
So the Hero class has the lowest possible starting Dexterity of 9. There are weapons that require 8 Dexterity. That doesn't make any sense though, you can't go below 9. So what is the point?
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This class is best for a bleed+dragon incant arcane-focused hybrid build since it dumps the hardest on mind and int. Mind 9 is still sufficient to get two consecutive blasts from a breath attack after using seppuku WA. This is for a mid level invasion build, mind you.
- Anonymous
I have a hero class. I can't attack any of the npc's in the game, is that because I'm supposed to be a hero or is it just a bug?
- Anonymous
Hero I think is ideal for Str/Faith builds that are taking just enough Faith and Arcane for certain buffs, but leaning way harder into strength. Mace or Morning Star and tower shield. The Arcane is nice for bloodflame blade, which is great with like a Morning Star and Wild Strikes. You can get Beastmark seal to have your incantations scale a little with Strength so you don't have to spread your stats as thin, and basically just take min faith and use buffs that don't interact with the stat much. Basically, choose this class if the primary weapon you want doesn't require dex. Admittedly, isn't a lot. The moment your strength build requires Dex? Vagabond becomes the better option.
- Anonymous
The game constantly wants me to put "just one point" into Dex. Constantly gives me faster than light godslayer weapons that scale super well with strength. "All you have to do to wield this weapon is put 1 more point into Dex." It's a temptation guys... Don't do it! Stay at 9 Dex and retain your honor.
- Anonymous
Oddly enough hero is actually a good choice for dex arc builds. Bit of a wash between hero and bandit. Bandit is more efficient with strength, but hero is more efficient with magic. Seems like magic is not useful for that build, where strength usually has it's uses for weapon requirements.
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If you want a class for Str. weapons that require no Dex. this is your best pick.
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This class looks amazing for pure Str and Str / Fth builds, and can also make some great Str/Dex:
- Like Samurai and Vagabond, Low Int / Fth / Mind, perfect for a non-spell users.
- Low Dex, just enough to use Axes, Great axes, Hammers, Great hammers, Colossal weapons and other weapons focused on STR.
- Also works great on weapons that require Str/Dex, like Great sword, colossal Swords, Halberds and most weapons used on Str/Dex builds (caled quality builds)
- Arcane may look wasted at first, but is on the perfect spot for future investment on Dragon incantation for hybrid Str / Fth builds.
Hero realy looks like a great choice. Maybe not as beginner friendly as Vagabond ( good initial shield ) or Samurai ( bows are a great help), but this "strong boy" can make some amazing stuff!
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According to a character optimizer, this makes for an excellent Dex build, only outperformed by the Vagabond.
- Anonymous
The shoulder piece in her artwork looks like a distorted, melted, and warped Faraam's Helm.
- Anonymous
Pro Tip: No one is picking this class for Str/arcane hybrid but looking at the stats, I’d say this has two potentials. Pure str and str/arc. Possibly a great pick for a strength based bleed/occult build.
Comparing 'physical' classes where "Relevant" stats are Vigor, Endurance, Strength, and Dexterity:
Relevant stat totals: Hero = 51 | Vagabond = 53 | Samurai = 52
Hero starts at level 7 where Vagabond and Samurai start at level 9, so Hero's 51 is effectively 53 at level 9.
- Anonymous
It should be noted that the higher Arcane is probably due to the Dragon Incantations now requiring some of that stat. The analysis at the bottom of the page is wrong to discount Arcane as another Luck stat.
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I really hope that all pure strength weapons require literally no dex at all. Otherwise there is no point to pick this class over Vagabond.
- Anonymous
Does hero start with the Dragonfire incantation? Do we know what spells and incantations each class starts with?
- Anonymous
Better than vagabond if you've ever been tempted to mix ARC into your melee build, and honestly why wouldn't you? Marais Executioner's Sword, Mohgwyn's Sacred Spear, Bloody Helice, and a ton of occult infused murder machines. Throw in Dragon Incants and one of the best scaling seals for faith builds short of pure casters using erdtree and you've got a class that's way more versatile than it looks at first glance
Welcome to the birthplace of our dynasty, brother
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