Keepsakes | Elden Ring Wiki

For New Players, 1 Golden Seed gives you an extra flask right from the start which is helpful since you'll be making lots of mistakes and taking damage.
For Veterans, 2 Stonesword Keys let you get a bunch of stuff right away from the Fringefolk Hero's Grave, being 1 Golden Seed, 1 Stonesword Key, 1 Dragonwound Grease, 1 Lightning Grease, the Erdtree's Favor, the Dragon Communion Seal, the Erdtree Greatbow, and 15000 runes from the boss.
As an alternative start, 1 of the Cracked Pots saves you 1500 runes from the Nomadic Merchant in Caelid South, and the other 2 Cracked Pots you get are normally obtained from the Auriza Side Tomb in Altus which isn't readily accessible right from the start of the game. You'll still need to go their at some point for the other 2 Cracked Pots inside the tomb, but it's a nice power spike to have 3 extra pots at the beginning of the game, lets you convert Materials into "free" frontloaded damage during a boss fight, it's too bad you can't use them against the Grafted Scion at the very beginning of the game though.

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the annoying thing is if you want to do a klepto-run, the one item you can't normally get is the Rune. So all of these useful items must be ignored for the sake of collecting

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Non-recommending Cracked pots is insane. They are insanely useful at all points in the game, and the ones that get replaced are either locked in an extremely frustrating dungeon 10's of hours into the game on the first playthrough, or worth nearly as much as a Stonesword key. Heck, they can even be useful by just budgeting the 3 of them to Holy Pots at the start. Especially since Lands Between Rune is on there and you can easily get 3K runes by killing Trolls with the Morningstar.

The only ones that compete are Golden Seed and Imps, but mostly only on the first playthrough.

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Prawn is obviously the best choice. Can't be expected to fix the elden ring on an empty stomach

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Personally golden seed is my choice as its helpful to get an extra flask to start with

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Bewitching Branches being "Not Recommended" is absolutely wild.
They're real hard to find normally, and some of the most annoying bosses in the game are trivialized by this item.

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I always begin with lands between rune because latter on I need to level up a lot so I use it for a beginning start

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My keepsake: PKCS

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Of course From wouldn't take the 3 cracked pots you chose as a gift from the absolute worst auriza side tomb stack.

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If only the 3 cracked pots you chose were taken away from the awful auriza side tomb instead.

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If you love playing Co-op and help out others Shabriri isn't a bad item to get early since it will help you keep the aggro and protect the host (which, let's be honest, is probably less skilled than you if they call upon other players). It's so sad when you get sumonned and see the host die!

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"all keepsakes are obtainable later in the game"
okay, but what about the lands between rune? that is not obtainable anywhere else. sure its just runes, but still...

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I love how this page says "don't get cracked pots because you can buy three really early". Yeah, and you can have 6 pots early instead of 3 with the keepsake. It lets me keep a few holy pots for those surprise undead encounters (Deathbird only needs 4) while still giving me room for fire and sleep pots. All materials are pretty easy to farm if you find one good spot.

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I always ignored the Fanged Imp Ashes, but they are easily the best choice. Two little guys that can double team some early bosses completely on their own. Compared to the wolves, they're a bit smaller and more evasive, they have pots to draw aggro at range, and they also do Bleed.

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boiled prawn 100%

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I’m not saying you should pick bewitching branch, but if you do, you can use one on the knight in gate front ruins and he will destroy all the soldiers in those ruins. I tried it and it was super funny.

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Collecting golden seeds to max your flask charges can be a chore, even if there are more than needed in the world; I often find myself finishing the game below max. An extra charge right away is also probably the highest early boost/least effort ratio out of all keepsakes.

Two of the three pots you get are pulled from one of the most aggravating mid/late game dungeons in the game; if you're planning to use cracked pots but not ritual pots, it arguably lets you simply skip that dungeon (there are two other cracked pots in there, but at 18 out of 20, I'd probably preserve my sanity, especially in low level runs where pots have the most value).

Stonesword keys might be interesting if you are planning to open multiple early imp locks immediately - there are a bunch of excellent items to be acquired from these in Limgrave and Stormveil, and keys are relatively expensive early on.

Everything else is either of extreme low value or acquirable with minimal effort if you know where to go.

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The stone sword keys are the best if you know what you're doing. You can clear out the first dungeon pretty easily by spamming square off heavy attack if you start as either the confessor or the vagabond. Doing so will get you a better talisman than the one here, more runes than the rune option, a better summon than the imps, and a golden seed. It's like getting upgraded versions of all of the best options all at once. It's difficult but not impossible to knock down the giant pots and destroy the chariot with the small handful of throwing knives you can pick up so you can theoretically also score yourself a greatbow before even getting out of the tutorial area, although it is easier with fire pots after you talk to Kale.

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Eat your prawn so you can grow up strong like Hoarah Loux

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lmao what veteran wouldn't want an extra flask at the start? keys are in gross abundance in liurnia anyway

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Long story short:
If u beginner pick seed.
If u veteran pick key.
If u thicc pick prawn.
If u undead rapport pick branch.
If u ganker pick ashes.
If u greedy pick rune.
If u a jar pick pot.
If u casul pick talisman.
If u wanna die pick woe.

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Best in slot for elden drip

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Shabriri's Woe plus the Wretch is a good way to challenge yourself more in the early game.

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This page lies. ALMOST every item can be gotten later in the game, except for the Lands Between Rune. A single one can only be gotten as a keepsake.

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Don't worry too much about your keepsake. Its just giving you an item that you would have otherwise found later at the beginning instead. None of the keepsakes are missable by making the 'wrong choice'.

Golden Seed is good for new players since its more flasks early on when you are still learning.
Veteran Players may like the Stonesword Key so they can rush to an Imp statue with an item they want.
Cracked Pots are nice for alchemist who wants and early start.

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the golden seed description is wrong

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cracked pot underrated. if you throw pots, it's a permanent +3 to your pot count that you can't get any other way. probably you don't throw pots and don't care, but if you do...

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This is just my subjective opinion, but I do believe the keepsake that provides the most benefit is the Stonesword Key. You get 2 of them, so even if you aren't planning on entering the Fringefolk Hero's Grave, you effectively gain 4000 Runes worth of stuff, which is more than the other starting gifts. If you do decide the tackle the Grave at the very beginning, you have access to some very useful items to get early if you are skilled enough. This includes the following:


The Dragon Communion Seal, a 0 weight Seal that scales with Arcane, you'll need to beat a Banished Knight Spirit which is guarding it to safely loot it. Even if you don't meet the minimum requirements to "use" it, you can safely cast buffs at no detriment, so that's kind of useful, I guess.


The Erdtree's Favor Talisman, which boosts your HP by 3%, Stamina by 6.75%, and Equip Load by 5%, which will probably be your best Talisman for a long while. I'd advise just doing a suicide run past the Scions and looting it, fighting them for it isn't worth it in the slightest.


A Stonesword Key, so a partial refund.


A Golden Seed + Banished Knight Oleg Ashes if you can beat the Ulcerated Tree Spirit, plus several thousand runes from the boss itself. The only strategy I can advise is to avoid standing in front of or to the left of it, try to stay behind it and to the boss's right side.


The Erdtree Greatbow, a Split-damage Greatbow that deals Holy damage and scales with Faith. You'd need to defeat another Banished Knight Spirit to safely do this, and you'll need a ranged weapon to shoot a hanging pot which will destroy the Chariot which drops the bow, so I'd recommend visiting Kale first to get the Telescope, and get some Bone Darts too, you'll need several of them as this could take multiple attempts.

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the starting gifts in elden ring are not as good as the ds1 and 2 ones

ds1 master key is amazing- even if its easy mode, and black firebombs make speedrunning very quick

ds2 has petrified something, A chance to get Titanite slab is very good, and that bonfire aesthetic is amazing

its better than ds3, which in my opinion the twig was the best, but it only helped in one part of the game not good

demons souls had one of the best, that luck boosting ring is amazing

sekiro and bb dont count cuz they dont do that

personally I rate elden ring starting gifts 4th place

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No regrets on the Golden Seed, and immediately assigning the one Blue charge to Red. I survived many times by finishing my flask in early games, using that extra charge

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New players = Golden Seed for extra pot or Runes to buy what you need including levels or Kale's shop. Recommended for new players because they are self explanatory and very easy to utilize.



Veterans = Stonesword Key as Fringe is doable to those who are familiar with the game and it is stored with many valuable items such as the erdtree favor, golden seed, another stonesword key, a Arc dedicated sacred seal and more. However, this means that you are confident to complete it with little trouble since you need to earn all of them by completing the level including killing a tree spirit towards the end. Fanged Imp Ashes is a decent alternative to Lone Wolves as a summon since you summon two annoying imps who will now bleed your enemies, harass them from range and generally be annoyingly fast.

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Bewitching Branch.
No one doesn't speak about keepsakes for experienced players in case they create new characters for any reason.
And if we talk not about speedruns or other challenges where the pool of options much smaller (cuz rune will be OP for fast craft kit and cracked pots or fanged imps will help a lot for fast early bosses kill).
So Bewitching Branch for one simple (but not obvious) reason. Every keepsake can be founded, most of them almost immediately after starting the game. And Bewitching Branch also can be founded and even crafted later. But with one important reason. It requires ingredients which do not respawn after rest at site of grace. Both have a small drop chance and it makes farm annoying. So if for some reason you need this item this is the best keepsake.

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start off with shabriris woe on subsequent playthroughs, and put your summon sign everywhere. carry new players, be the sunbro reborn

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Two of the cracked pots are in a late-midgame area, and the other is in Caelid. Pots are useful as all else. Longest term dividends.
If you need the op ash and ARC talisman NOW, then just find some keys, more than enough of those things.

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Surprised Rivers of Blood isn't a keepsake since I see it everywhere

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Ok for those who just started the game and don't know what to do yet, as well as not having prior knowledge about souls game. These options are not really game-changers, their usefulness is mediocre and all of them can be found later in the game, some probably become more useful once you know what to do with it. But for the sake of pure practicality, here's my opinion on each of these items:
- Crimson medallion - Quite useless because it only meagerly increases your max hp which doesn't impact your early-game because you start with very low hp anyways, there are upgraded versions of this talisman which can be found later you might be keen of using instead
- Lands between runes - One of the higher tier because you are able to level-up a bit earlier and buy stuffs from Kale that can give you an edge in exploration, crafting and equipment stats
- Golden Seed - Despite the fact that there will be a cap to how many flasks you can keep, an extra flask at the very beginning makes quite a difference especially if you're a caster or simply dying too much while learning to the surrounding enemies
- Fanged-imp ashes - Mid tier. When you get your bell-bearing, the lone-wolves ashes proves to be more effective, I know more skillful players can make better use of the imps, but you won't find them very reliable fighting strong mobs or bosses.
- Cracked pots - Mid tier, I doubt any new player will find an immediate use for throwing pots. By the time they do, there should be other ways to get them without getting regretful about not picking them as keepsakes.
- Stonesword key - Low tier. The item itself is useful, but most people will be drawn to use it on the Fringefolk hero cave at the very beginning and this area isn't friendly with low-level starters and might find it very frustrating to explore. By the time they're ready, they should stock at least several of them to get through the statues
- Bewitching branch - Mostly useless early game mainly because of its consumable status, there's a very good chance ppl will waste it or simply don't know what to do with it, even in later stages of the game, the use of this item is very optional
- Boil prawn - Low tier, same reason as the above, there's a merchant you can buy this indefinitely later anyways
- Shabriri's woe - Low tier, single players may have no use for it. It can draw aggro to you if you're playing with friend, but this isn't really something anyone think of when they just start the game by themselves

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Stonesword key x 2 is the best. Then just get help with the first dungeon and you get a golden seed in it. Best option if you know someone who can help you with that dungeon.

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FANGED IMP ASHES is the best

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NO BUTTER FOR MY BOILED PRAWNS. WORST GAME EVER.

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NO BUTTER FOR MY BOILED PRAWNS. WORST GAME EVER.

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class: wretch
keepsake: none

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Yeah the keepsakes are nothing special but I think thats the idea. Back when there were "special" keepsakes, it basically forced you to pick them over everything else. Illusion of choice.

Some are better for your very first run (probably seed as you wouldn't know where to get any others if you just started game) and others are better on new characters when you know you have to beeline it to some item and you need X stats to wield it and maybe the 3k gets you there immediately, or the key lets you grab something special quickly.

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Arguments about how useless most of them are, just pick the free 3k runes, cash is annoying to get early and 3k is really useful, golden seeds are easy as hell to find and it won't do much later on because of the increasing cost
Stone keys is handy for quick fringefolk grave which has nice stuff, but you only need 25 for every spot in the game and there's almost 50 available

TL;DR Rune>Keys>Seed>other ****, 3k isn't something to scoff at (but then again you can get 80k in like 10 min if you know what you're doing)

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Just choose anything you want, you can get all of the item very very early anyway, so it is up to preference.

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I think the Cracked Pots are a weird Keepsake mechanically. It gives you three, that's awesome early on, but it removes 2 from a dungeon and 1 from a merchant in Caelid, but not removing the 3 from Kalé? Where is the logic behind that, you got 3 pots for free, instead of buying them from the first ever merchant

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Honestly, it's hard for me to decide. My first character I picked Golden Seed, and it was helpful. Problem with Golden Seed is that 100+ hours in, and I realized there's more than enough Golden Seeds, and it's not like you can spend the first hour or so, just running around and nabbing them. It's pretty easy.

Then I'd say Cracked pot, but there's a dungeon later on where you pick some up. If you pick cracked pot, there's less there. This is how they make it so you don't have more than you normally would.

I could say the spirit ashes, but honestly? The wolf pack is pretty good early game, and there's better ashes than the imps that are still easy to seek out early on.

Bewitching nranch can be fun, and might have a useful purpose early on. There is one i could think of.

Shabriri's Woe could be good if your making a new character with a friend whose just starting off.

Do we know if there's a limited number of Stonesward Keys? As in, there not enough to open all the doors unless you choose this?

I think if I was going to choose now it'd either be the HP talisman or runes. The HP talisman is not hard to get starting off. The runes could help some early levels or puchases.

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1. Golden Seed
2. Fanged Imp Ashes
3. Cracked Pot

Everything else can be acquired very early on and/or won't be any useful.

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I'm quiet dissapointed by the starting gifts in this game. None of them are unique in any way like the Master key or the Witch Ring of DS1. And other than the seed, they are all pretty much useless or super easily obtainable. Not much of an interesting choice here.

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Your reasoning for putting stonesword key in your top 3 list is a testament to how rubbish fextra is

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prawn is the chad choice. cool imp bros are acceptable. seed is for losers who get hit.

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SHABRIRI'S WOE is the best option if you play with a friend and you want to tank.

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There is no choice here at all. The only one that makes sense is the seed. I can see an argument for the cracked pot since by end game you might not have hit cap on pots but you'd have to go out of your way to not have 5 or so extra seeds by the end but to start having an potion is better than anything else, especially since the seed cost increases as you progress. Furthermore, if you choose the pot as a keepsake it removes two pots from the game that you would otherwise be able to get so it's not like you're going to end up with extras. Also, the pvp argument for pots is half baked- yes they are useful but the damage a thrown pot does is less than the recovery that a potion gives you. You'll have more keys than you can use long before you reach end game and that's even if you aren't buying them all when you see vendors with them. everything else on the list except for the lands between rune is easily obtainable relatively early on save for the bewitching branches (which are craftable), and if you are coming into the game fresh you're probably going to lose the fight you were using it for anyway and then you're out of luck. The rune is also garbage for anyone other than collectors, 3000 runes is nothing, even in the starting zone so unless you're planning on holding onto it for collection purposes it's a waste.

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I feel like the Bewitching Branch might be the ultimate starter item for the potential cheese it can create, Still trying to find the best cheese for it but when I find it I will be posting an update. (BC)

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Cool

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I glad I did some research before choosing my item. By standard, Golden Seed beats all the options.

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Game is 10/10, best thing I ever played but I am surprised there are no covenants because it makes PVP so meaningless without rewards and it would be so easy to just make up some covenants like previous games

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I think the Cracked Pot, Seed, and Stonesword Keys are the most practical:

People preach that the Seed is the best one, but eh, it's only putting you one seed ahead and you'll eventually hit the flask cap anyway. It's definitely solid Cracked Pot, likewise, has a cap but are a little harder to get your hands on for awhile. And they cap at 20. Gets dismissed a lot, but it's a really good pick. Pots can get last hits in pvp and the sleep pot is invaluable.

Stonesword Keys are good if you want to raid that dungeon and save yourself a little time and runes doing so- You'll get a talisman, seed, and other items.

The others I don't see much of a use for. Crimson Medallion is kind of a trap. Negligible HP gain, buyable very early. Lands between rune might be good on Wretch, but for everyone else the Keystones are worth more in runes. Imps are nifty, but not usable until you get the bell- but they do cause bleed, so might be worth considering to help you a bleed build. But you can better summons anyway. Bewitching Branches are craftable, Prawns are purchasable, Shabiri's Woe is purchasable too I think.

Over all though, the advantages are slight and ultimately temporary. Pick what calls to you.

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Seed, Cracked Pot, Lands Between Rune, and Stonesword Keys are the most valuable, I think. Seed and Pot will eventually hit a cap. Pots are harder to hit cap with than Seeds in the long term. I wouldn't discount them. Sleeping pots make some encounters very easy and firepots can be good for a last hit in pvp. Keys are worth more in Runes than the Lands Between Rune if you were to purchase them from vendors, but you can't liquidate them into attributes or purchasing power. Your call. You'll find better Medallions early on so avoid those and the various consumables are craftable/purchasable later. Over all don't sweat it too much, these are all very short term bonuses.

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You can take the stonesword keys, and pass the fog area in the tutorial area. There is a tree boss there that drops you 15K runes and also a golden seed. Meaning you can exit the tutorial with 18.000 runes, + some equipment from the fog area and also a summon from the tree boss fight.
So nothing beat the stonesword keys, that gives you basically every other keepsakes once you beat the area of the tutorial it unlock.

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The rune is only useful for Wretched. Level 1 plus three thousand runes should be very effective, but only if you already have a build in mind so is probably more of a second playthrough tool or if you’ve gotten far on a toon and made a new one.

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Don't see why anyone would pick a consumable over seed or key lol

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Can samurai equip shields

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If you plan on playing through the game solo then you'd be wise to choose the Fanged Imp Ashes. They are better than the other summons you get in the early game and will make the first several bosses much easier. This only applies to solo play as spirit ashes are disabled in co-op.

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I just started and chose extra flask as a gift since this is an open world and never played this game before i have no idea where the other flasks are so this is the reason

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On the one hand an extra flask would be nice starting out but on the other hand, he prawn.

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prawn friend all the way

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Can’t wait to pick the prawn and never eat it.

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I am going to choose the prawn because that's what I would use in real life

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The branch has old witch ring vibes

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I have a question about the Stonesword key do u think it’s a good idea to grab it cause I know there’s gargoyle lock in the beginning

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Assuming that there is another Vanguard-type boss in the tutorial area with only one chance to kill it, the Fanged Imp Ashes look tempting for an easier kill. Same goes for the cracked pot if the tutorial area offers the items necessary to craft black firebombs with them.

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Golden seed is going to be a pretty powerful pick. It's not permanent since eventually you will reach the cap and get excess seeds but the benefit will last longer than most other gifts. But you also have the key which will be very important for getting key items early for some builds. Of course this is build specific and requires knowledge of the items ahead of time. I expect this won't be a popular choice day one but later on it'll be valuable. As for the rest it depends. Cracked pot also seems permanent since thrown items are supposed to return but I'm not sure how the mechanic works yet. The rune is very limited in use. A couple levels that are evened out by natural rune gain. Eh. Either way Elden ring really stepped up it's gift game and they'll actually matter now compared to DS1 which had one good item (probably by accident) and DS3 which barely mattered.

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What's the point of using Shanaynay's Woe? Why would you want to build up madness, if it causes detrimental effects when the bar is filled? Is there some kind of mechanic that makes it beneficial like beasthood in Bloodborne?

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