In my history with FromSoftware’s Souls-style games, I’ve tried a vast variety of character builds and setups, but one thing has always remained true: I go for a strong, hard-hitting character in the end. Brute force and ignorance has always been the thing that’s got me through these games – and the same was true with Elden Ring.
In my first play-through of Elden Ring prior to its release, and then on my post-release New Game Plus run on Steam, I followed my classic Souls tenets: I started out with a sword and 100% shield, and only enough magic to cast the occasional healing spell or summon a spirit helper. I graduated, eventually, to a multi-weapon setup that included a crossbow, a longsword, and a giant club that I used in combination with some aggressive Ashes of War skills to stunlock bosses. I didn’t bother carrying any magic flasks; all health heals, all the time. Brute force and ignorance. I had great fun.
Over the last week, however, I’ve started to chip away at a console Elden Ring save over on Xbox. Given this is now play-through three, I obviously wanted to do something different. I picked Astrologer as my starting class and decided to go full mage, embracing Elden Ring’s increased focus on the viability of magic at long last. And, wow – what a difference. It’s like a different game.
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