This time, it’s personal

Exploring Elden Ring’s varied RPG systems

Elden Ring is generally regarded as the most accessible of FromSoftware’s games, but it would be more precise to say that it is the most flexible. Its emphasis on rewarding exploration also gives it the widest scope for character building, and FromSoftware go to great lengths to ensure all pathways to victory are equally rewarding.

In particular, Elden Ring is easily the most enjoyable FromSoftware game to play with a magic user build.

The game’s voluminous spell book includes some truly astonishing sorceries, such as Comet Azur and Rennala’s Full Moon, both of which let you launch celestial objects at your foes. Putting points into the Faith stat likewise unlocks a massive library of incantations, letting you wield the powers of dragons, or embrace the Frenzied Flame to defeat enemies by driving them mad.

Which isn’t to say melee builds get a short shrift in Elden Ring. Quite the opposite. Alongside the game’s extensive arsenal of melee weapons, Elden Ring introduces the Ashes of War. These collectible abilities attach to specific weapon types, imbuing them with unique abilities. Some of these enhance weapons with specific techniques, such as thrusting a greathammer into the ground to unleash a devastating shockwave, or facilitating a powerful somersaulting attack that can stagger the toughest foes.

Other Ashes enable limited use of magic, letting you call down lightning strikes or summon a phalanx of magical daggers that target nearby enemies.

There’s enough leeway in Elden Ring’s leveling that you don’t have to commit to one playstyle straightaway, and can combine different stat-based skills with weapons and Ashes of War to create highly specific fighting styles. None of this, of course, guarantees easy victory against the game’s bosses. But Elden Ring never demands you fight them in a specific way, and if you’re struggling in a particular fight, there’s always another tactic you can try.