easier game, but a more convenient
one for seasoned fans. New
checkpoint statues reduce
backtracking, for example, but they
don’t make the marquee encounters
any less terrifying. Progression,
meanwhile, keeps most of the same
stats, questions of weight, and poise
from the Souls games, but is more
open-ended. You can apply new
Ashes of War to weapons for
different special abilities and to
change which character stat the
weapon uses for damage scaling.
Want to be a Greatsword-
wielding mage? Apply the Ash ofWar ‘Gravitas’ to said weapon,
causing it to scale based on your
Intelligence rather than your
Strength. Ashes can be removed and
reapplied without penalty, and the
result is a game that’s kinder to
veterans who love optimising a build.
No longer will tailoring a playstyle be
quite such a marathon; in Elden Ring,
you can trick out your blades as the
occasion demands, though you’ll still
need special resources to upgrade
their overall stats.
Elden Ring feels most assured
when it comes to these refinements.
I’m hoping that the same will prove
true of the setting, which is Shattered
in more ways than one, its grander
interiors captivating but largely
divorced from an overworld whose
details I’m already struggling to
remember. Whatever the outcome,
this will be a engrossing project to
push through and pick apart: one of
gaming’s greatest names, delicately
adapting its house style to a genre
that, on the surface, seems to go
against everything it stands for.RINGERS The five classes revealed so far
WARRIOR
From the name you
might expect the
classic fighter
archetype, but high
Dex makes these
guys suited to more
of an agile duelist
role. Expect to dodge
roll and wear enemies
down with ranged
attacks before going
in for the kill.CHAMPION
Another deceptive
class – you’ll have the
look of a dumb
barbarian, but they’re
actually more like a
paladin, able to use
divine magic. They
start with the
powerful Dragonfire
spell, which is a
brutal AoE attack for
the early game.BLOODY WOLF
Now that’s a classy
name. This is the one
to pick for that
classic Dark Souls
feel – it’s just a big,
tough dude with a
sword, a shield, and
some decent armour.
No special tricks or
magic, just you and a
bunch of metal
against the world.ENCHANTED
KNIGHT
These powerful
spellswords combine
strength with sorcery
to keep enemies at
arm’s length. Brawny
enough to hide
behind heavy armour
and a solid shield, yet
smart enough to
blast enemies to bits
with glowing energy.PROPHET
Divine magic
specialists with
easily the most
uncomfortable-
looking armour set.
They start out with
the Heal spell, but
also with the rather
more offensive Beast
Claw, a devastating
magical ranged
attack.YOU CAN INVADE
OTHER PLAYERS OR
BE INVADED
BY THEM
Elden Ring
COVER FEATURE