From the claustrophobic tutorial to the moment you’re unleashed into the open world, Elden Ring is a wild shift in freedom.
The first thing you should do after stepping into Limgrave? Find your first Site of Grace and meet Melina.
Only then can you finally level up and spend those hard-earned runes. From there, the game opens up — forgiving might be too strong a word, but at least you’ve got one metaphorical foot in the door instead of both in the grave.
⚔️ Choosing Your Starting Class
Your first big decision sets the tone for your early hours. Each class comes with unique starting gear and stat spreads that fit certain archetypes — Strength bruisers, Dexterity duelists, Faith casters, or Intelligence sorcerers.
Don’t stress too much: any class can become anything later on. Want to start as a Faith-based Prophet but swap to a spell-slinging wizard halfway through? Totally doable.
Just pick the one that sounds fun — you’ll find a build that clicks as you go.
Best all-rounder pick: the Samurai.
You start with solid armor, a longbow, and the ever-reliable Uchigatana, which scales well into mid-game. If you’re planning a pure Strength build instead, go Hero for the early advantage.
💍 Picking Your Keepsake (a.k.a. Starter Bonus)
Before entering the Lands Between, you’ll pick one of nine Keepsakes — small items that give an early boost. Most are consumables, but a few stand out:
- Golden Seed: the best all-around pick. Grants you an extra Flask use — more healing or mana early on means more breathing room in every fight.
- Lands Between Rune: instantly redeemable for 3,000 runes — great for grabbing a few quick levels or early items.
- Stonesword Key: lets you open Imp Statue seals blocking special treasure areas. Handy, but best for players who already know where they’re going.
🪦 Tutorial – The Stranded Graveyard
After a scripted death (welcome to FromSoftware), you’ll wake in the Stranded Graveyard.
Drop down the hole to get a short but useful combat tutorial — dodging, parrying, weapon skills, and all the Souls-borne essentials.
Once you emerge, activate your first Site of Grace, your lifeline for fast travel, leveling, and flask upgrades.
🌄 First Steps in Limgrave
Take the elevator up and you’re greeted with the iconic open vista — the true start of Elden Ring.
Grab the Grace nearby and talk to Varre (the guy calling you “maidenless” — don’t take it personally). Then head toward the Church of Elleh. There you’ll find:
- Another Grace point
- Merchant Kalé, your first shopkeeper
- A Smithing Stone on the anvil — use it to upgrade your weapon
Avoid the golden knight roaming nearby for now. He’s doable later, but early on he’s the definition of “you died.”
🐎 Gatefront Ruins & Meeting Melina
Follow the road northeast to reach Gatefront Ruins, where the next Grace unlocks a key event: Melina’s arrival.
She offers you the ability to level up — and gives you the Spectral Steed Whistle, summoning your horse, Torrent.
Fast-travel back to the Church of Elleh afterward to meet Ranni, who gives you the Spirit Calling Bell and Lone Wolf Ashes for free — an early summon that can turn boss fights in your favor.
Equip both the Steed Whistle and Spirit Ashes in your Pouch so you can access them quickly without cluttering your main inventory.
⚒️ Looting the Gatefront Camp
Now that you’ve leveled up and got your mount, circle back to clear out the Gatefront soldiers. Here’s what’s worth grabbing:
- Map Fragment: fills in your Limgrave region map
- Lordsworn’s Greatsword: strong early Strength weapon
- Flail: good Dexterity option with Bleed effect
- Whetstone Knife: unlocks the ability to apply Ashes of War to weapons
- Brass Shield: drops from soldiers; it’s one of the best medium shields in the early game
🕯️ Wrapping Up
Once you’ve met Melina, unlocked Torrent, and cleared Gatefront, you’re officially out of “tutorial” territory.
The Lands Between are yours to explore — whether that means chasing the main quest, hunting dungeons, or running for your life from the first dragon you see (we’ve all been there).
