‘Elden Ring’ Map, Classes, Bosses, and Everything Beginners Need to Know
If you’ve been online or had a conversation with a gamer, you’ve inevitably heard about Elden Ring, a new video game taking the world by storm. Taking on a world like Lands Between in Elden Ring is a massive undertaking, especially if you’re new to gaming, in general. Below, you can find everything that beginners need to know about the most popular game in the world right now.
What is ‘Elden Ring’?
Let’s get the basics out of the way first! Elden Ring is a new ARPG (action role-playing game) from FromSoftware, the same producer behind the Dark Souls and Bloodborne games. Hidetaka Miyazaki created Elden Ring. It was released to the masses on Feb. 25, 2022.
It’s largely considered to be one of the greatest video games of all time. You can play Elden Ring on a variety of consoles, including Xbox One/Series X/S, Playstation 4/5, and Microsoft Windows.
According to a report from Decider, more than 12 million copies of Elden Ring sold in under three weeks after its release.
Is ‘Elden Ring’ related to ‘The Lord of the Rings’?
The Lord of the Rings is one of the most popular book, movie, video game, and soon-to-be TV franchises. It makes sense that people would be curious if Elden Ring and The Lord of the Rings are related.
Elden Ring is not related to The Lord of the Rings in any way, shape, or form, other than sharing the word “ring” in the title.
The game’s story does revolve around an all-powerful ring, the Elden Ring, that was broken into shards and scattered throughout the Lands Between.
Is ‘Elden Ring’ a ‘Dark Souls’ game?
No, Elden Ring is not a Dark Souls game, either.
Like Elden Ring, Miyazaki and FromSoftware created Dark Souls. Inevitably, Elden Ring feels and looks similar to the Dark Souls games. It makes sense why players and common fans are wondering if Elden Ring is related.
There are three Dark Souls games. It is still too soon to tell if Dark Souls 4 will happen. Nothing has been officially confirmed, but according to Game Rant, Miyazaki has not revealed plans to make a fourth Dark Souls game. Miyazaki has even mentioned that Dark Souls 3 is the end of that story.
George R.R. Martin helped create the backstory for ‘Elden Ring’
There seems to be a lot of confusion about George R.R. Martin’s involvement in Elden Ring. Contrary to some reports and claims that Martin and Miyazaki created Elden Ring together, Martin wrote the backstory and history of the game, according to Den of Geek. Martin did not contribute to the overall plot of the game.
Miyazaki also told Game Informer that Martin’s characters were changed. These characters, after significant changes, were made into some of Elden Ring’s monsters, according to the Den of Geek report.
Martin was involved with the making of Elden Ring, but it’s hard to say how much.
How do you play ‘Elden Ring’?
Elden Ring is a complicated game; there’s no doubt about it. That’s also one of the reasons it’s wildly popular. It’s challenging in ways that other similar games are not. Getting into the game and exploring is challenging, but with a little effort, intrigue, and perseverance, anyone can learn how to play.
Let’s start with the basics. Everyone starts at a similar point: choosing 1 of 10 classes. The classes, discussed in more detail below, have different attributes and stats to help players begin their journey. This is where you choose and customize your character. You also have the option to choose a keepsake item, which elevates some of your attributes and abilities to start the game. Once you have your character, the journey begins. It’s time to explore.
You’ll start at Castle Stormveil! And, that’s pretty much it. You can, now, do whatever you want.
How to use the ‘Elden Ring’ map
One of the amazing things about Elden Ring is how expansive this world is. With a world this big, it’s a challenge for gameplayers to find everything they need to improve in the Lands Between. Luckily, there are some key resources for players to use.
If you’re looking for an Elden Ring interactive map, Elden Ring Wiki has the best interactive map on the web right now.
Obviously, you can scroll over the whole map and zoom in and out on different regions. You can also filter and sort the map by bosses, locations, armor, Ashes of War, Spirit Ashes, map locations in the game, consumables, and so many more.
In the gameplay, there are 17 map fragments of smaller regions available for players to find. You can use the interactive map to find where those are located, or you can find them in the game. The map fragments are located at what’s called a Guide Stele, according to Windows Central.
‘Elden Ring’ classes
For those who don’t know, “classes” determine where each player starts the game and who their character is in Elden Ring. Each class begins with different attributes and stats that help players start the game.
There are 10 Elden Ring classes, via Elden Ring Wiki:
- Wretch (Level 1)
- Bandit (Level 5)
- Astrologer (Level 6)
- Hero (Level 7)
- Prophet (Level 7)
- Warrior (Level 8)
- Prisoner (Level 9)
- Vagabond (Level 9)
- Samurai (Level 9)
- Confessor (Level 10)
How many ‘Elden Ring’ bosses are there?
Another unique aspect of Elden Ring are the bosses and their backstories. While monstrous, these beings were not always that way, and that was important to Miyazaki when creating the game. Each monster isn’t just a monster. There’s history and story woven together to bring these beings to life and create purpose for the player.
There is some confusion about how many bosses are in Elden Ring. Online, you’ll find the reported number between 109 and 120 bosses. By our unofficial tally, there are 120 Elden Ring bosses. You don’t have to beat all 120 bosses, though.
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