Vagabond vs Samurai: Which Elden Ring Class is Ideal for Beginners?

As an avid fan who‘s sunk hundreds of hours into Demon‘s Souls, Dark Souls, Bloodborne, and Sekiro, the release of Elden Ring filled me with equal parts excitement and anticipation. And I know many newcomers to FromSoftware‘s iconic franchises feel equally intimidated by the legendarily steep difficulty.

So when embarking on your maiden voyage into the Lands Between, the very first choice of your starting class carries great weight. After comparing the beginner-friendliness of Elden Ring‘s lineup, the verdict is clear:

For new Tarnished embarking on their quest to become Elden Lord, the stalwart Vagabond emerges as the best class to start with.

As we‘ll explore in depth, the Vagabond provides the ideal blend of vigor, balanced combat capabilities, armor, and weapon versatility to give fresh players the greatest chance at surviving the realm‘s ruthless trials.

How the Vagabond Build Caters to Beginners

Right out the gate, the Vagabond‘s impressive starting Vigor of 15 gives them the highest HP of any class, tied only with the Hero. This crucial survivability enables newcomers to endure enemy combos while learning attack patterns.

Backing up the massive health bar, the Vagabond rocks the best starting defense as well with the Knight armor set providing additional damage negation and poise. This combination allows you to absorb significantly more punishment than light armor classes.

When first adjusting to the trademark FromSoft combat style, simply not getting flattened in just a couple hits grants so much more latitude.

Offensively, the Vagabond sports well-balanced Strength and Dexterity scores of 11 and 13 respectively. This enables wielding either faster dexterity weapons or devastating colossal strength armaments. You can continuously evolve your playstyle.

Their starting melee weapon, the Halberd, also gives excellent versatility. Its sweet spot lets you strike from range while the axe side dishes out heavy blows up close. And with decent Endurance and robust equip load, you can utilize a shield in the off-hand as well.

Evaluating the Samurai‘s Viability for Beginners

Hailing from the east, the Samurai brings their own sharp skill set to the Lands Between. They kick off wielding the exceptional Uchigatana katana, providing rapid slashes, the unique Unsheathe skill, and copious bleed build up.

The Samurai‘s starting Longbow allows pulling enemies from range and attacking airborne foes like imps. Quick firing and rolling saves a lot of headaches.

They also sport well-balanced offensive power with Dexterity focused on critical hits and enough Strength to wield iconic greatswords later on. Plus slightly higher starting Mind and Endurance maintains good mana and equip load.

However, with lower starting Vigor and lack of poise from the Samurai Armor, trades or consecutive hits will quickly spell your doom. And their specialized katana requires more finesse than swinging around a Halberd.

So while those choosing the samurai path will surely carve through foes in time, it presents a trickier early game for green newcomers.

Elden Ring Introduces More Beginner-Friendly Mechanics

Despite the reputation, FromSoftware implemented plenty of new mechanics in Elden Ring providing a smoother on-ramp for newcomers compared to past Souls titles.

Most crucially, spirit summons draw enemy aggression while dishing out additional damage themselves. Letting a spectral ally bear the brunt of foes‘ ire as you cast spells or chug flasks lends invaluable breathing room.

Steeds grant mounted combat for outmaneuvering dangerous enemies. Crafting items on the fly like preservation boluses cures status ailments. And the open world enables revisiting areas or farming runes to over-level bosses giving you the upper hand.

These innovations make dipping your toes into the realm without immediately losing them much more welcoming.

Key Considerations When Choosing Your Starting Class

While respec‘ing via Rennala allows reallocating attributes down the road, your initial stat spread and equipment should enable steadily progressing through at least the first major area.

Classes that depend heavily on spells or unique late-game weapons often struggle damaging early enemies, causing possible stagnation. Pure melee classes like the Vagabond bypass this issue entirely in the beginning.

Despite the vast Lands Between spanning the entirety of the Erdtree, meticulously combing every inch of the map provides the keys to conquest. Discovering remote catacombs, dungeons tucked away off the beaten path, and optional subterranean zones nets enormous rune stockpiles along with smithing stone upgrades.

No other title from FromSoft rewards exploration to this degree. And you‘ll need all the runes possible to raise those vitality levels!

Conclusion – Begin Your Quest as the Vagabond

While Sorcerers can eventually raze entire armies with potent spells or Bloody Finger assassins terrorize hosts with bleed katanas, starting off on the back foot heightens initial frustration.

The Vagabond‘s generous vigor and balanced attributes cater directly to the areas that cause newest Tarnished the most deaths and roadblocks. Their survivability and melee versatility afford much more flexibility acclimating to the steep challenges awaiting in the Golden Lineage.

Vagabond‘s with their trusty halberd make the plunging attack from the Church of Anticipation down to the beast anchoring Stormveil‘s gates marginally less petrifying. Their reliable foundations support builders transitioning a quality build into colossal swordsmen or full mages when the time comes.

Here‘s to hoping these musings aid your quest, brave Tarnished! Seek the Elden Ring, become Lord of the waking world and ruler of all that there is! clinks flask of Crimson Tears