The Bandit Surpasses the Samurai as Best Elden Ring Starting Class

As a hardcore Elden Ring player with over 300 hours invested, I believe the Bandit is the superior starting class over the Samurai when optimizing for damage potential. With the right late game build, you simply cannot match the Bandit‘s blistering bleed procs and critical hit devastation.

However, newer players will likely find more success beginning their Lands Between journey with the well-rounded Samurai class. Let‘s closely examine why:

Statistical Comparison – Starting Stats

Right from the get go at level 1, we see a tale of two different stat spreads between the classes:

The Bandit clearly favors offense with a astronomical 14 arcane for applying bleed along with 13 dex for critical hits. However, the measly 10 vigor means they can‘t take many attacks before falling. Glass cannon incarnate.

Contrastly, the Samurai exhibits remarkable balance on all fronts. Solid vigor and fantastic endurance for defense and posture, reasonable intelligence/faith for some magic utility, with high strength and extremely high dexterity to boot. They can handle themselves in any battle, but may not exceed in one particular area.

So in a max DPS race – advantage Bandit. But for flexible and survivable builds – Samurai takes the lead. Now let‘s crunch some numbers.

Damage Potential Comparison

When min/maxing for pure damage with the best possible late game builds, the Bandit blows other starting classes out of the water:

• Level 150 Rivers of Blood Bandit Build

  • Rivers of Blood Katana: 640 blood loss build up + 110 bleed proc
  • 60 Dex / 80 Arcane
  • Talismans: Lord of Blood‘s Exultation (+20% bleed damage), Rotten Winged Sword Insignia (boost successive attack damage)
  • Results: Up to 5,800 DPS(!) when bleeding bosses

• Level 150 Hoarfrost Stomp Bandit Build

  • Two Giant Crushers (Legendary Colossal Hammer with S-tier strength scaling)
  • Hoarfrost Stomp Ash of War for high frost + physical damage
  • 60 Strength / 50 Dexterity / Base Faith
  • Results: Frost and staggering stomp blast clears rooms and deals insane posture damage. Over 2,000 DPS on crits.

With min/max builds leveraging the Bandit‘s best in class arcane and dexterity, they output nearly triple the damage of any late game Samurai configuration. Now let‘s examine why…

Playstyle and Combat Analysis

Thanks to their starting dagger and parrying shield, the Bandit epitomizes high risk, high reward aggressive combat. I live for parry trading with Crucible Knights and reversing their tail spikes for a visceral critical stab.

By artfully dodging attacks andprecision countering, you can systematically whittle down enemies. Seeing those blood loss and frost meters rise is immensely gratifying. Just don‘t get greedy!

However, if you prefer steadier, balanced combat the Samurai may be more appealing. While their Uchigatana doesn‘t offer as explosive damage potential as Rivers or Bleed, it still carves nicely. And adding an Ash of War like Unsheathe lets you hit hard from range.

Plus starting with a longbow allows pulling enemies safely. In longer battles, the Samurai‘s generous equip load and endurance gives them remarkable staying power. They truly shine as the quintessential "sword saint" archetype.

Final Verdict: Choose Your Own Adventure

For seasoned veterans and intrepid explorers who relish mastering combat mechanics and challenging encounters, the Bandit‘s extreme risk/reward style offers the most fun. Their potential to erase health bars with bleeding crits is just too addictive.

But newer Tarnished or those desiring flexibility should strongly consider the Samurai‘s balanced approach instead. Their versatility lets you experience and experiment with all Elden Ring has to offer.

So which calling speaks to your soul? Will you stalk your prey as a cunning Bandit and pounce for sudden kills? Or adopt a balanced Samurai path with patience and poise? Let your playstyle decide!

May the blessings of grace guide your journey through the Lands Between.