Elden Ring, a game renowned for its challenging difficulty and immersive world, offers players countless items and equipment to aid them in their journey. However, there’s a unique challenge for those looking for a more difficult, yet rewarding, playthrough: completing the game with only starting items. While the thought of limiting yourself to basic gear may seem daunting, it is certainly achievable with patience, strategy, and careful planning. In this article, we will discuss how to tackle Elden Ring with only the starting items, and some tips for surviving this high-difficulty challenge.

Understanding the Challenge

Before diving into the specifics, it’s important to first understand what “starting items” are. These are the basic pieces of equipment that you have at the beginning of the game, which vary depending on the class you choose. For example, if you choose the "Confessor" class, you’ll start with a basic sword and shield, while the "Samurai" will have a katana and a bow. These starting items are usually less powerful than what you can obtain later in the game, making combat significantly more difficult.

While you may be tempted to buy Elden Ring items or use advanced gear, the goal here is to rely solely on what’s available to you at the beginning.

Tips for Beating Elden Ring with Only Starting Items

1. Master the Basics of Combat Combat is central to Elden Ring, and with only starting items, you must master the fundamentals of combat. This means understanding the rhythm of attacks, dodging, blocking, and perfecting your timing. You’ll need to be patient, as bosses and enemies take more hits to defeat compared to a normal playthrough. Learn to read enemy attacks and strike at the right moment.

2. Focus on Your Class Abilities Each class in Elden Ring comes with a set of unique abilities and starting gear. Focus on utilizing these abilities to their fullest potential. For example, the "Prisoner" class has powerful magic abilities, which can help you from a distance. On the other hand, the "Vagabond" class is better for melee combat, so you’ll need to focus on close-range combat techniques. Maximize your class’s strengths while minimizing its weaknesses.

3. Utilize Ashes of War and Spirit Summons Although you are limited to starting items, you can still make use of certain system mechanics to bolster your chances of success. Ashes of War allow you to upgrade weapons and change their properties, adding extra damage or special abilities. Spirit summons, which you can obtain early on, also provide additional support during tougher encounters, drawing aggro from enemies and giving you time to strike.

4. Upgrade Your Starting Gear While you may not be able to buy Elden Ring items at will, you can still upgrade your starting gear. Early in the game, you’ll have access to smithing stones, which allow you to upgrade weapons and shields. Investing time in upgrading your starting weapon can drastically improve your combat effectiveness, making it easier to defeat enemies that would otherwise be overwhelming.

5. Plan Your Route and Use Stealth Elden Ring is a massive open world with numerous paths, and not all of them need to be traveled immediately. Plan your route carefully and prioritize key areas that are more manageable with starting gear. Additionally, take advantage of the stealth mechanics. Sneaking past enemies and ambushing them from behind can give you the upper hand, conserving your health and resources for more difficult fights.

6. Learn Enemy Weaknesses One of the keys to success in Elden Ring is knowing the weaknesses of enemies and exploiting them. Each enemy type has specific weaknesses to either magic, fire, or physical damage. By understanding these, you can craft a more efficient strategy even with basic gear. For example, many early enemies are weak to fire, so if you have any fire-related abilities, use them to your advantage.

7. Patience is Key Perhaps the most important tip when attempting to beat Elden Ring with only starting items is patience. The game is designed to be difficult, and attempting to take on tougher foes with basic gear requires careful planning, a steady hand, and the willingness to retry a battle multiple times. Don’t be discouraged by failure — each attempt brings you closer to mastering the game’s mechanics and understanding enemy patterns.

Completing Elden Ring with only starting items is undoubtedly one of the more difficult ways to experience the game, but it’s also one of the most rewarding. By mastering combat, utilizing class abilities, upgrading your gear, and leveraging stealth, you can tackle even the toughest challenges. The satisfaction of overcoming Elden Ring’s brutal difficulty with minimal resources is truly unmatched. So, if you’re up for a real challenge, consider limiting yourself to starting items and see how far you can go in the Lands Between.