Elden Ring Strategy guide: Battle Guide for Beginners. Learn the basic system and techniques to face off against powerful enemies!

　On February 25, 2022, "ELDEN RING" was finally released.

　The combat in this title is solid and challenging. If you're not used to the controls and systems, you may find it hard to win. Therefore, this article will teach the basic systems and techniques for battles, especially for beginner players who are hitting a wall in battle.

　Please note that the buttons used in this article are those of the PlayStation hardware.

Basics of Attack

　The basic attack is to use the right-handed weapon's normal attack (R1 button) and strong attack (R2 button) to cut down the enemy's HP until it reaches zero. Although the performance of each weapon differs greatly, you can basically think of the normal attack as an attack that can be hit repeatedly, and the strong attack as an attack that has a large gap but can deal a lot of damage. Depending on the weapon type, it is often possible to derive a strong attack from the middle of a normal attack, so it is best to fight as if you are connecting attacks.

　Attacking consumes stamina, and you can't launch an attack when you have no stamina. In some situations, you can blindly hit the enemy repeatedly, but be careful, because if you are hit by an enemy attack while you have no stamina, you will lose your stance and have a big gap.

Basics of defense

　Defense is more important than offense, and the key to success in battle is how well you defend against enemy attacks. The more you are attacked, the more HP you lose, but in this game, if you are attacked, you can often be brought to the brink of death at once. The most important thing is how to avoid being attacked. There are several ways to defend yourself, but let's take a look at some of the main actions.

　The first is "guard," where you hold your left shield or two-handed weapon with the L1 button to get into a guard stance. Depending on the equipment, there is a status Guard Rate, and if this number is 100, 100% of the damage will be cut. If it is less than that, you will take a little damage when guarding. Checking your equipment's cut ratio is one of the most basic ways to reduce damage. In addition, guarding will reduce your stamina, and if you guard when your stamina is zero, you will be bounced and expose yourself.

　Next, let's take a look at evasive maneuvers. Pressing the ○ button as is will cause you to "backstep", while holding the left stick will cause you to "rolling". Rolling is especially important, as it gives you a little invincibility time when you evade, allowing you to avoid enemy attacks as if you were going through them. However, evading actions also consume stamina, and when it reaches zero, performance drops. You can use it repeatedly to some extent, but if you use it too much, you may get into a dangerous situation.

There are many other ways to avoid enemies, such as running to distance yourself from them, walking to adjust your distance and invite enemies to attack, and jumping to avoid low posture attacks, but in the beginning it is best to just focus on guarding and avoiding.

Attack techniques to remember

　Guard or evade the enemy's attack, and attack the enemy during the attack. This is the basis of combat. However, there are many enemies that are difficult to defeat by themselves. Let's take a look at some of the things you'll need to know as a beginner to be able to face such enemies.

Break the enemy's stance.

　Enemies have their own stances (and so do you), and the more you hit them with your attacks, the more they'll lose their stance with a "boom! sound effect. The more you hit them, the more they will collapse their stance with a "boom! In particular, it is easy to break the enemy's stance with the "tame" attack. Also, jumping attacks and the following "guard counter" attacks are also easy to break the enemy's stance, so practice them on early enemies and master them well.

Guard Counter

　If you launch a strong attack immediately after guarding an enemy's attack, a "Guard Counter" will occur. A guard counter is an action that immediately counterattacks the enemy, and it's also quite powerful. The advantage is that it is easy to break the enemy's stance.

　It's a convenient action that allows you to counterattack immediately, but the downside is that it takes a little bit of time to launch, making it vulnerable to repeated hits. For example, if you launch it in the middle of a three-strike attack, the third strike may hit you directly. First of all, try to find the end of the attack and find a point where you can easily perform a guard counter.

Critical hit

　Approaching a skittish enemy and pressing the R1 button will trigger the critical hit. This is mainly triggered when the enemy is out of position, or when you get behind them. It depends on the type of enemy, and for large enemies, the location where the fatal blow can be struck may be fixed.

　Not only can you deal a lot of damage if you land it, but you will also become invincible while it is active, which can be a clue to escape when you are surrounded by enemies. Be careful, however, because if you are attacked again at the end of a critical hit, you may be damaged by the attack in reverse.

　Incidentally, you can also choose not to deliver the critical hit. The moment the enemy is out of position, you will want to strike a critical hit. However, if the enemy is large or has a very high HP, you may not be able to deal much damage even if you land a critical hit. In such cases, it is more efficient to launch a series of attacks as soon as the enemy is out of position. Especially for weapons that can be used in rapid succession, you can often do more damage this way. If the weapon is slow, it may be easier to deliver a critical hit.

Parry

　This may be an advanced technique for beginners, but it is an important battle technique, so let me explain.

　If you use the parry technique on your shield in time with the enemy's attack, you will be able to repel the enemy's attack and break their stance. This is a powerful counter move that can lead to a critical hit. The timing of the move varies greatly depending on the enemy. It is not necessary for beginners to master this technique, as it is difficult to judge the timing on the fly.

Defensive Techniques to Remember

　Following the attack, I'll teach you some useful knowledge about defense that you should learn as a beginner.

Be careful about recovering stamina while guarding.

　Stamina recovers over time, but it recovers at a slower rate while in a guard stance. If your stamina is greatly depleted after guarding an enemy attack, wait for it to recover by releasing your guard stance and keeping your distance. If you're not familiar with the game, it's easy to accidentally act while on guard, so it's a good idea to be aware of this.

Get behind the enemy in battle.

　To get behind an enemy, you basically have to take a covert action and sneak up behind them. However, there are some enemies (mainly humanoid enemies) that can deliver a deadly blow from behind even during battle. In some cases, you can run behind them, and in other cases, you may be able to get behind them while running in circles around them.

　For example, spear soldier often attack in a straight line, and you may be able to get behind them while they are attacking. Your aim will vary depending on the enemy, so experiment and aim accordingly.

Rolling closely towards the enemy

　One technique that is easy to use, especially against large enemies, is not to roll away from the enemy, but to dare to roll towards the enemy as if you were in close contact.

　If you evade the enemy as if you are moving away from them, you may be hit by a barrage of attacks and take damage, or the reach of the attacks may be greater than expected and you may not be able to avoid them. However, if you roll towards an enemy while in close contact, you may be able to evade them as if you were slipping through them, and you may be able to take their back or avoid their subsequent attacks, giving you an advantage. This also varies depending on the enemy, but if you're having trouble defeating an enemy, you might want to give it a try.

Try out your skills.

　You can't abuse the skills because they consume FP to activate, but there are many situations where they are useful, such as those with excellent power or those that can break your stance at once. When you get tripped up in a boss fight, you may find that an unexpected battle technique comes in handy, so when you get one, try it out for yourself. It is not too late to decide whether or not to use them after you have a grasp of their effects.

Utilize the Spectral Steed Trent!

　You can also attack while riding Trent, the Spectral Steed, which is useful for battles in wide open spaces. You can attack while moving at high speed, which is quite powerful. Just run and slash, then dash away when the enemy is about to attack. Torrent also has HP, and if you have a low posture attack, Torrent will take care of the damage for you.

　However, if the player is attacked while lacking stamina, the player will be thrown off the spirit horse, creating a big gap. Note that the same happens when Trent is defeated. The HP of Trent can be recovered with items, and it can also be revived with a flask of crimson tears.

Use long range attacks!

　There are many situations where long range weapons such as bows and crossbows, as well as long range attacks using sorcery and incantation, are useful. Even if it doesn't fit your growth plan, you should be able to use them at any time. Depending on the location, you may be able to attack unilaterally, making it easier to get through difficult areas.

　In the open air, the combination with Trent is especially powerful, and you can use it to attack from a distance while running away to reduce the enemy's HP. However, some enemies may react to your long-distance attacks and avoid you. I won't go into too much detail, but you can also use ...... to take advantage of buildings and elevation differences, making it very versatile. Long-range attacks should always be an option.

Let's make use of the spirits.

　If you've come to a place where you can summon a spirit, don't think too hard about summoning it if you're ready to do so. Just by not having to fight alone, the situation can become much more favorable. There are also summoning signs set up before challenging strong enemies, such as boss battles, that allow you to summon allied NPCs (some of which will only appear after clearing an event).

　If you can take on a challenge with the main character, a spirit, and a summoned NPC, the situation will change dramatically when fighting strong enemies. Of course, it's also fun to go online and challenge them in cooperative multiplayer!

When you just can't win, take a ...... break!

　In the middle of your adventure, there will always be a moment when you are defeated by a strong enemy over and over again, and you wonder, "Oh, how can I defeat this? ......" or "I was able to reduce my HP to half, but what should I do from there? I've lost half my HP, but what do I do from there?

　This is a rule of thumb for me, but at such times, it's better to take a real "break". Take a break and do something else, or even go to sleep. When I played the game after that, I was surprised to find myself saying, "What? You'll be surprised at how well you can do. Of course, you can avoid battles and explore other places, but I'm sure you'll still be thinking about the powerful enemies you've defeated so many times. That's not the case. It's important to take a break from the game for a while. No, I'm serious.