Is Elden Ring a tough game to play for beginners?  (2024)

Elden ring has taken the gaming world by storm, selling over 12 million copies in two weeks. However, many players may hesitate to buy the game made by FromSoftware, a company known to create games with extreme difficulties like Dark Souls and Bloodborne. 

It’s fair to say that Elden Ring is a hard game, as players will face several enemies and bosses that can kill them with a single hit. But, after a couple of hours, when you master all the basic mechanics, the game gets progressively easier. 

Understanding the difficulty level you’ll face while playing this game is crucial before trying Elden Ring. Therefore, in this article, I’ll go through the most common questions regarding the difficulty in Elden Ring to get a good idea of whether this Action RPG is worth your time. 

How long does it take to beat Elden Ring?

Is Elden Ring a tough game to play for beginners?  (1)

It takes around 50 hours to beat the main campaign of Elden Ring. On the other hand, if you explore all aspects of the game, it’ll take more than 120 hours to attain 100% completion by defeating all bosses and finishing side quests. 

Elden Ring is a game where the time different players take to complete the game may vary dramatically. You might get over the 50-hour mark without getting close to the end. 

Also, Elden Ring is an open-ended game, allowing players to access most of its areas and boss fights very early in the game. Therefore, you need to choose the best possible path for your character to finish the game quicker. 

Is Elden Ring beginner-friendly?

Is Elden Ring a tough game to play for beginners?  (2)

Elden Ring is more beginner-friendly compared to other games made by FromSoftware. It’s because players can complete side quests to get stronger. Additionally, bosses are static in level, so the more the character levels up, the easier it becomes to beat them. 

However, there are instances where the game will force you to carry out difficult tasks. Every fight requires you to avoid getting hitting while learning when to hit back. Some of them are incredibly fast-paced, and one wrong move can lead to your death. 

Therefore, players need to learn and adapt to every death they face while playing this game. Getting past every hurdle is incredibly satisfying and gives players the confidence to take on rigorous challenges, making the game worth playing. 

Is Demon Souls harder than Elden Ring?

Is Elden Ring a tough game to play for beginners?  (3)

No, Elden Ring is significantly harder than Demon’s Souls due to swarm fights. The hordes in Elden Ring are much harder to deal with because of their aggressiveness. It becomes impossible to single out battles in the Action RPG Game compared to Demon Souls. 

Additionally, there are many more tough dual boss fights in Elden Ring – the FromSoftware game. Demi-Human Chiefs, the Crystalians, and Grafted Scions are some examples of these types of boss fights in the starting area. 

One-on-one boss fights are also much tighter compared to Demon Souls. As a result, pure magic and ranged builds are more challenging due to quick boss movements and ranged attacks. Elden Ring bosses are much more difficult to deal with ranged characters compared to Demon Souls. 

Verdict

Is Elden Ring a tough game to play for beginners?  (4)

Overall, Elden Ring is a difficult game for players with its deep combat mechanics. Therefore, beginners must use the Cave of Knowledge to learn defensive movements like blocking, rolling, and guard counters. They must master them as they come in handy during battle. 

The game is widely popular for a reason. Elden Ring has a massive open world which gives players more freedom to explore and fight different creatures. The ability to tackle the game in a way you’re most comfortable with makes it one of the friendlier FromSoftware games. 

Beginners tend to feel nervous to play a challenging game, but if you’re willing to try it out, spending some time experiencing Elden Ring will be worth it. 

About Elden Ring

Elden Ring is the next major title to be released by FromSoftware, the developers of Demon’s Souls, Bloodborne and the Dark Souls franchise. Elden Ring is set to release on the February 25th, 2022.

The game is set in a world known as The Lands Between. Players will take control of a Tarnished to explore these lands and uncover the secrets it holds. The game is an open-world style title with emphasis on combat and traversal. There is also a multiplayer component, along players to summon others for co-operative play, or to be invaded for PvP encounters.

Is Elden Ring a tough game to play for beginners?  (2024)

FAQs

Is Elden Ring a tough game to play for beginners? ? ›

Elden Ring is indeed hard in the early portions if you've never played a FromSoft game before.

How hard is Elden Ring for beginners? ›

Elden Ring can be really hard, but there are always ways to either take a break and still make progress, or tune down the difficulty with help or upgrades, so don't ever feel like you're stuck with nothing else you can do.

Can beginners enjoy Elden Ring? ›

That said, I think Elden Ring is a fine place to start. The story is self contained, so you're not missing out on any lore by not playing Dark Souls first. And although it's faster paced than DS1, it does have a lot of tools that make things easier for players new to Souls games.

Can you play Elden Ring on easy difficulty? ›

The same is true for Elden Ring, the new FromSoftware game tearing up the sales charts. It too does not have traditional difficulty settings. But it does have an easy mode.

Can a beginner finish Elden Ring? ›

Yep, the average play can beat Elden Ring. Im hearing some of the later bosses are in the stratosphere compared to Margit, and 1 shot players even with 40 vigor.

How long does Elden Ring take for beginners? ›

If you're pursuing the simplest path to the end without engaging much with side quests, stories, alternative endings or distractions, you can expect a 50-70 hour campaign.

Is Elden Ring worth for beginners? ›

On the spectrum of gaming difficulty, FromSoftware makes their games just a few clicks to the left of “too difficult to be fun.” Elden Ring is a real challenge with victories that feel hard-earned, but it's still extremely fun. It's hard, but it's not too hard.

What makes Elden Ring so hard? ›

But while each individual block and attack may not be mechanically difficult, Elden Ring can require a lot of focus and endurance to chain moves together into a successful battle (or series of battles). That's especially true when multiple enemies gang up to attack you from all sides.

What is the most beginner-friendly class in Elden Ring? ›

Vagabond. The Vagabond is a very beginner-friendly, basic Elden Ring class that can be specialized for Strength or Dexterity to craft strong and relatively simple melee builds.

Where should beginners go in Elden Ring? ›

Here is what you should do first in Elden Ring: Visit the Church of Elleh just north of where you begin (be sure to avoid the powerful Tree Sentinel on the way!) to find a merchant, Kale, who can sell you a Crafting Kit and Cookbooks, and if you want to explore some nearby cave dungeons, a torch.

Is Elden Ring too hard for the average gamer? ›

Elden Ring is MEANT to be tough. Not impassably so, but it's definitely meant to challenge you as a player. The developers know how smart, diligent, and tough gamers can be, so they built a game that was meant to push you to be your best.

What is the most difficult class to play Elden Ring? ›

There is no questioning that the Wretch provides Elden Ring's most challenging experience by far, particularly in the early game. It continues the tradition of the "Deprived" class from Dark Souls by starting the player as a half-naked warrior with low (albeit balanced) stats and a nigh-useless club.

Is Elden Ring hard at first? ›

Elden Ring is indeed hard in the early portions if you've never played a FromSoft game before. It took a while for everything to click for me, but once it did, I just could not put the game down I was enjoying it that much.

Can average players play Elden Ring? ›

You are going to play something new and refrshing for the first time ever, amazing and inmense world without hand-holding. Forget about the "average" part man! Everyone GITS GUD with some practice so go and buy Elden Ring. Anyone can beat this game, just need some patience.

What is the most beginner friendly class in Elden Ring? ›

Vagabond. The Vagabond is a very beginner-friendly, basic Elden Ring class that can be specialized for Strength or Dexterity to craft strong and relatively simple melee builds.

Is Elden Ring as hard as Dark Souls? ›

Elden Ring is on par with Dark Souls III with its initial difficulty but gets harder in the lategame as every boss becomes significantly faster or more tanky or both. Sekiro is a outliner, because it only allows parrying so if you're better at dodging, Elden Ring will be easier for you to handle.

What is the hardest class to start with in Elden Ring? ›

10 The Wretch Class Offers No Direction Or Guidance

There is no questioning that the Wretch provides Elden Ring's most challenging experience by far, particularly in the early game.

Is Elden Ring the most difficult? ›

Elden Ring has become widely regarded as one of the hardest games of all time, as well as one of the most beloved in recent years. While the Souls games are often recognized for their punishing difficulty, there are plenty of other hard games on the market, so here are the top 10 hardest video games of all time.

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