The good thing about ER is that there are so many weapons to choose from. If longsword isn’t working, try another weapon. Nothing wrong with mixing it up. That, and if you’re using a shield, try to focus on using your guard counter effectively. I’ve never liked using shields in FromSoft games, but Elden Ring changed that for me. Being able to retaliate when an enemy hits your shield makes all the difference. It feels a lot more tactical rather than just hiding behind a shield and going suuuuuper slow to avoid damage. It makes the shield a tool of aggression rather than just a defensive option.

Try experimenting with ashes of war too. The ability to switch the ashes of war on your weapons is unlocked fairly early, and they cost nothing to switch between different weapons. For me, a huge portion of my damage comes from my ashes of war, not directly from my weapon.

So this isn’t for everyone, but personally, I just looked up a guide. I didn’t do like a whole walkthrough or anything but I went and looked at which zones were designed for which levels so at least I knew I was fighting stuff I was supposed to be fighting. If I hadn’t I 100% would have wandered around in much higher level areas than I was supposed to until I got so frustrated I quit playing.

I like the gameplay but have no interest in the fromsoft style of bashing my head against super strong enemies until I beat them. Really hard fights are fine but all the fights being super hard because I walked off in the wrong direction was not for me. Once I knew I was in an area for my level I had way more fun even though it was still really hard.

It definitely can feel a bit overwhelming with choice and the game is honestly a little obtuse with how it gives you basically nothing to go off of and expects you to figure it out. The main thing is just to explore as heavily as you can, even if you think there isn’t anything to look at or do somewhere or you feel like you cant go there, check it out anyway.

I would highly recommend trying to do the majority of your first full run as blind as you can and then maybe doing a second playthrough with following a guide. Fighting cowboy has a lovely walkthrough.

For first builds I would recommend doing a quality, dex and strength focused. It will allow you to pick up most weapons and use them somewhat effectively which will help you try many things until you find you’re niche that you think you want to stick with and then you can relocate stats from there

I would also add:

If you get to an area and you’re just getting absolutely obliterated, double back and try a new spot or level your character if you’re dead set on going the hard way.

Elden ring is a huge game that doesn’t really hold your hand through anything. If you’re feeling curious about something, go check it out.

The advice I’d give to you:

• Listen to NPCs when they talk. It’s easy to skip past stuff or zone out but they often explain what’s going on, what you should be doing or what they’d like you to do for them. For instance, a lot of people got lost right after the tutorial, but the NPC standing right next to the first site of grace literally explains that your first main story objective is in the big castle to the north.

-remember if you DO get lost, the sites of grace have a kind of ‘arc’ of gold shining out from them that points towards your next closest main story boss/dungeon.

• Don’t worry too much about your build right at the beginning of the game. Find weapons, armor, spells, etc and use what you think looks fun and then just keep leveling up the stats that apply to those things. You can always respec later if you want to.

• Take your time to just explore the main area your in at the time and then when you feel like you’re ready move on head to the boss area. At the start of the game the main boss is in godricks castle, but it’s safe to explore the whole are you can see on your map and the area directly to thr south, but avoid the area to the east. When everything turns red, you’ve gone too far east. The red area (caelid) isn’t even really required to beat the game so don’t go exploring in there until youre leveled up and confident.

Put all your points in vitality