With little time left before Elden Ring releases, FromSoftware has revealed the game's final roster of classes and spotlighted them through via Twitter. There's no doubt that the final class list is different from the list of classes presented in the game's Network Test; it appears the Bloody Wolf, the Champion, and the Enchanted Knight didn't make it through the game's final months of development. However, Elden Ring does offer a few classes that fill those niches as starting options. For instance, the heavy-duty Vagabond looks like a perfect starting choice for fans of the Bloody Wolf and Dark Souls' classic "sword-and-board" style.
More importantly, Elden Ring's final list of classes is much bigger than the Network Test's list. While the test only showed off five potential classes, there will be 10 starting classes in Elden Ring at launch. As in most Dark Souls games, starting classes only define a character's base stats rather than determining everything they can do, but having a lot of classes is still important. The final version of Elden Ring offers a ton of support for build paths that the original class list didn't cover with its team of five.
Elden Ring's Broad Class List
Elden Ring's Network Test offered plenty of support for melee combat fans. The Bloody Wolf and the Enchanted Knight served as masters of heavy armor, while the Champion could dish out major damage alongside them. In the process, the test's class list left little room for less melee-oriented styles. The Warrior was the only Dexterity-focused class, leaving archery lovers with few options for their starting class, while the Prophet was the only true mage sacrificing durability for powerful Incantations. These classes worked well for a beta test, but ultimately they were too limited to capture Dark Souls' historic variety of build paths.
That's why it's great to see Dark Souls' final class roster have so many more options. The Astrologer now stands alongside the Prophet as a true mage starting class, wielding Glintstone Sorceries instead of Incantations, while the Bandit both empowers archery lovers and unique Arcane-heavy builds. Dark Souls lovers who want a fresh start or a major challenge can also pick up Elden Ring's Wretch, starting with minimal equipment but well-rounded stats. These classes and Elden Ring's other options add up to a better starting list for character builds of all kinds.
Elden Ring's Diversity is Useful
In Dark Souls games, a character's starting class is everything. Aside from giving players base statistics that empower the perfect skillset, starting classes give players equipment that make that build playable from the beginning so, for example, archers don't have to scrounge for a good bow in the game's opening hours. Dark Souls' build paths would be less interesting if each Dark Souls game only offered four or five starting classes, but instead FromSoftware stocks each game with eight-to-10 options. With that many tools at their disposal, Dark Souls fans have more liberty to be mechanically creative.
The same is true for Elden Ring. If the game released with just the five Network Test classes, they'd likely serve players well for one playthrough, but would quickly lose their shine as players try to make new builds. Elden Ring's starting classes give players more power to do what they want to from the beginning while setting them up for success later in the game. It's no surprise to see FromSoftware preserve this aspect of Dark Souls, but nevertheless, a big class roster is one welcomed aspect of Elden Ring. FromSoftware's new game is made more appealing from the outset because it puts power and choices in the players' hands.
Elden Ring releases February 25, 2022 for PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.
