Elden Ring is nearly upon us, but Bandai Namco and From Software continue to showcase details from the game. Today they have revealed two new classes for the latest Soulsborne game, the Vagabond and the Hero.
There will be a total of ten classes to choose from in the game, but players have only been able to test out five from Elden Ring’s Closed Network Test: the Enchanted Knight, a warrior that's an expert in melee combat but also can cast spells; the Bloody Wolf, a slow fighter with the highest strength rating in the game; the Prophet, a spellcaster who uses incantations for offensive and healing magic; the Champion, a fighter who also excels at ranged attacks; and the Warrior, a pick for players who love to dodge and parry attacks.
The Vagabond will be another knight character in Elden Ring, but this one will be less pure than the Enchanted Knight that’s on a bit of a crusade against bad magic-users. This one has been exiled from their homeland and looks to be great for armor-users as it comes with quite an armor set, as well as a greatsword. The Hero is the descendant of a chieftain and plays well with a battleaxe.
Choosing a class is always a tricky part for all the Soulsborne games, but as with previous titles there is one class that seems only made for the truly masochistic among the fanbase, the Wretch. This newly revealed class will be the hardest in Elden Ring and will play similarly to the “naked” characters of previous titles, such as Dark Souls' Deprived class and Bloodborne's Waste of Skin class. These start players off with minimal equipment (essentially leaving them in their underwear) and with terrible base stats. While this does mean that the class has a steep learning curve, it does ultimately mean that it's a blank slate for players to customize their character as they see fit; provided they can survive long enough to do so.
In a recent interview, Elden Ring director Hidetaka Miyazaki revealed that he believes more people will finish this game than most Soulsborne games, especially since its open world allows even more ways to progress than before. No longer will players get stuck on one or two bosses when they can just roam around and find another area that’s easier to attempt. Don't take this to mean that the game will be easy by any stretch of the imagination, though, as a Soulsborne game simply wouldn't be a Soulsborne game if it weren't a challenge.
Elden Ring releases February 25, 2022 for PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.
