Elden Ring beginner's guide and what to do first

Visit Elleh Church just north of your starting point (be sure to avoid the powerful Tree Sentinel on the way!) to find a merchant, Kale, who can sell you a crafting kit and some cookbooks, and if you want to explore some nearby. troglodyte dungeons, a torch.

Ideally, your first port of call should be Gatefront Ruins. It's found along the critical path, next to a gate where you can approach Castle Stormveil, but contains two useful items: the map fragment for the area and a whetstone knife to equip weapon abilities Ash of War.

At this point, you'll be wondering how to take it to the next level. Visit the Grace just east or west of the Gatefront Ruins and you will receive a visit from Melina. This is where you will also get the horse Torrent, which will help you explore the area faster and easier.

If you want smaller dungeons next, it's worth exploring a few local caves. Again, you'll need a torch before leaving, and the bosses inside - Demi Human Chief, Beastman of Farum Azula, and Erdtree Burial Watchdog among them - provide a healthy challenge and decent rewards.

Although several characters warn you against visiting Agheel Lake to the east, it's worth going around the outside and following the river to the north. After an invasion, you'll want to visit Patches, who very soon has an item that can help you with a critical path story boss. This is also where you can purchase a Stonesword key allowing you to access specific locked areas.

Lakeside is also where you'll find our recommendation for the best weapon during business hours, the Twinblade. Chances are you'll need to increase your stats to equip it, though - our rune farming methods might help you here. If you're particularly interested in casting magic, it's worth finding a staff location.

Regardless of which weapon you choose, it's worth finding Smithing Stones to upgrade. There are two locations in Limgrave that we recommend visiting: a mine-like dungeon to the northwest of the lake, or a troll-covered field near Stormhill, not far from Stormveil Castle.

Finally, some Flask upgrades are within your reach to help you heal better - and if you're happy to get help in combat, searching for summon spirits won't hurt either.

At this point you should have access to a good weapon, an upgraded character, and a better understanding of how things work.

The points above only scratch the surface of what Limgrave has in store - not to mention the rest of the game, most of which is technically accessible from the start if you know where to go. Feel free to wander around and take it all in at your own pace - there's something new and surprising around every corner - and when you're ready, start the critical path properly.

Ancient Ring

Where to go next in Elden Ring and how to reach Castle Stormveil

When you're ready, reaching Castle Stormveil is as simple as going west through the Gatefront Ruins gate and following the winding path up the hill until you reach the gates.

Sure, we say "simple", but there are plenty of enemies, both at the gate point and just as you approach the castle itself.

Luckily, with Torrent, you can just walk past them, all the way to the castle walls that the path leads you to. (Tip: There's no shame in outrunning enemies - especially when they're in a group!).

There is, however, one major obstacle before arriving at Castle Stormveil proper: an encounter with the first boss of the critical path, Margit the Fell Omen.

This is a very difficult encounter, requiring not only a reasonably level character - we were around level 20 - but ideally a good set of offensive options and a few summons to help you out.

If you're stuck here - and we were for a while - it's recommended that you explore Limgrave (and beyond) further, not only to better develop your character, but also to keep you from getting too frustrated . Unlike other FromSoftware games, even though bosses like this can block the "main" path forward, there is still so much you can see and do. So take your time and explore – Margit can wait!

If you need more guidance from here, we've got an Elden Ring walkthrough for the critical path and a list of major bosses to help you see one of the many endings.