5 Best Character Customisation Tips for New Elden Ring Players

How do you build the perfect character? Take a look at our tips to get the character you want for Elden Ring.

The hype for 2022’s Game of the Year, Elden Ring has not slowed down in the months since its release. The fantasy role-playing game had a lot of attributes that were praised, but none more so than its character build features. Everything from facial features to capabilities was covered in detail, so players could sit for hours building the perfect character to go on this epic quest with.

So, how do you build the perfect character? Take a look at our tips to get the character you want for Elden Ring.

Take a leaf out the DnD book

Literally. If you’re someone who loves role-playing games, you might have a character sheet handy. You can create your own character that you play as with friends around the Dungeons and Dragons table and transfer it into the game, or you can use the sheet to create a new character from scratch.

It’s hard to argue that the character creation aspect is one of the highlights of both role-playing tabletop games and console games. Game reviews go viral talking about all the ways you can change a face, a personality, a fighting style, an outfit, and nowadays even gender and sexuality.

Think about who you want your character to be first

That might sound obvious, but what we mean by that is to stick to a character archetype and pull out the finer points later. If you want to be a pure-hearted Luke Skywalker-type hero, start with that, and build the characteristics around the idea. If you want to be a black-as-coal villain like Nurse Ratchet with a sword, someone everyone loves to hate, start there.

But there are also narrative archetypes within that spectrum, like the “anti-hero”. Punisher is a good example of this: a guy doing bad things in the name of a good motive, and so are Walter White and Tony Soprano. There are even more examples to be found in literature. Think about your favourite characters in movies, TV shows and books and draw from their characteristics. You can even give them a name to reflect their archetype. If you’re having trouble look at this free clan name generator to give you a starting point.

Don’t forget their flaws

Even if you go for the hero archetype, remember that they need flaws. We don’t mean an aesthetic flaw either. A scar across their nose does not a deep character make, Game of Thrones producers. People remember Tyrion because he is – or was – intelligent and witty. But he was also reckless and had some daddy issues.

Luke Skywalker has to constantly work to keep his temper and anger in check, Spider-Man is a pure-hearted teenager trying his best, but he’s naïve and pulls himself too far, and let’s face it, Harry Potter’s a bit of an idiot who has to rely on the intelligence of the people around him.

Once you’ve got your archetype, work on what makes your character different. What do they have to overcome? How will they approach the various challenges that the game will surely throw at you? Even better, will they get a redemption arc through the storytelling of the game? This is the beauty of role-playing games like Elden Ring.

Hit randomiser

There is a way of doing this that will entirely take the work out but add the fun. The “random” button is a roll of the dice on everything. Nose shape, eye colour, scars, endurance and even species. It’s a good option if you’re going for another play-through and you just can’t get out of your own way. If you find yourself picking all your favourite options to the point that you might as well have the same character as last time, hit “Random” and an entirely new being will be standing before you. No one is saying you can’t tweak them if there’s something, in particular, you were looking for, but once that’s done, get out into the dark world of the Lands Between.

Or don’t

Just make sure not to spend three hours working on your character and then accidentally hit randomiser. That’s time you won’t get back and imagine explaining to your significant other why you’re sobbing at your desk.

Main Image Source: IMAGE: https://unsplash.com/photos/2pNdTBn4C7U (Unsplash)

Author Profile

Al Mega

I'm Al Mega the CEO of Comic Crusaders, CEO of the Undercover Capes Podcast Network, CEO of Geekery Magazine & Owner of Splintered Press (coming soon). I'm a fan of comics, cartoons and old school video games. Make sure to check out our podcasts/vidcasts and more!