For everything that Dark Souls 3 does well, it's not necessarily the easiest game to simply pick up and play.
That's not to say the gameplay is bad by any means, it's just that the game doesn't always explain its various systems: once you learn what everything is or does, it's not all that hard to wrap your head around, but the game will leave you to figure out most everything on your own.
Usually, that mystery is a big part of the fun — but when it comes to making a character, the lack of explanation can be frustrating. What's worse is that, without any real way to reverse your choices, it's entirely possible to end up playing as a character that you don't like.
That's what this guide is for: instead of making blind choices based on a single menu screen at the beginning of the game, we've broken everything down so that you can make the best possible character build based on exactly how you want to play:
Building Your Character
In terms of starting classes, there's no real wrong answer or bad pick — that being said, there are definitely stronger candidates than others.
Heavy hitters will likely want to start with either the Knight or Warrior classes. If you're thinking about trying out a bit of magic, stick with the Knight — otherwise, the Warrior starts with the highest Strength out of any of the other classes.
For agile fighters, it's hard to beat the Thief or Assassin classes. Again, it really comes down to whether or not you want to use magic: the Assassin class starts with slightly better stats for using sorceries, so you may want to start there.
Purely magic-based builds will want to start with their corresponding classes: Sorcerers and Pyromancers are pretty self-explanatory, and the Cleric class is a good place to start for Miracle-users (though the Herald class makes for a great balance of Faith and Dexterity).
Finally, stay away from the Deprived class: yes, it has the highest stats of any class, but you'll start the game with a stick and no armor. This is for advanced players only!
Now that you've got your character all sorted out, it's time to jump into the true meat and potatoes of Dark Souls 3 — the combat! Granted, the combat in Dark Souls is a bit more complicated than one might think — if you need a bit of help getting started (or just need a refresher) make sure to check out our dedicated combat guide!
For more on Dark Souls III, check out our ever-growing coverage hub!
