Which Class Should You Start With in Dark Souls? A Comprehensive Guide
Choosing your starting class in Dark Souls can feel like a monumental decision. After all, this choice is the first step on your journey through the perilous world of Lordran. However, it’s crucial to understand that your starting class in Dark Souls is not a rigid commitment. It’s merely a set of starting stats, equipment, and an initial gameplay style to help ease you into the game’s unforgiving mechanics. While some classes might offer a smoother early experience than others, ultimately, you can mold any class into any playstyle you desire.
So, which class should you start with in Dark Souls? The answer, while nuanced, leans heavily towards Pyromancer for most newcomers and even veterans looking for an easier early game experience. The Pyromancer starts with a pyromancy flame, allowing you access to powerful ranged damage right from the beginning, and without requiring investment in specific stats other than attunement for spell slots. This allows you to conserve resources on melee combat when you’re first learning the game, and allows you to engage enemies from a safe distance. They also begin with a serviceable hand axe and a round shield, providing a basic melee option and some defense. This hybrid approach of melee and pyromancy makes the Pyromancer an exceptionally versatile and forgiving class to start with. However, other options also hold merit based on player preference, and can be optimal for veteran players.
Starting Classes: A Deeper Dive
While Pyromancer stands out, let’s take a closer look at why other classes might appeal to you:
Knight
The Knight is a common choice for beginners due to its balanced stats, sturdy armor, and a reliable longsword and shield. They are a very forgiving starting class that allows players to easily fall back into a melee play style. Their starting equipment makes them quite resilient early on, which can be a godsend when navigating the initial, punishing areas of the game. If you’re comfortable with melee combat and prefer a more straightforward approach, the Knight is a solid and dependable option.
Warrior
The Warrior, similar to the Knight, begins with a focus on melee combat. They possess a slightly different stat spread, higher strength, and start with a longsword and a large, more offensive shield. Their equipment encourages a more aggressive playstyle than the knight, which can be effective if you’re confident in your melee prowess, and makes them a great class for newer players who want an aggressive playstyle.
Wanderer
The Wanderer is a class focused on dexterity. They start with a scimitar and a leather shield, and have higher agility than most starting classes. This allows them to move and attack quicker than most classes, allowing you to stay out of harms way while also dealing damage. They are designed for more experienced players familiar with the game’s mechanics and combat timings. If you are seeking a more dexterity focused, faster-paced experience, the Wanderer could be your choice.
Thief
The Thief class starts with high dexterity and luck and begins with a dagger and a target shield. While they offer a unique starting item, the Master Key, that opens many locked doors, their low survivability makes them a difficult choice for beginners. It is worth noting that experienced players will still find merit in the thief start. They also start with a unique ability to backstab, which is extremely useful and important to learn in Dark Souls.
Bandit
The Bandit is a strength-focused class with a battle axe and a leather shield. They are similar to the Warrior but begin with more strength, but generally weaker base armor. Their initial weapons and stats might suit those who enjoy a more brute-force approach, but as a whole, they are generally considered a weaker starting class than both the Warrior and Knight.
Hunter
The Hunter is another class focused on dexterity, but with access to a shortbow and a short sword. The hunter offers another more aggressive and agile playstyle. Their equipment allows for both ranged and melee combat, but the ranged options they have to start aren’t as strong as the Pyromancer’s. They require a bit of finesse to be played effectively.
Sorcerer
The Sorcerer starts with a basic soul arrow spell and a catalyst, focusing primarily on ranged magic combat. While powerful, magic in Dark Souls can be resource-intensive in the early game, and can be a more challenging choice for beginners, and their melee options are extremely limited to begin with, making them a frustrating choice for new players. However, a Sorcerer build is a perfectly viable option for those with experience in Dark Souls.
Cleric
The Cleric starts with a mace, a talisman and the Heal miracle. Their starting equipment makes them a decent melee fighter and support caster. It can be beneficial to have healing early on, but its not as crucial to your success as some other options. Their unique healing spell can be helpful but has limited uses early on, and like sorcerers, their magic is quite limited early on.
Deprived
The Deprived starts at level 1 with no special equipment or high stats. This class is meant for experienced players who want the ultimate challenge. You begin with no gear and no starting spells, making the start of your journey much more difficult. However, you have a completely blank canvas, allowing you to mold your stats into any kind of build you like.
The Importance of Starting Gifts
Don’t forget about the starting gift. While you can obtain them throughout the game, some gifts are better than others. In particular, the Master Key is highly recommended. This key lets you open many locked doors and access powerful equipment much earlier than expected. It can dramatically improve your early game experience and is almost universally the best option.
FAQs: Addressing Common Concerns
Here are some frequently asked questions to help clarify the class selection process further:
1. Does my starting class lock me into a specific playstyle?
Absolutely not! Your starting class only dictates your initial stats and equipment. You can level up any class in any way and use any weapon, armor, or spell in the game, regardless of your starting class.
2. Is it true that Pyromancer is the easiest class for beginners?
Yes, this is often the consensus among the Dark Souls community. The Pyromancer’s ranged pyromancies allow you to handle many early enemies from a safer distance, which can be invaluable when learning the game’s mechanics.
3. Can I become a magic user if I didn’t start as a Sorcerer?
Of course! You can level up your intelligence and attunement and use magic. Regardless of your starting class, you can become a powerful mage, or a pyromancer, or even a cleric. Your starting class only determines your starting point.
4. Is the Knight the most durable class?
While the Knight starts with decent armor, this is only temporary. All classes can wear any armor, and what makes a build durable is investing points in vigor and endurance, and finding the armor that suits the build you want.
5. What is the benefit of the Master Key starting gift?
The Master Key allows you to unlock numerous doors early in the game, which can help you access powerful items and equipment much sooner than intended. In general, this is the best choice for your starting gift.
6. Is the Deprived class too hard for a beginner?
Yes, the Deprived class is intended for experienced players and is far more challenging than any other class due to its lack of gear and no starting stats.
7. Are there any classes that are just bad?
No class in Dark Souls is truly bad. Some might be more challenging to begin with due to their starting stats, but all are viable with the correct stat allocation and planning.
8. Does my starting class influence NPC interactions?
No, the NPC interactions and questlines will remain the same regardless of your starting class. However, it is worth noting that there are some starting class specific unique dialog lines that you will miss if you aren’t playing as the character.
9. Can I respec my stats in Dark Souls 1?
Unfortunately, you cannot respec your stats in Dark Souls. This means that your stat investment is permanent. This can be stressful to many players, so do some research on the types of builds you wish to make, and be confident in your decisions before leveling up any stat.
10. How important is luck stat in Dark Souls?
The luck stat is not generally considered important in Dark Souls 1. You should not invest many points into luck as they don’t return too many benefits compared to other stats like vigor, strength, and dexterity.
11. Which class is best for a melee playstyle?
The Knight and Warrior are excellent choices for a melee-focused build, as they both begin with gear and stats appropriate for that playstyle. The Bandit can also work for a melee build but requires some more specific stat allocations.
12. Is a magic build viable in Dark Souls 1?
Yes! Magic builds are absolutely viable in Dark Souls 1, but they can be challenging to start with due to the resource requirements and limited availability of spells.
13. Is there any advantage to playing a dexterity-based class?
Yes! Dexterity-based classes typically use weapons that attack faster and have different move sets compared to strength weapons. This allows for a faster-paced, and more agile combat style.
14. What are the best stats to level early on?
Regardless of your starting class, most players will tell you that the best stats to level up early on are vitality and endurance as these boost your survivability and allow you to attack more often.
15. Can I change my starting class after I begin the game?
No, once you start the game, you are locked into your chosen starting class. However, this shouldn’t be a huge issue as your starting class becomes irrelevant after a few hours into the game.
In conclusion, while the Pyromancer often tops the list for ease of use and effectiveness, especially for newcomers, the “best” starting class in Dark Souls is ultimately the one that best suits your preferred playstyle. Don’t be afraid to experiment, and remember that your initial choice is only the first of many decisions you’ll make on your journey through the unforgiving world of Dark Souls.