One of Elden Ring’s major selling points has always been the massive variety of builds that players can choose for their character, with a plethora of interchangeable options defining the game’s status as a prolific RPG. From the outset, Elden Ring offers 10 different starting classes that each approach the game with their own styles before allowing the player to further explore stat progression on their own.
As part of a tradition of the FromSoftware Soulslike RPG genre, a set of starting gift items are also available to give the player even more choice when beginning their adventure. Between the starting classes, each of these Keepsakes has differing levels of usefulness in The Lands Between.
Elden Ring's Keepsakes
Elden Ring provides a selection of nine Keepsakes to begin an adventure with:
- Shabriri's Woe, a talisman that attracts enemy aggression but only works in multiplayer.
- Three Cracked Pot crafting materials for throwing projectiles.
- Five Boiled Prawn consumables to increase defense.
- One Golden Seed, an upgrade material for the healing flask.
- Lands Between Rune is a consumable to gain 3000 Runes.
- Five Bewitching Branch consumable items that can make enemies friendly.
- Crimson Amber Medallion, a talisman that offers a permanent buff of +6% HP when equipped.
- Two Stonesword Keys that can be used to access locked areas.
- Fanged Imp Ashes, a summoning item for fanged imp ally spirits.
Evidently, some of these Keepsakes seem far more useful than others, such as Elden Ring's Bewitching Branch. Depending on the player’s class and build, however, the best choice can vary. Each of these builds can benefit from the right Keepsake choice.
Elden Ring Builds and the Best Keepsakes for Each
Strength builds - Strength builds are commonly associated with the flagship knight imagery of FromSoftware’s RPGs. Thick armor, large weapons, and heavy shields can all be associated with the strength build’s focus on slower, more damaging gameplay. Strength characters, even when mixed with other builds, typically have some investment into Elden Ring's vigor HP stat. Due to the percentage-based increase of HP granted by the Crimson Amber Medallion, the Keepsake talisman can be a useful item to a strength build for a good amount of the game.
Dexterity builds - The quick and light counterpart of the strength build, dexterity builds take a more damage-dealing approach at the cost of defensive effectiveness. Taking damage, however, is devastating to the dexterity build, and healing can be imperative to staying alive. Therefore, the Golden Seed upgrade item is a highly useful Keepsake for bolstering the early healing ability of a dexterity-focused character.
Faith builds - Magic-based faith builds focus on casting Incantations that are powered up as the player levels up their faith stat. Incantations have both offensive and defensive offerings alike, with a faith build in Elden Ring even being able to take a healing approach to its magic. In this case, the Fanged Imp Ashes can make good use of the player’s FP in tough situations.
Intelligence build - The wizard-type intelligence build excels at magical Sorceries that can cause devastating damage. With Sorceries costing hefty amounts of FP, intelligence builds are sure to also invest into the mind stat. With a guaranteed supply of FP for casting spells, intelligence builds can bet that the Fanged Imp Ashes is a solid Keepsake choice for supporting their caster playstyle.
Arcane build - The ominous and esoteric arcane stat offers an advanced, status effect-based playstyle for those looking to explore Elden Ring’s deeper RPG mechanics. While arcane builds are known to be powerful, they can take a while to set up in terms of both proper equipment and stat distribution. Picking the two Stonesword Key items as a Keepsake allows the player to access to an early dungeon and claim an item invaluable to an arcane build, the Dragon Communion Seal.
Elden Ring is available now for PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.