Mikkel's Haligtree

Hugo seeks knowledge whoever it hides – in holy prayerbooks, glintstone sorceries, forbidden rituals, and half-burned scrolls alike. Unlike his more orderly twin brother, Hugo sees little difference between sacred and profane magic. To him, knowledge itself it never evil, only the hands that wield it. His casting is chaotic as his satchels are overstuffed. One moment lightning, the next black flames or crystalline magic, then some inadvisable experiment he insists will "probably work this time." Somehow, it often does.

This is an INT/FAITH-build in Elden Ring. It is a concept of completionism, where you collect every sorcery, incantation, scroll and prayerbook in each region and face every boss. It requires research, patience, and dedication. The idea is to have a tool for each encounter, as this character will have all types of magic available to him. The high investment in both INT and FAITH means that the other stats will lag behind, especially early and mid-game, which is where spacing and summons and can help. Hugo uses the Prince of Death's Staff for sorceries and the Golden Order Seal for incantations, as both of those have a split scaling in INT/FAITH.

His rather pernickety twin brother Archie is on a similar journey, but with very different interests. They occasionally meet around a campfire and share stories of old and new.

Archibald travels the Lands Between n pursuit of lost martial knowledge, ancient armaments, and forgotten techniques of war. Thoughtful and endlessly curious, he treats every ruined keep and battlefield as a living archive waiting to be carefully studied. Though meticulous in habit and scholarly in manner, Archie's eyes light up like a young boy's whenever he discovers some half-buried relic or legendary blade. Torrent carries enough weapons to arm a small company, much to the steed's apparent disapproval. 

This is a STR/DEX build in Elden Ring, also called a QUALITY-build. It is a concept of completionism, where you collect at least one of each weapon type, gather all AoWs (weapon skills) in each region and face every boss. It requires research, patience, and dedication, so it fits the personality of this archivist very well. The idea is to have a tool for each encounter. 

His rather chaotic twin brother Hugo is on a similar journey, but with very different interests. They occasionally meet around a campfire and share stories of old and new.

Rashida was raised as a silent assassin and hunter in service to the Golden Order. Patient, devout, and unwavering, she hunts those who live in death, blasphemers, and all who meddle with forbidden powers. Little by little, Rashida begins to feel called toward a higher purpose beyond the narrow ambitions of the Golden Order itself – a sacred duty she believes comes from the Erdtree itself. Whether revelation or delusion, she no longer questions it. She follows it wherever it leads, against mortal and demigod alike.

Makoto walks the Lands Between with neither sorcery nor blessing – only steel, discipline, and resolve. Clad in his old samurai armor and carrying the same blade with which his journey began, he believes a duel should be decided by timing, courage, and nothing else. 

This is a DEXTERITY-build in Elden Ring. It is a pure duelist character, using only the starting gear of the Samurai. No buffs or tricks or magic. It is about timing and having intense clean fights. The Longbow is great utility for exploring and the Uchigatana is strong enough to bring you through the entire game, as it has innate BLEED and the brilliant weapon skill Unsheathe. Mid-game Makoto will start using his fallen friend Yura's katana, the Nagakiba. The Longbow will be replaced by the Black Bow later as well, but you could stay will the starting gear and not change a thing. 

Gvelgesla is unlike most tarnished. He has watched kingdoms rise and crumble, the Nox cast beneath the earth, and the Albinaurics hunted like vermin. Of the ancient Nightfolk, stories claim his kind once bled silver. Whether true or not, time itself seems unable to loosen its grip on him. He does not fight to survive. He simply outlives. Gvelgesla speaks only in hoarse riddles and half-remembered anecdotes. He walks beside the forgotten and the unwanted, especially the Albinaurics, whom he regards with a strange kinship. Meeting him feels less like fate, and more like an omen. Whenever he wanders, the world seems to darken around him. 

Sasha remembers almost nothing of the life they lived before waking as a tarnished. No homeland, no past worth trusting. Only the art of duelling remained. In the clean rhythm of blades crossing, in the focus and grace, fragments return to them like sparks in the dark. With every worthy opponent, Sasha pieces together a little more of who they were.  Yet what they truly seek is not battle, but the day they can lay down their sword for good, and choose a gentler life of growing things instead of cutting them down.

This is a DEXTERITY-build in Elden Ring. It is a pure duelist character, meaning no fancy elemental weapon skills, no buffs or sorceries, no relying on bleed or frostbite – only clean, simple fights. It's all about timing, dodging, spacing, and using a Parrying Dagger for well-timed parries. They use the elegant Noble's Slender Sword for one fighting style, and a rapier for a secondary style. No heavy armor. This is not the easiest way to approach the game, but it teaches you combat very well, as you will need to study the movesets of your foes and learn to recognize openings and patterns. It's a very rewarding way to play. 

Once a healer and gentle guide to the restless dead in a mountain village in the Land of Reeds, Yasuko came to believe that violence is not the only road to change. Where others raise steel, she offers calm hands, patience, and prayer. She calls upon spirits to stand by her side, then tends to them with the same care she once gave the living. Kind, calm, and steady, she walks the Lands Between bring peace where she can.

Una never believed herself meant for greatness, even when her seer grandmother insisted some larger path awaited her. In Limgrave, while others chased crowns and glory, she heard only a distant ringing – a strange call carried on the wind. Ignoring offers of power and grand accords, she followed that sound on foot through windswept fields, dense forests, haunted ruins and treacherous wetlands, until it led her to an ancient blade long hidden away. When her hand touched the Sword of Night and Flame, it answered.  Now burdened with a destiny far too large for her boots, a chosen catalyst for change, Una sets out to mend the world

Grandson of a gentle perfumer who was forced into war under King Morgott, Finn was raised in the early years after the Shattering among oils, herbs, and the old healing arts, before watching them twisted into weapons. Too young for battle and never trained as a warrior, he learned instead to survive through craft, quick hands and quicker thinking. He died still a young man, with anger unresolved, only to awaken decades later as a tarnished.  Now he walks the long and difficult road to Leyndell with little more than his wits, his grandfather's teachings, and a stubborn refusal to let old wrongs lie. What comes after Morgott, Finn has not thought that far ahead.

This is a challenging niche run built around consumables rather than traditional weapons or magic. It usus cracked pots, ritual pots, spark aromatics, throwing knives and whatever tools he can prepare in advance. Because no single weapon defines the build, the stats are spread more widely than usual. Some FAITH is useful for buffs and protection, and the Jellyfish Shield fits well for both defense and its damage buff. This is not an easy or convenient playstyle. Crafting materials must be gathered constantly, missed throws are costly, and losing a hard fight can mean restocking everything from scratch. Early damage leans mostly toward fire and holy, since those materials are easier to maintain than rarer late-game options. The losses can feel painful, but each victory will feel uniquely earned.

Jacob served the Golden Order until doubt revealed what faith had hidden: lies, corruption and fractured gods. In forgotten burial pits and ghostflame, he found a truth no order can deny. All things end.

Robyn is a patient hunter. In a world of wild magic and vulgar weapons, she will make do with the tool she knows best; the bow. Learning to craft new types of arrows and finding better bows on her journey, she will grow stronger, little by little, and will hopefully finally bring peace and rest to her family who walk in perpetual undeath on the barren coast of Weeping Peninsula.

Jairus has gone too far to turn back. The Frenzied Flame showed him a truth he cannot unsee. The world is broken beyond repair.  It must burn.

The Winter Wolf was once nothing but feral instinct – bare skin, bloodied claws, and no purpose. The cold has shaped him into something quieter, more controlled. He does not crave the throne, only someone worthy to guard and protect. Until then, he walks alone.

Telen was raised to rule a small island kingdom, taught not only as a scholar, but through labor among her people. Betrayed by her power-hungry bastard brother, she was cast into the cold sea and left to die.  In the depths, something vast touched her. It left her alive, but changed. She rose again, not for revenge, but with a quiet certainty. Authority without ego, discipline without cruelty. She walks toward the throne with calm resolve, ready to carry what others would corrupt.  

Noname belongs to no one. No order, no banner, no cause has ever claimed her. She moves where power gathers, and leaves before it settles. Dynasties crumble, creeds take root, revolutions burn – she passes through them all, untouched and unmourned. She does not offer her name. She does not make vows. When the dust falls and the strong lie broken, she is still there – cutting her way free, again and again.

Ian does not know how long he was imprisoned. Time dissolved into stone and silence, into the weight of iron and the slow forgetting of self. Yet through it all, one thing remained untouched: his loyalty to the Carian house. Not out of duty alone, but because it was the last piece of himself he could still hold onto.  When he awoke as a tarnished, he rose not as the man he had been, but as something fractured – wrapped in tattered cloth, stripped of name, rank, and dignity. It was only upon reaching the Roundtable Hold, standing in front of Smithing Master Hewg, that the first layer was liftet. The heavy rusted mask was removed, revealing a face half-hidden beneath long, matted hair and beard – proof that time had passed, even if he could not measure it. Finding a piece of Carian armor was like finding a memory made solid. Each piece he reclaims is not just protection, but restoration. A quiet, stubborn act of rebuilding. Ian does not seek greatness. He seeks to become whole again – and, in doing so, to bring what little honor remains back to the Carian name.

Odessa comes from the dry, miserable Badlands – and somehow came out of it in a good mood. She laughs loud, tells terrible jokes, and swings a sword that most people wouldn't even try to lift. She doesn't care much for fancy or fancy titles. She just likes a good fight. But she has a habit of stepping in when someone throws their weight around. If no one else handles it, she will.

This is a pure STRENGTH build in Elden Ring with just enough FAITH to add a few simple buffs. She uses the colossal greatsword, which you can grab very early without fighting anyone. It hits incredibly hard, but it's slow and unforgiving. You need to commit to every swing, so it's probably not the easiest choice for a first playthrough.