gYou know what’s great about Elden Ring? Its vast open world. You know what’s stressful about Elden Ring? Its vast open world. We genuinely spent more than 15 hours hopping back and forth between exploration and the critical path in West Limgrave alone, and we don’t regret a thing.
In this Elden Ring guide, we’ll tell you where you should go, what you should do, the awesome items — and the stuff you can safely ignore — in your first few days with the game.
Follow the light
The first things you should do when you enter the Limgrave open world are visit the bonfire The First Step site of grace, talk to the weirdo nearby, and then follow the light.
This is how Elden Ring teaches you things. The light is the obvious thing. That the light more or less follows an unnamed road that you can’t see yet is a less obvious but instructive point.
When you’re lost, look for the light of grace. It will guide you.
Because here’s the thing: You can do almost anything and go almost anywhere, if you’re determined to do it. You can defeat the nearby Tree Sentinel boss, if you really want to. But here’s the thing: You probably don’t want to do something like that because you’re too weak. Let the game lead you for a bit.
Visit the Church of Elleh
Follow the road leading north from The First Step site of grace, and you’ll find the Church of Elleh site of grace. There’s a little housekeeping to do here.
Speak to Kalé, the first Elden Ring merchant you’ll meet. Buy the following:
- Crafting kit for 300 runes. You can’t craft without it.
- Cracked pots, for 300 each. When you craft things, you put them into Cracked Pots.
You can buy anything else you want, but those are the necessities.
Visit the smithing table near Kalé, and retrieve your first smithing stone. You can and should return here when you have more smithing stones to make your weapon more powerful.
And now we can leave. Continue following the light of grace northeasterly, following the road, and you’ll see Gatefront Ruins in the distance. Hang tight.
