With each passing week, the commercial success of Elden Ring keeps growing. For fans this is excellent news, as it makes the development of some sort of follow-up all the more likely. It also means that many gamers are jumping into their very first Souls game and finding themselves at a loss of how to approach it. Elden Ring's own enormity can cause some troubles too, so here are a few pieces of advice for tackling FromSoftware's monstrous masterpiece.

Pick Your Battles

One of the first things that every Tarnished should learn is that just about every creature in the Lands Between can be a threat. Every Tarnished may be a warrior, but that doesn't mean that they're capable of striking down everything they see, at least not at the outset. For example, the Tree Sentinel seen in the very first section of Limgrave; it's not a mandatory battle. In fact, one can sneak their way around it and continue on their merry way with no consequence. It's the same for any number of enemies in Elden Ring. Seriously, if it feels too strong to fight, then it's fine to come back later after gaining some more strength.

Even weak enemies can be deadly in groups, so sometimes it's best to plan encounters beforehand. One can lure group members away one by one, sneak in and take out the leader first, surprise them all with a strong AoE attack or any number of other things. Either fight in the way most likely to bring victory or save the encounter for later.

Set Goals

One thing about Elden Ring that's likely to consistently mystify its players is its sheer vastness. The Lands Between is a massive place, densely packed with dungeons other points of interest. While the game does point players towards the most important locations, it can still be overwhelming should one decide that they want to go off the main path. "Where should I go?" and "What do I do?" are questions that'll constantly pop-up during a playthrough. The solution: set goals.

Pick a spot on the map, go there and then stay there until it's finished. After that, it's just a matter  of picking a new area. Alternatively, one could instead limit themselves to following a specific quest or searching for certain kinds of locations and such. As always, the choice is up to the player themselves, but doing things this way is a great method for making progress while minimizing distractions.

Keep Talking

Like many open-world games out there, Elden Ring has plenty of NPCs to interact with. Unlike a lot of other games in the genre, though, Elden Ring NPCs won't exhaust their important dialogue in the initial conversation of each encounter. One must keep talking to them until they start repeating themselves in order to ensure sidequests and even key items aren't missed. For NPCs tied to sidequests, players will sometimes need to leave an area and come back for the dialogue to progress. So yeah, keep talking to the NPCs until it's clear that they don't have anything else to say.

Don't Underestimate Torrent

Upon receiving Torrent the horse, many players may be tempted to think that it's only meant as a means to get around the map more quickly. While it does indeed make traversal faster, Torrent is capable of so much more. For one thing, Torrent has a double-jump which makes certain platforming challenges more doable. For another, his speed can actually transform certain boss fights from awful slogs into trivial romps.

Unless an enemy is also on a horse, it'll likely have a hard time landing a hit on Torrent without using some sort of AoE attack. For those that do have such attacks, all one has to do avoid them is either dash away or use that double-jump to avoid the shockwave. With that dealt with, it's just a matter of either darting in for a quick hit then dashing away, or running circles around the enemy as it fails to keep up. Seriously, Torrent can be broken if properly used.

Use Whatever Feels The Most Fun

Seriously, if it's in the game, then it's meant to be used. Don't worry about all the purists out there on the internet that insist on using only certain methods. It may work for them, but not everyone has to play the same way. Got a spell that feels overpowered? Use it! Don't like spells? Then never equip them. Wanna fight from a distance? Do it. Elden Ring's sandbox is massive for a reason, so don't be afraid to use it!

This especially goes for Spirits and summoning other players for help on bosses. Most spirits are viable no matter where one is at in the game, so one doesn't have to be afraid of picking a favorite and sticking with it. Certain ones gained later in the game are going to be more powerful in certain ways, but one can even stick with the Lone Wolves they received in the beginning of the game. As for co-op, well this is basically a Souls game. If something is too hard alone, then bring in a friend. Some of the best times to be had in Elden Ring are had in co-op!

This isn't the be all end all of how to play Elden Ring, but hopefully these ideas can be useful for all the new Tarnished out there who've yet to figure a playstyle that suits them best. Indeed, Elden Ring is at its best when enjoyed on one's own terms. So get out there, gather the Great Runes and craft a unique story about the once lowly, maidenless Tarnished that rose to become Elden Lord!