Dark Souls III
Dark Souls III

Classes

Choose your starting Class wisely in Dark Souls III. Understand how initial stats and gear impact your journey, from melee to magic builds and beyond.

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Classes

Choosing your starting Class in Dark Souls 3 is a crucial first step, influencing your initial stats, equipment, and playstyle. While any class can eventually be built into anything, some offer a significant advantage for specific builds. Consider your preferred combat style—melee, magic, or a hybrid—when making your selection. Each class begins with a unique set of stats and gear, providing a distinct starting point for your journey through Lothric.

The starting classes in Dark Souls 3 offer several playstyles. Here's a breakdown of each:

  • Knight: A well-rounded melee fighter with good starting Vitality and Strength. Ideal for beginners and heavy armor builds. Starts with the Longsword and Knight Shield.
  • Mercenary: Focuses on Dexterity with dual-wielding Sellsword Twinblades. Excellent for fast-paced, aggressive combat.
  • Warrior: High Strength and Vigor, wielding a Battle Axe. Great for pure Strength builds and dealing heavy damage.
  • Herald: A balanced class with decent Faith, good for early miracles. Starts with a Spear and Kite Shield.
  • Thief: High Dexterity and Luck, starting with a Bandit's Knife. Suited for critical hits and status effect builds.
  • Assassin: A hybrid class with Intelligence and Dexterity, capable of using both melee weapons and sorceries. Starts with the Estoc and a small shield.
  • Sorcerer: Focuses on Intelligence and Attunement, wielding a Staff. The go-to for pure magic users.
  • Pyromancer: A balanced class with Faith and Intelligence, excelling at Pyromancies. Starts with a Pyromancy Flame and Hand Axe.
  • Cleric: High Faith, ideal for healing and offensive miracles. Starts with a Mace and a Talisman.
  • Deprived: Starts at level 1 with minimal stats and only a Club and Plank Shield. Offers the most customization but is the most challenging start.

Your starting class dictates your initial attribute distribution, which can significantly impact your early game experience. While all classes can eventually access all equipment and spells, some will require more stat investment to wield effectively. For instance, a Sorcerer will naturally be better at casting spells from the start than a Warrior, who will need to invest heavily in Intelligence.