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When you first boot up Elden Ring, one of the earliest choices you‘ll make is picking your starting gift or "keepsake." This bonus item can provide a small but meaningful leg up in the opening hours of the game. In this guide, we‘ll analyze the best keepsake for different builds so you can maximize that early advantage.
How Keepsakes Work
Keepsakes provide minor bonuses like extra healing items, summonable allies, or attribute boosts. While the effects seem small at first, they can make challenging early areas more manageable.
You‘re allowed to pick only one keepsake when creating your character. Don‘t worry about choosing the "wrong" one though – all of them can be obtained through regular play. Keepsakes simply give you access to an item earlier than normal.
Now let‘s look at why certain keepsakes pair well with popular builds.
Best Keepsake for Spellcasting Builds: Golden Seed
Magic builds rely heavily on FP (focus points) for casting spells. An extra FP flask charge from the Golden Seed keepsake ensures you can sling more sorceries before running dry. It also combos nicely with the Two Fingers Heirloom starting gift for the Prophet class, boosting your total FP.
The only downside is that you‘ll still need to find Golden Seeds to increase your FP flask‘s potency. But the extra charge provides more breathing room for early mage skirmishes.
Best Keepsake for Tank Builds: Crimson Amber Medallion
Crimson Amber Medallion boosts your max HP by a small percentage. This keepsake synergizes nicely with tanky melee builds that invest heavily in the Vigor stat for high health pools and damage resistance.
With the medallion equipped, you‘ll have an extra health buffer before getting one-shot by bosses and tough enemies. It‘s not a huge difference, but every little bit counts when you‘re playing aggressively up close.
Best Keepsake for Stealth Builds: Fanged Imp Ashes
Summonable spirit ashes are invaluable distractions for stealth characters who prefer hit-and-run tactics. The Fanged Imp Ashes lets you call two Imp allies to draw aggro, enabling you to use ranged attacks or circle behind oblivious foes.
Imps aren‘t powerhouses, but they‘re excellent meat shields for chipping down groups. You‘ll need to acquire the Spirit Calling Bell to activate their ashes. But once available, your sneaky assassinations andabled poison arrows become even deadlier with the imps tanking hits.
Best Keepsake for Quality Builds: Shabriri‘s Woe
So-called "quality" builds split points between Strength, Dexterity, and Vigor for balanced melee potential. This versatile playstyle benefits greatly from Shabriri‘s Woe, which taunts enemies toward the player.
You‘ll attract more heat in crowded areas. But by pulling groups close together, you can unleash devastating weapon skills and ashes of war to mop up multiple adversaries rapidly.
The chaos actually plays to the quality build‘s strengths. Just don‘t expect bosses to take the bait from Shabriri‘s Woe and come charging straight at you!
Best Keepsake for New Players: Stonesword Key
If you‘re new to the Souls series, anything that makes the early game smoother is invaluable. Stonesword Keys unlock special sealed treasure chests and doors hiding potent gear. And that equipment edge is just what struggling beginners need.
Having access to a key this early lets you snag weapons, talismans, spells, and upgrade materials to enhance your build faster. Opening extra rewarding chests also gives you more motivation to thoroughly explore dungeons instead of sprinting straight for the boss room exit.
Veteran Keysmith Doolan sells Stonesword Keys. But the exorbitant 2000 rune price is steep in the opening hours. Starting with a key saves you some early game coin purses.
Other Notable Keepsakes
The keepsakes above provide the most obvious synergies for popular builds. Yet more unique options exist too:
- Boiled Prawns give decent physical defense buffs, helping melee builds survive longer against lethal blows.
- Cracked Pot supplies two throwable pots for your budding bomber. Handy for ranged builds.
- Lands Between Rune yields runes for purchasing items and upgrading weapons sooner. More of a general economic boost.
- Bewitching Branch mind controls enemies if you love sowing chaos. But costs FP which you likely need for other actions.
And if you fancy the ultimate risk vs. reward keepsake, the None option provides literally nothing. You‘ll tackle Elden Ring with no gifts at all, which takes serious guts!
Choose Your Advantage Wisely
Hopefully analyzing the synergistic potential of each keepsake makes selecting your bonus item easier. While no "wrong" choices exist, some keepsakes provide better advantages for certain builds and playstyles.
The tiny boost you gain upfront pays dividends through the whole journey. May your special starting gift help kick down the doors to victory within the Lands Between fellow Tarnished! Now steel thyself and let the adventure begin…
What keepsake did you choose at the start? Share your experiences below.
