Which character class should I choose? Classes, Attributes and Burial Gifts in Dark Souls III

Last update: 11 May 2016

The class that you choose at the beginning will not influence the gameplay to a great extent, as your hero will develop as you wish. Thus, if you want, you can begin your journey as a knight and then increase his intelligence and focus on spells. Still, it is better to choose a character that will match your game style from the start. This way you won't have to spend precious skill points on unnecessary skills. Remember that with each level you will get only one skill point.

As a beginner, your priority should be to stay away from other players (PvP battles). Thus, it would be wise to invest in health points and a solid armor, even if it means becoming less agile. A "must have" should be a shield, at least until you master the art of dodging attacks. It is way easier to block a hit than perform an appropriate dodge. Keeping this in mind, the best character should be the Knight. He begins with a set of armor, a shield and a good sword. Although he is slow, his highly developed vitality allows him to take a lot of damage. Another worthy class is the Pyromancer. In contrast to the Sorcerer, he has greater resistance but his spells aren't as deadly. On the other hand, he can easily attack from a distance, and if it is necessary, he can defend himself in direct combat. On top of that, most enemies that you come across in the early stage are weak against fire, and the Pyromancer can use it very effectively.

Remember that your decision will only matter at the beginning of your journey. Once you get to the Cleansing Chapel, and that takes place right after you kill the first boss, you will be able to dispose of souls and develop skills that you want. You should focus on upgrading vitality and attributes that are strictly associated with your character (e.g. Strength and Vigor for the Knight, and Intelligence and Faith for characters that use magic).

Classes and attributes

Class	Knight	Mercenary	Warrior	Herald	Thief
Vitality	12	11	14	12	10
Attunement	10	12	6	10	11
Endurance	11	11	12	9	10
Vigor	15	10	11	12	9
Strength	13	10	16	12	9
Dexterity	12	16	9	11	13
Intelligence	9	10	8	8	10
Faith	9	8	9	13	8
Luck	7	9	11	11	14

Class	Assassin	Sorcerer	Pyromancer	Cleric	Deprived
Vitality	10	9	11	10	10
Attunement	14	16	12	14	10
Endurance	11	9	10	9	10
Vigor	10	7	8	7	10
Strength	10	7	12	12	10
Dexterity	14	12	9	8	10
Intelligence	11	16	14	7	10
Faith	9	7	14	16	10
Luck	10	12	7	13	10

Classes

Knight - well-armored character who focuses on developing strength, vitality and vigor. He starts the game with a shield, a sword and a fine armor, which makes him one of the best choices for beginners.

Mercenary - a character that focuses on dynamic combat and offers an appropriate level of endurance at the same time.

Warrior - a powerful character who is stronger than the Knight but lacks his resistance to damage.

Herald - a warrior that can use healing magic. Due to his shield and ability to heal wounds he is also a reasonable choice for beginners.

Thief - Not recommended for beginners. His ability to perform backstabbing compensates for his poor resistance to damage. Requires a certain level of practice when it comes to dodging attacks.

Assassin - a warrior that uses offensive magic.

Sorcerer - a class recommended for advanced gamers who want to use magic to deal damage.

Pyromancer - a warrior and a mage in one. This makes him a weaker sorcerer but allows him to adapt to a situation if needed and perform melee attacks.

Cleric - Similar to the Pyromancer but focuses on healing and defense.

Deprived - Only for skilled players. Has no additional attributes at the beginning, which makes him a very weak character. However, you can develop his skills as you wish from the very beginning.

Attributes

Vitality - determines ones health points. Improves cold resistance.

Attunement - determines concentration points. Allows you to use more spells.

Endurance - increases energy which is needed to strike, block and dodge. Furthermore, improves bleeding and lightning resistance.

Vigor - improves physical defense and resistance to poison, determines how much you can carry.

Strength - improves damage and resistance to fire. Required to use specific weapons.

Dexterity - increases damage and reduces time needed to cast spells. Reduces damage taken when you fall from height. Just like in case of strength, dexterity is required to use specific weapons.

Intelligence - improves damage caused by spells and defense against enemy magic.

Faith - improves power of miracles and pyromancy, increases your defense against darkness.

Luck - influences the number of items that you come across and the chance to deal additional damage (poison, bleeding). Improves resistance against curses.

Burial gifts

You can select an additional item that your character will receive at the beginning of his adventure. You can find all of them during the gameplay so it is just an additional bonus.

Life Ring - Increases your health points by 6.5%. Best choice available.

Divine Blessing - Restores health and cures negative effects (e.g. frostbite).

Hidden Blessing - restores health.

Black Firebomb - explodes when thrown. Deals more damage than a standard Firebomb.

Fire Gem - Required when you want to upgrade your weapons.

Sovereignless Soul - consume it to gain 2000 souls.

Rusted Gold Coin - temporarily increases your chance to find items.

Cracked Red Eye Orb - Allows you to raid other player's world once.

Young White Branch - use it to blend into the surrounding environment.