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If you’re trying to work out what the best Demon’s Souls PS5 class is then it’s all about the starting stats, weapons and gear. There are some clear beginner options but you’ll never really be locked into a choice. You see, Demon’s Souls doesn’t do classes in the traditional sense of set archetypes. Instead you get a pre-defined distribution of stat points, and some starter equipment. It means any character can be leveled up into whatever you want over time, so it really all comes down to the gear, weapons and stat advantage you want to begin with.
The best Demon’s Souls starter classes for beginners
There are 10 classes in all, and of those there are three clear front runners for the best beginners class for Demon’s Souls: the Royal, Knight and Temple Knight. These are considered the holy trinity of best starter classes in Demon’s Souls. So let’s look at those first and then, after that, run through the other options.
Demon’s Souls Royalty class
The Royalty class, or Royal, is generally called the ‘easy’ class. Usually by people who’ve completed the game several times and forgotten they had to start somewhere once. The main benefit is that they start with a ranged magic attack, Soul Arrow. Demon’s Souls' lack of set classes means you can also easily make a capable fighter in a battle mage mold if you level them up in that direction, and especially if you use weapons that inflict magical damage.
Starting with a magic spell lets you keep your distance and Soul Arrow, while slow to wind up, can one shot a lot of early enemies. Royals also start with the Fragrant Ring which recharges the MP power that magic uses, meaning you don’t have to rely on consumables. They also get the Silver Catalyst (think magic wand) and Silver Coronet, which both boost max MP. The downside is that they have a low Starting health and Stamina. However because they start at Soul Level 1, you can level up and tune the build more cheaply, as the cost of raising a stat rises with Soul Level. Other builds might have higher health at the start, say, but will also have a higher level, so leveling up costs more.
Demon’s Souls Knight class
The Knight class' main benefit is a set of well rounded stats. It doesn’t entirely excel in any one area but does give you some handy starter abilities without spending souls to level up. Choosing this will let you, crucially, wield some heavier weapons and armors straight away. It also comes with the Fluted Set armor, which combined with a good physical defense stat means you can take a beating from the get go. A good magic stat also means that’s an option as well if you can get the equipment needed.
The good all round stats, armor, shield and sword that Knights begin with make them a good general starter that doesn’t excel in any one thing, but can take a beating, dish it out, and hopefully survive long enough to be molded into whatever you want. You can get the Fluted Set armor quite easily elsewhere in the game, so don’t let it be a deal breaker for you if you want a class with different gear or more specialized starting stats. This class also has one of the lowest luck stats, which can mean you could lose out on item drops.
Demon’s Souls Temple Knight class
The Temple Knight class' main boon is that as well as coming with some good armor, it also starts with the heal miracle and the talisman needed to cast it. That lets you regain health anywhere as long as you have enough MP to cast it, as well as opening up early access to miracles in general. This is a more utility focused form of magic that buffs the player or changes the world rather than attacks enemies. It also comes with, and is able to use, the Meridian Set of armor, which will see you almost through the entire game, but is heavier than the Fluted Set the Knight gets.
This class isn’t quite as well rounded as the basic Knight, though, with slightly lower Intelligence and Magic - something it balances with one of the highest Faith stats in the game. Its starter weapon, the long, pokey Halberd, is great for cautious new players who want to keep their distance, but it can cause problems in tight spaces where you don’t have room to swing it.
The other Demon’s Souls character classes
As we mentioned before, the various classes you can chose at the start of Demon’s Souls aren’t restrictive in any way - you can level up any character to any role. The only thing you’ll be getting that’s different is a starting set of stats that will let you boost certain abilities faster, and specific starter weapons and gear you won’t have to go and find in the world. As such, if you’re going for any of these options you probably have a plan for leveling them up, or want a specific bit of gear to craft a build around.
Demon’s Souls Priest class
The Priest starts with good damage, as well as the gear and Faith needed to cast the heal miracle. The high Faith means a lot of players build a character around that stat, and weapons that scale damage with it. That means using blessed weapons like the Blessed Mace +1 you can find early on in the Valley of Defilement area.
Demon’s Souls Thief class
This is one of the harder builds to start with due to its low initial damage and defense. The idea is that this class builds on ripostes and backstabs for extra damage, and the bleeding effect of daggers, rather than direct attacks. It means you need some serious skills to really use a thief, which is why many repeat players approach it as ‘a challenge’.
Demon’s Souls Magician class
Unsurprisingly, this is a character for people who want a head start in magic. They come with two spells: Flame Toss, which can deal with a lot of early enemies well, and Water Veil, a protective spell that reduces fire damage. However, it doesn’t have the ability to regenerate MP to start with, meaning you need to rely on consumables or try and get the Fragrant Ring in the world or from merchants. They also start with both poor damage stats and weapons.
Demon’s Souls Soldier class
The Soldier class is a basic starter roll if you want to build a physical damage character, as the high Endurance, Strength and Dexterity stats mean you can use most weapons well. They even come with two starter weapons - a broadsword (which can inflict bleeding damage) and a spear - to give you some options right off the bat. They don’t really come with much else though, so it’s best to pick one stat/weapon type you like to really focus on. Also, for some reason, this character starts with 20 crossbow bolts but no crossbow.
Demon’s Souls Wanderer class
The Wanderer starts fast but can’t really take much damage, meaning it's a starter for agile characters built around Dexterity and avoiding hits rather than surviving them. They start with a Falchion curved sword that can inflict bleed damage, but not much else worthy of note.
Demon’s Souls Barbarian class
Barbarians start in their underwear with two clubs and a shield. They can dish out and take damage with good stats across Health, Strength and Endurance. And not much else. They also start at the highest level, meaning they have the highest upgrades costs.
Demon’s Souls Hunter class
If you want ranged damage then the Hunter is the option for you as they start with a bow, although helpfully, no arrows. They have decent Health, Endurance and Dexterity, making a light and agile base to build from.
