In the third part of the Souls saga there are many things that remain as in the originals, mainly the theme of combat and progression. A progression that in Dark Souls III depends largely on how we model our character in the game.And given the importance of that decision, here we want to explain all the classes there are to choose from in the game and the attributes that compose them, to help you choose which one is best for you to face what awaits you and show you what each attribute does.
The important thing here is to give the player freedom because what will come during the adventure is already demanding enough without requiring a more restricted combat or play style. That said, the point is that there is no kind of magic class that allows you to instantly win every fight. Let’s look at the different ones we have available and their different attributes.
Gentleman
This is the all-round class of the game and stands out especially for its Vigor, Strength and Dexterity, as well as its vitality and resistance, which makes it the most suitable for facing your first run of the game without complicating your life too much.
- Level: 9
- Vitality: 12
- Learning: 10
- Resistance: 11
- Strength: 15
- Strength: 13
- Skill: 12
- Intelligence: 9
- Faith: 9
- Luck: 7
Mercenary
The mercenary is a class that may require a little more practice and is based on ranged attacks or with light weapons. It has the stamina of a Knight but is more oriented towards mobility than resisting blows than the previous one, not to mention that it has a little more resilience to harmful states.
- Level: 8
- Vitality: 11
- Learning: 12
- Resistance: 11
- Strength: 10
- Strength: 10
- Skill: 16
- Intelligence: 10
- Faith: 8
- Luck: 9
Warrior
The warrior is the tank class of the game, although in Dark Souls III it is more oriented towards mobility since it is difficult to resist many consecutive attacks from powerful enemies. However, its basic resistance at the beginning is the best along with its vitality, which makes this task a little easier.
- Level: 7
- Vitality: 14
- Learning: 6
- Resistance: 12
- Strength: 11
- Strength: 10
- Skill: 16
- Intelligence: 10
- Faith: 8
- Luck: 9
Herald
A hybrid class between a spellcaster and pyromancy with combat. The Herald has a somewhat low resistance compared to the previous ones but its higher luck and faith rates mean that it has to opt for a different but viable style of play. It uses melee weapons and is a somewhat complicated class for our first games but quite interesting.
- Level: 9
- Vitality: 12
- Learning: 10
- Resistance: 9
- Strength: 12
- Strength: 12
- Skill: 11
- Intelligence: 8
- Faith: 13
- Luck: 11
Thief
The thief is one of the weakest classes in the game, although it has the advantage of starting at a low level, and that means that we can configure it to our liking in the first hours of the game. It is recommended for our second or third run of the game and has a ranged style that we will not find in any other class.
- Level: 5
- Vitality: 10
- Learning: 11
- Resistance: 10
- Strength: 9
- Strength: 9
- Skill: 13
- Intelligence: 10
- Faith: 8
- Luck: 14
Killer
Its name says it all, a class specialized in applying physical altered states. Its learning value will be used more to apply these states than to cast spells or incantations, but it can still be interesting. Of course, it is better that you have already gotten the hang of the game because it is very fragile and does not fit much body.
- Level: 10
- Vitality: 10
- Learning: 14
- Resistance: 11
- Strength: 10
- Strength: 10
- Skill: 14
- Intelligence: 11
- Faith: 9
- Luck: 10
Sorcerer
A class designed to attack exclusively from a distance. The sorcerer is a ”glass cannon”, which means that you cannot let them get too close to you unless you have the means to slow the enemy down or mitigate the damage. Again, this is a class for players who are already seasoned in these games.
- Level: 6
- Vitality: 9
- Learning: 16
- Resistance: 9
- Strength: 7
- Strength: 7
- Skill: 12
- Intelligence: 16
- Faith: 7
- Luck: 12
Pyromancer
A variation of the sorcerer that focuses on pyromancies. It has superior melee combat ability and greater vitality, but its Achilles heel is endurance. It is important to finish off the enemy quickly, since in prolonged combats it can have a harder time than the previous class.
- Level: 8
- Vitality: 11
- Learning: 12
- Resistance: 10
- Strength: 8
- Strength: 12
- Skill: 9
- Intelligence: 14
- Faith: 14
- Luck: 7
Cleric
Despite not having particularly high stats for vitality or resistance, the Cleric is more than capable of defending himself in melee combat, and his luck and faith will protect him from most status ailments. He will depend more than any other class on beneficial status ailments because he is not designed to withstand too much punishment.
- Level: 7
- Vitality: 10
- Learning: 14
- Resistance: 9
- Strength: 7
- Strength: 12
- Skill: 8
- Intelligence: 7
- Faith: 16
- Luck: 13
Outcast
This class is the “template” of the character. If none of the other classes and their statistics convince you, the best thing to do is to try to create a character to your liking with it. But be careful, as it is quite a challenge. As it does not stand out in any aspect, at first it will be difficult to get used to it or find the style of play that suits us best. On the other hand, it is the class that can have the greatest growth of all, being the only one that starts at level 1, being able to surpass the others in its strengths if we play it well.
- Level: 1
- Vitality: 10
- Learning: 10
- Resistance: 10
- Strength: 10
- Strength: 10
- Skill: 10
- Intelligence: 10
- Faith: 10
- Luck: 10
Attributes in Dark Souls III
As their name suggests, attributes are what define our characters’ statistics , and we have already seen what the attributes are for each class. This helps us determine what they will be most efficient at and what their weak points are.
Leveling up and improving attributes go hand in hand. Every time you “buy” an attribute point from the Firelink Guardian at the shrine, you go up a level. You can obviously choose whether you want to have a character who is average at many things or specialized in a few, although the latter option is generally much more advisable than the former. Once you get the hang of the game and are informed about the profiles of each weapon or catalyst in the game, then it is time to plan a character and decide what you are going to use it for.
For example, there’s little point in leveling a character up several hundred levels if you want to play PvP, because matchmaking will just pair you with the few players at that high level . Nor is there much point in giving them a massive dose of Dexterity if you’re going to wield a weapon that has E scaling in that attribute. Get to know the game and put your style into its loadout and character sheet.
Effects of each attribute
Vitality
Affects:
- PS (Health Points)
- Freeze resistance
It is important that you withstand at least two or three hits. It doesn’t matter which character you use.
Learning , Aecta to:
- CP (focus points or mana)
- Learning Slots
Only level it if you are interested in specializing in magic and want to have a good repertoire of powerful spells to cast. It is not particularly suitable for complementing a non-magic specialization (build).
Resistance , affects:
- Energy (stamina)
- Resistance to electricity
- Resistance to bleeding
It is important that you level this attribute as an unequivocal complement to melee builds that require you to move or exchange many blows with enemies, whether light, medium or heavy.
Vigor , affects:
- Equipment weight (what you can carry)
- Resistance to poison
- Defense (damage amount reduced per hit)
Level it up if you like melee combat (tanking). A character with good armor should also have enough HP to withstand the inevitable hits.
Strength , affects:
- Damage you do with medium hand or two-handed weapons
- Fire resistance
Many weapons require you to have a certain amount of strength to wield, and they also scale in strength. If you plan on using a heavy weapon, you’ll need to level up this attribute.
Dexterity , affects:
- Damage with throwing or ranged weapons
- Damage you do with light weapons
This is a crucial attribute for wielding certain weapons. Some light weapons like rapiers and daggers scale better than heavy weapons in Dexterity, while others scale in between the two attributes.
Intelligence , affects:
- The damage your spells, incantations, and pyromancies do
An attribute required for casting certain spells, and for increasing their potency. Spells and pyromancies benefit from this as well as Faith.
Faith , affects:
- Resistance to magic damage
- Dark Damage Resistance
- Determine your percentage with miracles
It is an attribute that plays the double role of resistance to certain states such as magic or darkness, and at the same time it will influence the strength with which our miracles or empowerment spells are executed. It also slightly influences pyromancies and spells, although to a lesser extent.
Luck , affects:
- Curse resistance
- Resistance to bleeding
- Poison resistance
- The chance of getting loot or items from enemies when you kill them
Luck plays a major role in some obviously random factors, such as the chance of suffering more or less harmful effects, or the probability of getting rarer items from enemy drops. It is an attribute that is not very important in gameplay, but it always helps to have it as high as possible.