So far, I’ve played through all the starting classes in Lords of the Fallen, trying to find the best one to start the game with.
These classes are not all created equal, and the wrong choice could hold you back. Therefore, choosing a class that suits your play style will make your subsequent adventures more efficient. Without further ado, let’s get started!
Hallowed Knight
Starting with Hallowed Knight, a decent class, but nothing really special. For those who want to do a lot of blocking with shields in combat, this class will be more useful than the others.
With this class, you can parry anything in this game, including Broken Bucket. However, there is still a significant difference in the poise damage caused by Hallowed Knight and other classes.
When I played Lords of the Fallen, blocking felt like the least viable form of defense, since it only dealt with Wither damage. Even compared to Pieta’s Sword, it’s less effective from a poise damage perspective.
I suggest you experience more about Dodging, Rolling and Parrying in this class. The stat distribution itself isn’t terrible, and since the starting class is just the stats and gear you start with, it won’t break your game. But there are better options in almost every situation.
Udirangr Warwolf
Next up is Udirangr Warwolf. This is one of my favorite classes to try. It’s fast and heavy. I recommend going straight to dual-wielding his Udirangr Warwolf Sword and focusing on charge-heavy attacks against larger enemies.
You can certainly successfully parry with this sword, but dodging will be your bread and butter. So if you like dodging and punishing openings with hard hits and staying consistent, then this is a good choice for you. Focusing your stats on Strength and Endurance at a 2:1 ratio in the first few levels will pay off handsomely.
Partisan
In my opinion, Partisan is the better Hallowed Knight. Flails seem to have higher DPS capabilities and have better moves to deal with more enemies. Shields work well for blocking and parrying, but there are many times where I feel like using Flails twice would be more successful.
The stats here are more evenly distributed and will give you an excellent base to start with in everything except magic. This is a great option if you’re not sure how you want to play.
Mournstead Infantry
Mournstead Infantry is like a dedicated Parry class to me. Buckler makes blocking a dream, while Spear is great for one-handed combat in these bigger fights.
Parry is definitely more for skilled players, but you have some great opportunities to learn the timing in the tutorial and the first real boss, Pieta She of Blessed Renewal.
Pieta is a good deep finisher, especially if you ignore summon help and use her to fully train. You can’t fight everything, though, so you have to learn how to dodge.
Blackfeather Ranger
Blackfeather Ranger is interesting, but not one I would personally choose. He is another semi-all-around player like Hallowed Knight and Partisan.
As well as focusing more on skill, quick attacks with an axe, and some defensive options with a shield. I find I prefer using it as an ax and shield setup rather than two-handing. He’s sort of like a cross between Hallowed Knight or Partisan and Mournstead Infantry in terms of approach and required skill level.
Exiled Stalker
To me, Exiled Stalker is one of the most interesting classes because it’s a Ninja Assassin.
With two daggers as weapons, and super fast movement and combos, he is definitely the best class to deal with hordes of monsters. It only took me a few tries to beat Pieta with this starter. Because in between her combos you can do up to one charge and 2-3 fasts depending on your stamina.
The stamina cost of damage is pretty low in this setup. So from all aspects, Exiled Stalker is a pretty good choice. His stats are great too. I recommend stacking Agility and Endurance 2:1 for the first few levels.
Orian Preacher
Orian Preacher is our first caster class, but it’s more like Hallowed Knight class in that your chief weapon is a huge two-handed hammer. The caster part is a huge Radiance stat with a single Radiance spell, and of course you’ll be able to get more spells soon.
Hammer is a splendid weapon that is used similarly to Udirangr Warwolf Sword, but is slightly slower and uses more stamina. Hammer does scale with Strength and Radiance, though, so you can happily continue to level up Radiance without your primary weapon becoming sluggish.
The advanced label makes perfect sense here, as Orian Preacher is not only a Glass Cannon with a slow weapon, but using spells will cause newcomers to fumble early on. This is because you have to change a certain posture in order to use spells, whether you’re making a ranged attack or activating Umbral Lamp.
You’ll want to play for a while before jumping into action to learn what you’re focusing on and let key combos automatically cast spells for you. This isn’t super beginner-friendly, but for those who are good at Steep Learning Curve, it’s a powerful play style and starting point.
Pyric Cultist
In my opinion, Pyric Cultist is the weakest starter because he has the worst starting damage.
His Inferno Spells are purely offensive and are your chief weapon, but they also have significant limitations. Its damage to Pieta She of Blessed Renewal is powerful. But in order for the magic to hit her enough times, I had to spend LotF Vigor to purchase some consumables to replenish my mana.
But these consumables are very limited. This means that in many standard mobs, you will need to use a staff as a weapon. It does decent damage, but is very slow and uses up a lot of stamina.
Therefore, you’ll need a little skill early on to fight the hordes of monsters. However, if you can build on top of it, it will become more powerful as your spell catalog grows, as well as your gear and stats.
Condemned
Finally, my favorite and the class choice for senior souls players is Condemned.
As a Condemned, you start 8-12 levels lower than other classes, with all attributes at 9. Your armor is Tattered Rags and your weapon is Broken Bucket. This gives you a clean slate despite your very low stats. This is especially important as this is a feature in the game.
Broken Bucket is actually a splendid weapon. You can dual wield them, and these fist weapons are fast. And the movement setup of fist weapons is excellent against a group of enemies. Especially the running light attack, which lets you spin multiple times for a wide range of combos.
This is a Steep Learning Curve that will force you to get better at this game. When you complete Pieta, as long as you don’t use a summons, you’ll quickly become a master of dodging!
That concludes this debut career guide. A lot of this is my subjective opinion, so I’d love to hear counter-arguments, and more information and opinions are usually a pretty good thing. Have a great day!
