In Dark Souls 3, as in past Souls games, your starting class mostly affects your initial equipment. This is about helping new players survive and hopefully enjoy a game that can be super punishing for those not blessed with oiled steel reflexes. This is not an advanced build guide for expert players, and nor is it a PvP build. It assumes you are willing to accept help from other players or NPCs in boss battles, and also to cheese difficult encounters. It cuts down on the frustrations of dying repeatedly to grunt enemies as you make a run on the boss, while providing a solid foundation for more advanced builds as your character grows.

This stealthy, ranged PvE build is designed for players who have not mastered the split-second timing, tell reading and twitch reflexes required to duel enemies toe-to-toe, but sitll want to explore this rewarding RPG. It is intended to serve as a companion to our step-by-step walkthrough, and has been tested right through the game including both DLC packs. In this Dark Souls 3 build guide, we'll suggest a good starting point for players who aren't ready for or keen on challenging twitch-based action.