If you’re reading this, then you, like me, have made enough bad life choices in life to think that Rune Level 1, or playing Elden Ring start to finish without leveling up, is a good idea.
Welcome, you are among friends.
The concept is simple. Begin at level 1. Do not level up. Though this makes for a hard enough time, RL1 is often paired with one or more additional challenges. Read on for everything you need to know about playing a RL1 run, and how you can make it easier for yourself.
The Rune Level 1 rules and tips
No summoning
To experience a fight at its best and most challenging, it’s almost always a good idea to save your summons for later. This isn’t always true in Elden Ring, however, as some fights are explicitly designed for summons. It’s really down to your judgment.
No item drops
Having a friend give you equipment you’d normally get later may or may not be ethical depending how much weight you put on acquiring the gear yourself. That said, no amount of gear can overcome the fundamental limitation of being level one, so this is also at your discretion.
Weapon Level 1
Yes, some intrepid souls do attempt this challenge without even leveling their weapons. This constraint takes not only great dedication, but probably a little insanity.
If that sounds tough, don’t worry, we’re here to help. What follows is an overview of items, mechanics, and resources that are going to turn a brutal challenge into a contest that you will master.
Choose your weapon
Your main tool should be one you’re comfortable with, and not necessarily one with the highest numbers. Elden Ring easily has the largest roster usable at level one of all the Souls games. Reddit user u/TipsyTurtle has very kindly built a comprehensive list of such weapons.
Embrace power stance
Pick your poison, and pick it twice. Whatever weapon combination you go with, the demands of RL1 make power stancing a highly useful tool that will apply more status effects, do more damage, and stagger more easily.
Arm yourself with Bleed and Frostbite
If you’ve played Elden Ring at all, you’ve probably noticed that status effects hit like the fist of god. Their flat percentile damage is independent of your stats and thus extremely useful in RL1, ensuring that even with a less than optimal setup you will do enough damage to keep up.
Know your talismans
There are three talismans that are practically made for this challenge.
Radagon’s Soreseal
This handy little item boosts your physical stats by 5, but in return drastically reduces your defenses. Not really a problem as with or without it, you will be dying in one or two hits in most situations. Excellent value. Find it by descending into the bowels of Fort Faroth from a hole in the top level.
The Ritual Shield Talisman
One of two talismans you’d never have much reason to use in a normal run, the Ritual Shield reduces all damage taken by a massive 30% — but only at max health. The buff constitutes enough protection to defang a lot of oneshots. Find it by the gates of Leyndell’s Coliseum.
The Ritual Sword Talisman
This is the offensive version of the above. It buffs your attack by 10% so long as you remain at full health. It makes for non-conditional free damage. To get it, you need to defeat the boss inside Lux Ruins.
Your fourth talisman slot opens up later into the run and is really up to what you need in a given situation.
Other important tools
Bloodhound’s Step
Bloodhound’s Step provides another critical tool. Its range of movement and generous iframes make this weapon art the best defensive ability in the game. There are two ways to get it. The first is to beat the Nightrider Cavalry patrolling the bridge leading to Lenne’s Rise. The second is to kill the Bloodhound Knight in Volcano Manor’s basement.
The Flask of Wondrous Physick
There are two incredibly useful tears for your flask. The Opaline Bubbletear lets you nullify a single attack. It waits for you at the Minor Erdtree in the Weeping Peninsula. The Crimsonwhorl Bubbletear comes into play very late, but helps immensely as it converts all non-physical damage received into health. A third tear is required if you want to summon: the now infamous Cerulean Hidden Tear, as its infinite-FP buff allows you to summon spirit ashes whose FP costs far outstrip your stats.
Flame of the Redmanes
This weapon art has range and very high poise damage. You can use it to keep a handle on some harder bosses, such as Radagon and Malenia, but it’s also useful while exploring. Acquire it by killing an invisible scarab next to the Fort Gael grace.
Carian Retaliation
A superior version of the basic parry weapon art, but with the added benefit of parrying spells as well as attacks. Spells you parry are converted into glintblades which fire into enemies for some free damage. You can buy this from Pidia in Caria Manor; get to him by dropping down to the manor from the Three Sisters area above.
Assassin’s Gambit
This very handy spell muffles the sound you make and renders you partially invisible. Highly useful for staying safe while moving through dangerous endgame areas. You can buy it from Knight Bernahl after you’ve advanced through the Volcano Manor questline.
Scarlet Rot
This damage type will let you dance around difficult enemies as it slowly kills them. Keep it in mind when you find yourself overwhelmed. There are multiple avenues to trigger Scarlet Rot, but the most reliable is the Rot Breath incantation. Simply take a dragon heart to the Dragon Communion Cathedral found in southern Caelid.
Sleep Arrows
Sometimes you will face multiple opponents at once, notably the dreaded Godskin Duo fight. When that situation comes, remember that you can put enemies to sleep for an easier battle. You can find the recipe at the Isolated Merchant just outside Raya Lucaria.
Strategies
A Rune Level 1 boss plays very differently and forces a more cautious and disciplined playstyle. These should be your main concerns during your run:
Stagger
Your main tool for this will be jumping attacks. Staggers help you do more damage via ripostes, but equally important is that they let you control the boss.
Make ‘em bleed
Whatever offensive move you do, it should be with respect toward triggering Bleed & Frost, your main sources of damage.
Be patient
You might feel a little greedy. You might feel confident enough for a trade. Do not do this. Bosses will attack through your attack, they will dodge and counter, or they will extend their combo unexpectedly — and kill you. Don’t give them more rope than they already have.
Finally and most importantly, don’t panic. Combat mechanics, not numbers, drive Elden Ring. However large the gap, stay cool under pressure and you will win. Good luck, Tarnished.
Written by Andrei Filote on behalf of GLHF.
