How to Play the Prisoner in Elden Ring

Do you want to learn how to play the Prisoner class in Elden Ring?

Elden Ring offers various classes that players can choose from while creating their characters. The Prisoner class is an interesting one that many players might find attractive due to its appearance and its hybrid magic and melee nature. 

Based on the game’s lore, this class is a prisoner bound in an iron mask. 

The Prisoner class is focused on the Dexterity and Intelligence stats. It has 14 in both attributes, which are the second-highest in Elden Ring, next to the Warrior and Samurai classes. 

On the other hand, only the Astrologer class provides a higher Intelligence stat.

Unfortunately, the Prisoner class only gives 6 Faith at the start of the game, which is the weakest in Elden Ring.

If you want to have a decent Prisoner character, you’ll have to lean towards sorceries over incantations. While you can build this class no matter how you wish, most players prefer it for its combat style. 

Today, we’ll show you how to play the Prisoner class properly in Elden Ring. 

Let’s get right into it!

Best Prisoner Build in Elden Ring

Selecting the best build for any class in Elden Ring is nearly impossible due to its size and the freedom it gives players to do what they want. Character classes in the game don’t lock players out of skills, armors, or even weapons. 

However, Elden Ring provides a guideline that you can follow if you don’t have plans for your build. 

In case you’re not happy with your current build, you can start allocating points to your other attributes instead of building a new character and starting from scratch. 

However, it’s still best to have an idea of what you want your character to be.

When choosing the Prisoner class, you’ll want to invest in an armor that provides better protection. It could be a shield that can negate 100% physical damage, a one-handed sword, or staff that allows you to cast magic. 

For the Prisoner class, your skill points will mostly go to Dexterity and Intelligence. However, you can also put some to your Vigor and Mind attribute to increase your HP and FP. 

Putting your skill points in Intelligence gives you access to more powerful sorceries.

When it comes to your keepsake, you can choose whichever you want for the Prisoner class. The Golden Seeds are a decent option since it allows you to have more flasks early in the game, which helps you through more challenging dungeons and bosses. 

Unfortunately, the Prisoner class is somewhat squishy, making melee only a secondary option. 

The Fanged Imp Ashes are also a good option. In Elden Ring, players are usually outnumbered by enemies, so it’s great to have some allies during some of your fights. The imps have some devastating attacks, including one that causes Blood Loss to opponents. 

Best Gears for Prisoner Class

Choosing the right gears for your character is also crucial if you want to succeed in Elden Ring. 

While the helmet that goes with the Prisoner class looks strange, it is still a decent helmet to start with. It can carry you through the early stages of the game, but you’ll likely have to trade it for other gears eventually. 

For one, the starting helmet for the Prisoner class is cumbersome, which hinders your mobility. 

Early on, you can trade it for chainmail from the merchant Kale in the Church of Elleh. Although it’s not the best gear to have, it is enough during the early parts of Elden Ring. Later on, you can get the Kaiden armor from the wandering horsemen in Limgrave. 

The armor is lightweight, which gives you decent protection without getting a heavy equip load status. 

Although the Prisoner class is very strong in combat, it still can’t take many hits. Due to this, having a light equip load allows you to dodge attacks from enemies and reduce the chance of you dying during boss fights. 

Sword

The Prisoner class starts with the Estoc, a stabbing sword in Elden Ring. This weapon scales well with Dexterity, but its move set isn’t that impressive. It can deal decent damage against a single enemy, and so does your starting sorcery Magic Glintblade. 

With the Prisoner class, you’ll want a weapon with a wide arc that can hit multiple enemies. One weapon you can find early in the game is the Lordsworn’s Straight Sword. 

This is dropped by Noble Soldiers in the Gatefront Ruins and scales of the Strength and Dexterity attribute. Later on, you can get the Iron Whetblade to change its affinity and scale with your Intelligence stat.

Magic Staffs

When it comes to your magic staff, the one you get at the start will be fine. However, there are better ones that you’ll come across as you explore The Lands Between. 

One of these staff is the Demi-Human Queen’s Staff. You can obtain this staff by killing the Demi-Human Queen in the Demi-Human Forest Ruins. From the Gatefront Ruins, head south across the bridge and continue following the road until you cross another bridge. 

Head west into the middle of the forest, where you’ll see the ruins. 

If you encounter any enemies along your journey, simply ride Torrent to get past them. The Demi-Human Queen should be susceptible to magic, so you can utilize your spells from a distance to finish the fight with ease. 

Shields

Finally, you’ll want a better shield for your Prisoner build. Unfortunately, the Prisoner’s main weakness is getting hit in melee combat since it doesn’t have a lot of health and the strongest armor. 

While this class can take in a few hits, avoiding damage at all times is crucial. 

You can get a heater shield to negate attacks since these shields can absorb 100% of physical damage given you have enough stamina. 

Fortunately, there are a handful of shields that you can choose from in Elden Ring. However, you’ll be able to purchase one once you get to the Roundtable Hold. The Twin Maiden Husks go for 1500 Runes. 

That brings us to the end of our guide on how to play the Prisoner class in Elden Ring. If you have questions, drop a comment below, and we’ll do our best to answer them.