Dark Souls 2 is so radically different from the rest of the franchise that it is frequently regarded as the "black sheep" of the Dark Souls series. Major gameplay changes made Dark Souls 2 play much differently from the original title and Demon's Souls.
Part of these major changes comes to character building. Classes no longer have intrinsic stat increases or deficiencies like the original game, and there are now only eight choices instead of ten. Archetypes such as the Pyromancer have been removed entirely, which can make choosing a character even more confusing. For those looking for the best options for their build, here are all eight of Dark Souls 2's classes ranked from worst to best.
Updated March 17, 2022 by Mark Sammut: In March 2022, FromSoftware released Elden Ring, an open-world game that feels like a spiritual successor to the Souls trilogy. Garnering a standing ovation from critics, Elden Ring is a bona fide success; however, not everyone has access to the title. Thankfully, the studio's previous games are not going anywhere, and for those tempted to dive into the franchise, Dark Souls 2 is a decent place to start. Although slightly more polarizing than the other entries in the trilogy, DS2 is still an impressive experience, one that comes with an expansive selection of customization options. This article covering the best classes in DS2 has been revisited and updated.
8 Explorer
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Explorer Stats & Gear |
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|---|---|---|---|---|
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Soul Level |
10 |
Strength |
6 |
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Vigor |
7 |
Dexterity |
6 |
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Endurance |
6 |
Adaptability |
12 |
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Vitality |
9 |
Intelligence |
5 |
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Attunement |
7 |
Faith |
5 |
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Starting Weapons |
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Starting Armor |
Traveling Merchant Set |
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Starting Items |
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Despite the Explorer being arguably the worst class in Dark Souls 2, that by no means makes this class a bad choice. Starting with a whopping 12 Adaptability, experienced players will be able to take full advantage of the extra invincibility frames their rolls grant. This makes early-game boss fights much less punishing since rolls are more effective.
As for gear, the Explorer is somewhat disappointing. A Pharros Lockstone and 20 Lifegems are nice to start with, but both items can be obtained in vast quantities rather quickly if players know where to look. If it wasn't for their unintuitive stat distribution, Explorers would be much higher on this list.
7 Cleric
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Cleric Stats & Gear |
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|---|---|---|---|---|
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Soul Level |
14 |
Strength |
11 |
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Vigor |
10 |
Dexterity |
5 |
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Endurance |
3 |
Adaptability |
4 |
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Vitality |
8 |
Intelligence |
4 |
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Attunement |
10 |
Faith |
12 |
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Starting Weapons |
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Starting Armor |
Archdrake Robes |
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Starting Spells |
Heal |
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Starting Items |
10 Lifegems |
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Similar to the Explorer, the Cleric is by no means an awful class. Players that aspire to make a paladin or any faith-focused build should definitely pick the Cleric as their starter. The issue is that the Cleric's starting gear is questionable at best.
Starting with Heal sounds incredible until players realize that Lifegems can be bought in infinite supply after spending 10,000 Souls at Merchant Hag Melentia in the Forest of Fallen Giants. Their starting mace weapon also isn't all that ideal due to its stat requirements that the Cleric doesn't meet, meaning players need to two-hand their starting weapon until they can level up a few times. It's by no means a deal-breaker, but newer players that aren't familiar with Dark Souls 2 should look elsewhere.
6 Warrior
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Warrior Stats & Gear |
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|---|---|---|---|---|
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Soul Level |
12 |
Strength |
15 |
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Vigor |
7 |
Dexterity |
11 |
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Endurance |
6 |
Adaptability |
5 |
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Vitality |
6 |
Intelligence |
5 |
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Attunement |
5 |
Faith |
5 |
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Starting Weapons |
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Starting Armor |
Hard Leather Set |
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Starting Items |
10 Lifegems |
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A great set of base stats and solid armor make the Warrior a solid choice for newer Dark Souls 2 players. With that said, the developers thought it would be a good idea to give a melee-focused class a Broken Straight Sword as their starting weapon.
New players might find this frustrating, but this gearing issue can easily be resolved by obtaining the Morning Star mace in Majula. Once players get a new weapon, the Warrior becomes a solid melee character that has versatile stats to work with. It won't be the best melee character at Soul Level 150, the game's recommended PvP Soul Level cap, but players that wish to enjoy Dark Souls 2's PvE can't go wrong with a Warrior.
5 Sorcerer
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Sorcerer Stats & Gear |
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|---|---|---|---|---|
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Soul Level |
11 |
Strength |
3 |
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Vigor |
5 |
Dexterity |
7 |
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Endurance |
6 |
Adaptability |
8 |
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Vitality |
5 |
Intelligence |
14 |
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Attunement |
12 |
Faith |
4 |
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Starting Weapons |
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Starting Armor |
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Starting Spells |
Soul Arrow |
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Starting Items |
10 Lifegems |
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Magic in the Dark Souls franchise pivots between being overpowered to useless, and Dark Souls 2, despite some of its problems, nailed this aspect quite well. Starting as a Sorcerer in this game is the most viable of all three games due to how plentiful bonfires are in this installment.
Pure caster builds can't choose a better class than the Sorcerer, either, mainly due to the character's immense 14 intelligence stat. Obtain better gear, upgrade both vigor and adaptability, and make sure to obtain a few more spells to get the most out of this class. Since pyromancies scale off intelligence and faith in this installment, the Sorcerer is also the best pick for players who frequently played the Pyromancer class in other Dark Souls entries.
4 Knight
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Knight Stats & Gear |
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|---|---|---|---|---|
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Soul Level |
13 |
Strength |
11 |
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Vigor |
12 |
Dexterity |
8 |
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Endurance |
6 |
Adaptability |
9 |
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Vitality |
7 |
Intelligence |
3 |
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Attunement |
4 |
Faith |
6 |
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Starting Weapons |
Broadsword |
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Starting Armor |
Incomplete Falconer Set |
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Starting Items |
10 Lifegems |
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While the Knight class resembles more of a mercenary than a proper knight in shining armor, this class is a fantastic choice for players that want to make a melee character or a battlemage. This is due to the Knight's high 11 strength and surprisingly high 6 faith.
Starting with the Broadsword and a decent armor set, this character is a great starting choice for any Dark Souls players that don't want to rely on a shield. Since the Knight doesn't start with a shield, make sure to either find one early on or upgrade adaptability as soon as possible.
3 Bandit
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Bandit Stats & Gear |
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|---|---|---|---|---|
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Soul Level |
11 |
Strength |
9 |
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Vigor |
9 |
Dexterity |
14 |
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Endurance |
7 |
Adaptability |
3 |
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Vitality |
11 |
Intelligence |
1 |
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Attunement |
2 |
Faith |
8 |
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Starting Weapons |
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Starting Armor |
Bandit Set |
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Starting Items |
10 Lifegems |
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As for players that want to focus exclusively on melee and care about their Soul Level, the Bandit is easily the best class in the game. This class has the lowest attunement, faith, and intelligence stats in the game. Of course, these three low stats are accompanied by higher melee-oriented stats that favor strength, dexterity, or quality builds.
The Bandit's starting gear is rough since they obtain a mediocre armor set, a Short Bow with only 25 Wooden Arrows, and a solid Hand Axe melee weapon. Since this character has nine strength and 14 dexterity, finding an off-hand weapon to use or even Power Stance is a solid choice for the early-game.
2 Swordsman
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Swordsman Stats & Gear |
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|---|---|---|---|---|
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Soul Level |
12 |
Strength |
9 |
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Vigor |
4 |
Dexterity |
16 |
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Endurance |
8 |
Adaptability |
6 |
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Vitality |
4 |
Intelligence |
7 |
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Attunement |
6 |
Faith |
5 |
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Starting Weapons |
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Starting Armor |
Wanderer Set |
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Starting Items |
10 Lifegems |
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Replacing the Wanderer from the original Dark Souls, the Swordsman is Dark Souls 2's dexterity-heavy melee character. Their stat distribution makes them incredible at dexterity-focused builds and battlemage hybrid builds that use magic to buff their attacks. They also start with a Scimitar and Shortsword, two great weapons that can be Power Stanced together with just a few levels in strength and dexterity.
1 Deprived
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Deprived Stats & Gear |
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|---|---|---|---|---|
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Soul Level |
1 |
Strength |
6 |
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Vigor |
6 |
Dexterity |
6 |
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Endurance |
6 |
Adaptability |
6 |
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Vitality |
6 |
Intelligence |
6 |
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Attunement |
6 |
Faith |
6 |
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Starting Weapons |
N/A |
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Starting Armor |
Imported Set |
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Starting Items |
N/A |
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New players should not choose the Deprived unless they have experience with past Dark Souls games or are following a guide. As for experienced players, the Deprived is such a versatile option that few classes can match its strength. Starting with a balanced stat distribution of six in every stat, the Deprived can be molded into any build the player desires. Since respeccing a character in Dark Souls 2 is incredibly easy in the mid to late-game, players are never trapped into a certain build if they start as the Deprived.
While they don't start with any weapons, they do have the Imported Set that does provide a small amount of protection. Grab the Morning Star from Majula before entering any zone to make the first few zones as painless as possible. Deprived players should also bring Merchant Hag Melentia to Majula as soon as possible to unlock her infinite supply of Lifegems.
Dark Souls 2 is available on PS3, Xbox 360, and PC.An updated version called Dark Souls 2: Scholar of the First Sin can be played on the PS4, PS3, Xbox One, Xbox 360, and PC.