When players first create their character inElden Ring, they have a lot of options to make! Of all these difficult decisions, selecting a Keepsake tends to be the most difficult for newer players, as the game is very unclear on how useful they will all be!
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Luckily, after almost an entire year of the game being out, there is no more confusion about what each Keepsake does! Choosing a specific “Best” Keepsake is difficult, as each one’s utility can vary drastically depending on the player’s class and play style! However, not all Keepsakes are created equal, and this list will rank them all!
9Shabriri’s Woe
By far the worst Keepsake, Shabriri’s Woe does nothing besides attract the aggression of enemies at an even greater range. In a game that is already brutally unforgiving, having more enemies chasing after you is entirely unnecessary. But, hats off to you if It’s how you want to play!
There are a couple of cheeky ways to make Shabriri’s Woe useful, though the methods to do so are not very convenient. The most effective of such involves using the mimic tear to create a mimic of yourself, and thereafter un-equipping Shabriri’s Woe. By doing so, enemies will fixate entirely on your mimic, leaving you free to heal and recover! Overall though, Shabriri’s Woe is wildly worthless.
8Boiled Prawns
Selecting Boiled Prawns as your Keepsake will give you 5 pieces of Prawn meat, all of which will miraculously boost your physical damage resistance. Sure, that sounds pretty nice on paper, but realistically this is a rather useless Keepsake to pick.
There are plenty of other items available early on that will benefit your defense much better than Boiled Prawns will. Plus, when you think about it, 5 pieces is a rather small supply. When selecting a Keepsake, it is wise to choose something that will be beneficial deep into the game.
7Bewitching Branch
Selecting the Bewitching Branch will grant the player 5 consumables that, when activated, will charm enemies into fighting for you! Truthfully, this is exceedingly fun and can even be pretty helpful in certain situations! But the Bewitching Branch suffers from some serious drawbacks.
Just like the Boiled Prawns, there is only a limited use of these consumables, meaning that they can only take you so far before you have nothing left! Also, no every enemy is even susceptible to being charmed, meaning you will likely waste one or two, unaware of their resilience to the spell! There are definitely better alternatives to this Keepsake.
6Cracked Pots
The Cracked Pots Keepsake comes with 3 Cracked Pots that can be crafted into whatever the player so desires. Sure, Cracked Pots are relatively common in the Lands Between, but having a few to assist with those difficult early enemies is a massive help!
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To get the best bang for your buck, consider turning them into explosives, as these have massive damage potential onMargit! Sadly, just like the previous two entries on this list, the fact that there are only 3 Cracked Pots that come with the Keepsake is a huge downside.
5Fanged Imp Ashes
The Fanged Imp Ashes will summon an Imp Spirit to fight alongside you. The issue here is that it requires players to unlock the spirit bell before it can be used, meaning it will be useless for the first little bit of the game! Once unlocked though, the little critter can be pretty useful!
Unfortunately, there are just so many other alternatives out there. Spirit Ashes are a large part of Elden Ring, and the odds of a player not being able to find a better alternative are slim to none. Overall, the Fanged Imp Ashes is a mediocre Keepsake, but not quite worthless!
4Lands Between Rune
The Lands Between Rune Keepsake is literally just a consumable that gives the player 3000 runes. 3000 is a laughable amount to those who have gotten deeper into the game, but remember that it is actually worth a couple of levels early on!
Ranking this Keepsake so high kind of goes against the idea of ranking Keepsakes based on long-lasting utility, but let’s not kid ourselves: having a couple of free level-ups is very convenient, especially considering that every single rune counts in the early levels! If you decide to pick the Lands Between Rune, there is no judgment here.
3Stonesword Keys
Most Elden Ring fans know what the Stonesword Keys are, and are well aware of how difficult they can be to find! Stonesword Keys unlock certain areas with fantastic loot, offering a very rewarding experience to the player when used.
Selecting the Stonesword key as a Keepsake will actually provide the player with two, which is kind of a big deal early on! Many of the early sealed areas are never seen by most players, simply because they lack a solid supply of keys! This Keepsake effectively puts an end to that pain you feel as you sadly walk past that cool-looking sealed room.
2Crimson Amber Medallion
Talismans/medallions are some of the rarer items in Elden Ring, and even when you do find one, it probably doesn’t fit your build! With the Crimson Amber Medallion, however, that is definitely not the case. No matter your play style, a little added health is always a plus!
The Crimson Amber Medallion Keepsake adds 26 health to your base vigor as long as it is equipped. 26 isn’t much, but it can absolutely be the difference between life and death! Especially for the first several hours of the game, where enemies don’t have real one-hit potential. Unless you areunbelievably goodat not getting hit, this Keepsake is definitely a fantastic choice!
1Golden Seed
The Golden Seed stands head and shoulders above all other Keepsakes on this list. The Golden Seed immediately, and permanently, adds an extra charge to your Estus flask! This charge can be used for either HP or FP regeneration, making it viable for absolutely all players.
Having an extra Golden Seed will put you at a significant advantage for the early game, and will still remain helpful until the final boss! Sure, Golden Seeds are quite common across the Lands Between, but that does nothing to detract from how useful they are. Moral of the story: if this is your first time playing Elden Ring, pick the Golden Seed!
