Elden Ring's Prisoner class has been revealed, and it looks weird as hell

By Brendan Lowry
published

One of Elden Ring's strangest classes. Will you play as one?

Elden Ring
Elden Ring (Image credit: Bandai Namco)

What you need to know

  • Elden Ring developer FromSoftware has revealed its Prisoner class ahead of the game's launch.
  • The Prisoner once studied glintstone sorcery and lived among the elite before they were imprisoned.
  • Right now, we know about eight classes that are expected to appear in Elden Ring, though the expected addition of a Deprived-style class raises that number to nine.
  • Elden Ring is slated to release on Feb. 25, 2022.

In a new Tweet, developer FromSoftware has teased the Prisoner class, which is one of the presets players can choose when creating a character in the studio's upcoming open world action RPG Elden Ring. Dressed in tattered rags and fitted with a large rounded iron mask, the Prisoner is definitely one of the weirdest (if not the weirdest) classes we've seen so far.

It's unclear how the Prisoner will compare to other Elden Ring classes, but FromSoftware has given us details regarding the backstory behind the class. The description for it reads, "a prisoner bound in an iron mask. Studied in glintstone sorcery, having lived among the elite prior to sentencing." Perhaps characters using this class will be effective with magic since they used to study it before they were imprisoned. My personal theory is that the type of magic they practiced was frowned upon and that's why they were punished, but we won't know for sure until the game comes out and we experience Elden Ring's worldbuilding.

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The Prisoner class joins the other seven Elden Ring classes we know about — Bloody Wolf, Champion, Prophet, Enchanted Knight, Warrior, Vagabond, and Hero — as the game's eigth class. A ninth class similar to the Deprived class from Dark Souls games is expected as well, and if they're anything like the Deprived, they'll have little to no armor, a simple club, a flat stat distribution, and a lower starting level. This type of class is generally considered the hardest one to start with, but it does give players a lot of flexibility to build the character the way they see fit.

Elden Ring is expected to release Feb. 25, 2022 on Xbox Series X, Xbox One systems, PS5, PS4, and PC. Elden Ring preorders are available now if you'd like to purchase your copy of the game before it arrives.

The successor to Dark Souls

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Elden Ring

Elden Ring ... oh, Elden Ring!

Elden Ring is FromSoftware's next fantasy epic, featuring a focus on open-ended design in a universe created by both FromSoftware president Hidetaka Miyazaki and A Song of Ice and Fire author George R.R. Martin.

Brendan Lowry
Brendan Lowry

Brendan Lowry is a Windows Central writer and Oakland University graduate with a burning passion for video games, of which he's been an avid fan since childhood. You'll find him doing reviews, editorials, and general coverage on everything Xbox and PC. Follow him on Twitter.

3 Comments
  • I'm guessing Elden Ring is like Dark Souls and you can change your outfit at will (so long as you have different armour to equip).
  • I hope so.
  • You're wrong about the classes, Brendan. Enchanted Knight and Bloody Wolf for sure, and potentially Champion and Prophet are not starting classes in the full version of Elden Ring. Enchanted Knight and Bloody Wolf were pre-set characters for the CNT and held mid-to-late-game armor and equipment. The only guaranteed classes we know of are confirmed by ER's Twitter page. They are: Vagabond, Warrior, Hero, Prisoner. Miyazaki himself confirmed Wretch as the ER version of the Deprived class. Hero uses similar armor to Champion, so Champion is out too, most likely.