Elden Ring players are given a tough decision at the start of the game to decide on a range of items called a “Keepsake” to choose when creating their character. There’s a range of Elden Ring Keepsakes such as an upgrade for your Sacred Flask, a key to unlock a door in the early game and more.
If you don’t know which Elden Ring Keepsake to choose from first, then we have you covered. Here’s every item you can choose at the start of the game and what they do.
Elden Ring Keepsake Items
There are 10 Keepsake in the game. You can only choose one. The item descriptions don’t really do much to explain what these items do so we will do that instead.
The 10 Elden Ring Keepsake include:
- Bewitching Branch
- Five sacred branches charged with beguiling power. Said to originate from the demigod Miquella.
- Boiled Prawn
- Five boiled crayfish meats. Boosts physical damage negation.
- Cracked Pot
- Three strange cracked pots that somehow mend themselves. A container for certain thrown items.
- Crimson Amber Medallion
- A medallion inlaid with reddish amber. Increases maximum HP.
- Fanged Imp Ashes
- The ashes of small, diminutive golems. Ashes are said to hold spirits within.
- Golden Seed
- A golden seed washed ashore from the Lands Between. Said to reinforce Sacred Flasks.
- Lands Between Rune
- The gold of grace shining in the eyes of the people of the Lands Between. Use to gain many runes.
- Shabiri’s Woe
- The crazed likeness of a noble who crushed out their own two eyes. Attracts enemies’ aggression.
- Stonesword Key
- Two-tone keys shaped like swords. Breaks through an Imp’s seal, but shatters in the process.
- None
- No keepsake. The past has been well and truly left behind.
Best Elden Ring Keepsake to Choose?
It is not an easy decision to choose a Keepsake at the start of the game. If anything, it can be as daunting as choosing your class. However, there are some items to keep in mind and we rank them in order of importance.
1. Choose the Golden Seed
This is usually a no-brainer. Golden Seeds in Elden Ring are used to upgrade your flask meaning you can restore your HP and PP with it. You start out quite weak in Elden Ring so this upgrade could go a long way here. You do find other Golden Seeds in the game but having this will definitely help.
2. Fanged Imp Ashes
These Fanged Imp Ashes help players summon NPCs into the game. These are a great option for you if you want another fighter next to you to help distract enemies and even the first boss in the area. However, Fanged Imp Ashes are quite easy to find if you do little exploring making this item pretty useless to a certain degree.
3. Crimson Ambler Medallion
This is another helpful item that boosts your HP when wearing it. It is a decent choice but you also find this item early in the Dragon-Burnt Ruins – an area just south of the lake near the starting point in Elden Ring. Maybe just go grab that instead?
4. Stonesword Key
The last keepsake I can recommend in Elden Ring is the Stonesword Key. However, there is a big catch here. These keys help unlock certain locks throughout the game. These locks often lead to dungeons and items. In this case, the Stonesword Key can be used to unlock the door right at the start of the game. But this door leads to a rather challenging dungeon that you might not survive at first. I recommend you find a Stonesword Key elsewhere and come back at a later time to this dungeon instead. This way you can level up a bit.
So all in all, the Golden Seed is the best Elden Ring Keepsake to choose from at the start of the game. It is a permanent upgrade, one which you don’t find often making it ideal for a new game run.
