What is the best keepsake in Elden Ring? Today, I’ll answer this age-old question while being as brief but informative as possible. Keepsakes are items that you can choose at the beginning of the game to sort of jumpstart your playthrough.
Do keepsakes even matter that much? Read this article fully to understand what they are all about.
What are Keepsakes?
Keepsakes are items that you can select at the very beginning of the game. These are supposed to help you on your journey and make the struggle only a bit less harsh. There are nine Keepsakes in total, and you can choose to play the game without selecting one, as well.
You can obtain all nine Keepsake items later in the game
You will not miss out on any unique item by not selecting one at the start of the game as your Keepsake. All of these items can be obtained all over the Lands Between, either at the lifeless hands of fallen enemies or vendors who have these items for sale.
For example, the Cracked Pot and Boiled Prawn items can be purchased from the merchant Kale and Big Boggart respectively. Although, obtaining Boiled Prawn requires you to progress the game past Stormveil Castle.
You can only get a few Boiled Prawns as a Keepsake, so it’s not really worth it. In the beginning, you’re going to die a lot anyway, regardless of having a handful of Prawns that boosts your damage negation a bit.
The best ones you can choose
I consider only a very small number of Keepsakes as truly worthwhile, and they are The Lands Between Rune that grants you 3000 Runes, the Golden Seed, and maybe the Stonesword Key. Respectively, you can use these items to gain multiple levels to your character at once, increase the number of charges in your Health/FP flask by one, or unlock an area locked with a fog wall.
Stonesword keys are rather expensive, so having one handy may prove useful. But the other two items are what I consider to be the most useful. You can use the 3000 Runes to level vigor because that is essential for survival in the Lands Between. And because you can find another Golden Seed in Limgrave, having one at the very start of the game will yield you two additional charges for your flasks. That means about four charges.
The Crimson Amber Medallion could also be worthwhile, but its health increase is somewhat low. But having more health is always better, so consider this option as well.
The ones to avoid
Avoiding the ones other than those listed above is a good idea. But I think you should particularly avoid the Bewitching Branch and Shabriri’s Woe.
Shabriri’s Woe may sound useful because it’s a good tool when farming Runes or items, but at the start, you’ll have a difficult time dealing with continuous enemy aggression.
