Starting with a Keepsake gives a significant edge over a few starting enemies while you roam around the free world. For those who do not know, Keepsakes are a gift or bonus for your character.
At the start of the game, once you select an Elden Ring Class, players have the option to choose one Keepsake out of the nine options. Each Keepsake can grant early access to health, power, currency, companions, attribute buffs, and more.
My guide will enlist all nine keepsakes alongside their abilities for my better understanding.
Key Takeaways
- You can choose one Keepsake out of nine.
- Each Keepsake has its unique ability.
- Even if you choose a different Keepsake at the start, you can find all nine of them while playing the game.
- Keepsakes can give you currencies, restore your HP, increase your health slightly, summon spirited animals (your furry friends that aid you in battle), and more.
- The guide will talk about the best Keepsake you need to choose immediately.
- It will help you early on in the game, especially if you’re a beginner.
- Please ignore the “None” option while selecting a keepsake, as it would be a fool’s choice.
Farrukh Jafri has invested 400+ hours in Elden Ring and knows the ins and outs of the game. You can trust his information about the Best Keepsakes in Elden Ring!
Best Keepsake Comparison
Here is a comparison table of my best Keepsake in Elden Ring . Each stat can be sorted to view the highest and lowest values, which has been done for your convenience:
Keepsakes Best for FP Cost Buy Price Sell Price Max. Held Max Stored
Crimson Amber Medallion Best Keepsake for Tank Builds - 1500 100 - -
Golden Seed Best Keepsake for General Use - - - 99 600
Lands Between Rune Best Keepsake for Runes - - - 99 600
Fanged Imp Ashes Best Keepsake for Spirit Ash Users 50 - - - -
Cracked Pot Best Keepsake for Throwable Users - 200-600 - 20 -
Stonesword Key Best Keepsake for Dungeon Explorers - 2000-5000 - 99 600
Boiled Prawn Best Keepsake for Consumable Users - 600 50 99 600
Bewitching Branch Best Keepsake for Strategic Players 14 600 100 10 600
Shabriri’s Woe Best Keepsake for Multiplayer - - 500 - -
Comparison table for Best Keepsake.
Elden Ring allows the players to complete quests and journey through the magical world to learn new skills, master weapons, and unlock items, Talismans, and Spells.
It even allows you access to the weapons used by the most challenging bosses. You have a variety of combinations to try out in your journey to be the best in the game.
Consequently, giving you access to ten classes in the game, you can choose to scout the world with any of the ten classes. These classes include;
In Elden Ring, classes have unique attributes and starting gear:
- Personalize characters as you like.
- Each class pairs well with each of the nine keepsakes depending on play style.
- Before choosing a keepsake, understand its abilities.
For a sorcerer like Mage:
- Choose “Golden Seed” for extra FP flasks.
- FP is crucial for casting spells from a distance.
- “Crimson Amber Medallion” is better for survival but not ideal for sorcerers.
Related: Best Strength Weapons Elden Ring
1. None
Best Keepsake for Veterans
When you’re faced with the choice of nine different Keepsakes, there’s this “None” option lurking around. And as the name suggests, it means you’re going into the game without any Keepsakes. Now, why would you do that to yourself, right? Trust me, choosing “None” is probably the worst decision you could make. Do you think you can breeze through the early game without a little extra help?
Why did I Choose None? If you’re on your second playthrough of Elden Ring, maybe you can entertain the idea of going without a Keepsake and choosing “None.” But if you’re new to the game, just leave that option alone. You’re going to want a Keepsake as your trusty sidekick to help you navigate the vast open world and take on those intimidating monsters.
In a nutshell, only go for the “None” option if you’re a seasoned player looking for a hardcore challenge. For the rest of us mere mortals, a Keepsake is your ticket to a smoother journey through the game’s early stages. Even I didn’t go with this on my first playthrough!
- Bragging rights
- Lack of early game-changing materials
2. Crimson Amber Medallion
Best Keepsake for Tank Builds
| Name | Crimson Amber Medallion |
| Weight | 0.3 |
| Effect | raises maximum HP by 6/7/8% |
Why did I Choose the Crimson Amber Medallion? The Crimson Amber Medallion is perfect for enhancing survivability by increasing your health in the Elden Ring. It’s particularly valuable early in the game when you aim to clear content with ease. While PvP fights are less relevant in the beginning, these keepsakes are crucial for various aspects of gameplay.
The Medallion provides an extra health boost from the start, which is beneficial for facing challenging enemies and gathering items, especially in farming locations. Accumulating items early on allows you to quickly boost your attributes, focusing on Vigor for more HP and Intelligence for increased FP.
This flexibility enables you to follow the path of a strong mage or a brute-force warrior. Elden Ring offers extensive customization, allowing you to fine-tune your character, combining spells, talismans, weapons, and armor to create the perfect build. For instance, an Arcane build prioritizes attributes in Arcane, Vigor, Endurance, and Dexterity.
Related: If you need clarification on the synergy or pairing each Keepsake has with your character’s stats, check out our Best Stats Guide.
- Increased early survivability
- Good on low Vigor classes
- Gets out-scaled very quickly
3. Golden Seed
Best Keepsake for General Use
Why did I Choose Golden Seed? For a sorcerer build in Elden Ring, the Golden Seed is an excellent choice as your starter keepsake. It provides an extra HP/FP flask, allowing you to cast more spells for a longer duration, which is crucial in the early game when you may have limited flasks.
Starting with the Golden Seed ensures you have enough FP to unleash powerful sorceries like Comet Azur, Carian Phalanx, and Adula’s Moonblade, making it a valuable asset for mages and astrologers. Additionally, suppose you accidentally choose a different keepsake. In that case, you can find Golden Seeds and Crimson Amber Medallions at various points, allowing you to switch keepsakes later on.
| Name | Golden Seed |
| FP Cost | - |
| Weight | 0.3 |
| Effect | Increases the Sacred Flask's number of uses |
| Scaling | - |
- Extra Healing/FP Flask at the start
- None
4. Lands Between Rune
Best Keepsake for Runes
Why did I Choose Lands Between Rune? It is not one of the other Keepsakes that give you a passive buff. Instead, you can consume it and sell it for 3,000 Runes. Not much is helpful in battle. However, you can upgrade rather quickly.
| Name | Lands between Rune |
| FP Cost | - |
| Effect | Use to gain many runes. |
| Scaling | - |
Therefore, it is not a Keepsake you HAVE to choose during character creation. Nonetheless, if you’re into collecting achievements and items like I am then feel free to choose Lands Between Rune.
PS: Use it after you accept Melina’s accord!
- Early level up with runes
- Becomes common after mid-game
Similar Reads: Best Elden Ring Builds
5. Fanged Imp Ashes
Best Keepsake for Spirit Ash Users
| Name | Fanged Imp Ashes. |
| FP Cost | 50 |
| HP Cost | - |
| Effect | Summons two fanged imp spirits. |
| Type | Spirit Summon. |
Why did I Choose Fanged Imp Ashes? It is a Keepsake you must have if you’re using a mage class. You will want an extra pair of hands to fight your battles for you. The Fanged Imp Ashes, in particular, can summon Imps/Animals to aid you in battle.
However, a drawback to this Keepsake is that you unlock the Spirit Calling Bell item to summon the spirits!
- Bleed damage on-hit
- Distract enemies and bosses
- High FP required to summon
6. Cracked Pot
Best Keepsake for Throwable Users
| Name | Cracked Pot |
| Effect | Container required for crafting cracked pot items. |
Why did I Choose Cracked Pot? The Cracked Pot allows you to craft firebombs, useful for throwing at groups of enemies to level the odds in battle. While it’s not a standout keepsake, it has its uses.
Early in the game, you can craft weapons and bombs, starting with two pots. You’ll find more as you explore Elden Ring’s open world.
- Early crafting of pots
- Can be bought in the mid-game
Also Read This: Elden Ring Dex Weapons
7. Stonesword Key
Best Keepsake for Dungeon Explorers
| Name | Stonesword Key |
| Type | Key item |
| Effect | Use to break one imp statue seal. |
Why did I Choose the Stonesword Key? A worthy Keepsake to have at the start of the game. It is hard to obtain in the later stages of the game, so it’s safe to say you should consider taking it at the beginning. I mean, it is not that difficult, but you’ll know they’re worth saving!
The benefits of Stonesword Key are limited to rewards, items, treasures, and unlocking new areas. Most of all, you can unlock those pesky Imp Statue Seals with a pair of Stonesword Keys.
- Saves cost of buying them
- Not useful unless you like exploring dungeons
8. Boiled Prawn
Best Keepsake for Consumable Users
| Name | Boiled Prawn |
| Effect | Boosts physical damage negation for a time. |
| Duration | 60s |
| Scaling | - |
| FP Cost | - |
Why did I Choose Boiled Prawn? The Boiled Prawn may not be the best keepsake, but it’s useful for boosting your damage resistance against physical attacks. If you’re facing tough opponents, eat one of the five Boiled Prawns to enhance your defense.
Its effects last for 60 seconds, increasing damage negation by +15% for physical attacks, which include Strike, Pierce, and Slash Damage. It’s a handy consumable, especially if your enemy relies on these attack types.
- Improves stats
- Can be crafted in mid-game
9. Bewitching Branch
Best Keepsake for Strategic Players
| Name | Bewitching Branch |
| Effect | Uses FP to charm pierced enemies. |
| FP Cost | 14 |
| Scaling | - |
Why did I Choose Bewitching Branch? It is another optional Keepsake to choose from at the start of the game, which may sound a little less useful, but it can turn the enemies on your side! I believe it is the only Keepsake that requires FP to charm your enemies temporarily.
Others, not so much. Moreover, if enemies swarm you, you can always charm them with your special Keepsake and let them fight each other while you heal yourself from the damage they did to you!
Additionally, you may want to avoid using this Keepsake on any boss because it will not work!
- Enemy swarms become less stressful
- Only useful in large enemy groups
10. Shabriri’s Woe
Best Keepsake for Multiplayer
| Name | Shabriri’s Woe |
| Effect | Constantly attracts enemies' aggression. |
| Weight | 0.6 |
Why did I Choose Shabriri’s Woe? This Keepsake is the best choice for players who want to go up close and personal with enemies.
First things first, the description of this Talisman (Keepsake) is misleading for most players. Some of you might think of it as a useless Keepsake because all it does is attract; what? Oh yes, the enemy’s aggression.
- Makes farming easier
- Draw agro in multiplayer for companions
- Enemies are more aggresive
- Sneaking/Backstabs are harder
What Would I Recommend?
I recommend you the Golden Seed, Crimson Amber Medallion, or the Fanged Imp Ashes at the beginning.
The Keepsakes I’ve mentioned in my guide significantly pair well with each other, and if you’re one of those players who have no idea how to use weapons, spells, classes, and keepsakes that complement others, this guide has helped you! Because you’ll have had enough knowledge to associate any of the nine best Keepsakes with each class!
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Farrukh has been covering Souls like games for years now. Having an extensive experience in Dark Soul 3 and Elden Ring he critically judges these games and writes his unbiased thoughts on them after spending hundreds of hours grinding. Farrukh has also worked with Game Rant, MP1st and The Nerd Stash on a variety of gaming guides making him an expert to share his opinions. When not writing he probably be clearing another dungeon. You can also join Farrukh on his Steam.
