At the very start of Elden Ring, players with decision paralysis would already be challenged: should you take the plunge at the start of the game?

There won't be any big repercussions, either way, so you can safely decide for yourself. So, to avoid any spoilers, you can go ahead and decide for yourself if you want to take the plunge or not.

Now, if you really want to know what the difference is, we'll let you know what will happen when you take the plunge. At the start of the game, after being beaten by the first boss, a cutscene plays and you get transported into a dark cave. There's nowhere else to go to except forward, and shortly after, you will see a ghostly being on a rocking chair that you could talk to. Talking to the ghost will prompt the question. It will ask you to “take the plunge” down a pit below you. Looking down, you'd see that there are some messages left by other players on the ground, so it shouldn't be hard to realize that you could safely jump down and survive. However, offline players might not be able to see these multiplayer-only messages.

The name of the first area is called “Cave of Knowledge,” and players will rightly guess that this is the game's tutorial level. Experienced players may choose not to jump down to the pit and they'll do just fine. Jumping down the pit, however, is advisable for those new to the Souls-like genre. Jumping down will give your tutorial prompts and messages that can help you become more familiar with the game's mechanics and controls. It also introduces some concepts to you that help you understand how to play well in the game. Completing the tutorial segment of the game will grant an exclusive Gesture, a good headstart amount of runes, and some starting items.

There's one benefit, though, that even experienced players would miss if they don't take the plunge at the start of Elden Ring. That is, the new Elden Ring feature called “Guard Counter.” Guard Counter allows you to attack immediately with a powerful blow right after landing a successful block. The Guard Counter deals a lot of damage on an opponent's Super Armor, which makes them lose poise and make them exposed for a critical attack. Learning this new mechanic can help melee players have an easier time fighting bosses, as taking down a boss' Super Armor is almost a necessity to beat them.

Experienced players may stumble on this mechanic later on, but taking the plunge at the start of Elden Ring and learning this skill early on could help make progress easier in the Lands Between.