Ygritte, a bow build
I came across a set of sliders to visually recreate the Game of Thrones character Ygritte in Elden Ring. This, combined with the git gud advice to level vigour first, bolstered by a recent vigour guide that resonated, led me to sketch out a plan for her first 50 levels.1
According to a fan site about Ygritte:
The spearwife wears layers of fur and wool and leather, a doeskin shirt and a sewn sheepskin helm. Ygritte wields axe and bone dagger but prefers a short curved bow of horn and weirwood. She fletches her arrows with pale grey goose feathers.
Drip
The Kaiden Armour (Limgrave) is fur-lined, which seems to suit her style, as would the trousers. Similarly, the Champion Set (Caelid) is good but ill-suited to a cold climate.
Weapons
Happily there's an early game accessible bow, the Horn Bow (Siofra), that fits despite being a long bow and requiring some levels in intelligence.
The axe that seems most apt is the Highland Axe (Stormveil). The most rustic looking dagger is the Bloodstained Dagger (Weeping Peninsula) but needs to be farmed. Sadly, all of those need regular smithing stones.
Later game somber weapon options are Nepheli's Stormhawk Axe (Leyendell / Castle Sol), the Black Bow (Leyendell), and the Pulley Bow (Mt Gelmir). The only somber short bow is the Harp Bow (Shaded Castle).
Bows don't benefit from higher attributes, so focus on scaling the weapon itself.
Sliders
I started with these Ygritte Sliders by Dr Pillow. Bone structure 3, the next settings are 0 0 128. The eyes are grey, and the hair is auburn red in a pulled-back style with braids/plaits/dreads.
Starting Class
Minimums for the early weapons: Strength 12, Dexterity 14, Intelligence 12.
Assuming that nothing but vigour is levelled thereafter until reaching at least 40, then:
Starting as Hero means putting 10 levels towards minimums, so would reach 40 vigour at level 43. This origin does start with drip and an axe.
Starting as Prisoner means putting just one level towards minimums, so would reach 40 vigour at level 39, the same as a wretch. It has 2 extra points in intelligence, but saves 5 levels in faith and arcane compared to the Wretch.
Perhaps unsurprisingly, the Vagabond origin already prioritises vigour and, amazingly, reaches 40 vigour at level 38, having invested just 4 levels in minimums with nothing wasted for a melee build. It does have the lowest discovery score, but there's not much in it because it's 107 vs the Bandit's 114.
Here's the summary of which origins level vigour most quickly for this build:
| 40 Vigour | Classes |
|---|---|
| Level 38 | Vagabond |
| Level 39 | Prisoner, Wretch |
| Level 40 | Samurai |
| Level 41 | Warrior |
| Level 42 | Bandit |
| Level 43 | Hero, Astrologer |
| Level 45 | Confessor |
| Level 47 | Prophet |
I have a feeling that most of my NG characters will start out as Vagabonds from now on.
After doing this by hand I found a brilliantly simple character optimiser that would do the same thing..