Board Thread:Dark Souls II/@comment-76.101.215.2-20140208181213/@comment-6003396-20140209001735

Sorry for the confusion. While it is true that you don't start with any equipment at the very start, I mean to say that once the class has been chosen there will be much less starting equipment when compared to the beta network tests. All of the classes start with armor and at least one weapon, but many do not start with a shield (I know from experience that the Bandit does not start with one, but I've read from various other people that the other classes don't start with a shield either, and possibly that only one class will start with a shield). The Sorcerer and Cleric will start with one or two spells each (probably one). The explorer class will start with some kind of ring, and I believe has generally more starting items compared to the others. The deprived, on the other hand, starts with no armor, and if these screenshots are accurate, no weapons either.

I should also stress that we do not have all of the information concerning starting equipment. The game isn't out yet, after all.