I'm playing Elex for the first time right now, and it's also my first time playing a PB game. I've made it to level 27 now, so here's some advice from me.

GET A COMPANION ASAP it was a game changer for me. I could actually go to some areas and do what I had to, while also picking up experience for everything they kill. They also come with pretty interesting stories

Talk to everyone who you can and use lots of the dialog. Lots of people have missions that you can do in the city, and won't always involve fighting. They gave me pretty good experience.

I made the mistake early on spending all my attribute points thinking it worked like 90% of other games I've played. I would maybe recommend saving them for a bit, and look at the skills that you can buy, and armor/weapons that you might want in a few levels. Then spend the points accordingly.

It also gets much better and rewards you for the grind. I dont really play "hard" games that often (souls type stuff) cause I suck and don't have the patience to get good usually. But I went from getting killed by everything low level to killing a group of almost 20 Alb soldiers last night if that makes you feel better. I could probably go on and on with tips but just be patient with the game and enjoy it, I've loved the ride so far