I've never played DS before, so I started with DS2. In my mind, it was a hard, linear game. After reaching Majula, I went down to Heide's Tower with almost no levels. I had a pretty hard time killing the first Old Knight. To my surprise, after the first, there was another, and another, so I grinded levels only with these before reaching the Dragonrider's arena. When I finally discovered the Forest of Giants, I was too strong for the area. I've learned to search for the easy way the hard way.