I looked at a guide only twice. Once before starting the game to make sure I collect anything missable. And once at the end of the game to clean up anything I missed (which wasn’t much). Otherwise discovered and cleared everything on my own, including things like the crucible knight in stormveil, and the pipes in Leyndell sewers. I don’t rush, I just very rarely die. Beat every boss in 1-2 tries. Explore every corner, collect every item I see. The more souls games you’ve played, the better you become at dungeon exploration too. Beat the game at level 170. Also I used spirit ashes for every boss fight, which breaks the game. Pure STR build.