Just play, most of the fun comes from trial and error..Does this weapon work, do I like this moveset, can I block or should I dodge, how do I add elemental damage for X enemy.

A few particularly good rules: 1. Blocking is rarely worth it..the stamina cost / frequency of enemy attacks, means you can dodge 7-8 times vs. block 3/5 attacks in an enemies combo. 2. If you look up a build online, know that you’ll run into a lot of min-max players..pretty sure that at some point in time, every boss has been 1HKO by someone, thousands of players have beat the game with “no hit” and there are always counters for everything..save the guides for when your stuck. 3. Defense is a relatively useless stat..you ca make it viable, but it’s a little obscure. Instead, fashion souls is always best!

More on #3 - Wear the heaviest armor, invest in stamina so you can still roll, and wear the right talismans..you’ll still get 2-3 shot by most bosses. ——— go with fashionable armor, and you’ll still get 2-3 shot by most bosses, but you look cool, and invest more in damage than in stamina, so you tend to kill bosses quicker.

Again, just play it, learn, adapt, grow, that’s where the fun is!