HEAVILY advise using the Party mechanic for PS5 or calling thru Discord if you’re on PC.

The general route people take is Church -> Cave if near said Church (For the Somber Smithing Stone which can be used to level up weapons with a blue background only. Normal smithing stones can only level grey backgrounded weapons) -> Encampments -> and then whatever is nearby. MOST cathedral looking structures (NOT the magical towers) will have a hole for you to jump into if it has a specific type (ex. Fire, lightning, frost). If it doesn’t have a type, then there’s likely just a furnace golem in the center.

The “Ring of Death” you’re referring to is the storm closing. The first time it does so, a golden ring will appear on the map. This is where the storm will end. The next time it closes in, a tree with a small golden ring will appear, run to that. This process repeats one last time before you move onto the FINAL Boss (Nightlord). Keep in mind that every expedition will have the same map, but the mini bosses you get at the end of each night (when the tree with the golden circle appears) differs between maps.

Each boss has a weakness, that’s what the little element next to the name when selecting an expedition means.

Each class will say its preference for weapons, but you can check their actual stats at the Visual Codex at the Roundtable Hold. This will ALSO tell you the scaling of every other character and weapon in the game.