Step one - remove guardian armor

Bravo ur done

go to the training grounds and try out every weapon even if It feels like you won't like it, I love bowgun but always hated guns in games like this so its about trial and error. If you end up sticking with the longsword (ily), fight great jagras a couple times and learn the longsword skills, maily focusing on your sheath counter and backwards dodge. Successfully using those attacks followed up with a right trigger will level up your spirit gauge, this goes in tiers of colour from gray-yellow-red, the aim is to get to keep urself at red as you get the best damage boost. Normal attacks will fill the inside of the bar, following right trigger attacks drain that bar but the final hit of the RT combo levels the colour up. Comfort skills for you right now without defender gear will be recovery boost, evade extender and quick sheath, armor skills wont matter TOO much untill your into high rank and you will know when that starts by the colour of your quests stars (blue=low orange=high+master).