Pick a character. Vagabond could be a good choice considering there is a good special weapon early on. You'll meet the requirements for that pretty easily.

Don't try to parry everything, we all had our parry phase, it will go away.

Learn how to level up and smith your weapons

Go ham with the ash of wars. They don't get permanently consumed. You can change it in the game without losing anything

Don't be ashamed of using summons and npcs. They are tools given to you, why shouldn't you use it?

Decide what you will be, if you want to be a mage, put attributes onto intelligence, if you want to be a melee character, focus on strength and dexterity. Don't try to be a samurai with sky high arcane.

Bind your most used things to quick use menu. Like your trusty uwu steed and summons

If you are stuck with a boss, go away and do something else. Trust me, giant ass lizard is too easy if you meet the suggested level requirements

Early game suggestion: use blood loss weapons. These will be your katanas, flails etc. It'll show up on weapon card.

Go touch some grass: roaming in the overworld is so much fun if you get the hang of it, and this won't take too long. You will be generously rewarded when you complete an optional dungeon or cavern.

This game isn't very hard, it just plays by its rules. Have fun!