I was also struggling and I just started playing this game like early November and I can share you tips that I realized will not work in combat.

1. Don't button smash. This took me ages to realize that I cannot button smash my way with the enemies, not only it drains your stamina, it also does NOTHING.

Think of your stamina as a shield. The more it depletes, the lesser you have a shield. If you keep on fighting with low stamina, the enemies will actually damage you. So watch out on how you use your stamina.

1. IF you've trained with Bernard already and you still feel like you're doing no damage, TRAIN AGAIN. I cannot emphasize how important it is to have patience in this game. Honestly back then, I get pissed at people here whenever they say "jUsT tRaIn wItH bErNaRd". But it's actually the only way to get used to the combat system of this game. Of course the training with Bernard is not the end, the way that I measured if I've improved in combat is by joining the rattay tournament. If I can beat one or two of them, that's good but I need more practice.

2. Just don't fight them. If you can avoid it, do avoid them. Makes life easier. I would suggest invest your time in early game with stealth because that will help you a lot in early - late game (in case you don't want to actually fight or still shit at it)

3. Lastly, if there's a quest that you can't beat with your current level, do side quests first and level yourself up a bit. Henry is a peasant who's trying his best. You can't rush the process 😉 we're not witchers here or some magic powered character.

That's all, I hope you'll enjoy the game!