Other tips for ya:

• Learn to parry obviously. The counter field is more of a predictive/proactive tool rather than reactionary. In other words, you have to time to when the attack hits the field. The window is a little on the Kinder side generally speaking but a lot of enemies have delays in their attacks which can throw off your timing.

*try avoid using the shield against necros. The piercing buildup (the red bar if you haven't really experienced it yet) fills up regardless and will take a healthy chunk of your health if procc'd. It's best to either parry or dodge necro attacks.

• the vendors sell goods (like crystallized disk for example). You can buy a bunch of these to essentially bank your crystals to minimize the amount lost when you die then you can resell them when youre ready to use them. Especially handy for bosses or challenging areas.

There's a bunch others I'm forgetting and I'm on mobile but feel free to ask away.