Glad you’re enjoying it!

I really love it! Even though I get really, really stuck at some places, I'm glad that the game allows you to just turn back and find something easier to learn on

And above all: Sudden Death.

As a person who checked, whether your character is able to swim; wholeheartedly agree

I feel like they should've implemented a system where lighter armor afforded at least some mobility in water before you sank like a rock. I mean, sure, someone in full plate armor couldn't really float, but an Astrologer or Prophet class would probably be able to keep their head above water for a while.

(Going by your character there, I'm guessing you favor the tried-and-true combo of a 100% physical block shield and a quick-hitting weapon with Bleed buildup?)

Nice idea! Though I guess It could've made getting to at least one boss a little silly, with just bypassing gates on water. So I can respect FromSoft's decision to make character unable to float at all, hahah.

And yep! Vagabond class seemed the safest choice for me, as I wanted to learn the basic combat before dipping my toes into magic; I am also kind of slow to let go of my starting equipment >_>; So, starter shield it is atm, at least till I get more upgrade materials. And before morgenstern there was the starter sword. I tried my way with halberds as well, but I think quick movements and attacks suit me better

I ran a similar build back in Dark Souls 3, hiding behind a tower shield and letting enemies pound on it until they left me an opening to attack with the longsword I got at the start of the game -- a stamina tank's maybe not the most exciting approach, but it carried me all the way through that game, so I'd say it works.

Considered doing so again this time after seeing the new counter-attack mechanics, but after a bit of research and some consideration, I thought I'd try a Samurai build instead this time, relying more on evasion than blocking so I could go more on the offensive. Considering I actually managed to beat the Grafted Scion in the first area, I think I made a good call.

That actually sounds really cool!

I don't exactly follow any build per se, as I think I don't know much about the game yet; but I decided to get all the stamina and dexterity in the world (supported by tortoise talisman) to just keep on rolling pretty much forever.

It might pay off to put some points into Strength as well -- most melee weapons scale with both Strength and Dexterity, and while I haven't been looking much into shields on this playthrough, I'd wager there's some good mid- to late-game shields with better defensive stats and a higher Strength requirement. (If they put in an equivalent to my old Tower Knight's shield, it's definitely going to require a lot of Strength to use -- the thing was a wall of steel as tall as me, though it shrugged off hits like nobody's business.)

If you plan to focus more on evading attacks than blocking them, though, a heater or kite shield should work fine with a Dex build -- and if the morningstar suits you, there's a pretty gnarly flail found not too far from the bridge into the Weeping Peninsula that has a high Dexterity requirement and higher Bleed buildup. You could also try out scimitars, which have a similar emphasis on proccing Bleed.

I think I have that flail on me! Ought to try it out some time. I think, with this character I'm being somewhat of a jack of all trades: I want some movement, but also bait enemies with my shield, and some damage as well and oh, oh, best miracles look interesting!! - this kind of deal, hahah.

Also I admit to buying blue-gold kite shield simply because it looked pretty, I'd maybe use it at some later point in the game.

That's a viable approach, but I would counsel caution -- if you spread your runes around among too many stats, you might struggle later on when up against enemies with offense or defense scaled for much higher-level stats. There's a way to reallocate your stats, but it only opens up after you beat the boss of Liurnia, who's rated for Level 50+.

If there's a playstyle you find you favor, figure out what stats it most relies on and start focusing on boosting those, adding Vigor and Endurance to boost HP and stamina as needed -- and if you're figuring that out while grinding for runes, that kills two birds with one stone.

Hm, I think it would be strength and dexterity for me! As much as I'd like to use Lhutel the Headless, the most magic I use is wolves. Also, you mentioned the grinding place near the Third Church, is it that beach with a horde of stranded guys? Quite the place!

It's actually nowhere near the Church, but the way to get there is. Just northeast of the ruin, tucked among the bushes at the end of the river, there's a square stone with a round, swirling portal in the center of it, something the game calls a Sending Stone -- they're scattered around the map, and can send you to a fixed point somewhere else in the world when you use them.

That one in particular drops you in Greyoll, on the far eastern edge of Caelid, just on the doorstep of a building with a Grace checkpoint inside. If you go down the hill from where that building is, you'll find a tree with a Golden Seed, another Grace next to a bridge with a dragon, and a whole bunch of three-foot-tall gremlins who'll likely one-shot you if they hit you, but who're easily stunlocked by even basic attacks and drop about 1,000 runes when you kill them.

I think I need to check my churches, for I was mistaken, hahah. But It actually sounds quite amazing. I cannot check in-game right now, but isn't the place that one church with a huge werewolf inside? And even bigger gargoyle boss outside?

Yeah, that sounds like the place. The guy inside isn't hostile (I think he's actually a core part of a questline), and if the massive winged warrior outside is hostile, he doesn't chase you if you ride past. I bolted past on Torrent after activating the warp point inside, made a beeline for the checkpoint by the bridge, and I've been regularly heading back there every time I need more runes for levels or equipment upgrades. Even if you play it safe, only taking on the nearest foes before resetting at the Grace and repeating, that's still a thousand or two runes every minute or so.

Got it!
I think I tried going to Caelid a couple of times (because that one trap chest just has to send you there) to get some runes, but I never went too far outside of the mine entrance. Giant sponges the spit scarlet rot yield somewhere around 500 runes each, and watching spinny skeletons disintegrate from the spewed rot was hilarious; but in the end I left the place as there was way too low profit for the time spent (though, I guess, if you've got a lot of time and patience on your hand, you can grind there somewhat safely when you JUST arrive).

So long as you steer clear of the 20-foot-tall murder-birds, aye. Those giant crows aren't just strong, they're tenacious.

To be honest, I tend to steer clear of whatever is huge and menacing-looking, hahah. Even though sometimes it is unnecessary (such as with a huge giant enemy that snipes you from ten miles away, that turned out to be really fragile).
Bears are not fragile at all, though.

It's a bit funny that there's a greater challenge from giant bears, dogs and birds than from 10-story golems who launch arrows the size of telephone poles and flying, fire-breathing dragons.