I don’t typically like soulsborne games but Elden Ring got me into it for a few reasons. The biggest one was I had no requirement to beat my head against the wall to continue. If you’re having trouble fighting a boss or type of enemy go somewhere else and fight through that area. Sometimes it’s just good practice to get used to the mechanics, and it’s good for leveling.

Don’t worry about losing runes and dying. Those are two very common things. Experienced players do it all the time too. My gf is obsessed with souls games and sometimes she will lose a lot of souls/runes while trying to recover them after death.

When you die it’s best to try and recover your runes if you can, and it’s okay to run past enemies, you don’t have to clear cut the whole area because when you save or die they respawn. If you need to grind out runes for a level you can always reset an area by saving at a bonfire, that’s a useful trick when you find an area you can clear out efficiently.

The wiki is helpful, the game tells you very little about what is going on or what to do next. There are also entire areas you’re very likely to miss if you don’t know about how to get to them, so exploration and when you come across something you don’t understand don’t feel stupid looking up a guide.

I built a dexterity oriented build and used Bloodhound Fang for almost the entire game and it worked out great. Unless they’ve nerfed that weapon it’s still very good for less experienced players. The game has a lot of information to learn, it’s overwhelming, but you’ll pick it up as you go.