Does grinding make this easier?

Sorry if this is a stupid question but I’ve never played a ‘souls’ game before...

I have completed the first area (Gates of Boletaria) and started the second one (The Lords Path). However I kept dying. So I have essentially been replaying the first area over and over with a view to collecting souls to level up.

I started as a Knight and have been upgrading my Vitality (13), Endurance (13) and Strength (20) attributes. I also have a Long Sword +2 as my main weapon.

Does grinding like this help and is it generally the way to play the game...? Or am I just terrible and need to “git gud”...haha ;-)

Also, am I right in focussing on these three attributes or are others worthwhile?

Thanks SO much for your help

Soul level increases defense. So, yes.

If you want to farm some souls, try 4-1.

The skeletons give a lot of souls in that point of the game (about 280).
They are somewhat hard. But just hold your shield and strike back.

Grinding might help a little, but you never really need to do it. In the end all that matters is you learning the enemies/bosses patterns and not run into a horde of mobs. I would recommend doing the 2nd world after you killed Phalanx though.

Yeah upgrading weapons and leveling definitely makes the game easier. Grinding and magic are the difficulty sliders.

Yes technically.

But if you're grinding, die, and then die again before retrieving your souls, you will soon know mental anguish like no game has ever given you before.

Thanks all. Still trying to get past the second area. I run past the dragon atop the wall but the knight and archers decimate me. Haha. I’ll get there eventually :-)

grinding is possible but it’s usually unnecessary. Level you Vitality and endurance. They hold tremendous value.

This game more than the rest of the series gives like every mob and boss a critical weakness or a simple gimmick.
certain damage types and upgrading weapons make stats not super duper important.

Make sure you are staying under 50% equip ratio. You will move a lot more nicely, roll faster, etc... You can check from the character menu.

Another thing that might help: this game is about confidence.

Don't be hasty. Wait for your opponents. Do not be afraid to die (spoiler: you will ).

The skeletons that I mentioned in 4-1 are great foes to teach you that. They look nasty, but wait a little and you can see how open their defenses are.

Also, 1-2 can be a bit treacherous 'cause the red dragon. There are ways to cheese him to death (making this area so much easier).