1) There are 2 wikis for the game, but I find this one to be much easier to navigate: http://darksouls.wikidot.com/
2) Blighttown, one of the most infamously hated areas of the game from what I've heard, can be almost entirely skipped over if you choose the master key as your starting gift.
3) Like others have said before; a shield with 100 physical defense is incredibly useful, but not so much being good at dodging. Many tougher enemies will have a fire/lightning/poison effect that will go through this defense, and though the shield will block damage to your health, it is translated into draining your stamina, and you'll be staggered if it goes to 0.
4) The Drake Sword is an incredibly useful weapon in the early game, but won't carry you very far. I recommend getting it, especially for a first playthrough, but make sure you find a better weapon ASAP.
You'll need a bow and a good amount of arrows in order to get it easily. Also note that you need at least 16 strength in order to use it properly.
5) As Little Gray said before, Skill > Equipment > Stats. Being good at the game comes with time and practice. Having great gear and stats doesn't matter if you aren't any good at the game. That said, having good stuff is also important, so make sure to upgrade your weapons and get some good armor.
6) While stats don't mean as much in Dark Souls as you might think, they still hold importance. Don't spread your upgrades too thin. It's probably best to focus into Vitality for more health, endurance for more stamina, and then pick a combat related skill that suits you. Strength is more for bigger, harder-hitting weapons, Dexterity for bows and your more agile and/or exotic weapons, and Faith and Intelligence are for miracles and sorceries, respectively. Those last two are the game's magic types, along with pyromancy, which isn't tied to any skill.
7) Pay attention to your equipment load. If the weight of your equipment is more than half of your maximum possible equip load, your rolls(dodges) will be heavy rolls, which are very slow, don't get you very far, and leave you vulnerable. If the load is below half the maximum, you will do medium rolls, which are all around pretty reasonable. If the load is below 25% of the maximum, you will do light rolls, which are very fast and have almost no recovery time.
I recommend having at least medium rolls; this lets you dodge effectively while not limiting you too much in your equipment. If you need to lower your equip load, remember that both weapon slots for both hands are taken into account. If you only use one weapon and one shield, don't equip extra stuff.
8) If you're playing on PC, get <a href=http://blog.metaclassofnil.com/?tag=dsfix>DSFix. Remember to read the ReadMe, as it goes over some in-game settings you need to turn off for the patch to work. DSFix allows you to actually run the game in higher resolutions. I also recommend playing with a controller, preferably a wired Xbox 360 gamepad. The game's PC controls are kinda shoddy, and all in-game tutorials actually still refer to the Xbox controller's buttons.
9) Exploring around can get you some really cool stuff and be very rewarding, but if you come across a really big, tough looking enemy, avoid them. They are likely to be just as tough as they look. Same goes for new areas; if it looks big and scary, or like something you would probably encounter later in the game, you may very well have stumbled into somewhere you probably shouldn't be yet, and are likely to encounter higher level enemies.
10) Unless you're interested in PvP, you only really need Humanity for kindling bonfires, which makes them give you more Estus from resting at them. From what I understand, the only benefits to having Humanity is an increased item drop rate and some stat bonuses, which aren't too big a deal. Using a Humanity item will, however, heal you, so keep that in mind if you run out of Estus.
And that's all I can think of right now. Remember, the game is hard until you start getting the hang of things. Once you start getting better, it becomes easier. You are likely to die when encountering new enemies/areas, but try to learn from each death. Take note of enemy locations and attack patterns. The game will sometimes shit on you with hidden enemies and traps, and the occasional bullshit pathway that looks like you shouldn't be able to use, but is actually the way you NEED to go to progress. I was lucky enough to have a few friends who'd beaten the game to seek advice from while playing, which helped a lot.
2) Blighttown, one of the most infamously hated areas of the game from what I've heard, can be almost entirely skipped over if you choose the master key as your starting gift.
3) Like others have said before; a shield with 100 physical defense is incredibly useful, but not so much being good at dodging. Many tougher enemies will have a fire/lightning/poison effect that will go through this defense, and though the shield will block damage to your health, it is translated into draining your stamina, and you'll be staggered if it goes to 0.
4) The Drake Sword is an incredibly useful weapon in the early game, but won't carry you very far. I recommend getting it, especially for a first playthrough, but make sure you find a better weapon ASAP.
You'll need a bow and a good amount of arrows in order to get it easily. Also note that you need at least 16 strength in order to use it properly.
5) As Little Gray said before, Skill > Equipment > Stats. Being good at the game comes with time and practice. Having great gear and stats doesn't matter if you aren't any good at the game. That said, having good stuff is also important, so make sure to upgrade your weapons and get some good armor.
6) While stats don't mean as much in Dark Souls as you might think, they still hold importance. Don't spread your upgrades too thin. It's probably best to focus into Vitality for more health, endurance for more stamina, and then pick a combat related skill that suits you. Strength is more for bigger, harder-hitting weapons, Dexterity for bows and your more agile and/or exotic weapons, and Faith and Intelligence are for miracles and sorceries, respectively. Those last two are the game's magic types, along with pyromancy, which isn't tied to any skill.
7) Pay attention to your equipment load. If the weight of your equipment is more than half of your maximum possible equip load, your rolls(dodges) will be heavy rolls, which are very slow, don't get you very far, and leave you vulnerable. If the load is below half the maximum, you will do medium rolls, which are all around pretty reasonable. If the load is below 25% of the maximum, you will do light rolls, which are very fast and have almost no recovery time.
I recommend having at least medium rolls; this lets you dodge effectively while not limiting you too much in your equipment. If you need to lower your equip load, remember that both weapon slots for both hands are taken into account. If you only use one weapon and one shield, don't equip extra stuff.
8) If you're playing on PC, get <a href=http://blog.metaclassofnil.com/?tag=dsfix>DSFix. Remember to read the ReadMe, as it goes over some in-game settings you need to turn off for the patch to work. DSFix allows you to actually run the game in higher resolutions. I also recommend playing with a controller, preferably a wired Xbox 360 gamepad. The game's PC controls are kinda shoddy, and all in-game tutorials actually still refer to the Xbox controller's buttons.
9) Exploring around can get you some really cool stuff and be very rewarding, but if you come across a really big, tough looking enemy, avoid them. They are likely to be just as tough as they look. Same goes for new areas; if it looks big and scary, or like something you would probably encounter later in the game, you may very well have stumbled into somewhere you probably shouldn't be yet, and are likely to encounter higher level enemies.
10) Unless you're interested in PvP, you only really need Humanity for kindling bonfires, which makes them give you more Estus from resting at them. From what I understand, the only benefits to having Humanity is an increased item drop rate and some stat bonuses, which aren't too big a deal. Using a Humanity item will, however, heal you, so keep that in mind if you run out of Estus.
And that's all I can think of right now. Remember, the game is hard until you start getting the hang of things. Once you start getting better, it becomes easier. You are likely to die when encountering new enemies/areas, but try to learn from each death. Take note of enemy locations and attack patterns. The game will sometimes shit on you with hidden enemies and traps, and the occasional bullshit pathway that looks like you shouldn't be able to use, but is actually the way you NEED to go to progress. I was lucky enough to have a few friends who'd beaten the game to seek advice from while playing, which helped a lot.
