Board Thread:Dark Souls II/@comment-27323486-20151206213608/@comment-4511886-20151207202930

The most important thing to note is that your starting class only dictates your absolute early game. A Sorcerer can be turned into a Strength-oriented tank, and a Bandit can be built to make use of even the most advanced spells in the game. So what I'm writing in the next paragraph, but not the following ones, is only true for the start of the game.

Regardless of build, I usually start with a Knight. They have respectable Vigor and Endurance, and hands down one of the best starting weapons available. Of course, you can replace your starting weapon with relative ease, thanks to how many low-stat weapons are around at the start, but it's still an important point. Knights also have a good amount of defence, without sacrificing much mobility, and they can be turned into almost any kind of build with relative ease. That said, they're a bit lackluster in the spell departement. So don't expect to become a master mage without investing a lot of levels into those stats.

On another note, the Souls series has a completely different attitude towards damage and healing compared to most RPGs, especially Bethesda's. Heavy armor, and weapons, will greatly impact your mobility, both by lowering movement speed and by making your rolls less effective. It also has other side effects, such as lowered Stamina regeneration. Healing is also more difficult, since you can't restore Health at will mid-fight.

Since most of the game revolves around Stamina and Health management, it's pretty difficult to just tank everything, especially in the early game. The heavier armors are also mainly effective thanks to the Poise mechanic, since the defence-to-weight ratio on some armors can be suprisingly poor.

While you don't have to be a master at it, I would highly recommend that you try to get a basic understanding of how dodging works, especially if you're planning on fighting other players at some point. If anything, it might help you with fighting the more evasive enemies you encounter.

Best of luck to you! -Matsczon