a preliminary guide to help you play elden ring

minte's top tips

every time you see a church that looks something like this, make sure to look inside for a secred tear at the alter, it'll make your healing flasks stronger.
always go to small glowing trees, they'll have a seed that will contribute towards getting an extra flask charge.
remember to check how many runes you have. if you have enough to level up (you can check how many you need in your stats menu), go and level!
level your vigour first, taking extra hits will serve you better than 2 extra damage.
remember to always dodge and counterattack. observe what movements enemies do and try to attack them when they're recovering from their attacks.
don't get greedy! it's better to hit a guy twice than to hit a guy three times and get smacked across the room.
when you have your spirits out, remember to attack with them. stay aggressive and support them or they're likely to die on you.

things to look out for

new spirits

banished knight egnvall - these ashs can be acquired by defeating the boss at the end of murkwater catacombs. find these catacombs by following the canyon river north of lake agheel upwards to a doorway in the rock.
lhutel can be found by defeating the boss at the end of the tombsward catacombs. these catacombs are on the island to the south, tucked behind a pillar at the base of a plateau.

new weapons

before you worry about finding new weapons, it might be a good idea to upgrade your starter sword. find smithing stones in mines or from traders who you will find sitting around playing their violins.

use the stones back at the anvil at the church of elleh, or, once you have gone far enough, meline will invite you to go somewhre else where you will also be able to upgrade your weapons.

some good weapons you can acquire right now:

morning star - the morning star is a hammer with low stat requirements (12 strength), deals strike damage (effective against stone and crystal enemies), and inflicts blod loss. find the morning star in a broken down carriage on the main road of the southern island.
uchigatana - the uchigatana is a katana. these weapons require higher dexterity, but also inflict bleed. the uchigatana can be found at deathtouched catacombs. these catacombs can be found just north of the westerly road heading away from stormhill castle.
lordsworn's greatsword - you likely already have this weapons from the carriages at the gatefront camp. i recommend trying this weapon out against slightly larger enemies. you'll likely have to forego your shield to wield it, but its weight can disrupt stronger enemies, especially with charged attacks. id you end up breaking an enemies stance and staggering them, this sword also has a slightly higher critical modifier, meaning your ripost will hit harder.
halberd - the halberd is the first ... halberd you can acquire. find it by crossing the bridge west of stormhill shack and continuing until you find a nomadic merchant. halberds have diverse movesets, with both thrusts and sweeps, alongside forgiving stat requirements.

first steps

in this section i will advise you on some goals to help you progress. these are by no means requirements, but may put you in a more favourable position.

attempt margit - margit is found at castle stormveil. follow the road from stormhill up to the tunnel. you will find a golden sign on the floor outside his arena which will summon rogier to assist you. margit will likely defeat you, but attempting him now will show you what you're up against. in addition, attempting to defeat him will convince melina you are serious about your journey, triggering her to transport you to the roundtable hold. the rountable will be your base of operations from here on out. here you will find other tarnished, vendors selling spells, items and armours.
at the roundtable - once you have reached the roundtable, i advise that uou look through the vendors and interact with all the characters. hewg will upgrade your weapons if you have stones, and brother corhyn will sell you incantations. flame sling and catch flame will be invaluable spells dealing fire damage at range and up close. talk to D, the man in gold and silver armour, he will be your next step.
D's request - in order to get D to trust you, you will need to find deathroot. this can be found by defeating undead bosses, the first of which will be tibia mariner.
the mistwood - before attempting to defeat the tibia mariner, head to the mistwood. the firest is found to the southeat of limgrave. above the northern border of mistwood, you will find the third church of marika. here you'll find the flask of wondrous physick. this is a potion that may be used once per rest and will confer unto you effects which you mix into it via the crystal tears. these tears can be found at the base of minor erdtrees, the smaller golden trees found in the lands between.before heading down into the mistwood, head north from the church until you find a teardrop scarab. killing it will reward the skill sacred blade. sacred blade will release a golden wave and enchant your weapon with a temporary golden aura, granting holy damage. holy damage is especially effective against the undead, including the tibia mariner. before facing the mariner, head down into mistwood and towards the ruins, making sure the avoid the giant runebears. at the ruins, you should hear the howling of a wold. after looking around the ruins, continue south until you see a small fort. rest outside before heading inside, making sure to collect the golden seed here. after defeating the knight captain controlling the fort, you will be rearded with the skill of bloody slash. bloody slash sacrifices a small amount of your health to release a slash of blood. this will deal heavy damage, increasing with your arcane and apply some blood loss. since bloody slash is a blood-type skill, applying it to a weapon will allow you to change the affinity of the weapon to blood, granting it a permanent blood-loss attribute.
blaidd - after defeating the captain, head back to the original church of elleh and talk to kale. asking about the howling will reward you with a gesture. perform this gesture back in the mistwood ruins to meet blaidd. he will talk to you about a man named darriwil. head to forlorn hound evergaol at the southern most tip of limgrave to continue. blaidd can be summoned here to assist.
>the mariner - you should now be more prepared to face the mariner. being a skeleton, the tibia mariner is especially weak to both holy and strike damage. a good source of strike damage is the club. the club can be bought from a merchant just southwest of where you started your journey. you now may be ready to face the tibia mariner. find this enemy in the summonwater village, in northeast limgrave. make sure to use your holy attack and spirits as well. the mariner himself is slow and not so threatening, but a horde of skeletons may interrupt you. upon his degeat you will be rewarded with the skeletal militiamen ashes. these spear-wielding skeletons will arise again after defeat.