ER is part of the venerated class of game that doesn't rob you of the experience of figuring things out. You can make permanent mistakes, break your character,

ER is part of the venerated class of game that doesn't rob you of the experience of figuring things out. You can make permanent mistakes, break your character, break the world, and fail to improve. Or, you can master it and make the world yours at any level. I'm watching LobosJr do a SL 1 run (level 1, unupgraded character) right now, which is how I played DeS, DaS, and DaS III. However when I first played Demon's Souls, I couldn't even get up the stairs from the first Archstone without taking a hit, let alone consistently make it to the first boss. I gave it up for months, read a ton, and came back more prepared. My first run of Dark Souls took 44 hours, and now I can beat it in under 2 at SL 1. If you stick with it, you can figure it out, and you can step back at the end and say, "I grew".