I started Dark Souls the other evening and like most people (I imagine) I'm finding it rather difficult.
Is there a particular character class that will make the game easier to learn? I can only assume my selection of a 'Pyromancer' was a terrible idea for someone new to the game.
I'll start off by pointing out that the Graveyard you find near the start of the game is intended for a higher level player, so you should avoid it for now.
Both the Cleric and the Warrior are excellent beginner classes. The Cleric has healing, which is very helpful, but has very weak armor. The Warrior lacks healing, but has more well rounded stats for combat, and starts with better equipment.
When it comes to developing your character, there is one thing you should keep in mind: You should only boost one offensive stat. This includes: Strength, Dexterity, Intelligence and Faith. The reason for this is that most weapons have stat scaling. So if you have a weapon which scales with strength, and you decided to split your points between dexterity and strength, all of the points invested in dexterity are essentially useless. That isn't to say you shouldn't put any points into the other offensive stats, just that you should only be putting enough to meet stat requirements for equipment.
My personal suggestion would be to focus on a Dexterity build. This will allow you to use bows effectively, which can make your game a lot easier. Bows allow you to both kill and weaken enemies from afar, lure single enemies away from a group, and take care of archers as soon as you encounter them.
One technique I've found really helpful to make Dark Souls easier is to play in co-op. As soon as you found the White Soapstone, you should put mark a mark when you enter a new region by using it. If someone that is around your level in Human form see it, he can summon you.
When you are summoned, you'll be in the other player game until:
However, even if you die, you won't lose the souls you've collected in the other player game, so you'll be able to discover new region with less risk. Moreover, when you are two or three players, the ennemies are not all attacking the same player, which make it easier.
Another advantage of playing in coop is that you share the souls of any killed monster (I don't know if the host gain less souls, but you will get half of the souls given by each killed monster, even if you didn't kill it). And if the host use his Estus Flask, you'll also recover your HP.
And if you manage to kill the boss, you will gain one humanity, which will enable you to turn into Human form at a bonfire, and summon other player as ghosts to help you kill the boss, now that you know the traps, and the technique to kill it.
Actually, Pyromancer isn't a bad choice for a new game since they start with fireball which is very useful.
Actually if used properly the sorceror is probably one of the best and easiest to use since Soul Arrow (and later, Great Soul Arrow) OWNS all.
Tips for playing sorcerer:
I managed to get stuck in the tomb of the giants while invading someone's world and they died resulting in lots of free souls. So world invasions are good to get souls as well.
