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Advice

I just jumped on the bandwagon and ordered Dark Souls for the Xbox 360, and I would like some starting advice on the easiest path for a newb to progress on.

What Class Should I Be?
What Should I Get As My Starting Gift?
What Should I Get As My Covenant?
Where Should I Go First?

I would like these four questions answered, as well as any basic tips more advanced players would be willing to give me. Thanks.
 
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The leveling system's mix-and-match, and every skill except Resistance has its uses. Anyone can benefit from a few points of health, but other than that, you can try whatever style sounds interesting.

The best starting gift is the master key. All the others can be found in-game.

I never messed with covenants much.

The first place to go is up the cliffside with the Hollows. You're not ready to go down and fight ghosts, or to go into the graveyard and fight skeletons.

There are really only three tips you need:

Never go above %50 of your maximum carry weight. Even %25 is pushing it.

If you have enough souls to level up, no matter WHAT you're doing, go back and level up.

Those souls that level up your Estus Flask? Don't even think about using them for any other purpose.

Edit for one more thing: there's a tower at the end of the Undead Burg with a miniboss at the bottom. He does ridiculous damage per hit, even if you block, but he's so slow you can dodge and backstab him over and over if you're not wearing heavy armor. If you've recently leveled up and you don't have many souls to lose, try taking him on--the ring he drops greatly increases your carrying capacity, allowing you to use much heavier armor without being slowed down.
 
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Okay, so, since I posted this, I've run the first Bell of Awakening. My friend Mike suggested I build hybrid melee-pyromancy (focusing on Iron Flesh and Flash Sweat) with ranged options, so I created a Hunter. He also suggested that my starting gift be Blackfire Bombs so I could get the Demon's Great Hammer, but after getting the Drake Sword, I don't see myself using it. Is there something I'm missing?

I accidentally killed Oswald of Cairm because he scared me and I thought he was one of those robed casters like the one inside the church. Is that a restart-worthy offense?

I have the Firekeeper's Soul from the altar in the church, but I'm not sure how to use it to upgrade my Estus. I'm told that it can also be used as a consumable and I don't want to consume it accidentally.

The mini-boss you're referring to is where, exactly?

And one more thing. After getting the Drake Sword, is it possible to kill the Drake? Does he drop any loot worth killing him for besides the sword?
 
The Firekeeper is in a barred cell in the cliffside directly under your central base. There's a staircase leading to it. Talk to her through the bars.

You know when you go up the stairs to get to that boss who attacks you on a bridge? You get to the miniboss by going down the stairs instead.

It's been a while since I've played, so I don't actually remember who Oswald is--what does he sell?

If you're using the Drake Sword, you're definitely missing something. Almost all melee weapons have associated bonuses according to your stats, meaning the higher your stats, the better your damage. The Drake Sword has none. At a high enough level, even a knife does more damage.

Got to go; I'll be back later.
 
Okay, thanks Feo. I beat the Capra Demon last night, so I'm pretty confident that I can kill things.
 
Sorry for the double post, but apparently I can't edit my messages after 60 minutes.

My friend Mike says that I skipped some sort of butterfly boss and that I should leave the depths, go back to the Undead Parish, and make my way to the forest. I didn't even know there was a forest adjacent to the Parish, so I must ask if this information is accurate or if Mike is just getting mixed up.
 
Let's see; it's been a while . . .

You know that temple-thingie where you can find an elevator down to the Firelink Shrine? Starting from the temple, go out the exit opposite the elevators, across the nearest walkway, and downstairs until you find a smith. Go through the door near the smith, and either kill or run past the miniboss, and you'll be in the forest.

Alternatively, if you kill the miniboss who drops that ring I mentioned, then go out the nearest door, you'll enter a field with a hydra miniboss. Don't approach the hydra (it's killable, but it's in the wrong direction)--cross the field at a distance from it, and follow the cliffside until you can ascend.

By the way, you know you can get all of this from Gamefaqs, right?
 
I have tried finding this out online, but most of the things I find involve people arguing with each other about when and how you do things. The only way I've been able to discover anything concrete is by finding it out myself (finding something in-game and Google searching that specific thing) or by trial and error that often leads to the loss of more souls than I like losing.

Also, since I posted last, I killed the Gaping Dragon, found Andre the Blacksmith and upgraded my Black Knight Sword, killed the living statue in the room adjacent to Andre, killed the Butterfly, discovered that I don't want to go to the Valley of Drakes just yet, killed Havel and got his ring, and managed to find a shield that provides me with magic resistance and increased stamina regeneration. All things considered, I am a happy plot hole.

To kill Havel, I ended up having to get the key from the Butterfly, go through Darkroot Basin, open the back door, die to Havel, return to the tower through the Undead Burg, recover my souls, and die to Havel at least ten more times before I figured out how to dodge his attacks.

If you know a place where I can look all this stuff up without having to ask someone or having to sift through people going "Andre doesn't sell the Crest of Artorias!" "Yes he does!" (NOTE: If he does, it's not appearing for me), please link it, because I don't like being a bother.
 
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