Level Vigour (git gud at life)
Those who can't take a hit usually don't last. You need a certain amount of robustness to handle what life throws at you. How much robustness depends on how much aggro comes your way, how hard the hits are, and how deftly you can dodge out of the way or deal with the threat.
In life as in Elden Ring, usually it's not until we've hit a wall that we think about levelling up, and it does get more expensive over time.
Here's a quote that sums it up for me:
Those who fail rarely get paid for advice on how not to fail, which is too bad because despite how it may seem, success boils down to serially avoiding catastrophic failure while routinely absorbing manageable damage.
— David McRaney
Recently saw a vigour guide that sums it up as being more fun to keep on fighting, rather than dying and having to run back to the boss fight time and time again. Can't 'git gud' if all your time is spent on the loading screen.
Part of a series on Lessons from Elden Ring