Tips.
- Unlike other RPGs where you pick a build and roll with it (eg: mage vs fighter), all your skills and equipment and signs are useful. Don't be all "oh I don't do alchemy". You don't need to invest any points into signs and alchemy for all of these things to be immensely useful.
- With the above in mind, the skill slots are basically buffs, tweaks, or enhancements to existing stuff. That's how character building works in this. You can swap your active buffs (aka, what you've unlocked) in and out. So for example if you're doing a monster run that has zero human enemies, you could swap out your arrow deflection buff (if you've unlocked it) for some other active buff.
- Oils do not have a cooldown and will stay on your blade until you replace it with another oil. Ergo, it makes no sense not to coat your blade in something for a free buff. Your steel sword especially should be coated with the oil that enhances damage to human opponents (if you've got it).
- All alchemy (oils, bombs, potions) are permanently in your inventory once crafted. All are refilled every time you meditate. Craft everything you can as you might find it useful.
- Going back to point one: seriously, use your fucking equipment.
- butts