Did a ton of exploring and leveling up today, also beat the first boss, Margit, with the help of my buddy.
The Margit Shackle item from Patches is super helpful. It restrains Margit, I think you can only use it twice in the battle though. Gotta wait for him to do his attack where his wooden sword is plunged into the ground.
The game is definitely difficult, but the abundance of Grace Points really helps to make the game more accessible. I mean shit, this is the first Souls game (I think) where you can actually level up without having to beat the first boss, that in itself makes the game so much easier than previous titles.