So, advice.
1. While the game is going to throw a ton of systems at you, there are only a few systems that you need to know absolutely cold on a first playthrough. These are:
Stance Changes. Know how they affect attacks with your given weapons and which stances to use against different enemy types.
Ki Pulsing. This will let you keep combos going longer and pick up some buffs if you're specced for it. Grab the "ki pulse on dodge" skills as soon as you can to make your life easier.
Burst Countering. Personally, I find using a Phantom-type Guardian spirit makes this easier to learn. The Phantom counter comes out fastest and also bursts in place, so you only need to worry about the timing rather than also worrying about the distance when you counter. It also has the huge advantage in that if you miss the timing slightly, it will turn into a block, so you can avoid some damage that way.
If you're having trouble, remember that the burst parry is timed to the hit-frames, not the red-aura before the attack. While some enemies will attack very quickly after the aura, bursting on the aura will usually result in you countering too early.
Ki Management. Ki is vastly more important than health in this game. If you're out of Ki, you can't attack, can't dodge, and attacks will do a ton more damage to you to the point of being likely one-shots. This is particularly important for the Dark Realm areas in levels, since your Ki will regenerate much more slowly. Going along with this, make sure you aren't overburdening yourself with armor. Generally, the damage reduction of heavy armor isn't going to be worth the reduction in Ki regen speed. Try to keep your equip load at a "B" for a good balance between protection and ki recovery.
Everything else is a "nice to have." Worrying about the blacksmith, yokai abilities, fusing yokai soul cores, or even advanced combos with weapons will make your life easier, but you shouldn't really go deep in exploring them until you have mastered the above skills.
2. Initially, pick a couple of weapons types and stick with them. It doesn't really matter which two, and everyone is going to have an opinion about which is best, so just find one that speak to you and dedicate yourself to learning them. Stick with them long enough to have a grasp on how they interact with the stance changes and to earn enough weapon points to start exploring the skill tree a bit.
3. Don't be afraid to replay levels, especially in the early going. This will give you an opportunity to practice things on a level you already know and will let you grind gear and Amrita.
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