ds2 is imo the easiest in the series,
and the only one ive managed to complete so far.
here’s a bunch of tipps for if you want to try again.
once you beat the last gigant,
talk to melentia untill she moves to majula,
shell sell infinite lifegems.
lifegems are better than estus,
since you can still move, and you can carry 99.
level adp untill you have 99 dex agility,
for iframes on the rolls.
broadsword, longsword, rapier, and mace
are great weapon you can find early on.
ds2 (especially sotfs) relys heavily on ganksquads, and enemys as an obstacle to defend the way to the boss.
you have to lure them out and fight them on your terms, its hard to run past enemys.
you can jump on the balcony on the smelter demon boss run, and skip a lot of pain.
shrine of amana, get a crossbow/bow, and snipe the mages, anything else is pure torment.
bonfire ascetics (and the expanded ng+) are the best features of ds2.
ng+ the bonfire melentia was at,
last gigant and pursuer ng+ are juicy souls if you can beat them, and you can find mats to complete a +7 or even +8 weapon very early.