OK, do yourself a favor and play the first 3 hours without using any guides

Then, when you get frustrated and get stuck, use a guide for a bit, then stop.

Only use the guide when you get hopelessly stuck- which happens a lot.
But if you use it sparringly, you'll find you experience the game as it's meant to be played (very challenging, story beats that realistically wouldn't resolve unless you X, Y, Z) but ultimately this makes the experience memorable and frustrating..then pull that release valve

Move during combat. Don't just sit there like a dummy. I haven't noticed opportunity attacks- so reposition as necessary to maximize your DPS and minimize the opponents..

Dont throw out junk until you know what junk does.

Good luck, and remember if you die, you'll just wake up with a hangover and a pissed off Morte.