It’s way more fun to make up your own build as you go, based on how you want to play anyway. Just be warned that the upgrade materials are really stingy after a certain point, so be a little selective with how many weapons you commit to.
…and you’ll know you’re in this swamp when you find it. Good luck!
I love reading people’s first time experience with these games.
Demon’s Souls was the last of the Souls games I played, and I thought it was hard still. The bosses aren’t as frenetic and complex as later titles, but the levels and the navigation is brutal. I still remember running back in that swamp over and over and over.
I also remember grinding out weapon upgrade materials in a cave for literal hours, because I didn’t see any other way to get enough.