- Any weapon type is viable. They have different strengths and weaknesses, but give them all a try and see what you like. The progress to unlocking skill points is tracked separately for each weapon, and in the early game you can pretty much just use whatever has the highest damage. Experiment, you don't need to min/max a build until you're in New Game+. In character creation, the stat bonuses you get from your weapon choices are nearly meaningless in the long run, just pick the weapons you like using.
- The Guardian Spirit you pick, however, matters less for the stat bonus and more for the Burst Counter type. Brute is a big wind up hit with super armor, and is generally the most forgiving to use. If you're new and not sure which want you want to use, take the fire wolf (which is Brute type). You'll get a Feral after the first Story mission if you want to switch (and a Phantom after the first mission of the second region).
- Different kinds of armor (and the bonuses on the various Guardian Spirits) require specific stat break points to unlock, but they're not particularly high. You can spread your stat points out a bit at the start and be able to use just about anything you find.
- You earn Samurai skill points by leveling up, they're not tied to a specific stat. You earn weapon points by doing damage with that weapon type (so killing things with an Axe gets you Axe skill points), and Ninjtsu and Omyo Magic by using ninjitsu and omyo magic. You get more Ninjitsu and Omyo experience for using the ones that do damage, but even the buff ones will give you experience for killing things while under their effect.
- This is not Dark Souls, you don't need to dodge roll through every attack. Dodging is still very effective, but do not forget your Block button. There are some attacks that are a pain to dodge but take surprisingly little Ki to block. Mid stance (R1+Square) gets the lowest Ki cost for blocking.
- Yokai skills get stronger (and sometimes have an added effect) when fighting in the Dark Realm. This includes the Dark Realm phases of boss fights. Pick ones that seem useful, there's a pretty wide array of function and a lot are useful in various situations. Just remember that you can't Burst Counter without Anima, so be careful not to spend ALL your Anima on Yokai moves if you're fighting something you're likely to need to Burst Counter at any second.
- You can basically always buy up to your carry limit of Elixirs at the Kodama Bazaar at any shrine in exchange for Divine Rice. You get Divine Rice for donating old gear at a shrine.
- Red graves are Revenants, where you fight the ghost of a player and get copies of some of their gear as drops, but also frequently get Ochoko Cups for beating them.
- Blue Graves are basically friendly NPCs that you summon with those Ochoko Cups. If you're in an area or a fight that is too hard, don't feel bad about summoning help. Ochoko cups are fairly plentiful, and you'd be surprised how much just giving the enemies another target can make some very brutal areas much more manageable.