Best advice I can give: play a spellcaster if you want to play easy mode in Elden Ring. Sword & board (shield) was buffed with the counters, so that’s a viable option if you don’t feel comfortable rolling around or wearing lighter armor.
I made a dex build for my first character, but it didn’t work out. Just couldn’t find any weapons that offset the weaknesses of my build. Switched to a pure strength character so I can barbarian my way through mobs and it’s been great. If I run into any issues, I’ll respec to a spellcaster of some sort because you can destroy anything with a few magic spells in this game.
Oh, and get really used to mounted combat. It makes certain fights so much easier if you mount up for them.