Warning - there are no spoilers in my question, but there will probably be gameplay mechanics spoilers in any answers (hopefully).
I'm downloading Lies of P now to give it a shot. I'm not a big fan of RPG elements in these types of games (blasphemy I know), I prefer a focused experience; for example I liked Bloodbourne but never finished it because of all of the options, but I absolutely loved every minute of Sekiro. Basically I can't be bothered with experimenting with builds and crunching numbers, it's not for me.
I know any actual advice will depend on what I want the gameplay to feel like, so I guess all I can say is take Sekiro as an example - I'd probably be focusing on anything that will help speed and parrying (if any stats affect that?) and decent dodging.
So, do you have any advice on things I should focus on, things I should avoid or wait to upgrade, weapons to aim for etc? I don't mind spoilers.
No worries, happy to help. Yeah strength is totally viable. Just be aware that in LoP, parrying is just blocking. When you block, you take less damage and you get “rally” like in BB and get that HP back by hitting things. You can do a “perfect block” with good timing and take no damage. There is no Dark Souls or Sekiro-style parry mechanic.
Oh damn. I thought from some gameplay I've seen that perfect blocks also worked towards staggering an enemy? Which made me think of Sekiro, just not as pronounced / focused on