If you were talking about someone else, you would probably say something along the lines of “everyone deserves to be loved” so when you start being down on yourself, just remember that though means one of two things:

Either you really are somehow the worst human being who ever lived and somehow the first who truly doesn’t deserve to be loved, or your brain is just being mean right now.

Honestly, you get a solid challenge out of these games no matter how you build. Different bosses/ enemies will challenge different builds. I also enjoy the everything-bagel battle-mages. I try to stack enough mental stats to cast every spell in a game, enough strength and dex to wield whatever weapon I pick up for that run, and enough attunement to learn 3-5 spells at a time. My health, stamina, and equip-load are whatever I have left within the arbitrary level cap I set for myself (usually 201)

Anyway, my point is there’s no better / worse way to build. All that matters is what you like and what you don’t.

I know a lot of people hate on ds2 but it’s honestly a good game. It has its faults. It’s definitely the weakest title, but it’s still a banger if you think of it in a vacuum instead of comparing it to other FromSouls games. If you like the genre, I highly recommend ds3. It is (imo) the most polished by far. I like it better than Elden Ring but that might be a hotter take.