New player advice please!

I would say go warrior or druid. My recommendation is find a build you like the look of online and follow that. The game is very complex and you can learn it more in a second play through. For now just follow a build guide. I recommend mobalytics since they have a starter builds tab that can make things simple

I feel like right now bear druid has an easier time leveling, but warrior can become very powerful if built right, but it can feel squishy in the early game. Not a huge problem for a souls-like fan, tho

Mace has a good feel to it, though it is not optimal in some ways. As a dark souls enjoyer, you can probably persevere and have a good time.

Just dont compare your character with meta builds. 

Bear is better in that regard.

Either way, going warrior will be a good start. Remember that skills are tied to weapons, not class. 

Thank you for all the input guys! Gonna take my time and follow a build for my first playthrough as suggested. Deciding between warrior and druid right now, would love to play Templar but we don't know when that drops right?

First play through go Druid imo. It’s slightly broken and the newest class.. with the league almost over, you might learn more using the Druid you can use on a warrior next league. Warrior can be a little steep to learn, play and have fun. (It was for me) but once you understand the game mechanics and skill tree better it will get easier

Probably easiest to just stick with each classes default weapon to begin with, so Druid using a Talisman to use Bear skills (slow and huge hits, fairly tanky) or Wolf skills (very fast, combos, icy explosions, a bit squishier) is a good choice.

Warrior using Maces plays similar to Bear Druid.

Monk using Quarterstaff is fast and fluid, but early game is a bit harder.

Amazon with Spears mixes melee and ranged, again early game is slightly harder.

They are all super fun though and all get really strong, fast and satisfying to play.

I say just pick what sounds coolest to you and play around, maybe try a few characters to see what you like.