Bought the game 2 years back before Dark Souls was released and now just getting around to it. I am a spear man with shield, yes I'm a pussy and have thought about switching to a different weapon. Currently I'm at a loss at what I should do next with my character, grind for more levels or keep advancing as fast as I can at what feels like a lower level compared to the enemies.

I've currently done 1-1,1-2, 2-1, 2-2, 2-3 and cleared 1-3 of enemies but had an extremely hard time doing so, spent half my time playing actually adjusting to the difficulty increase and what felt like a lack of power behind my attacks.

I'm currently sitting at:

• Vitality - 21
• Endurance - 22
• Strength - 18 or 19
• Dexterity - 23

All other stats are at the base level of a soldier. Am I too low a level for the boss in 1-3 because the enemies just took forever to adjust to and bring down? Should I level up differently? I'm currently keeping those 4 stats similar but should I focus on endurance and dexterity so I can be faster rolling and get the bonus towards spears?

Don't go to 1-3 yet, it's more the endgame area. You've already done 90% of the work you need to do to get the weapon that could make this game your bitch but I wouldn't recommend looking it up, it's kinda OP. Just do areas 3,4 and 5 in any order you want and come back to 1-3 much later.

@pyrodactyl: What weapon?

Upgrading your weapon will help a lot. I believe spears need sharpstone, and you can get it from those Phalanx enemies, they also drop hardstone for blunt weapons which are really good against the skeletons in the shrine of storms.

Well, you're approaching the levels in what is generally considered the "wrong" order. This is certainly possible, but not at all recommended for a first timer. You should move on to the Tower of Latria (don't shit your pants) and other areas for awhile, cycling through locations before going deeper into any one world.

As far as your character is concerned, stat-scaling is a much bigger deal in Demon's Souls than it was in Dark Souls. It's not a terrible idea to pick a stat and just start pumping it up, then equip yourself appropriately. Since your dexterity is already pretty high, you might want to head to the Shrine of Storms and see if you can't find a curved sword. Those scale with your dexterity stat.

I highly recommend reading up on each of the different areas of the world to determine where you go an how you build your character. Each area tends to specialize in certain characteristics. A magic-user will find a lot of useful items in the Tower of Latria, a faith-based character will be well served by looting the Valley of Defilement, and Stonefang Tunnel is full of fire stuff.

EDIT: I'm sure you're aware of it already, but this is a great resource for the game.

Shields up and stab that guy.

Farm 1-1 for grasses for a bit, then move on to Latria. One of the best and worst things about Demon's Souls is how much more important stat scaling is comparaed to Dark Souls and how you can customize your weapons so suit your play-style for the most part (reinforce so you get S scaling for less base damage for instance).

Another important thing to remember is not to be afraid to overlevel or play as in human form. Online is fairly barren, so use your whole health bar.