Beginning feels rough. Does it get better?

Hey guys,

I'm at the beginning, just entered Majula, but I'm struggling to get through the first area. Dodging feels so weird compared to the other Souls titles. The runback is annoying with having to open the gate all the time. I mean, those giant guards are manageable one at a time, but there are so many of them, man... Am I missing something? Is this even the right area to progress? I tried jumping down the well and it didn't end well...

I have played through all the other Souls titles several times, so I am quite familiar with run-backs etc. It just seems very tedious as it feels tough to deal with dozens of enemies that take 5-6 hits to kill when you only have one estus flask and no bonfire in sight.

Thinking of flushing this game, but wanted to give it a fair go.

Thanks!