Armour Advice. At Bell Gargoyles

[Tshu]

I'm currently stuck using just standard chain armor, is there anywhere I can go pre Bell Gargoyles to get some better armor?

[Gurak]

not really, you can summon someone if you go in human form, also can summon solaire, you could try upgrading your weapon or the armor you have in the blacksmith with titanite shards

[Safarel]

In forest, near to Moonlight Butterfly you can find avesome elite knight armor set.

[fiftykyu]

Without giving any spoilers, there's a set in the forest you would probably call "better" - but you might have to die to pick it up, depending on your skill at running away. :)

Also, remember the "better" armour is heavier, and slows you down more than the "worse" armour.

This might sound silly, but the best defence in Dark Souls is not being hit in the first place. You can waddle around in heaviest armour you own, and at the early part of the game it will probably work (hint: at the early part of the game everything works) but try fighting with only 25% equip load and see how much faster you can move/roll. If something breathes fire in your direction, do you want to stand there in the heavy armour with your shield up, hoping to get in a swing when it's done roasting you? Or would you rather quickly evade the flames with your light armour taking no damage, then run up to his side and swing risk-free?

[Nahkuri]

Elite knight armour offers pretty good protection. It's in the forest. From the Parish bonfire, run downstairs and past the blacksmith and past the headless&legless titanite demon. Continue straight in the forest until you come a big door with a shiny round object in the middle. To the left of it is a hidden wall and behind it a bonfire. Rest at the bonfire. Run down the path past the door until you reach a fogwall. Behind the fogwall is an area that's full of these sleeping stone nights. In the middle of the trees is a corpse with a shiny item. That's the elite knight armour set. Don't bother fighting any of the enemies, just run straight to the armour set and see if you can make it back alive.

Here's a video guide starting from the forest bonfire
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tVpybtY9GEU

[Conan the Brobarian]

Are you having problems with blocking the attacks? You might want to consider a shield with higher stability as well. The higher the stability then the less stamina drained from each blocked attack.