The only mod I cannot live without is the rainbow filter mod:
It makes it so much faster and easier for me to read the UI. And to quickly spot items that I want to keep or equip. Like does this item deal fire damage, does that piece of armour have physical resistance in it? With the mod I can tell at a glance.
This is not really a mod though, it’s a pure interface thing. It does not require a custom game or anything, nor does it change anything about the gameplay, it’s purely a quality of life thing.
Running speed is annoyingly slow at the start, but it gets better quickly. Look for “of haste” boots and when you unlock the blacksmith craft a couple of Wardstones and put them in your amulet and medal, you will walk much faster. It is also helpful to put your first couple of Devotion points (from shrines) in the Jackal, the red one just to the left of the middle circle thingie. It adds total speed.
If your character has any movement skills, put at least 1 point in them. Like a soldier’s Blitz or an Oathkeeper’s Vire’s Might. These can let you cross the map much faster, even if you do not need them for damage.
After you finish act 1, if you have the expansions, a new NPC will appear in Devil’s Crossing that lets you access the first expansion. It’s probably better to play that later, it’s pretty hard. But if you go there and do the first quest in town, you can unlock a vendor that sells movement runes. These runes give you a bonus movement skill that any character can use.
(I recommend the Leaping Mantis or Charging Bull ones, so joining either Bysmiel or Soleal. Top tip: Buy a couple extra and put them in the shared stash. That way, your next character can get a movement skill as soon as they find a medal to put it in.)
And if you want to level faster, you can try playing on Veteran. Just be aware that it’s considerably harder, and you will randomly die once in a while to some attack you did not know to anticipate.