I feel like a cheater, but I tried my best to not cause any griefing. I'm also in my 40s and don't have the time to git gud when I just wanna play the story.
Dark souls 2 & 3 have mods that make it easier. DS2, I had crazy defense and rolling. Poor invaders would backstab me 5 times and only take me to 50% health. Then 3 basic quick hits would kill them.
DS3, I was around level 200 thanks to a xp multiplier mod and was able to steamroll bosses. Invaders still destroyed me, but that's fair. Frequently I let them and to my surprise, most invaders if you don't attack, won't attack back and will just goof off. I loved it.
I'm going to wait until Elden Ring is a bit more quieter before I play with mods. Again, not interested in griefing. Just want to adventure on my own terms.
That's kind of the price you have to pay if you use mods. You can either not use mods and experience the full game (if you can beat it), or you can use mods, but shouldn't go online so you don't kill other peoples fun.