I'm not really sure how to check how weapons scale. My stats are 20 vit, 20 end, 20 str, 19 dex, 20 res, with everything else at, or near, starting level. I was planning on getting them those listed to 20, and then focusing more on vit, end, and str. Still, since this is my first playthrough, I really don't know how to make a melee build. And i did rescue Laurentius.

I can help you if you want. What kind of character do you want to build? First thing to consider is mobility. There are 4 main thresholds determining how fast you move and the speed of your rolls/evades. Heavy armor will give you a lot of poise and defense, but it also weighs a lot and will slow you down. Do you want a character that relies more on mobility to evade attacks and use your swiftness in battle? Or do you want to go with a slow but highly defensive tank that will block anything that comes it way? Or, of course, something in between? Then, what kind of offensive player do you want to be? Do you prefer strength weapons that are a slow to swing but deal great amounts of damage, like huge clubs, axes or hammers? Or do you like the dexterity weapons that are generally faster but deal less damage per hit, like katanas, daggers, bows and scimitars? Or maybe you like a more neutral approach ("quality weapons") that scale with both strength and dex, like spears, halberds and regular swords? What kind of extras do you want to incorporate with your main melee build? Abandon scaling and go with an elemental weapon? Or do you want to invest in dexterity and use a (cross)bow? Upgrade the pyromancy flame and use pyromancer spells? Get a catalyst, raise your intelligence and use sorcery/magic as offensive spells or buffs for your weapons? Or wield a talisman and go with faith miracles like healing and force blasts? I can help you on your way if you have a general idea of your character in mind, or I can just recommend you a relatively easy build that's great for beginners. And two more things: Don't raise your resistance any more. You kind of already wasted some souls on that since it's probably the most useless skill in the game. To check the weapon scaling: go to your equipment tab and press the X (or square if you're on the PS3) button when highlighting the weapon you want. It'll give you a detailed overview of the weapon and the scaling will be in the bottom left. It'll show you a letter (E being the worst, A the second best and S the best scaling) for the skill it scales in. That is the main reason the drake sword sucks. If you look at the stats for it, you'll see that it doesn't scale with any skill, making it good early game but awful later on.