Notes from author
This is the SL1 build I used for my last play through, very approachable.
Like most SL1 builds the Pyro glove (Combustion and it's various forms) will be your best friend, especially against bosses / tougher enemies, upgrade it early and as often as possible. Black Flame would be ideal, but since you can't even get it until late in the DLC, I'm just using Combustion / Great Combustion here since that's what I used 95% of the playthrough.
Use the Gold Hemmed set until you obtain the Dingy set. While they are fairly comparable un-upgraded,the Dingy set edges out with higher overall def. and lighter weight after you upgrade a bit.
Note: I forgot to get the Crown of Dusk in my initial play through, while it wasn't necessary it wouldn't hurt at all to have another +20% damage to your pyromancy at the cost of lowered magic defense.
I chose to add the Lt. Hand Axe +5 on the build here, but I occasionally used a Lt. Battle Axe +5 depending on the instance, with only a 1.0 weight difference, it can be swapped out with no penalty, I just prefer the hand axe move set most of the time.
Grass Crest Shield first and foremost, you need all the stamina you can for rolling/dashing. For 100% block the Spider Shield +5 was all I ever used, I assume you could instead use a Heater Shield, which is lighter, but since I didn't use it I'm not including it on here.
As for rings, Havel's is to always be equipped, while I usually swap the other out per situation, usually either the BDCR, the Ring of Fog, or the Ring of Steel Protection.
Other good options might be the DWGR, SDCR, or the Cloranthy ring.
That's pretty much it, the build has served me well through SL1, and as a bonus it's very easy to find invasions at almost any point in the game.
