having problems with act 2

i was able to do all the missions because a lvl 35 got me thru them pretty quick

told me to to lvl to 22 and get good gear before trying higher difficulty

i cant even access higher difficulty and cant get thru the maps to unlock it anyway

wat to do?

If you are 22, you should be able to move on to Cruel difficulty. Did you go through Waterfall Caves to go into Cruel?

If you can't handle Cruel yet, a lot people like farming The Ledge, The Coves, Fellshrine Ruins, or Dread Thicket. You could kill them for an hour or two and probably level up 1-3 times and maybe get some better gear to move on.

thats just it i just cant get better gear i have been trying till lvl 22 i just cant get good things

Have you tried crafting some better gear? Take a white item with the socket colors you want, and then use an Orb of Alchemy on it to make it a rare.

Half the game is finding good items, the other half is crafting good items. You have to do both because just finding them wont really support your character development.

I think half or less of my current items are ones I "found". I had to make the others using orbs.