Good request! We should look at videos on this topic.
Yes - keep /pulse/content away from the update, and your /template/ files.
To avoid an overwrite here with that be sure not to overwrite your file: pulsecore/storage/config.json
If you avoid these 3 all should go well! 
Alternatively, there is now an updater from within Admin > Settings you could try. This was added a few BETAs ago.
We always recommend taking a backup too prior to updating!