1- make a small hut on stilts or on top of a crypt
2- pocket portal
3- troll armor
4- bronze shield
5- good food, deer stew, minced meat and carrot soup, replace minced meat with sausages and carrot soup with turnip stew as soon as you can.
6- poison resist mead

The swamps is a big spike in difficulty, but once you get your bearings you know how to deal with it. Don't sprint everywhere, jump over water, use a hoe perhaps but don't run out of stamina, you always run out of it if you're not careful when needed most.

Oh yeah, the big ones don't like fire, you will know what i talk about when you see the big one and fire... well it's around there.