Originally posted by redgreen999:

You keep saying the game is too easy, but then you say skill drain is too punishing and you die too much. So which is it?

i think they are not mutually exclusive. it may be easy for some players (or you might make it easy by getting better equipment(which is mostly gated my time, not difficulty). but when you die you loose flat 5% of your skills. and in early game it's nothing. but in the endgame it relates to hours of grinding those skills back. which is punishing no matter how difficult the game is.
at least in games like dark souls you have a chance to get your souls back after death. in valheim if you died - you died and skills are lost.