Originally posted by Kursor1:

Plus what kills you in Valheim is mostly stuff that caught you unawares or unprepared. When you go back for your stuff you know what you're heading into and can prepare accordingly, which is a major advantage.

This. Most of the griping about deaths fall into 3 camps:

1. People that die to nuisance bugs/peculiarities at/around home such as fall damage while building or negotiating heights while clearing/teraforming. Annoying to lose skills for sure.
2. People that wander off too far anf get in over their heads or otherwise fall victim to something while a LONG way from home.
3. People that have prepped with portals etc. but get in over their heads, die, but then immediately set out to try and recover their stuff without backup equipment or even food & rested buff only to repeatedly die. Doesn't cost more skills at least for 10 min.

Most of the issues with death & difficulty IMO are people overreaching without any kind of failsafe. Whether travelling too far or not having backup equipment stashes. (I. e. only mining enough for 1 set of stuff before racing into the next biome) By all means play the game how you like but if you take risks having only the clothes on your back, you have to be prepared for inconveniences and consequences.