Originally posted by GrinfilledCelt:

... or you can do that. Just remember to build a portal near where you intend to die beforehand.

Sorry. That was meant as a joke.

The problem with the swamp is that you have just beat the Elder and are quite full of yourself. "That's right. That's right. I'm bad. Don't mess with me!" You step off your boat into the swamp for the first time and all the locals are throwing a party in your honor. After who knows how many millennia with nothing to do they are SO happy to see you! The Welcoming Committee says, "Here's your ass." and hands it to you.

Now you're all depressed. All your armor and weapons that you worked so hard for are in a far away place with hoards of nasties where retrieval seems impossible. The good news is that it isn't impossible, just very, very hard.

My advice is don't put yourself in that position. The time it takes for you to realize that you're in over your head, get back in your boat and get away is plenty of time for them to destroy your boat and kill you. Instead, enter the swamp on foot. If you have to sail there, land in an adjacent Meadows or Black Florist, where you can build a small base with a portal and/or bed and THEN go probe the swamp and don't go at night. Snipe as many of the critters as you can from the outskirts. Most will be hard to kill with the weapons you have and they pack a wallop to go with it. So if they start to gang up on you RUN! Get back to the safer biome. Walk all around the border to see any notable features inside. Many swamps border Plains and Mountains. These are places that are pure death to you at this point. Stay well away from them. Stray into the plains and you'll be dead before you know you're under attack.