My only death so far has been in the plains, and it was my fault thinking I could fight a two star spear fulling with my gear only upgraded twice. Portals, outposts with a spawn point, and never get rid of your old gear is vital to retrieving your stuff. Also there really is no rush to get it. I waited about five days in game to make sure I was well prepared before I got most my stuff, and left some ore in the tombstone, and basically use it as an indestructible loot box until I could sail over to get the ore.