Originally posted by Weaver:

This is an easy game if you are cautious, do prep work, and learn from your mistakes.
This is a hard game if you dive in recklessly, do no prep work, and refuse to learn from your mistakes.

For example: dying constantly because he keeps running naked back into a fight he just lost? Those are regularly costing him his skill levels and undoing his progress, making everything more difficult. Rushing in naked to a situation that killed you fully armed is clearly a very bad idea.
Instead: have backup gear and go back to your corpse armed and buffed and careful, using ranged to pull and pick off enemies.