Valheim plays well with being overly cautious. There's a lot of powering up that can be done through mining, farming, and hunting monsters for drops. Boss arenas are great places to terraform, to remove obstacles and make fights easier.

The most important scouting tool is the portal. Keep an empty portal at home, and drop portals immediately after a long boat trip. Night time is far more dangerous than day. Portal home at dusk, do some base maintenance, and get a well rested bonus for next dawn.