I love this game and I hate it at the same time

I've played about 300 hours and am returning to the game after it blew up around release.

I really enjoy this game. It's pretty. The building is great. The progression system is fun and rewarding. and there's always fun new stuff to look forward to in new updates. You can play for hours and lose track of time because most of the game is so much fun. The combat is mechanically interesting but not too complex.

But man this game is full of absolute horseshit, There is no worse feeling than dying in the middle of nowhere and losing all the gear that you grinded for, not to mention losing some stats as well. Then you have to use your backup or lower-tier gear just to run back and find the same bullshit star mob that killed you camping your gravestone or some other bullshit mob chasing you on the way back. It feels that every death is the result of some bullshit RNG mob who can run faster than you and has infinite stamina, stamina issues or some other dumb reason like getting stuck on terrain. Sure there is almost always a way to outplay or over-prepare for these situations but I never felt like I've died a fair death.

I get that it's a survival game but holy hell it feels way too punishing to die given that there is so much dumb shit that can kill you and the consequences of dying are so harsh.

I wonder how many people have quit playing this game having enjoyed it until some dumb dogshit death has made them lose all their motivation. Not looking for advice or a rescue mission, just struggling to find the motivation to log in again next time.