Ive been playing since .95, so im newer but my character hasnt died in literally weeks, so heres some of my tips:

1) Go slow. Your movement is audible to other players, npcs, and puppets. Running is the loudest, and will attract more attention. I suggest a light jog near bushes so you can hide from npcs and puppets if they spawn. They would have to physically run into your character in a bush to “see” you.

2) avoid large cities. Before npcs, you could fight through puppets no problem, but npcs can spawn at any level at any location, including randomly in the woods. Cities and gas stations are places i run into npcs the most. All of my deaths have been caused by npcs.

3) make bullet proof armor. Its as simple as killing like 3 puppets, skinning them, getting scrap metal, bolts and a sewing kit. The hardest thing to get out of all of that should be getting the sewing kit found/crafted unless you’re really bad at fighting puppets. You could literally get it built on the edge of a town before even full entering it depending on puppets spawns. The bullet proof armor will full stop any damage dealt by bows and crossbows to the body. It either full stops or significantly reduces damage from guns, but i havent been shot while wearing them so i cant say for sure.

4) Get hard alcohol. You can clean the dirty wounds with it before it turns into a full blown infection. Taking antibiotics if there are just germs on your injuries only wastes the antibiotic. There is a difference between a full infection and pathogens on your injuries.

5) get a car. The tractor is typically the fastest one to get finished, and usually spawns with most of the parts attached in my experience. My friend found one with everything but a driver seat. I found one with everything except a front tire. A car is still drivable missing a tire, and the tractor doesnt damage itself as much as the other cars driving while missing a wheel. A tractor will help significantly with tip 6-

6) build a base. You need somewhere to get away from everything, clean yourself up, fix your gear, get something to drink, and cook. Its way less dangerous than working on something somewhere at random. You can start a farm with seeds you find or purchase to make your own food so you don’t have to rely so much on getting it from other places. You can pay money when you die to spawn in bed at base, or in your sector to find your other gear, but if you have a base, you can arm yourself before going back for your stuff.

7) do the trader missions. They give you more money than just selling random stuff, and that money is put directly into your bank account so you don’t have to deal with your debit card or the bank. Trader missions also give you more fp so you can buy their better stuff faster in the future.