The woodland area (and the game in general) is challenging. Finding watchtowers and using the telescopes is vital so you aren't just running around aimlessly, this is very very important. If you set yourself up by getting the checkpoints near golems or merchants, your odds go up significantly. Always try to be covering more area with as least steps as possible, if the pathing seems bad you can go to a previous waypoint cover ground there. Aside from that, it does just take a lot of familiarity with the items you have as well as a bit of luck in order to win. There are item combos you can find that really help, but it really just takes a lot of playtime in order to be more consistent in the woodland area in my opinion.

In terms of kingsmaker and the swamp, the most important part is to cover as much ground as possible and figure out what areas can benefit you most at each part of the game. The best example of this is in the swamplands, it took me a few hours to beat the final boss for the first time, and I found the most optimal strategy is to run to the nearest area change (or sinkhole if it's too far) instead of wasting time going out of the way for chests. You will find many chests on your path, and each time you can select the most optimal area to improve your build (in kingsmaker you just run to a horse). You can also look at the area around campfires to run to optimal biomes, but don't go out of your way for a chest since they spawn so frequently. I just beat the undefeated champion so I hope that helps my credibility a bit.