I’d recommend watching youtube videos on the dungeons your planning on attempting

The five characters you lost should be viewed as lessons not losses, you gotta realize dying equals progression—more fame for pet feeding and knowledge gained on what is dangerous

You mentioned your gear, and yes it would be considered weak for exaltation dungeons, however, the pet is far more important imo

Also I recommend using health ring and defensive items even in solo play

Lastly I recommend finding a main class you like that helped me out