The environment is pretty brutal in this. Fire and poison (acid DoT) are common and debilitating early game threats. As a hotfix until balance is tweaked, I suggest starting us off with a water flask. It should have a smaller liquid storage space and no magical effects, but it would mitigate much of the early RNG with finding a reliable source of dousing. This isn't just for dealing with being on fire or poisoned, but being able to clear out dangerous terrain is very desirable. Currently, fire or poison can easily chunk 40 HP if no water is nearby which is a tad too much before you have gotten any counterplay.

They implemented this, I think? Excellent suggestion. Finding out how to use the flask was one of my best early game experiences.

This thread was suggested /before/ they implemented the starting flask and it has since made the early game much less annoying.