Hardcore mode adds huge amounts of fun to the experience. You feel so invested into what's going on, calculating how much risk you can safely manage, etc. Leaderboards are more interesting. Finding secondary gear for when your main eventually dies.

Dying because I was being stupid is just part of the fun. Re-role. Use some saved resources to skip the early grind.

Dying because server crashed, internet lagged for 6 seconds, etc. Those hurt. They are the vast majority of deaths.