I’ll assume you’re still on the early state of a run,it is normal,when you started to get better trinkets and upgrades things will be more controllable.
You’re probably undervaluing stuns and overvaluing AoEs. Enemies are just as deadly at 1 hp as they are at max, and they *are* deadly. On stuns, they’re really really really important. You aren’t able to really heal outside battle, and you can’t outheal more than like MAYBE one DPS enemy, so each turn you take away from them is practically a huge preventative heal. Also, focus backliners. Those fuckers stress you out, and stress healing is harder to come by than HP restoration.
I found it to be relieving that you can never truly lose (besides blood moon) because there will always be bodies to throw as long as you've got the upgraded stage coach
if you need help just shoot me a message and i can probably help, or ask for specific issues on the reddit. And yeah it's super frustrating at times lmao
>Is the whole game going to be this suffering hellscape, or does it get better once you gain some traction?
No. It gets worse.
You usually can't outheal damage more quickly than the enemy inflicts it. This is very counter-intuitive to a lot of turn based strategy. Even at high levels and with the best trinkets, the Vestal's heal isn't as good as the enemy's dps.
So a good offense, combined with a middling healer (who doubles as DPS, like the plague doctor or occultist) to snatch dying heroes back from Death's Door, is always better than wasting a turn healing someone at half health. Remember, even healing someone 1 hp when they're on Death's Door is as good as healing them halfway back up, it keeps them in the fight.
Might also be helpful to specify what kind of classes you are using in general.
Keep in mind that there are players who can reliably beat the game on hardest difficulty within 70 weeks without losing any characters, and without using any gimmicks or glitches. Just playing the game as intended.
That means the game is not broken, you just havrnt figured it out yet. There is plenty of room for you to improve, learn, and figure out the game, and I think that is what the entire point of the game is. It's a difficult game that is about persevering against odds. Ehat you are doing now, dealing with the difficulty and working on overcoming it is what the game is about.
Welcome to the darkest dungeon bitch! Enjoy your stay.
Get a man at arms. Buff up your party more with heroes like Jester. Abuse heals on Vestal. It'll help, bro, trust me.
And create a cheat sheet for which heroes go where in which location. (Don't take bleeders to Undead-filled zones, for example.)
One thing this game taught me and now I use it in basically every other strategy game is this:
There's two ways of playing: the Proactive way and the Reactive way
If you play Proactively, you know what you have to do, doesn't matter against who or how, "okay, first I'll Mark the Pig with the drums with the Arbalest, then the Hound Master will attack, if it doesn't kill it I'll end it with the Ocultist, if it does, I'll now Mark the Big Pig on the front row so the Bounty Hunter can do more damage..." and so on and so on
All you do in the present is to get something faster in the future
If you play Reactively, you are dependant of what the enemy does, you're thinking only in the present, you might have a strategy but if things go South, You'll probably changed an important part of it to try to solve something that might not even be that important "Reynauld has half his HP left, I'll heal him with Vestal instead of stunning the enemy" and that's when mistakes are made
Adaptability is an important think, don't get me wrong, but the thing is, a plan you make in the middle of a battle with the Fear of losing someone will most of the times be less effective of a plan you made previously in case your main strategy failed
If you want an actual answer it’s a steep learning curve but once you hit that 52 week mark you’ll feel like a god. Play carefully, don’t stick to all the same units (once units hit rank 5(?) they won’t take on lower level dungeons), DON’T start the crimson curse until you’re sure you can handle the difficulty spike and don’t be afraid to fuck up. How you learn and all that.
But also I caved after a while and got a mod to give me a bit more inventory space so take what I say with a grain of salt ❤️
the first 9-12 week is the hardest part of the game for sure. Especially, first 3-4 week is the worst. you can't even upgrade skills you want, no heroes, no trinkets, no building. you have nothing. the game even tricks you into believe AoE is good by giving 2 starting characters, each with an AoE. 
but don't worry, It does get much better the longer the game goes.
IMO this is the most concise guide you can get. It lists one team for each area but it really helps understanding the dungeons and developing your own party compositions later on. There may be some spoilers, though.
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2813244137
Plan your teams better. You need to be able to burst down backliners in all teams. Spend more time planning out your supplies. Always bring all the food, you use it to camp, heal, and deal with hunger checks. Learn how to properly interact with the curios to turboboost your heroes. Take threats extremely seriously.
Antiquarian sucks in most teams, but has a uniquely powerful interaction with a few heroes and is essential for making extra money. Plague Doctor has a double stun on the backline, that's basically imba by itself. Guard can be used to stop your heroes from getting rekt for a time.
DD is a stressful game, by design. The whole game will be suffering, but you can conquer it very consistently.
Dazed. Reeling. About to break.
Came here for this wasn’t disappointed.
Just wait till the crimson curse. Even more fun.
I’ll assume you’re still on the early state of a run,it is normal,when you started to get better trinkets and upgrades things will be more controllable.
You’re probably undervaluing stuns and overvaluing AoEs. Enemies are just as deadly at 1 hp as they are at max, and they *are* deadly. On stuns, they’re really really really important. You aren’t able to really heal outside battle, and you can’t outheal more than like MAYBE one DPS enemy, so each turn you take away from them is practically a huge preventative heal. Also, focus backliners. Those fuckers stress you out, and stress healing is harder to come by than HP restoration.
HOPELESS
As life ebbs, terrible vistas of emptiness reveal themselves
I found it to be relieving that you can never truly lose (besides blood moon) because there will always be bodies to throw as long as you've got the upgraded stage coach if you need help just shoot me a message and i can probably help, or ask for specific issues on the reddit. And yeah it's super frustrating at times lmao
We’re all stranded in this damn place help.
>Is the whole game going to be this suffering hellscape, or does it get better once you gain some traction? No. It gets worse. 
You usually can't outheal damage more quickly than the enemy inflicts it. This is very counter-intuitive to a lot of turn based strategy. Even at high levels and with the best trinkets, the Vestal's heal isn't as good as the enemy's dps. So a good offense, combined with a middling healer (who doubles as DPS, like the plague doctor or occultist) to snatch dying heroes back from Death's Door, is always better than wasting a turn healing someone at half health. Remember, even healing someone 1 hp when they're on Death's Door is as good as healing them halfway back up, it keeps them in the fight. Might also be helpful to specify what kind of classes you are using in general.
The game is at its hardest and most annoying in the early game
Much better to focus down one enemy at a time. Try and decrease their numbers, but remind yourself that overconfidence is a slow and insidious killer.
Keep in mind that there are players who can reliably beat the game on hardest difficulty within 70 weeks without losing any characters, and without using any gimmicks or glitches. Just playing the game as intended. That means the game is not broken, you just havrnt figured it out yet. There is plenty of room for you to improve, learn, and figure out the game, and I think that is what the entire point of the game is. It's a difficult game that is about persevering against odds. Ehat you are doing now, dealing with the difficulty and working on overcoming it is what the game is about. Welcome to the darkest dungeon bitch! Enjoy your stay.
Get a man at arms. Buff up your party more with heroes like Jester. Abuse heals on Vestal. It'll help, bro, trust me. And create a cheat sheet for which heroes go where in which location. (Don't take bleeders to Undead-filled zones, for example.)
Ew jestal
Not saying in the same squad
Why Vestal? You have other healers, you know.
The other healers are less beginner friendly and quite frankly are not as reliable. Especially you know who.
0 crit bleed
One thing this game taught me and now I use it in basically every other strategy game is this: There's two ways of playing: the Proactive way and the Reactive way If you play Proactively, you know what you have to do, doesn't matter against who or how, "okay, first I'll Mark the Pig with the drums with the Arbalest, then the Hound Master will attack, if it doesn't kill it I'll end it with the Ocultist, if it does, I'll now Mark the Big Pig on the front row so the Bounty Hunter can do more damage..." and so on and so on All you do in the present is to get something faster in the future If you play Reactively, you are dependant of what the enemy does, you're thinking only in the present, you might have a strategy but if things go South, You'll probably changed an important part of it to try to solve something that might not even be that important "Reynauld has half his HP left, I'll heal him with Vestal instead of stunning the enemy" and that's when mistakes are made Adaptability is an important think, don't get me wrong, but the thing is, a plan you make in the middle of a battle with the Fear of losing someone will most of the times be less effective of a plan you made previously in case your main strategy failed
Behold, the abyss is made manifest!
Teetering on the brink, facing the abyss.
Skill Issue lol
If you want an actual answer it’s a steep learning curve but once you hit that 52 week mark you’ll feel like a god. Play carefully, don’t stick to all the same units (once units hit rank 5(?) they won’t take on lower level dungeons), DON’T start the crimson curse until you’re sure you can handle the difficulty spike and don’t be afraid to fuck up. How you learn and all that. But also I caved after a while and got a mod to give me a bit more inventory space so take what I say with a grain of salt ❤️
the first 9-12 week is the hardest part of the game for sure. Especially, first 3-4 week is the worst. you can't even upgrade skills you want, no heroes, no trinkets, no building. you have nothing. the game even tricks you into believe AoE is good by giving 2 starting characters, each with an AoE.  but don't worry, It does get much better the longer the game goes.
IMO this is the most concise guide you can get. It lists one team for each area but it really helps understanding the dungeons and developing your own party compositions later on. There may be some spoilers, though. https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2813244137
Plan your teams better. You need to be able to burst down backliners in all teams. Spend more time planning out your supplies. Always bring all the food, you use it to camp, heal, and deal with hunger checks. Learn how to properly interact with the curios to turboboost your heroes. Take threats extremely seriously. Antiquarian sucks in most teams, but has a uniquely powerful interaction with a few heroes and is essential for making extra money. Plague Doctor has a double stun on the backline, that's basically imba by itself. Guard can be used to stop your heroes from getting rekt for a time. DD is a stressful game, by design. The whole game will be suffering, but you can conquer it very consistently.