@Latoksinned
I know we want death to be meaningful. I get it. I really, really do. But this game is a huge time investment. It shouldn't be a full time job getting back lost levels, especially when one unlucky crit can kill or one unlucky nat 1 roll on a will save can also kill. I agree that I hate losing time spent playing.
We can also argue that levels don't matter... but they do, to a degree. Why else do we have levels then if only rp matters?
I'd like death to represent consequences of course, but there has to be a way that doesn't kill all the time spent leveling. Maybe when you die you have an xp debt. Or maybe consumables are destroyed. Coins lost. Hell, even armor and weapon durability loss or breakage would be cool. Temporary ability score decrease? Could be annoying, but sure. Better than losing levels and time.