the 2nd enemy in the game can 3 shot you!!

porcupine crab is the 2nd enemy in the game

it can 3 shot you.

think about this for a second.. if you make a brand new melee character

as you approach you get hit once. you get into melee range AND MISS.. even if you HIT, its not a kill, you still need to hit it at least 1 or 2 more times.. boom you get hit again.. now your in a situation where you can either flask or die

the 2nd enemy in the game... and your already fighting for your life and chugging flasks

Well yeah, the beach is the tutorial. The lessons:

1) These are enemies, some of them are a credible threat, not just fodder for you to farm XP from.

2) You can heal yourself and restore mana a limited number of times, here's how.

3) Avoiding damage is definitely better than tanking it.

4) This guy is a boss. He telegraphs his abilities and most can be dodged handily if you're attentive.

If the enemies weren't a credible threat to the player, the first three lessons would be without a practical example.

Personally I think it sets the tone pretty well as-is.