Reposted starting message
Hiya,
I'm busy getting my ass kicked in Industrial Complex but I think I'm starting to learn a bit at about 10 hours in. The only area I've found is Shaded Citadel and from the little I know of Rain World already I think it's a fairly hard area? It also just has that sort of dark/spooky/haunted vibe that developers love to use for more endgame areas. I got spooked and ran back pretty quick. Some rooms are also just... dark? I'm assuming there's a lantern system which is either an item I have to get somewhere or maybe something to do with those glowing squid rats.
I know there's a place called Garbage Wastes that's more natural for newbies to go to from Complex on the skill curve, the thing is I think I've probed the entirety of Complex that I can reach and can't seem to find it. Any solutions I can find online are warned as being spoiler-y and revealing full maps which I'd rather avoid.
I'm worried going to Citadel would be way too much of a skill jump and I'd be bashing my head against a wall, but that's also kind of Rain World in a nutshell.
At this point I'm considering grinding the karma back up to go back into the Citadel (especially since if I played 100% without further knowledge I'd still be there) but I just wanted to 2x check in case that could be a decision that has a history of making newbies hate the game with a skill jump that's way too much for someone who has about a 10% survival rate across Outskirts and Complex.
Thank you!

if you hold space bar (or map button if you're not on pc) while on the sleep screen, you can take a look at your map for any connections you may have missed, without the fear of threats and such

