I keep restarting long games because my character might be slightly wrong

I have played the opening region of my current role-playing game four times. I can complete the tutorial faster than some people make coffee. I still have no idea what happens after the first major city.

The cycle begins when I choose a character build. A few hours later, I find a weapon that makes another build look interesting. I read a discussion where someone calls my skill choice inefficient. Then I start imagining thirty future hours spent regretting a decision I made before I understood the game. Restarting feels clean, responsible, and temporarily wonderful.

On the new character, I make a more informed choice. Then I discover different information. One companion reacts better to a background I did not choose. A late-game guide recommends saving a resource I already spent. A video shows an ability I might not unlock. Suddenly the improved character is another draft.

The game allows some choices to be changed later, but not all. None of the permanent differences appear large enough to ruin a playthrough. That does not calm me. My brain treats “not ideal” as a debt that grows with every hour invested. Restart now, it says, before the mistake becomes expensive.

This is not really about difficulty. I play on a moderate setting and do fine. It is about wanting one definitive run that reflects what I would choose if I already knew the consequences. Of course, such a first playthrough cannot exist. I am trying to make discovery happen without surprise.

I have considered banning guides, but uncertainty sends me back to them. I have considered following one complete build, but that turns the game into instructions. My latest idea is to keep one “messy” character, allow no restart until the credits, and record interesting alternatives for a second run that may never happen.

Has anyone found a better rule for escaping restart loops? How much permanent imperfection do you deliberately tolerate, and what do you do when new information makes the old choice feel contaminated? I bought an adventure. So far I have purchased four increasingly efficient introductions.