Matchsticks are very common, so if your fear is above halfway to the eyeball, dont be afraid to book it to the nearest campfire. If you have the patience, you can also use street lights or go indoors to well lit areas. It takes a hot minute to get your fear to zero that way, but it doesn't consume any resources.

In the early game, looting is very important. Pick up every item you see, ammo, Shemp's Colas, and amulets alike. If you're full on Shemp's or amulets, mark them for your team. ammo and healing items are vital for survival.

When looting, make sure the resources end up going where they need to. Make sure that any Support players on your team are full on Shemp's before keeping any for yourself. Pay attention to what ammo type the Hunter player is using, and make sure they have plenty of that ammo at all times. Warriors and Supports will make the most use out of any amulets found.

TL,DR guide

Shemp's: Supports
Amulets: Supports\Warriors
Ammo: Hunters.

If you have a mic, always announce that you do in the lobby. In my experience, this when doing so, someone else is bound to use one eventually. Open communication is the best way have the upper hand when the going gets tough.

If you don't have a mic for whatever reason, there is a way to communicate without one. Holding down the ALT key(by default) will open a communication wheel with simple commands such as "wait for me!", "Let's focus on the main objective!" and "Need (insert resource here)!". While this may not be as fluid as using a microphone, this is a good work-around for not having one\not wanting to use one. Anything is better than nothing, after all.

If a weapon of high rarity pops out of a chest, check to see if anyone on your team has mastery for that weapons as one of their perks.If so, that weapon should go to that player, no questions asked. Here is a list of all characters with weapon masteries and their weapons in the game as of version 1.50:

David Allen: Nail Gun
Ash Williams(Evil Dead 2): Double Barrel
Ed Getly: Crossbow(includes all types of crossbows in the game)
Kelly Maxwell: Meat Hammer
Amanda Fisher: Pistol
Ash Williams(Army of Darkness): Chainsaw
Scotty: Lumberjack Axe
Mia Allen: Machete
Lord Arthur: Sword

If no one on the team has weapon mastery over the weapon that was found, it should be offered to whichever player can make the most use of it. If it's a melee weapon, it should be offered to the Warrior, and ranged weapons should be offered to the Hunter. If the Warrior\Hunter doesn't want it, it's officially fair game.

Spend some time playing demon. Doing so will help you get a better idea of what your opponent is doing at any given time, as well as what they might be planning for in the future. This is one of the biggest mistakes I see, even good players often make this mistake.