Welp, it was predictable he would end up like this when he antagonized them like an idiot.
b-but he was doing it on purpose to get some info and then die so he can reload
No, he wasn't. It has been made pretty clear that MC doesn't see that reload power as a tool he wants to rely on, he said that he has no knowledge of how it works or how many retries he has and always puts a lot of effort to avoid dying. Even this time, he tried to get out of that situation alive till nearly the end and only relied on the "get as much info as possible before they kill you" strategy when it was made clear they wouldn't be able to survive.
So no, those provocations weren't a smart move on his part, it was just him being a dick for no reason and paying the price for it. At least he knows what he is getting into next time so let's hope he doesn't fuck up so hard.