Hey Sterango: you realize that every boss on the first 8 levels is optional, right? Admittedly you're missing out on the best gear if you don't beat them, but the level 1 gear is going to be obsolete by the time you face the Corruptor, anyhow. Skipping the first boss is an entirely viable strategy if you don't think you'll be able to win it.
I took a party of 4 mages to level 9 on Extreme, although I didn't make it to the Corruptor fight... died to a group of 6 regular enemies that I failed to kill by TWO HP out of several hundred. It was fun, though; I beat 6 out of 8 of the bosses, including the first level boss. All those potions of speed and protection are a huge help for boss battles, where being able to take out dangerous underlings quickly is key.
Fun game, but the item balance is off on deeper levels. The caps on magic item bonuses don't make any sense. Really good item abilities like poison and HP regen have no cap and scale infinitely, while mediocre junk like +str and +dex is stuck forever at a measly +3.
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