Winning the game requires a combination of research, caution, and instinct built up over time, all of which serve to simply avoid death. It's not nearly as much

Winning the game requires a combination of research, caution, and instinct built up over time, all of which serve to simply avoid death. It's not nearly as much a matter of getting up enough armor or dealing enough damage as it is a matter of learning and avoiding the many instadeaths in the game, and taking advantage of the small edges that can help you survive when you're in peril. I knew a guy who quit drinking for a week so that he could ascend. So there's that, too: don't play drunk.