I'd been trying for a while to have a mage ascend with two challenges (swarm intelligence + hostile champions), but after reading the comments here I decided to go with a sniper. It turns out to be super fun! I was able to finally ascend on my third try.
This was a particularly good run:
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I got three stones of enchantment. I used the first two on my bow. The first one was blazing (actually a curse IMO), the second was elastic (yes!)
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I got a couple of boomerangs early on. Upgraded boomerangs are awesome! I had to use telekinesis only a handful of times.
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The bow was enhanced for speed. Almost nothing can survive a +8 boomerang plus three shots, and only bosses can survive two rounds.
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I got an anti-magic plate +1 early on, and then a greatsword +1. My third SoE resulted in a grim sword -- awesome!
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I got the talisman of foresight and, in level 22 or 23, the ethereal chains.
Overall it was a ton of fun. I recommend trying out the sniper if you haven't already! (The seed was CNY-XQY-ZPF).
