casual vs spread sheet vs abuse

I’m a casual player, and the game was a lot of fun in the beginning—stunning visuals, great combat, and an overall awesome experience. I don’t look up builds or exploit mechanics, at least not until today. i enjoy the campaign and after that its reroll to another char.

I´ve seen things like the scarab farm, freeze-on-cast, frozen walls, and the poison vine skill. They all seemed promising, but those who used these mechanics effectively are lightyears ahead of me.

I started playing a Witch, experimenting with different builds throughout the campaign. It felt like an evolving and dynamic experience—awesome stuff! But now I’m in Act 3 (Cruel), and the game feels unplayable. No matter how many defensive layers I stack, everything seems out to get me.

From what I’ve read, I’m not the only one struggling to figure out what kind of "final form" my character needs to take to progress in this game. The only viable way seems to be going full glass cannon or abusing specific game mechanics: kill everything before it has the chance to kill you. But not all builds are designed for that approach.

For example, my Chaos Blood Witch has extremely limited options for effectively killing everything on sight, especially under "start of endgame" conditions. And why even bother with defensive layers? Maxing out resistances is tedious and costs more than I can reasonably acquire through gameplay. It feels like running on a hamster wheel that slows down until you’re stuck, despite your efforts to move forward.

Seeing what endgame content looks like—T-whatever maps with Beyblade-like abuse mechanics—cements my suspicions. Criticism about "on-death effects" or floor-based damage further reinforces this frustration. Sure, there are examples of people stacking 16k Energy Shield (at absurd costs and with niche strategies) or spamming minions to roll through the game. But for me, that doesn’t feel like a healthy representation of "unlimited" build variety.

Melee characters seem to face even greater challenges since their playstyle feels inherently punishing from the start.

Now that I’ve looked up what others are doing to beat the game, it’s become crystal clear: endgame isn’t meant for casuals. It’s a mold you have to fit into or adapt to, but you can’t truly build "whatever you want" with limitless options.

I’m happy for all the spreadsheet enthusiasts, build copiers, and exploit users, but I can’t see myself becoming one of them.