So, I've spent about 7 hours in this game and dying at this point was really painful, after killing the DM-300 and surviving the dwarven city (which was incredibly hard) I died at the hands of some monk. No food, no health potions, nada.
I'm playing as a rogue assassin, I had got a level 8 evasion ring, which I was hoping would make it impossible for enemies to hit me. I also had level 2 plate armour with viscosity.
Looking back this was definitely my fault, I think I was too careless in the dwarven city. I lost two ankhs in one level.
Any advice?? This is the farthest down I've got.
I could never really make evasion builds work. So I'd say you're not alone. I always try to get at least a level 6 plate going into the DM-300 fight. If I haven't found one by then I usually try to gamble one from the Smith.