When we rolled our characters, my wife and I chose the Elite difficulty. We did so for a couple of reasons: to test the harder difficulty and because everyone on the beta forums said it was more enjoyable for people who wanted a challenging experience.

Boy, do I feel as if we were challenged! The wife and I made our way through the countryside to Gussen Farm, a stop close to the Stonehill area. Even the countryside was lethal for us, as swarms of monsters would cause us to flee like sissies and drink health potions like alcoholics at an open-bar wedding. From Gussen Farm, we headed to our first "real" dungeon.

We went through 3 floors, each one a battle for our lives before arriving at a boss that was on so many steroids that I expected it to set a new homerun record batting around Ralsu's body. We each ended up opening portals to the clearing outside the dungeon in a safe corner. We'd circle-kite the boss; mainly, my wife would lead it in a circle to keep it distracted while I beat on it from behind. When one of us died, we'd come in through the other person's portal to same the time of traversing the dungeon. So long as one of us could stay alive to do some minor damage, the boss would not heal very much, but when we both went down, the boss seemed to gain back 25% health by the time we could return.