hey, I appreciate the feedback and the honest attempts at the game!
The way the game loop was built had a lot of inspiration on the Rogue videogame, so the arcadey feel comes from that.
I wouldn't put Resilience as a dump stat, as it is used for your Travel Test and it could increase your Health and even help lower the Test Target number, which makes a huge difference to avoid traps!
When I wanted an easier run I have experimented starting the game with a Relic Test from the beginning, I highly recommend that if the issue you're facing is the lack of available options at the first few levels.