I’ve been there. I would start from the end in case some are from lvl1. Maybe use the id scroll. Or just keep going down until you ID a few if you really want to not waste.
F1-2 you insta chug the str pot and put your upgrade scroll into any t2 weapon you may find early on and you shouldn't have a problem with the sewers. Even if you don't find a t2 weapon, the ability to increase str as soon as you find it makes the sewers a lot easier. Use the lunge+patient attacks talent to take a chunk out of any crabs you find, and the rapier gives blocking power at the cost of damage, so getting to leather armor is a bit less important for f5. For the prison, buy a t2 weapon from the shop if you haven't dropped one already. Your build will vary based on what weapon you have, so just make sure you play to the strength of your weapon. Don't be scared to use upgrades early if you die a lot early game.
Also for the duelist the dagger's ability is a budget cloak+ethereal chains, it's definitely my favorite weapon with duelist so I use dagger whenever I can.
Ik how to play, I won 60 times.
My playstyle involves lots of not using any upgrade scroll until I see a plate armor and I'm either in a hurry or it's +2 or more, then I scroll dump into the plate.
It works fine for the other 4 characters, and I'm sure I can make it work with the duelist. There is just no way in Earth I'm upgrading a T2
A +9 plate armor is practically gg, and assuming you run 0 chal you get 15 SoUs on the run. Investing one or two early game will save other limited resources like health pots. It's a trade-off, but once I started being less stingy with my SoUs my runs got a lot more consistent. Late game relies on strategy and skill just as much as stats, so having one less level on an item isn't a big deal if it means you get to f15 90+% of the time.
Not doing it. I have deleted runs just because I found a +1, scroll dumped, then found a +3. I only go as low as +9 if I have a good ring of Force. Monsters at demon halls hurt if you have less than +12.