Try it my way, you might be surprised. Think shock and awe. Defenses don't matter because your goal is to charge in, crank out a shit load of damage and then get out before they even know what happened.

To do this, if you haven't already:
- learn where/how to get vulnerability exploiting weapons
- learn where/how to get 30 damage roll at level 18 (it's doable earlier, but start there anyways)
- learn when not to lag yourself or overcommit to a fight
- learn when you can't afford to be lagged by your opponent and how to avoid it (or just skip these fights for easier pickings)
- learn how to maximize your chances of attacking a ranking group before they notice you. For example: Plenty of people rank in Akan, but it usually takes too long to surprise them from the entrance. However, you can peek in and do where;where peg. If the area is empty and the dwarves are missing, someone is ranking there and resting in stones embrace or the entrance to castle akan. Make a bee line for the orc village entrance, or Mortorn entrance. Wait a few ticks, then charge out at them, you might be able to get there before they know you are coming.