You are doing quite well at the difficulty and gameplay, really. I am trying to make a "Sfw" run, but It's so hard to not ruin his heroic reputation! ...not that I am complaining.
(Spoilers ahead: Is it even possible to beat the stair guard?)
Theoretically yes. With the new difficulty balance though, I'm not sure I've managed to beat it in testing yet. Should probably double-check at some point to make sure it's very hard, but possible.
Excellent. I should probably still check eventually to make sure the difficulty is where I want it, but good to know I didn't end up accidentally walling it off.