Talk:Of Merchants and Monsters/@comment-172.56.33.66-20140328235324/@comment-3498155-20140329014003

There's no hard-and-fast rule. That said, I do recall my very first time against these guys - same like you, took like a dozen tries in like 2 hours or something. It does show that your overall stats (plus gear) are on the low side, though - simply leveling up more will help. And finding better weapons.

That said, they're also dangerous because of the enclosed space - try getting some range on them. With a mage you can set them on fire while staying out of the way, mostly. With a dagger/bow class, you can roll dodge out of the way and keep shooting at them.