Someone else covered diving deep and fast and WoR scrolls. The other major notion is to learn and remember what monsters can do. What they're weak to, what they can do to you. Part of the thrill (and the agony, honestly) is when you're deeper than you've ever been, and something you've never seen before just one-shots you.
The game has an interesting memory mechanic. When you first start, your character's "monster knowledge" is nil. As you meet and fight monsters, it gradually fills in. When you die and start a new character, you retain this "ancestral knowledge". It's absolutely vital to your survival.
Same goes for items and artifacts.
You can always look stuff up online if you want. It makes the game more predictable, certainly.
The game has an interesting memory mechanic. When you first start, your character's "monster knowledge" is nil. As you meet and fight monsters, it gradually fills in. When you die and start a new character, you retain this "ancestral knowledge". It's absolutely vital to your survival.
Same goes for items and artifacts.
You can always look stuff up online if you want. It makes the game more predictable, certainly.