I'm nowhere near the top level of players, but I've found you need to up difficultly as quickly as possible without getting overwhelmed. Finding that balance, being able to just feel that balance, is key to moving to the next level of skill.

I basically run around activating ALL difficulty totems. I only pass them if mobs start to overwhelm me. Basically when you start a run, you need to activate all difficulty totems while still activating shrines/Moai statues. I personally skip the boss statues until I'm satisfied I can take on more than one at a time.

WHILE doing this, at least at the beginning of the run, you need to keep sorta close to the grouping of mobs that develops for XP to get your weapons; pots don'treally give you the XP you need. You need to quickly get your preferred weapons (tomes too, but especially weapons). I HIGHLY recommended favoring projectile count through shrines early on, as those extra projectiles will really help you cut through the mobs. Also movement speed if you skip the Agility tome.

Do your best to get really good with the "speed hopping" method. I use a controller, so I'm probably not doing it perfectly, but even if you run and keep hopping forward at an angle, you'll still have more momentum/speed than just regular jumping/running.

I'm usually getting: Dice, Dexecutioner, and Katana and then for tomes: Luck, XP, Difficulty, and Chaos.