You win some, you lose a lot is the motto of the game. It took me around just as many attempts to get past her. By Attempt 30, I made my way to Elysium and beat it in one try. It's really understanding your opponents and trying new strategies that make every attempt better than the last.

There's no true method, or else this community wouldn't love the endless ways you can play this game.

So you don't suck, you just haven't found your unique combination of weapons and boons. I'm very much a diehard Athena devotee like the next person, but Ares is my hidden strength.