How much exp does slane give you when you kill him vs when you give him the wand? I would hate to do that as I don't want to do any "dick move" things just to hit level 8.

How many waves of copies does the jester summon? I've only ever fought two waves worth of foes.

Never thought to allow the blind magister to cuff me. I'll have to try that.

Tower by the beach shrine I've been catching as well. I don't know if I remember getting the ancient sword there. It's possible I just glossed over it being a weaker item than what I was using though.

Should going after dallis be necessary? That sounds like it would be odd to need to do that to hit level 8.

Other than that, I get everything else listed. I also always play on classic mode.