Cursed Lands

Well, this is a signature way of killing the gameplay. In a good game, if it's even considered an RPG in any way, the player should be able to level up however they find most convenient, not how the developers intended. This is more of a quest than an RPG—where you have to replicate the developers' logic, otherwise nothing will work...

PZ can be completed without problems with a huge number of even remotely logical builds, from a pure warrior to a mage. The main thing is to treat EXP carefully, collect gear, enchant it with spells, make healing potions, etc. Yes, some kind of conditional optimum exists, but that's common for single-player games. In Allods 2, for example, a warrior would simply load up on gear with +strength (after long and tedious searches) and start dealing out damage left and right, clearing the final map solo, except for the harpies. Allods 1 could be completed by a single mage equipped with a very specific set of items, also without any support.