NC is pretty beatable once you get the hang of it. And you need to use both bars and some items are almost always needed (Whupaz for Frank, Schadenfreude - you never do get enough of them, so prep 1 and buy another if you can afford to, also Compression Seal to bring more useful items or glyphs down).
Items-wise, things that help with your mana bar, or resists, or refills - these are all useful. Elven Boots, Dragon Soul, Fire Heart, Crystal Ball (1 of the best items to spend your extra gold on), Witchalok Pendant (can work if you don't have other means to help with regen fighting), Venom Dagger, Mage Plate (only if you are focusing on using Pisorf and Burndayraz, like Elf Wizard). As for glyphs, many of them can be useful - Apheelsik or Halpmeh (for regen fighting), Pisorf (useful for Iron Man and last boss or if you have ways to refill your mana bar like if you have Crystal Ball). Bludtupowa or Lemissi can be useful to tap on the inaccessible blackspace.
For most of the bosses, you need to regen fight them, so things like Resists and/or High damage would be your best friends. So, people have prepped Dragon Shield or even Patches to prepare for the fights below. Having high damage such as using Orc or Humans can also help. Knockback is useful (especially for the final boss) but can be a little "troublesome" to use - because you might have to "waste" some blackspace to line up the bosses properly or you always have to hit from the "sides" (along the horizontal line they start in). Most builds won't have this but it can be awesome especially when you are able to deal damage to both bosses at the same time. Having some way to cure Poison and Mana-burn (potions, GG's boons, the 2 protective items) is also recommended - wouldn't want to lose a run due to not being able to cure off 1 of these. If you are using Resists, then remember to leave some popcorn around to cure off the curse you might get from the Bandit Boss.
Gods-wise, most people recommend bringing down 1 burn salve - can be used after EM desecration or for the last boss, though it is not absolutely necessary. If you don't have any resists, then Binlor can also be desecrated freely. You can use any gods depending on your character - GG can work, MA too, Dracul for some last-minute healing via Sanguine or Blood Swells, sometimes even Binlor can be useful (especially if you are a Gorgon or have Pisorf and/or Endiswal). Also, PM, when you absolutely have to tap on his free 50 piety or some other boons or simply to convert to another god for some last minute help.
Hope to see some NC victories from you soon,
