Needlessly difficult and death is beyond frustrating!

[dfultPlyr]

So, I'm only in the early beginnings of this game and am only now trying to climb the stairs of whatchamacallit, and I've spent over 2 hours trying and retrying and retrying. Not only are these orc thingies way to strong for a 1st quest, but dying and having to re-spawn in the camp only to have to do it all over again, is beyond frustrating, and doesn't make me want to continue playing this game. I nearly punched my brand new ultra-wide screen in a fit of frustration over this! What is the point of a save, if it doesn't save any of the progress except your stats?

[Tachyon]

The game has elements of random map generation in zones, which is why zones all have a default spawn point. You could appear inside scenery/objects otherwise. Save regularly using U key and you will reappear at the spawn point with all the loot and XP you have earned AND with all your gear and quest progress intact. No corpse runs. I'd say that's a very generous death system, frankly.

Take a shield with you, always, because you can keep your block up and take no damage using it if you manoeuvre right. In a similar fashion you can keep your block up with a 2-handed weapon and use AOE weapon strikes to several opponents at once. Chip away at the enemy while blocking, basically. Poke away, block/parry and use spells like wall of flame (I forget the exact name). Parry and strike at the right time, which is not that difficult, and your opponent(s) are stunned and go down.

Healing potions are cheap and even early on you can take 100+ with you. Bind them to the Z radial wheel - I bind them to key 1 - and with a quick holding down if the Alt key with my thumb and quick taps of the number 1 key I can drink a potion as fast as I can tap. It's pretty easy not to die if you fight smart and don't just stand there and try to face tank enemies. Anyway, as an aged gamer with stiff hands and no twitch skills I can go a couple of hours without dying... and if I do die, so what? With regular saves I lose nothing whatsoever... except a bit of time.

[Rickson]

Do some side quests or random exploration first, the point of an open world in an RPG is to have something to do if you need to get stronger. Bandit swordsmen in the same area at the roadblocks will drop a knightly claymore, that thing will one shot basic goblins with a strong attack. There's also a secret fishbone sword hidden somewhere there that's pretty strong. There's really only one part that I would say is unfair about that area; goblin packs respawn super fast. You can find yourself needing to backpedal and wind up having to fight the respawn of a group you just cleared.

[Tachyon]

There are some nice magic items out there, and some nice spellbooks to find and read, too. Yesterday I found an item that summons 6 militiamen to fight for me, for example. They're decent in a fight and of course they distract enemies from hitting me all the time. I put the item's location in the Unique Weapons thread, in which other good stuff can be found as well.

I got a very nice 50 damage, one-hand spiked mace last night, either dropped by a mob or looted from a standard chest. I am very pleased with it, to say the least! Used with a shield and some basic melee tactics I can handle most mobs with it.

[Rathner]

Its not too difficult honestly. I've been playing daggers which is one of the most balanced playstyles right now. I haven't had a single death. I recommend leveling up a bit and using abilities strategically. Focus ranged enemies first as they will tend to kill you the fastest. You also don't have to fight anything. You can avoid difficult fights pretty easily. Get yourself a couple mobility or CC skills too.

[Baron]

I've been using firearms and one handed, both seemed pretty balanced. It was a bit tough early on when I didn't have equipment or skills really, but I just did side quests and came back to what was giving me trouble after leveling up a bit.

Also I found death quite forgiving in that you just go back to a spawn point, don't really lose anything.

[Smaug Slayer]

you can quick save with "u" i think, and the druid chicken spell is busted

[roogun]

well, I don't have any problems so far. Using the starting spear + 1 Fire Skill (no potions yet). Those Goblins at the Steps were no problem, even the troll went down fast. I was lvl 5 when I reached the area, lvl 7 after stairs and dungeon.
Maybe due to having lots of experience with those kind of games, but -up to now- I don't find the game very dangerous. But I'm also always cautious and try to soften up enemies with range attacks (magic/bow), so most fights are relatively easy

[Tachyon]

Originally posted by roogun:

well, I don't have any problems so far. Using the starting spear + 1 Fire Skill (no potions yet). Those Goblins at the Steps were no problem, even the troll went down fast. I was lvl 5 when I reached the area, lvl 7 after stairs and dungeon.
Maybe due to having lots of experience with those kind of games, but -up to now- I don't find the game very dangerous. But I'm also always cautious and try to soften up enemies with range attacks (magic/bow), so most fights are relatively easy

Exactly the same with me. I was playing EQ1 back not long after it launched and have played countless single-player and online fantasy games. You soon learn caution simply in order to avoid disastrous corpse runs. In this game we keep everything as long as we save regularly. Use a weapon or shield to block and you're safe as houses. I too was about the same level as you when I completed the stairs.

Difficulty does ramp up, for example at the 3 Sisters I was mining a ton of iron there when I was jumped by gobbos. There are some tall ones that pack quite a a punch and I can only guess how much tougher mobs will eventually get.

[JimmyTheSaltyMelon]

this game is not that hard , how old are you may i ask

[Sir Prize Bard Sax]

Maybe you are using the wrong skills? I find it really easy once I've specced into Arcane,
you get heals, single-target, AOE. Electromancy is also pretty good. Melee definitely takes slightly more skill and health management

[Savvy_LK]

I used the grapple to handle easy goblins throw them down the stairs lol

[Pickles Are Fruit]

I've restarted a few times to get a skill-set I really jived with, and I managed to climb the steps around Lv5 with Necromancy, Cryomancy, Pyromancy, a mixture of Gun skills and Electromancy, and I think that's about it. Pyromancy is good, but if you can find the tombstone spell you'll breeze through everything. Wish I remembered where it was

[lordanthrax]

The game can be annoying with how fast mobs respawn in some places, but my suggestion? Learn Stealth. Practice killing things from a distance. I recommend the Pyro spell Cinder Bullet, especially once you get it to cause burning. Most enemies will just run around like idiots while you snipe them one by one. And if they do find you or get close, kill them with your melee attack of choice (I like Daggers).

[ASP69]

Get a knightly claymore and the tombstone spell and walk the earth like a god. And you really won't need the claymore. Oh and save the game frequently.

[Rathner]

Originally posted by Major Lee Stoned:

Get a knightly claymore and the tombstone spell and walk the earth like a god. And you really won't need the claymore. Oh and save the game frequently.

Tombstone is absolutely busted right now and is the most OP ability. It will trivialize most enemies and I don't recommend using it.