Why do I always seem to be slightly underleveled? (spoilers)

[Sarsben]

I'm just wondering if I'm stupid or if this game just has a really steep curve in the enemy level progression relative to the amount of experience you can earn, because there have been at least three times so far when things have really slowed down for me because I'm having trouble finding enemies or quest content that aren't about one level above my own, and I end up having to scour the game for every possible opportunity to earn a few exp before I can easily do anything else.

Not that it's impossible to kill enemies that are one level higher, but it gets to be a bit of a pain when the best chance to hit I can muster is about 72% without spamming buffs. It's just strange to me because this is the exact opposite of the problem I have with most RPGs-- I'm a fairly obsessive completionist in these types of games, and tend to spend so much time completing every side quest and exploring every corner of every map that I'm usually ridiculously overleveled for story content. For reference, I've got over 80 hours in the game so far, I think I've done almost every side quest it's possible to do by this point, and I just got to Sacred Stone in Luculla. My whole party is just slightly shy of level 14, and all those damn desert spiders and Jareth give me too much trouble when I'm lucky to hit them half the time.

I hate to imagine trying to play this game without doing almost everything along the way.

[Dopefisher]

What difficulty do you have it set to? This can make a huge difference.

[Stabbey]

The game has a definite steady level progression, but the game does a poor job of nudging you in the intended direction. I think Level 14 is good for Sacred Stone and the High Plains.

Did you do Hiberheim and Luculla Mine? I assume you did, but missing those and ending up in a higher-leveled area is fairly easy to do.

[Sarsben]

I'm fairly sure I was playing on Normal, or whatever this game's version of Normal is, but I may have to double check that. And yeah, I did Hiberheim but haven't finished the mine. I haven't found a way to deal with the death knights, so I had assumed that was something I was supposed to do a bit later. I was probably wrong.

In any case, I'm not complaining, as I'm loving the game so far. I'm just surprised that there have been a few points where I've had to actually go out of my way to level up in order to do the story, even with my excessive exploring and side questing, which is fairly atypical for most RPGs I've played, and I was curious whether others have had similar problems. Usually following the core story path will keep you around the right level in most games, and side questing will put you above where you need to be.

Mainly I just wanted to get the rest of my party up to 14 before I try throwing myself at those spiders again or attempt to finish Bairdotr's quest, since that's the level of the enemies in question. Guess maybe I should check back around the mines and troll cave areas again.

[Raze_Larian]

You have to sneak or use invisibility to avoid the Death Knights in the mines. Once you get through that section, you'll discover a way to deal with them in the future.

[Sarsben]

Right, thanks. I've just poked around the mines some more and found where I was missing stuff. One of my hunters is a sneaky roguey type so usually solo stealthy recon is the first thing I'll try, but it hadn't occurred to me that it would actually be required at any point so I assumed I should save the mine for later.

Also, I hadn't noticed I could blow up the cave-in piles. Oops.

[Neonivek]

If you play the game as secretly intended you usually end up overleveled.

[CursedPanther]

Originally posted by Neonivek:

If you play the game as secretly intended you usually end up overleveled.

Play the game secretly? Like playing it in the attic in the middle of the night with locked door and ♥♥♥♥...? :P

I think you mean 'discreetly' right?

[Neonivek]

I don't know how I put secretly in here... even discreetly doesn't work. I guess I added an extra word.

The only issue is that where the game expects you to go next isn't always obvious. It isn't unusual to play the tougher areas first and then the easier ones later.