Died immediately

[MobyPhallus]

Wtf? I played for about 20 minutes, went outside the town walls and promptly died to two bandits immediately outside the town gates. Am I just supposed to run from bandits (and every other kind of enemy) until I somehow get good armor and weapons? What do I do at the start of the game when I leave the first town? Some reviews said this combat is "like dark souls" but that cannot be further from the truth, this combat is extremely clunky and slow and unresponsive.

[Typhoon]

its really weird, if you are playing solo that is partly the reason why as the game heavily makes solo unfair entirely. This game is meant to be played with a friend (or if you have mods like me two +) as in the beginning of the game its more just: "STAB STAB HIT HIT" then your friend: "STAB STAB HIT HIT" with random crappy weapons found off of dead bodies. So if you need help there are plenty of people that are also in search for a partner to play with. Im still fairly new so even im still learning the game too.

[D'amarr from Darshiva]

Originally posted by MobyPhallus:

Wtf? I played for about 20 minutes, went outside the town walls and promptly died to two bandits immediately outside the town gates.

Not "immediately", but quite a bit further down the road. That said, you can also be slain by those cute little birds, if you underestimate them.

Originally posted by MobyPhallus:

Am I just supposed to run from bandits (and every other kind of enemy) until I somehow get good armor and weapons?

No. You choose the tools to do the job: traps, skills, weapon coatings (not limited to poison or fire), food, ranged attacks, strategies and tactics (such as kiting or luring bandits to beasts). However, exploring the area and avoiding combat can be a very good idea while collecting a bit of junk and plants and stuff to turn into cash. Everything has its price in this game, particularly skills.

Originally posted by MobyPhallus:

What do I do at the start of the game when I leave the first town?

Depends. In case you leave it because you're working on your first quest to save your house, there are much easier alternatives. You can make 150 silver while staying within the village. You can also leave town through the storage caverns, and if you take bandages with you, it's the easiest way to gain the tribal favor without spoilering too much.
Else, as above. Find ways how to make some coins.

Originally posted by MobyPhallus:

Some reviews said this combat is "like dark souls" but that cannot be further from the truth, this combat is extremely clunky and slow and unresponsive.

Not true at all. Perhaps it's your first impression after a rage quit. Early on, you absolutely need to invest into different types of food for steady health/stamina regeneration. Just trying to survive in heavy armor early will be a bad idea.

[D'amarr from Darshiva]

Originally posted by Typhoon:

its really weird, if you are playing solo that is partly the reason why as the game heavily makes solo unfair entirely. This game is meant to be played with a friend

It's a single player game with a split-screen or online coop addon feature. Single players don't need any special player skill to have fun in this game. It just works, there are enough options for some variety (3 out of 8 classes to choose from for multi-class character building), and the game isn't difficult or anything like that. Also, its main quest is rather short. Various dungeons with tough boss enemies are completely optional. I'm not anything like a gifted action games player, and if I can do it, many others will consider it much too easy.

[Ebrim]

So when I very first started playing my favorite thing to do was to make various creatures on the map fight each other so I wouldn't have to.

That said, as you learn the game and the mechanics you'll find it really isn't all that hard. What you probably shouldn't be doing is running around spoiling for a fight, especially in the beginning as you don't have many tricks yet to turn combat in your favor. Remember, you're just an ordinary person and ordinary people don't do well when outnumbered. Instead of rushing into a fight assuming you can win because they're just bandits look for ways to gain an advantage before you even begin fighting. That could using skills creatively, setting traps, using a bow/flintlock (probably not in the beginning), or getting hyenas to fight the bandits. :D Also, ask yourself why you're fighting those guys on the road - is it a necessary fight? Do you have much to gain from it? (if some guys are desperate enough to be bandits on the road they're probably not rich)

TL;DR: the best combat advice I have for anyone in Outward is to win the fight before you begin fighting.

[D'amarr from Darshiva]

Burac, the guard at the city gate, offers a free combat skill for the weapon your character is currently using when you want to pass the gate for the first time. You can use this opportunity to learn a nice skill like "Juggernaut" (for 2H blunt weapons) or "Moon Swipe" (for 2H halberds). Such a weapon and skill combination can do wonders early on. All that is necessary is to keep an eye on your stamina level as not to get exhausted while fighting. To make it more fun, with a 2H blunt weapon, such as a great hammer, the special attack pushes away enemies with high force. Later in the game with much better weapons with high impact, this looks really good.