BoboTheMighty
SasqWatch
It's a party based combat ( by one aspect) that requires group coordination, but you don't have actual Tools for it...no advanced tactics setup or any kind of direct control.
Even the few input options that you do have ( Go! Come! Help!) , don't work right half the time...when ordered to fall back pawns will run back and forth or fail with support ( like with enchantments during combat).
Enemy AI is often simplistic with basic movement patterns, easily exploitable and poorly responds to a given situation...Sorcerer with it's 20 sec charge up spells would be unplayable otherwise.
They can also have insane HP and damage tresholds...Example: first time I ran up to Eliminator, bloody thing was completely unkillable. Twenty levels later: simply steamrolled through it, even with the most basic attacks. Not a matter of skill...only having stats/weapons strong enough to do enough damage.
In short: too much hp with too weak AI is an issue here and can lead to very tedious and repetitive combat at times.
Shoot an arrow to dragon's head, falls to the ground, target it's heart...repeat*100 times...half an hour later: dead.
Climbing can feel odd at times( like you're "glued" to it) and would work better if it was done in shorter time frame, but had more quick, devastating effects.
On the other hand, when using combination of periapts and something like blast arrows, you easily slaughter everything under a minute...the game is very unbalanced, in abilities and items.
Pawn AI also has a lot of issues, regardless of given orders.
Basic attacks are unimpressive ( mage, warrior, etc) , with poor hit sounds ( like in Dark Souls, weapons sound like they're made of wood...compare them with how it's done in Blade of Darkness) and hit reactions from enemies...sometimes literally walking out of your attacks or in the extreme stunlocking them to death.
Soft lock also feels inprecise at times, especially at sprinting/quickly stopping or when surrounded... like targetting a Lich above you, with zombies on the ground.
Restrictive skills use also cripples strategy and versatility...this can be an issue, because proper setup can make a world of difference and sometimes adds tedious back and forth.
Like in Skyrim, potions/items are immediately effective while the game freezes, removing any strategic aspect of it. At higher levels when you're swimming in $, it can break game balance even further.
In base game, also enemy encounters can be very repetitive( wolves, goblins, bandits, harpies...90% of the time, with higher level variations, but little difference otherwise). Sometimes they also re spawn right next to you, even during combat.
Combat/Progression also has plenty of positives: some of the best abilities design I've seen in ARPG, pawns and their "learning" process, flexible and interesting builds, variety of armors/weapons( even rusty weapons can be very useful), excellent archery, interactive skills, stronger strategic aspect you don't see often in these types of games.
But there is a LOT of room for improvement here.
In summary it was fun for about 30 hours, now it's a chore. And some of the design decisions - like swapping skills out at an inn - are simply mind-bogglingly poor. I get that limiting your skills adds a 'strategic element', but forcing you to travel 100 miles back to town to reset them - is simply not fun. In other games that attempt this, I could choose different skills outside of combat - so I could prepare for an upcoming combat. Sure, if you have a port stone you can portal back to town, swap in, and then jump back. But you may not…and the combat wil have to wait (along with your urgent quest) as you walk back to gran soren, swap out and then walk back. And for me, the absolutely worst element - why I abandoned dark souls - is complete respawning of everything every N hours. Absolutely destroys immersion and makes the game a dreary grind.