I guess this is the direct result of claims of the opposite for the original game. Like a pendulum swinging from one extreme into an other, perhaps ?

I'm on Sentinel Island now, and my love for this game keeps growing. I think DKS is the most "Gothic-like" game I've played that's not made by Piranha Bytes.

It's really a shame that the PC version never got a retail release in NA and that it wasn't advertised better over here. This truly is a great crpg (so far).

Please just give us a hint later if dragon parts are a pain like in Ego Draconis.
I don't mean the area where you play partially as a dragon (fjords), but the areas you go from there where you're a dragon 99% of the time. Can't remember their names…

Other than that, I really liked Orobas fjords, since they provided quite unique experience with all the vertical exploration and dragon-ing :).

I don't get the complaints about the Orobas Fjords. I've been exploring that area since yesterday and enjoying it as much as the previous areas.

I'm a bit pissed off about something though…

I think it´s just those flying fortresses, which people probably count in when talking about their Orobas fjords experiences.
As I mentioned in the above spoiler post, I think these can quite significantly taint the overall impression of the game´s second half if more time is spent in them, which is why I suggested (and suggest) going through them as fast as possible and not bothering with any on foot combat in their exterior parts at all. "Clearing" them fucks up the pacing as well as otherwise well maintained balance between combat, exploration and questing.
Good thing about DKS is that doing this is not only possible, but also that by doing so you loose very little.
In Ego Draconis, not only were the exterior parts less straightforward, but players were likely also forced to do grinding in them, because difference between player´s and enemies´ levels played a lot more significant role in combat.

Is it meant for the player to complete all the quests in the Orobas Fjords before travelling to Aleroth?

No, it´s not.

Hmm I'm in Stone's flying fortress now, and this Stone guy seems *way* overpowered. He kills me in 2-3 hits, even after drinking a potion of extreme strength. I'm currently level 30. He shows as being level 27, but he hits like he's level 40 or something. Wtf?

A lot of the named characters in flying fortresses can be a bit tough, and Stone is exceptionally hard. I remember spamming potions when I needed to. I usually did a battle charge or a vortex slash (can't remember the correct name) then jumped away immediately after.

Fortunately, the others should be a bit of a breeze and they don't seem to hit nearly as hard, but they're usually accompanied by one or two others.