did boss at light house and cleared a few level 5 groups but now stuck only fight available to my level 4 group or 4 is 8 tier 5 or tier 6 orcs on beach otherwise all tier 7 and 8. have i missed something?
I don't know what to do with 2 underground rooms i found that each have 4 elemental clicky stones , maybe that's the clue?

Split up your party for the elemental puzzle.

Have you done Arhu's quest yet (Arhu's failed experiment)?

After people were gaining too much exp without even doing everything, they went and toned down the exp gain. This was back during beta. So, as it stands right now, you kind of want to do every little exp rewarding thing possible as soon as you can. That means quests, fights at your level, secrets, waypoints.

At least in the early levels, it's almost mandatory to do every little thing to keep up with the level of the next area you should go to.

It's a shame. I was really trying to play this game without ANY look at walk throughs or hints but being stuck by lack of XP is forcing me. I cant find ANY fights i have a even a remote chance of (already done many fights Over my level lv4 vs lv5 etc) and got extra exploration points sneaking into higher levels. but i am still stuck.
cant figure out the 2 rooms with elemental pillars either, been clicking alternatly in boths rooms there for ages but apart from getting damaged occasionally I cant see any pattern at all.
Pity there is no hints in game.
I don't know Arhu quest cant find it.
starting to wish i had joined the 5 adventurer group might have given XP but it is a rpg and i didn't like them.
I can try answer the ghost questions if i can find his book somewhere.

I'm with you Ryko. But i did it without reading for tips on playing the game . Starting of the game, you have limited gold and you need to save for it to buy the 'essential' skillbooks. Also be sure you are 4 party members (not 2). And there's alot of stuff that you can do to gain XP without combat.

The 5 adventurer group doesn't give more xp. There is basically no real bad choice from a gameplay point of view, so feel free to role play your way as you did.

The "no hint" and open approach is actually a feature and not a bug. As for the turn by turn combat, this is to revive the old crpg experience. Still I must say some puzzle and quest are unfair at time and require solution that might be seen as cheesing. But on average, resolving a quest is more "rewarding" this way.

As for your problem, a lot of xp can be acquired without even leaving the town. Since you did the lighthouse, you might want to report it to aureus for a lot of xp.

By the by, the two identical rooms puzzle gives you the answer straight up, if you interpret it right.

Read the spoiler if you give up on solving the twin rooms puzzle and want an almost solution:

im pretty sure, apart from answering the shost in gy questions if i can finda book i cant see any other quest I can do. they all seem to be in areas with high level mobs. I dont mind a tough fight i have to try 3 or 4 times. but my groupo of 4 lv4 cant beat 8 level 5s. and thats the lowest mob i can see.
I did the talking head question and i talked to ghost at light house. ..
another thing I cant really tell from journal if quest is completed or not
makes it tricky
I have tried throwing my pyramid all over the place trying to bypass mobs too but no go! I have questioned everyone at least twice and don't see any new conversation options.
I guess i will have to try find this book but i doubt that quest will give much XP anyway!
maybe i just need to buy lots of potions and try the level 7 mobs!

Thanks. i jagged one room got 4 fires on pillars and then a mystery opponent turned up and now theres a trapdoor but i cannot get the other room. tbh i have trouble telling wtf the symbols are. i mean i can get fire, but then theres one looks like two backward C's one might be a cloud and one black rhomboid with a green teardrop.
the CC makes lightning in other room, the square with green makes something drop and break maybe pottery? the cloud one makes fire and the flame one makes poison. but i tried all combinations of clicking the four switches and i still get no opponent in the second room.
edit just clicked and clicked and eventually by chance must've got right combo some nice loot but not much Xp. atm i really need XP badly so i can go new areas!

There is an option to hide the completed quest in the quest log.

After the lighthouse the expected area to do is either the south east beach with the orc or the north area through a tunnel where arhu experiment is located. Monster are level 5/6 in these area.

West area should be left for later.

do you mean south west beach/orc? they too strong for me at level 4 same with north.

Yes I somehow confused west and east.

It's true its better to be at least level 5 to attempt these area. There is definitly some quest not started in town. How far are you in the murder investigation?

not far..Discovered thre body has disappeared from morgue but i cant find it, also overall have 4 suspects. I've questioned them all and they dont seem to lead anywhere.
mayor cecil
captain aureus
evelyn
esmeralda

As for any investigation, you need to find proof before confronting them. This can be done with at least 2 different way and without leaving town.

In addition, solving undead problem for Aureus yield a ton of xp, and you already did the hardest with the lighthouse fight. With this fight + the xp reward, you should already be level 5.

Did you find the area under the town? There is some level 4 fight and a lot of exploration xp. There is 4 way to get in.

Did you take the pet pal talent? It is the main source of ingame tips and ways to resolve quests.

I tend to be a bit cryptic because I don't want to spoil your game.

Thanks i think i got the underground area, came up in the abandoned house and so on, just had an epic fight with the 8 lv5s, managed to kill all the ranged, then my only remaining member a mage kited the 4 melee around until summon elemental was back up haha i need more resurrection scrolls or a resurrect skill would be nice ( if there is such a skill ), Now i can enter a cave !
they all 5.5 now

There is a witchcraft resurrection skill but with a pretty high levelcap (16 afaik).

i did a bit more on murder investigation but Im still always fighting mobs ONE level above me. its too frustrating. i think i might start again maybe i missed something earl;y on, and also i need that animal chat ability.
When i was level 3 i was always facing level 4 monster
when i was level 4 It was always level 5 opponents
Now I'm level 5 and only fight is against level 6!

If they're only 1 lvl higher then you, it shouldn't be too big of a hassle to turn the tide of battle your way. Use the elements to your advantage (even if you have to create them yourself )

Also, don't forget this is a game made by Belgians, so your "Rainfall" spell is pretty damn potent if you know how to use it

Im on evelyn fight team are all level 6, now so should be equal fight.
but Im being totally smashed each attempt, even one time i killed the evelyn boss before i lost anyone but still had no chance.
If i use rain 2-3 of my team get stunned and miss too many turns. if i dont use rain evelyn and co fire bomb take all the hp. cant find a strategy yet...

That's probably one of the hardest fights in the game. You could try heading somewhere else and levelling a bit before attempting it if it's too difficult, or mixing up tactics, buying consumables, improving your equipment/skills etc.

Tip: let Jahan cast "Biter Cold" on 1 of the orcs, so you don't have that many going your way. "Rain" makes people not only wet, but also cold so that 1 casting of "Biter Cold" already freezes them.

It doesn't make them 'Chilled', I think is what you meant. But it does freeze since both wet+chilled = freeze and chilled+chilled = freeze.

No orcs in that fight, but it's possible the enemy are weak to water damage since they seem to be fire-heavy.

Hard fight indeed. Your first turn is of utmost importance for the outcome of the battle.
Here are several tips for opening the fight:

Charm the hell-charred skelly sergeant or something with a charm arrow or a thief charming touch (optional divine light power to ensure success during the 3 turn duration). It will summon an archer who will also fight to your side for the duration of the charm. One charm = -1 enemy, + 2 allies.

The hell ram are set to explode when killed. They have very low hp; one teleport should be enough to kill it and trigger the explosion where you want it. Avoid using after opening since the fire explosion can heal some fire based enemies.

The enemy are very close to each other. A static cloud arrow can stun everyone (repeatable every 2 turn), short of evelyn which will likely save against it. Boulder dash is also very effective.

Spread your party to limit damage of second turn Evelyn fireball.