I really enjoyed this game. I played through with my main characters using Expert Marksman and Scoundrel exclusively. I emphasized things like Leadership and Charisma on one character, and Crafting/Lockpicking/Pickpocketing on the other. I only used Madora and Jahan. Jahan I had with Pyro/Hydro/Areo. Here are some observations I made...
I played in Tactician Mode. The game was pretty difficult at times early on, but as the game went up, it got significantly easier. The Braccus Rex fight was one of the most difficult. So I just ignored it and went on to Silverglen. I came back and killed Braccus when I was level 11 (he's level 9). He died pretty easily. I was slightly under level at Luculla Forest, but I did most of Luculla before I did Hiberheim, which meant Hiberheim (level 11 creatures) was super easy, because I was level 13+.
It worked out in the end, because I was facing level 19-20 creatures as I was myself 19-20 in Phantom Forest. However, the easiest fights in the game were the last two fights.
I had something like 400,000 gold by the end of the game. I had so much gold I didn't know what to do with it, and I had too many items to sell that I couldn't find anyone to buy them all without having to go around to countless merchants. Gold became a useless resource.
I had a ridiculous number of scrolls. I didn't use them nearly as much as I could have, probably because it was just easier to use whichever spell I needed to. I think scrolls would be more useful to me if I had not had Jahan (or any wizard type).
Crafting is pretty awesome, but pretty useless. I never crafted any armor/weapon/jewelry items for use -- only to sell them to make gold, which was useful very early in the game, but as gold became easier and easier to get, it became pointless.
Arrows are almost too plentiful. I had something like 150 Silver arrows (because Silver bars are ONLY used for Silver arrowheads), and TONS of Explosive Fire arrows. The other arrows weren't as good, and it was easier to make fire resist potions than it is to buy essences for the others.
Also the debuff potions do absolutely nothing. They aren't used for any crafting anymore in Enhanced Edition.
I had stockpiles of Tenebrium bars (200+). They're only used one at a time for adding tenebrium damage to a weapon, but how often do you upgrade weapons? Not THAT often! And the end game weapons already come with Tenebrium damage.
Furthermore, the Bowstring can't be applied to a Bow that has Tenebrium damage on it, for whatever reason.
The only Grindstone/Whetstone Wheel for the first half of the game is in Cyseal so you have to constantly trek back there for the weapon upgrade (this is before Tenebrium weapons, so you're switching weapons a lot). There's no whetstone wheel in Silverglen. Very confused about that.
The only potions I ever used were healing potions and then constitution/armor on my tank. I never needed anything else, which is a shame.
I used grenades ALL the time. They are super powerful. In fact, they are vastly more powerful than Arrows. Maybe that's because the Expert Marksman talents are vastly superior in damage to the Scoundrel talents. (Although Scoundrel has some VERY good tech skills like the teleport and hovering.)
I think this is an absolutely excellent game, but it's just too easy, and crafting, while expansive, isn't useful for the vast majority of things (outside of making grenades and arrows). For instance, crafting skillbooks has way too many requirements vs just buying the skillbook. It would be a completely different game for instance if skillbooks were never sold and could only be crafted. That would put a twist on things!
