Part of the balancing issue is tied to the open map system; it's easy to wander into areas that are too tough. In that respect, it's not so much balancing as it is a non-linear map that, while flexible, also allows you to enter areas that may be too difficult.
Once Tamara is in your head, she does give some warning if you may be out of your element. Before then (and critically, while the player is still learning game mechanics), there is no such hint system and the newbie is left to the try-and-die method.
That said, my overall impression is that the pacing from one combat to the next could use a bit of fine-tuning. There does seem to be a sense that, while battles are survivable, you are fighting tooth-and-nail each time. It's fine if some battles are like that, but those should be part of elite encounters, "special" and challenging. However, when the player is battling generic grunts, this is a good time soften the difficulty, allow the player to shine and be the heroic Slayer that the story alludes to. Fine-tuning the pacing like this will create a sense of ebb and flow in the hero's life, moments where he is mighty and cuts through pathetic hordes, interspersed with desperate epic battles against champions and their minions.
Fin
P.S. The "wet behind the ears" type text under Stat mouse-over descriptions feels out of place. Even at lvl 1, NPCs are treating the player as an elite warrior, inducted into the elite Slayers. Yet according to the text, frail ladies beat you at arm wrestling. Necessary?
