Ok, so with the new patch I started a new game, and as per usual I chose to fight against the two drunk soldiers on the beach for exp points and +1 independant (who'd want to be obediant, right?).
Anyways, with the corrections to armor calculations and, subsequently corrections to the damage with melee and ranged weapons, I find myself in a somewhat unfair fight, seeing as where I hit for 3-6 damage with the starting sword and 1-4 with the starting bow, the sword/shield soldier (Junius) strikes between 15-25 per melee attack and the bow soldier (Bibius) strikes from 13 to 22 with bow and around 8-12 with dagger.
(All damages are approximations based on a limited amount of attempts and do not necessarily represent the actual scale of a**kicking you will receive in this fight.)
This does limit your course of action to being an obedient dog (NOOOOOO!!!) and going with the soldier escort service, or alternatively you can get yourself killed before the game truly begins.
Thought I'd point this out for future starting area balance changes.
