@OP: Lot of balance work required indeed, which is probably not helped by the fact that most of the feedback on this forum is random crap like people fighting about level scaling, how you can't use the fishnets in Cyseal or the female model wearing high heels.
Quoted for truth !
Not to mention people reporting benches facing the wrong direction and stuff.
On the topic though : I often refer to Baldur's Gate when discussing D:OS features, and the fact that potential companions and hirelings aren't displayed in a different fashion is clearly a non issue. In BG, companions weren't really standing out either. And in both BG and D:OS, if you choose not to speak to everyone, well, it just falls to logic that you aren't going to find who is willing to share a quest with you, or even follow you.
About the fact mobs outside of the very first town are "several level higher than you", I really do not know what you're talking about. D:OS does you the courtesy of showing you the mobs level. If you run right into the charred area where creatures are level 7, with your level 2 hero, what do you expect ? Sometimes, sure, you didn't even saw the creatures before the fight is started : well either flee, die, or win.
Overall this is back to discussing the benefit of autoscaling vs handplaced/fixed creatures. I'd like to advise you to play Migh and Magic X : legacy, which is a dungeon crawler RPG featuring handplaced, fixed level encounters. Except you do not have any hints at what their levels are. And you just die repeatedly trying to find the intended path. Let me assure you that D:OS is far more forgiving than that, but the fixed level encounters still act as "do not go there yet" or "you can go there" indicators.
Blacksmith in town, well, actually, there was one. You'd just have to go into a particular cellar and read the books you find there. SURE, gameplay wise, there aren't any REAL blacksmiths left in the town, but there WAS one
Ok that was nitpicking of me.
And again, though, I really do not understand why people would expect exploration in a fantasy RPG to be a field trip. I mean, the town is literally besieged by undead and orcs, what would you expect? To just walk the road and not be bothered because you want to bring back pictures of the famous Cyseal lighthouse?
In games such as D:OS, exploring IS fighting. Now if everything was good and there wasn't the undead or orcs matters, well I'd be annoyed to have to fight every two steps I take. But right now it's like thinking you can go carelessly walk into a minefield and be back home with all your limbs ( at best ).
