Ignore the residence troll... his opinion just flocks around to whatever makes Larian look worst, even if he contradicts himself...
Am I the only person who started this game (and pretty much any other) by clicking every single icon on the HUD to see their functionality? Of which the skillbook was one of the first?
The gates do mention you being unprepared (but you can overrule it if you want). The beach gate doesn't, but I think the lvl 7 orc who talks to you is there as subtle hint... "this is a lvl 7 area" still allowing you access to various loots found on the corpses there.
Monsters getting a lot of attacks is usually the response of skipping turns (either due to bugs or you stunning them). If they finally get their turn, they have a lot of AP to burn. Enemies attacking every round don't have these saved up points.
And yes, as people stated, this is an old-school RPG. Like Baldur's Gate (II) no-one is going to point out they're companions. Talk to everyone, explore the entire city. Do quests. Don't go storming out to find monsters to kill... there's a lot of stuff to find. In the city alone you can probably level up, and find some extreme improvements to your gear compared to what you carry.
I don't quite get why everyone seems to storm out gates? (Please tell me why)
