I just seem to hop from brutal battle to brutal battle frantically quicksaving and loading just to make it through. That just says to me it's too difficult. I'd expect that sort of thing mid/end-game time, not in the starting area. Anyway as you say I can switch to easy, we'll see.
I play on Hard and honestly the first time I tried to fight a group of 7 that was 1 level above me, I spent 2 hours reloading on that single fight (Lighthouse). Even after I learned to use a barrel and 1 shot 3 of the 7 mobs, I still couldn't do it. I ended up rerolling to change some class/henchman stuff (more personal preference than due to difficulty), but after many more hours of combat I learned I was just playing poorly.
When I say 'you have to utilize everything you have', I really mean it. Terrain, positioning, engaging, talents, CC, environment, combos (poison/fire). If you skimp on these and are not 1-2 levels above what you're fighting, you will die. Position your melee toward the front when the fight starts, but let them sit the first turn (unless something is in range to CC). This forces enemy melee to use AP to get to you, and you bank AP, so next turn you can instantly start on the offensive with your melee. Use your status effects, use your talents (if a mob is knocked down and your Ranger has bully, hit the knocked down mob), use it all.
I have noticed that 1 level makes a big difference. Not sure if that's behind the scenes in rolls, or what, but fighting at the same level vs. 1 level behind is actually significant. If you're behind in levels, play extra safe.
If you can catch my stream live, I'd be happy to walk through some general combat tactics in whatever encounter I'm currently in, and can answer questions. Maybe it'd help you to see what exactly we're talking about (since most of us are echoing the same ideas in this thread), at least for myself I find
seeing stuff a lot more helpful than reading. I run a Rogue/Fighter/Mage/Ranger setup, and I'm on twitch @ thesircuddles.
At the end of the day though, this game, compared to your average game, is actually very difficult, especially at the start. So don't feel bad about not stomping it, you're just in the middle of your initial learning curve.
