It sounds like you just really needed to get that colorfully-worded rant out of your system, but I just have to ask:
And without a pause option it's utterly impossible to get buffs on all 4 of your toons because the inventory system is useless and the quickslots are too limited and fiddly to scroll through in a hurry so by the time you've buffed your last toon the buffs on the first one are expired.
What would be the benefit/use of a "pause" option in a TURN-based combat game? I just don't get it; it already pauses indefinitely every turn for every character to act. O.o
Also, if you've hit a combat that is way too hard, you're probably not doing the right thing or in the right place, or there are other things (quests?) you could do first to gain more XP/levels and then go back. Just a guess since you're past where I am.
