"At the moment, my primary defense is shutting the enemy down first."
I agree and I also always go for this strategy
!
BUT : in my previous playrounds I've experienced that if my party their Initiative is rather low there're many battles where the enemy is the FIRST to attack and many times rangers or mages shoot a spell that imediately take out (frozen/stunned/pertified/knock down/etc) one or more of my party for 3 rounds !
Then I spend ability points to willpower especially & to be honest : it was a big help ! Now almost always the spells of the enemies failled .
But on my current playround I have a ranger and mage with high(er) Initiative and so far (level 5/6) each battle I take the FIRST step(s), not the enemy
!
Having at least 2 of your party with a high Initiative is imo "one" of the tactical steps for
"Offense is the best Defense !"
Sometimes the battle is almost over before the enemies can do that much
Funny to look at !
Looking at the Battle of Stabbey's Inquisitor I don't have the impression that his party use any defensive spells like shields or "immune to ..." spells ? Please, correct me if I'm wrong !
Personally I don't like to use such defensive spells ... I've tried some of them .
