How about changing sufaces with granades? There is plenty of those and in DOS2 you don't miss with those (at least for now) so you can be pretty sure about your changes.
I finished the game like 3 times + 10 hours in different stages of the game (new runs, different encounters from save file) and didn't had a single idea about "too many surfaces". I knew everything I was doing and only sudden new skill from opponent changed whole game plan. I used to stun my own chars in blood pools to stun one-two enemies.
It's not that hard to take 2-3 minutes to play out a turn in stratefy based game you know.
Maybe blood drops a bit silly, but just a bit. It's a game you know so it's normal to loose enormous amout of blood and then eat a cheese or go to sleep and gain all health back. This is not a survival game.
About barrels. Maybe 10-15% of them are in stupid positions not more. Most of camps and cities need those to actually drink water and supply torches with oil. Also archers used to lit their arrows with oil and fire. Most barrels in marshes are near some kind of camps or ruins. Agree that it's stupid to have barrel of oil near a ruin that is lik 400 years old, but hey it's a game you know and once again, use them smartly, don't let AI use them, 'cause it's better to have initiative on your side against AI 2.0
