I Have clocked 88 hours in the game so far, 3 playthrougs of EA with several "one shot" characters.
And I don't agree with much of what OP said.
I don't think characters are particularly hostile, some of them are, but hey look at the situation they are in? The Setpiece battles aren't all that prevalent imo. But some combats have a lot of compatants, that's annoying at times.
Surfaces, sure need to be toned down imo. I would like to see 5e be followed more, but I don't really mind it.
As for combat difficulty: First playthrough, 3 players, 3 character party, no cleric in the party, not at all optimized builds, managed fine. You just need to learn the house rules of the game really, like what gives advantage and disadvantage. What items to stock up on etc. Could it be optimized? Sure Goblins being better than MM? Have you never used custom creatures? Bog standard goblins get boring after a while. Most annoying thing about them is the surfaces, so if you tone that down, I think Goblins are just fine. Also most goblins have about 8-14 HP if I recall correctly. That put's the, at just 1-2 HP over MM.
Yes the game needs some balance tweaking, but I've enjoyed every 88 hours I've played.
