This is exactly my problem, especially as someone who doesn't like combat in RPGs generally to begin with. Not everyone who plays RPGs is a hardcore gamer, and I'd wager hardcore gamers are actually a very small minority of players. I myself am decidedly NOT a hardcore gamer, but I love playing RPGs precisely for all the outside-of-combat goodness and fun and joy I get from an RPG. So when an RPG's combat options are (a) use gimmicks and cheesy exploits to win, or (b) get party-wiped again and again because I am not so hardcore a player who sets up my combat tactics perfectly, then that is just pure frustration and aggravation.
I am probably the total opposite of you being that I enjoy harder combats and tactical gameplay but I consider myself more of a masochistic gamer rather than a hardcore gamer.
It can be hard for them to keep all the different types of players happy for sure, so there definitely need to be difficulty settings for everyone. As it is now, I don't even think a lot of people would even think the ridiculous stuff existed unless they looked up gameplay and guides before playing it. Not everyone does or wants to do this. Driving away people who do not know about this stuff or even those who do but don't want to be forced into using it to make combat less complicated is not a good idea.
By far the largest influence on the difficulty of an encounter is whether you have already played it, and know what will happen. This far outweighs your skill with the rules, and whether or not you choose to use Larian's questionable mechanics.
It shouldn't be balanced with the assumption that everyone knows what will happen. I agree the dice definitely make a difference in the difficulty, but if the encounter can be salvaged by using the stupid stuff and the player doesn't realize this because they play with a more logical mind rather than thinking of stupid gimmicks to cheese an encounter, then they may fail. Too much of this failing makes many people unhappy, balancing encounters without expecting the use of gimmicks might keep them playing.
Honest to god, the BEST answer, is that Larian makes absolutely sure that all of this is able to be adjusted via mods. I have absolutely no reason to believe that 'balance' is a concern here.
Simply allow us to fully mod the game (and Explosive Arrows, Spells, Ground Effects, Hight Advantage, and Barrels are ALL able to be modded out) in every capacity, and no problem.
I would MUCH rather that be the primary focus from Larian. Every could be happy then.
This would be great but I still hold some hope that they will change things without us having to resort to mods. Would love to see menu options to get rid of all that, if not then I guess I have to stop being lazy and learn how to mod stuff myself.
