I find combat easier now and less frustrating. Basically, to make the tutorial easier, they dumbed down the imps, no longer making them resistant to most physical damage types. As a result, they are almost too easy. Same with Intellect Devourers. Now they are super easy to kill and not worthy of true Intellect Devourers and Imps. This is how the game is now throughout. Either it's almost too easy or insanely difficult... at least up to where I am admitedly.
My suggestion is to implement a system of difficulty that is more intuitive and intelligent. Use D&D standard Challenge Rating System and stats as a base. Then, instead of dumbing down enemies the system determines what levels your characters are at and your party size when you come to an encounter. So, a party of four adventurers can fight an enemy of CR equal to the party’s level without suffering any significant losses. So, in the Prologue, for example, when it is just the MC and Lae'zel, a single Imp has a CR of 1. That means that a party of 4 could handle a single imp without significant losses. You only have 2 at this time, so a group of 3 imps is WAY too tough for two Level 1 characters. However, if you are playing multiplayer, you may have a party of 5 by this point; 4 players and Lae'zel. So suddenly a single imp is not longer a huge deal. Still, a group of 3 imps would be a challenge even for a party of 5.
So my solution? The game recognizes party size and Level. It determines that there is only 1 MC and Lae'zel. Thus, two of the imps die before the player even initiates combat via an explosion. A single imp is a challenge to be sure against 2 members, so the game would even damage the only surviving imp so that he also has damage reduced by 50%. Now, a single imp against a party of 2 is not as big a threat especially for a tutorial. If you have Us with you, then you would have all 3 imps to fight, since Us is an Intellect Devourer and adds a considerably powerful ally to the group especially if Us was able to use his Body Thief ability and take over an imps body, like he should be able to do.
Now, moving on to the fight against the Intellect Devourers after you meet Shadowheart on the beach. Same thing could apply. Intellect Devourers are a CR 2. That means a full party of 4 adventurers could take on 1 Intellect Devourer without suffering significant losses. So, let's say it's just you and Shadowheart? Nope! 3 is too many. Instead of dumbing down the Intellect Devourers so they are weaklings like they have currently, Larian could again implement a reduction system. Not every enemy you fight is at full health. These things just crashed in a ship and suffered serious damage. Game determines it's just you and Shadowheart, so although you might fight 3 Intellect Devourers, the game reduces their HP by 75%. So, instead of 21 HP, should would maybe have 5 HP each. Keep in mind that they SHOULD have damage resistance also, so 5 HP is still a lot of HP per creature at this early a stage in the game. If my fighter only does 4 damage with my weapon, that only takes 2 off the Devourer. AND THERE'S 3 OF THEM who can suck your brain and take over your bodies!
Same scenario if you have multiplayer with 4 players. Add Shadowheart to the party (still fighting for at least a party of 6) and you have 5 party members to face the 3 Devourers. That's still a lose-lose fight because a party of 5 even at this point would have a tough time taking on 2 let alone 3. So, again, reduce their HP, but this time maybe by 50% instead of 75%. So now, you have 3 Devourers with 10 or 11 HP with Resistance battling against a party of 4 or 5 adventurers.
THIS is the only way to balance combat. You can't balance it by dumbing down stats or buffing them because you don't know how many Party Members you are realistically going to have and at what Levels because the game is too open world with too many potential scenarios playing out. I can go straight to the Gith fight at Level 2, for example, and get my butt handed to me because they buffed the Gith even MORE than before. Unless the game is able to intelligently determine what Challenge Rating you can handle and thus reduce enemies' HP and such accordingly to give you a fighting chance, this game is always going to have this issue of combat imbalance.
