I think people just like to complain. The game is good, I too would like a more close implementation of 5e ruleset instead of a DOS mashup but with patch3 the devs showed their willingness to change things (they already removed tons of DOS surface effects). So yes, the game it's good. It could be better, like any game, but it's good, and it's fun. I'm sure at the end of the development process it will be a pearl.
I agree with your last sentence but not with all the message... I don't find the game "good"or "fun" at the moment, especially if we're talking about combats (which is very important to me).
It has an incredible potential but combats are bad and absolutely not "strategy" to me (steam say "strategy"). If the strategy is always the same I don't call this a good strategy game.
+ I'm not very fun... Throwing fork and jumping everywhere don't make me laugh a lot...
Idk man, I think you are focussing too much on the combat. It's important of course, one of the most important things, but this is an RPG, not an X-com like strategy game. I think it is unfair to say the game isn't fun because you find the combat repetitive and don't take into account all the roleplaying aspects of it. Yes, the combat has currently some exploits which need to be addressed (jump nonsense), and they will, but in general I think is all well and good for a party of lv4 characters. Most of the combat options for each class open up from lv5 and beyond, it's normal that, at the moment, some encounters are going to be repetitive.
Combats are going to be repetitive at all levels with Larian's custom rules.
We'll still have to take advantage from highground for ranged. We'll still have to take advantage from backstab for melee. We'll still jump to disengage (and backstab)
Many D&D features and spells will still be useless and the difficulty will still be balanced arround the few OP custom mechanics.
Lvl 5+ is probably going to be worse if they don't go back and start trusting D&D a bit more. At the moment the difficulty level is a joke and it's gonna be hard to do something consistent when we'll cross the gap at lvl 5.
So yeah many things are good (graphics, animations, exploration or quests "paths",...) and many other are not finished... but combats, action economy and ressources management is the main feature we have to test in this EA after the first playtrough.
