Drath

Yep, I remember using that and it was indeed a nice option to have. I have the same issue as well with characters getting out of position (going forward to hit another target when the opponent in front is dead). While I do feel that using "AutoPause on Target Destroyed" helps a bit, it would be great to see Hold Position again. Lol, so do we get an achievement at the end for it? Fastest pauser in the Eora?

Raedric's Hold is a difficulty spike for where it is placed in game as you could be attempting it as early as around L4 with a 4-5 man party. I went to Defiance Bay first and came back later at about L7 with a full 6-man party and things were much smoother. Open ground fights like the one you are showing are especially tough but you don't necessarily have to kill everyone there (no XP anyway for killing humans, unless you're in it for the loot, or for kicks ). There are other ways into Raedric's Hold but I will let you find that out for yourself. As Crucis mentioned, use chokepoints whenever possible to reduce incoming damage and try to kill off casters (mages in particular will wreak havoc on your lines if not taken down fast) and archers (tends to target squishier party members and adds significantly to incoming damage) first. Apart from a couple of limited use per rest talents, the only thing that restores health is resting. Priests like Durance can restore endurance during battles. But personally I've found that for most battles if you can keep your squishier party members safely tucked away behind lines, you shouldn't need battle heals too much as Eder's Constant Recovery will help keep him up.

I note I agree with some of the earlier fights being difficulty spikes. I was a little surprised at how many Boars/Wolves I was facing at Magran's Fork. Ended up taking a good deal more damage than expected for a 4-person party. Took quite some damage as well to get through the room of Skuldrs and the 4 Will of Wisps in Temple of Eothas. The Shadows were not too difficult but the Shades were irritating with their ranged attacks and summons. Found them harder to deal with in Caed Nua, facing a good number of them on open ground with no choke point. Maerwald wasn't too difficult, though he probably made it easier for me by casting Chill Fog on his Blights. Yes that happened Spread out to prevent getting AoEd, focussed/disabled him and he went down quite fast. Raedric's Hold was difficult, especially the last battle. I'm glad I did Defiance Bay first before going back for it. With a 4 or 5-person party at level 4, I very much doubt if I would have made it, or at least would have required a ton of rests.Not the most natural course of action to pursue though in a first game. Ondra's Gift lighthouse is brutal at the level it is thrown at you. Other challenging fights at Defiance Bay include the one against the Forgotten, Leyra/Missing Sentries, etc. I was thinking Helig should be a tough encounter. He was a pushover though Od Nua levels 3-4 for me were a good deal easier than level 2 (mostly slow, kiteable enemies or situations where you can pull one at a time). I cleared L2 halfway, went down to have a look and am glad I did. Haven't done the Drake at level 5 yet, he looks scary. I'm not quite at L9 yet but I'm wondering if the difficulty drop that you experienced at Dyrford may be partially due to casters getting a very significant boost at L9 (being able to cast L1 spells every encounter, as Chill Fog and Fan of Flames spam would put a dent on massed mobs fast) and you did list having 3 casters in your party (Aloth, Hiravius, Durance).

Agreed. Despite D&D having seen a few new revisions and editions since then to 5e, Temple of Elemental Evil's 3.5e still remains one of the best/ most accurate CRPG implementations of D&D so far. Would be awesome to see Obsidian do a TB game with Tim Cain as one of the leads.

Pretty much my thoughts as well. Went with PotD but no Ironman on first play. Also not using mercenaries as I would like to explore the companions well and try to do their questlines. Pathfinding is a big issue in combat. Ranged combatants are generally fine but micromanaging a rogue to the right position can be a hassle at times. Would be unfair to be penalized because of this. Have had bugs as well, from enemies getting stuck in walls, unhittable and unable to exit combat, sanitarium turning aggressive after Uscgrim (corrected in 1.05) to unexplained saved files disappearing. Don't get me wrong, I've enjoyed the game certainly. Loved the multiple quest choices/endings and combat/mechanics but to attempt a game on Ironman for me requires that the game is stable, no longer has any major bugs and that I have a decent knowledge of the underlying mechanics to decide what is best.

For an early invocation, I don't think 3 Skeletons are bad. They hardly do any damage but they're good as distractions, splitting the attention of enemy groups. The AI likes to clobber the first thing they engage, whether its a summon or a character. Flanking with a Rogue is easier and safer with summons. Kana's other L1 invocations reduce enemy DR by 5 and Stuns enemy for a short duration. If those hit, they are certainly nice, but they can miss, especially on PotD, and so IMHO are not really demonstrably superior to 3 Skeletons, depending on situation and luck.

To lure or not to lure? Well I think Obsidian would approve of luring, after all the old Black Isle devs made Trials of the Luremaster But seriously, when facing Forest Trolls/Forest Lurkers/various elemental Blights that move slower than party members, I don't really feel that luring/pelting them at range is an issue. Ditto for luring enemies to choke points as you mentioned. As for luring with speed buffs on or with fast animal companions (ie Itumaak) and splitting the enemy group, IMHO, that's a good deal more contentious. Having the enemy group pursue the party as a whole would be nice as you've stated. Enemies should not abandon pursuit if they are gaining on the target. When enemies do abandon pursuit due to being outdistanced and start walking back slowly, they should again chase the party as a group if any member is hit/targetted again.

I think a time limit implemented in the form of a toggle or a stepped slider (strict, moderate, lax) could be a nice addition to the game without stepping on the toes of players who don't want it. The default setting will be "no time limit" but you can get an achievement if you complete the game with one. I like the idea of being efficient with travel paths, with rests and with resources in general, giving a sense of urgency on things. On the flip side, making it too strict would turn people off from taking rest-dependent classes like casters (wizard/druid/priest), so it needs to be well thought out. How long do you think would be a reasonable expectation for game completion and progress through the acts? In any case, if this is implemented, it should be well communicated throughout the game. Maybe have townsfolk talk about impending doom initially, later on perhaps a message from your stronghold and finally direct in-game messages. Would be crushing to not realize how close one was to the time limit and fail because of that.