I also like the battle in Deadfire more. I'm playing on Classic and found the normal battles pretty easy so I understand. I think the problem is that they indicate the quest difficulty using the skulls so you have control and avoid running into the hard quest or battles. Back in Poe 1, there was chance of running into really tough battles because you were a little under leveled and there was no indicator. In Deadfire when i breezing through and want a greater challenge, I give the red skull quest areas a try and holy crap, was it hard. it was challenging and felt satisfying to complete. One of the bosses i had to fight, I had to blow everything, almost all my cooldowns, per rest items and still wipe a couple times. After a while i did it with two casualties. So if your finding it too easy I suggest trying the red skulls quest for a challenge, that is what they are there for. Another tip is to play with less characters.
I did not like the combat in poe 1, relied too much on efficiency. and can only rest 4 times. just makes you run all the way back to town to use the tavern and buy more resting supples. I found that to be more of a chore.
