Does the base game have a problem with "trash mobs"

[hollowcrown]

Love the game a lot, it's the experience I've been waiting for since Baldur's Gate 2 and Dragon Age Origins.

 

However I'm finding it hard to finish Act 3 and get to the end of the game...because there's very few set pieces in the game, and an abundance of trash mobs. You know, the groups of spectres, shades and similar enemies littering the game? Doing the Burial Isle is so tedious just because you can't move for having trash mobs thrown on you.

 

I was hoping for more set piece battles against mages, varied parties etc. It is just a bit dull fighting spectres for 9 fights in a row and I'm wondering if anyone else had the same thought, and asking of The White March is any better in that respect?

[LaSpeakeasi]

I tend to agree. Because this is an original IP. The bestiary is somewhat limited. There's no a lot of different enemies to fight. Yet.

 

In the expansion they added in a new type of trash mobs that really forces you to mix up your strategy a bit. Although I still wouldn't say it's very varied.

[sapientNode]

I also agree with the limit of enemies.

However my main problem is in the fact that they are all perma linked.  Trying to split the masses up in the upper difficulties is arduous and mostly not possible.

And in addition once the bestiary is filled they also give 0 experience.  So they lack a reward for the time spent.

[Alexander1]

This has actually been brought up at least a few times from what I've seen.  Apparently, the general consensus is to have fewer, larger fights instead of the myriad of small, inconsequential fights as it is currently. 

 

The benefit is this makes the game more like a good story -- exploration isn't getting constantly interrupted by "mini fights" and when you do get into a combat it's an exciting combat and not a tedious one.

 

Personally, I agree with this sentiment whole-heartedly.  It's a really good idea.

[gkathellar]

It's a huge problem. The sheer number of enemies in the wilderness areas, coupled with the way combat works, becomes an ever-increasing pain that really messes with the atmosphere of the later game. This is how it goes:

 

Me: "Oooh, a spooky, atmospheric ruin! I wonder what sort of strange and interesting discoveries I will make here?"

PoE: "HERE FIGHT SOME SHADES"

Me: "Goddamnit Obsidian"

[Baron Pampa]

I agree. POE would have been better without so much mobs, which are easy to defeat and bring nothing to the game.

[majestic]

The whining on the forums here just exacerbated the problem with trash mobs in the base game. In the name of "balance" in a single player game we went from being able to efficiently deal with boring groups of enemies to having to sit and wait longer for the fights to be resolved. They didn't get any harder, just more tedious. Bleh.

 

At least White March was much better in that regard, aside from some enemies that seem to have been designed purely to mess with the players who demanded damage types to have a greater impact.