Just started the game as a Mage. Explored the healer town and finished a couple of the fetch quests. Now I'm ready to venture out beyond the gates to find the commander of that garrison... and I'm set upon by Orcs who are way too strong for me.

I have 2 spells that I can't cast so I'm expected to use my mage as a terrible fighter (still Level 1). I keep kiting the orcs back to Lord Seth so he can kill them for me, but the farther I go, the more tedious this becomes.

I want to believe I've missed something glaringly obvious because I refuse to believe the early game is this poorly designed.

Any tips? Thanks

I have just started about ten days ago or so, but have you talked to everyone in town and done all five parts of the catacombs under the village? I think I was a lvl 5 after that. It pays to kill a few rats/rabbits and a few other things when you fall down the well and open the statue hatch. Wander about a bit. I think there were five or so quests to do before you go out the main gate, still in the village. I don't want to spoil it all though. Good Luck!

Thanks Cooper. I've only killed one skeleton on my way to speak to the crazy mage-healer person. I've explored 2 underground areas in the village but didnt' know there were a few more still. Will be more patient and look around :)

In my experience Divine Divinity is rather difficult in parts, particularly at the beginning.

This reply isn't so helpful, just sharing my experience in that, yes, I think it is supposed to be that hard. Maybe it's just because I don't have the heart to kill the bunnies... ;P

This thread might be helpful. . . . =)

This is one of the better walkthroughs.

Edit: BTW, you don't have to use the Mage character to use magic well in DD. ANY character can become a Mage, Warrior or Survivor if you build their skills correctly. That was one of the things I really liked about DD, a warrior could actually use a bow well or believe it or not . . . MAGIC!! . . . great experience to build a versatile character and lots of fun to play of course . . . =)

Thanks Stuff!
Yeah so I went back to Aleroth (healer town) and opened up what looks to be the "main dungeon" there. Currently killing some skeletons and <ahem> figured out how to cast my magic spells.

Yes, this is more like it.

On a side note, I am liking the flexibility of the character development system. Even though I'm a Mage I took a passive warrior skill early on since I see myself doing a fair bit of melee before I build up the spell power and mana capacity. This is cool.

Glad you are enjoying the game, it's one of my favorite RPG's. The big dungeon under Aleroth SEEMS to go on forever but it is sorta teaching you how to play and allowing you to level up before you go out into the world. The Aleroth map was one of the most difficult for me as well. I used lightning on the Orcs . . . sorta like a ranged weapon. After you clear that map and cross the bridge . . . the world opens up and really gets interesting.

A little tip: when that guy gives you the cool gizmo before you go in the catacombs, you should DROP and use it to get the other piece. Then simply pick it up and use it while it's in your inventory so you can take it back.
Now that you have these things, you won't need to waste skillpoints to become a pseudo warrior-mage and thereby killing your specialization in either field. If you wanna be a mage, stick with mage skills and only take warrior skills (like repair or enchant) that you need. Just drop one gizmo next to a bed with some storage or something and some shops close by and then go on your merry way. Anytime you need to heal/sell/store, just drop and use the other piece so you can get back to the one you dropped in the first place.
To make it easier on yourself, use hotkeys. Open the skills menu and hover over the "drop and use" icon and press anything between F1 and F12 so you can return to safety at the press of a key.

NOTE: the reason I say "gizmos" and "that guy" is because I don't wanna give stuff away :P but I'm sure you know what I'm talking about.

I don't think I crossed the river and permanently left my starting lands until I was .... maybe level 10 or 11? Can't remember, but at level 5 I had barely touched what that area had to offer. There is plenty of stuff to kill inside and outside the village, and of course the catacombs.

My mage also picked up a bow and hardly used magic for a good long while. I never put any points into the bow until well into my 30's, either. This allowed me to build up my strength so I could wear the best armor, and keep my defense high enough that I was VERY often missed. That latter came in very handy even after I got items with good defense stats later, because there is still a big difference between being hit 49% of the time and 33% of the time. So it's never really a waste.

The key is finding a fast bow. They are worth a lot more than slow bows, because if you are being charged by a buncha guys, you need shots NOW, not fantastic shots later. And it is better to have a bow that will finish off a guy who is at 10% health and quickly shoot another guy than to unleash a slow but massive shot on him -- power and damage you didn't really need since he's almost dead -- and then be unable to fire in time to stop the buddy that's charging up to you or the spellcaster about to let loose on you.

I tend to play mages as sniper types, rather than walk into the middle of the room at let loose a huge spell blast type, so the bow works very well for me. If you want to be the "jump in the middle and explode" type, then it won't work for you. You'd like to play a mage somewhat the way a warrior plays. I like to play a mage somewhat the way an archer plays.

Thanks Raoucus.
How do you pick up the "gizmo" once you've dropped it? The first time I dropped it it teleported me to where I could get the other one. Touching that other one simply teleported me back to the first one I dropped. And on it goes to infinity. :)

I wasn't able to just click & drag to my open inventory window either.

But you can drag it to your inventory. It's what you have to do. Open the inventory window, drag it from the floor into your inv. Not sure why you're not succeeding but that's the way it is!

It won't teleport you back to the other as long as you keep LMB pressed!

The trick is to only pick it up when the blinking is white- if it is blinking red, you are not close enough. This is true for all of the items that need moving. In the case of the second "gismo" the "company" you find there may make this challenging :)

I am playing a survivor, so have sneak, but am annoyed at how fast is uses stamina, you basically cannot sneak more than 10 metres and when you run out, you just stand up - and there always seems to be skeletons nearby! There aren't enough health potions around or for sale, and as a Survivor, I am fed up finding mana potions when I need health potions!

Once you get low enough in those catacombs, I doubt any character can deal with what's there unless there very lucky! The Slasher axe is nowhere to be found yet, and i'm wondering if it's randomly placed?

I am in the process of giving up on the fourth level of the catacomb and that Slasher quest will just have to wait!

So would say those catacombs, in total, are for from a 'beginners quest'!!!

I have only played one game as a Survivor and found the "sneak" ability mostly good for stealing from the townsfolk. Even as a Survivor you need to take out as many critters as possible since you need to level up quickly. If you avoid them the game will just get harder with each level since your character level / stats will be too low to deal with the opponents as you descend. DD is a hack and slash at its core so you do need to fight. If you clear every level of bad guys (leave some for later if you have to) you will be just strong enough to take on the next level, if you didn't clear the level, the next level will be more difficult instead.

It doesn't really matter what character you choose in DD, any character can become a powerful mage, warrior or survivor and use any skill / weapon as well as any other character. The catacombs are basically the tutorial for the game with your character emerging at a level high enough to deal with what is to come topside.

As a side note, I usually pick the warrior because his special move is more useful than any of the other characters special skill IMHO. I pick that character even if I want to play a mage or survivor. (His special skill (Swirl Attack) allows him to do damage while invisible and stay invisible . . . unless you accidentally left click at which time you will become visible )

The Slasher axe is down there, hidden in a room beneath a floor tile, guarded by a huge spider if I recall. This is the best walkthrough that I know of and gives some guidance for the location of hard to find items / locations.

If you just want to play the game with minimal difficulty you can use the dupe cheat to make as many potions / gold as you want.

The game world really opens up once the catacombs are behind you. Most folks dislike the starting catacombs so you are not alone in your frustration. . . =)

Thanks Stuff very useful info +Rep for your kindness! The walkthrough site is very good, and I missed a couple things even on the 1st level!

I think I found that title as it lit up, but it wouldn't do anything! I tried dragging a vase on it, but the game wouldn;t let me, does stepping on the tile make the axe appear somewhere or open a door, I wonder!