Yes I know I'm sure you guys get lots of people that go
"Blah blah, the hard mode is too hard" yada yada.

Well I've been playing games for over 15 years, beat Demons' Souls 3 times, had no problem with Ninja Gaidan on very hard, and only ever play Insanity on GOW, Mass Effect, etc, so with that out of the way:

How the HELL do I get past the first encounter with the dragon? The dragon forces us into the barracks, then I kill 3 guys with Triss, the King and Roche, and every goddamn time it comes time to run forward with them, I light up like a match stick, instant death, the moment I step out with everyone running together.

I've spent the last hour doing this, trying different tactics, running at different times, before, after, in different areas, to no avail.

For crissakes, what am I doing wrong?

Use Quen? It should keep you from dying from the flames, though I'm not 100% that it's the same for every difficulty level.

You have to make sure you leave at the same time as all the others - not before, and not after. If that doesn't help, try looking to see where the dragon is when it's time to move. If it's near the gap, then don't go through it until it moves off for a second.

EDIT: I don't think Quen helps against the dragon breath - it's instant death if you move forward at the wrong time, I believe.

Cool, thanks alot, back to work. :) Girlfriend will just have to forgive me for staying up past 3am :)
Sweet mother of god, I made!, Thanks again guys :)

Btw, I recognize a few of you from the BioWare forums :)