The other day I purchased Planescape Torment as a part of the D&D sale. I'm not too far into the game; I'm at the part where Pharod tells you to go to the catacombs to fetch a bronze sphere. I'm enjoying the lore and the story of the game thus far. It's certainly like nothing I've ever seen before and the dialogue is much richer than any other CRPG I've played.

That said, one of the biggest problems I'm facing is the combat. I know it's the weakest part of the game and that the game isn't really about combat, my problem isn't the combat itself but rather it's difficulty. Even fighting a single Hive thug is enough to severely weaken me. And the catacombs Pharod sends you to is ridiculous; I keep getting dogpiled by rats and those giant bats. I realize dying isn't really a punishment in this game, but when I keep getting killed by a group of three simple thugs I can't help but feel as if I'm doing something wrong.

The difficulty I'm playing on is the default setting in the options menu (the slider's right in the middle), I only have Morte in party at the moment, and my stats are as follows:
STR: 11
INT: 15
WIS: 13
DEX: 11
CON: 11
CHR: 15

This isn't a game breaker thus far for me, some of my favorite games have somewhat mediocre gameplay, but any help would be greatly appreciated.

Torment can be frustrating when it comes to combat, but I don't remember it being that hard on medium difficulty. So, basic questions:

1. What is your current class? From your insane INT I would assume you've trained to be a mage, and if so, you should be avoiding close combat at all costs and use ranged spells like Magic Missile. (If you've stayed a fighter, well, you're going to need more hit points and STR to survive.)

2. What is your current level? Your WIS is relatively low, so depending on how many sidequests you've done, there's a chance you're just underleveled (due to not getting much of an EXP bonus).

3. Have you met any other recruitable companions in the Hive? There's one that joins you after one conversation, if you're willing to accept some help. And let Morte do more fighting, too, he's a good tank.

4. What equipment are you wearing?

Going into new areas unprepared is generally a bad idea, since you're pretty much guaranteed to run into stronger enemies, so think about what can be improved.

"1. What is your current class? From your insane INT I would assume you've trained to be a mage, and if so, you should be avoiding close combat at all costs and use ranged spells like Magic Missile. (If you've stayed a fighter, well, you're going to need more hit points and STR to survive.)"

I've stayed as a fighter. I haven't figured out how to change character class (I think it has something to do with Mebbeth). I don't really know how to cast magic either. I managed my stats similarly to my Fallout 1 character, which was probably not very smart in hindsight considering these are two different games.

" 2. What is your current level? Your WIS is relatively low, so depending on how many sidequests you've done, there's a chance you're just underleveled (due to not getting much of an EXP bonus)."

I'm currently level 4. Admittedly, I haven't done many sidequests, partially because of constantly getting killed and partially because I was sort of bumbling about the town.

"3. Have you met any other recruitable companions in the Hive? There's one that joins you after one conversation, if you're willing to accept some help. And let Morte do more fighting, too, he's a good tank."

I don't think I have. I know Ignus is recruitable but I didn't know this until after I left the Hive.

"4. What equipment are you wearing?"

I'm...not wearing anything. I haven't found any armor and I don't know where to locate any. All I've got are a bunch of weapons like a massive hammer and a crescent hatchet.

Y'know, your questions are making me realize how much of a newbie I am when it comes to D&D style games. I've been having difficulty with the original Baldur's Gate too and half the questions can apply to that as well. Maybe I'm just not used to traditional D&D-style RPGs.

Thanks for the advice. I've started the game over (wasn't too far so no big loss) and reallocated my stats to have an easier time in combat. I think I'm going to play as a mage since the stats needed to get the most out of the game require good Intelligence and Wisdom. I have made more of an effort to try and do quests, which really help open up the world and make it feel alive. I haven't died too much in the current playthrough thus far and Dak'kon makes combat easier.

Thanks a lot for the advice!

There are some spells which work very different to other Black Isles games. They are linked to your aim (and click rate) with the mouse by example. I figure that almost at the end of my play.

I always run to Mebbeth right away (picking up all the quests but doing pretty much none between getting out of the mortuary and her) and train as soon as possible to be a mage. In my opinion, mage is the by far the best way to play PS:T. Unlike other RPGs, I think it simply lends to that much more than other classes.

Just started to play this game as a veteran Infinity Engine player and I must say I find this game the hardest of them all. I've died countless times and that's on the easiest (!) difficulty setting. Maybe I've made some wrong moves or bad decisions but I was left fighting 10 men with just two party members.

I admit I haven't been exploring too much out of time constraints, but I couldn't find anything that boosts AC outside of a +1 ring (which I already had in my possession in the first place, technically speaking). So I'm a 9 AC dude heavily outnumbered in the crypts.

If reanimating and slowly grinding down the enemies one by one is the way to go, I'm going to pass for this game even though the story/writing has been amazing so far.

I thought this game was all about roleplaying so I made a STR/CHA/WIS build. Maybe that was my biggest mistake given the AC drought.

What crytps are you in? The Mausoleum with skeletons or Catacombs with cranium rats and lesser vargouilles? If you have only Morte in your party, maybe you just went there too early. Try to use Morte as your tank.

I know this topic is a few years old, but I'm glad I'm not the only one speaking out about the ridiculous combat in this game and breaking through the echo chamber myth about how it's about story and not combat. I even wrote a review here on GOG after I played to the endgame (which I failed to get through due to an unwinnable boss requiring a super stat of INT/WIS 21+ or a brutal bossfight, i.e. more stat-buffing and grinding) called "PST's focused on stat buffing, not story".

This is a classic RPG, so if you screw your character build don't be surprised that you'll encounter problems. D&D system is hard to understand in the beginning and probably this is your main problem. When you learn how the skills, spells and dice throws work, you'll find the combat very manageable and fun. As for the ending, it offers multiple variants of basically two choices: violent and non-violent. If your character isn't capable of ending the game in any of these ways, it means that you developed it very badly. And the final encounter needs no grinding at all. Proper character progression allows you to finish the game with both endings at ease with the same character.

I've said that this is probably your problem. I didn't make a definitive statement. The fact is that D&D (especially the second edition) is quite hard to understand for newbie players. It's quite complicated and has some bizarre design solutions like descending armor class and thaco.

I didn't have to do any grinding during my multiple playthroughs. During one of them I did some experience farming, but only for fun purposes. You have take into account however that I usually play D&D RPG's on hardest possible difficulty level. As for the review, did you know that you can resurrect all of your companions (except Ignus) before the final battle with The Transcendent One starts?

I never even got to the Transcendent One. Practical Incarnation slaughtered me unless I had a INT/WIS of 21+: https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/pc/187975-planescape-torment/faqs/7964 . I just pulled out my savegame at the end of Baldur's Gate 1 (ending of Siege of Dragonspear) and none of my characters had stats anywhere near that range.

You can beat Practical Incarnation in combat. It's not so difficult. You only need to prepare yourself by buying enough healing items. During my first playthrough I didn't have enough wisdom to absorb it. I had to reload an earlier save and buy healing items to beat him in direct combat. So this can be the part where problems occur, if you don't prepare yourself before reaching Fortress of Regrets. As for BG1, it has different character progression system. Nameless One gains one ability point per level. He has also numerous occasions to raise abilities during interaction with other characters. The only way to raise ability stats in BG1 are tomes, which are very scarce (one per ability type, except wisdom which are three). So there's no chance to reach ability values similar to PT. And it has a story explanation. Nameless One had countless lives and gets access to glimpses of experience that he gathered during them.