I'm having a lot of trouble with the combat in this game. I've defeated Gothic 1 & 2 (& most of 3), and Risen, plus the Elder Scrolls games, so real-time combat isn't completely foreign to me, but for some reason I'm not able to get through the first boss in this game. I've googled this and most people say the combat is too easy. I am using a mouse and keyboard - is that the problem? I mean, they come at you 4 at once, so avoiding getting hit is really tricky - but this isn't mentioned in any of the hints and tips pages I've seen...

You probably don't need an answer anymore, but here are my two cents:
I never played any of the games you mentioned. Before Hand of Fate 2 I only played Forced Showdown as real-time combat.
I was really bad in the beginning myself. It took me a while to get used to HoF2's combat, because it is different from the only other real-time combat I had played. All I can tell you is that it helped me to only use the keyboard (=rebind the mouse keys to keyboard) and rebind the keys to what suits me best. But I know how to write with 10 fingers so I don't know if people who use the "two finger search system/method" (as we call it in german) would find that a hinderance instead of an improvement.
Also: Dodge. I rarely ever run/walk. I dodge to get out of tight spaces or when I am surrounded and attack targets who stand a bit away from others. When others "come to help" I dodge again until I find a new target "standing at the sidelines" somewhere.
It is also important not to constantly press the attack button. You need to wait and see in between attacks if you will get attacked so you can block (if it is blockable) or dodge in time.

Well, at least those are the things that work for me.

Huh, well I never thought about removing the mouse altogether. I'm a pretty good typist, so maybe I'll try it. I put this game aside for a while out of frustration, but thank you for your response.

I found using the mouse impossible for HoF making the game so incredibly frustrating that I was on the verge of uninstalling. I remembered I had a controller so plugged it in and found the game a lot easier to play and actually finished it. If you have one it might be worth a go when next you get back to the game.

You're welcome.
The only reason I kept trying was because I liked this "card storyteller" approach so much. I was relieved when the "no mouse method" improved my combat skills and I could progress in the game.
I hope it (or a controller like Pajama suggested) works out for you too, if you decide to give the game another try. It definitely deserves it (in my opinion). It is very unique (again: my opinion).

I actually did recently buy a controller for another game I was finding difficult with the keyboard, so maybe that's my easiest answer to this problem. I think I'll try that when I decide to go back to this game. Thanks. It is also good to know that it isn't just me!

No, it isn't just you :) Personally speaking the controller changed the game for me from constant rage quitting to really enjoying the game - hope it does the same for you too!

cheeseness - sorry to hijack this thread (I can't message you as you've set your profile to private) but is there any chance you could update the DRM free Humble version of Hand of Fate (the original) to the latest version? The version for download there is dated 06/02/2017. Thanks :)

Thank you :)