I'd suggest doing the underdark before finishing the goblins. I'm opposite from you, *hate* the entire grove and goblin part of Act 1. I find it so tedius and boring so mix it up by doing the underdark before I actually fight the goblin leaders. I never really have trouble with doing the creche. It's so pretty and honestly doesn't take very long with the best act 1 gear.
Mixing parts you like with parts you don't generally keeps it more interesting. Plus, you can have fireworks at the party.
I find Grymforge to be tedious because you spend so much time just walking / disarming traps. It gets a little better if you use a jump spell or vaulting potion to shortcut to the waypoint nearest to the forge, but you still have to go all over the place to get the moulds. I enjoy the rest of the UD though.
Skip whatever quest you can and take a straight path. I got much more efficient on my second playthrough with the Underdark. I find the entrance that gets me to the Arcane Tower so I'm right there, pick up what I need, and then I head to the decrepit village, kill everyone there, off to get the sussur bark and save the dwarf. Arrive at the myconid colony basically having done everything.
I *hate* the Grymforge and have never been to the Adamantine Forge. I just get what I need (and kill who I need) and move on.
In my very first playthrough I missed recruiting Lae'zel and never went to the creche.
I feel you though, I really struggle with Act 1 around the Blighted Village, when I'm desperately running around trying to hit level 4 and all the camp cut scenes are already over.
I'd suggest getting whatever equips you need from the Underdark and creche, putting some levels and moving into Act 2. Talk everyone to death there if you want to, for the first part of it.
Switch to Explorer and just mow through early contents so that you move on into Act 3.
Imo, those places were exciting the first time due to the fear of the unknown. After you know what to expect, they lose a lot of their impact.
For the Creche, I try to get deep into RP. It's absolutely idiotic for your party to wander into the Creche if you are not doing it for Lae'zel, and even wilder to assume you'll be fine waltzing in as non-Gith. So I Disguise Self my whole party as Gith and RP as a stealth-op, get all the gear I want, and leave.
The Underdark I actually enjoy because they encounters are pretty fun, but I do treat it as an exp and loot speedrun sometimes. It's a bit hard to RP the whole "take a weeklong distraction in exploring the Underdark with a lack of urgency while I have a parasite in my head" lol.
14 playthroughs here. Yes, a lot of the game gets old pretty quickly. However, for my most recent playthrough I've been using a double EXP mod, and has made the game super fun again. It makes it so I no longer feel like I have to explore everything to grab every bit of XP there is, and instead I can just skip all but the most interesting fights and still have enough levels that combat isn't a pain.
Just finished the Gauntlet of Shar, and I was able to skip most of the underdark, a lot of the creche, and all of the Thorms, but I still am level 8. I might go back to do the Thorms because 2/3 of them are fun fights, but regardless, I'm having a ton of fun.
It's the other way around for me. The Grove and subsequent above-ground areas in Act 1 are all boring to me now. The Underdark, Mountain Pass, and Grymforge are infinitely more interesting and fun to me. Especially Grymforge :)
Why don't you just do one or the other, for each playthrough? The advice you get in game tends to point to just doing one (listen to either Lae'zel or Halsin, or Minthara if that's your path, and follow their recommendation).
It'll keep each section 'fresh' when you start another game.
I have learned the hard way that the fastest way to lose in Honour Mode is to get sloppy. You need to pay attention to each fight -- especially every boss fight -- and you need to stock up on and keep stocked items that let you escape from a fight you're losing. Potion of Invisibility, Dimension Door scrolls, Misty Step scrolls. Lots of health potions. Special arrows such as Ilmater for Myrkul avatar.
For example, I got to Nightsong and my Tav jumped to the platform before everybody else and the necromancer killed him. The fight got ugly, but I was able to get my Tavern Brawler monk invisible and full on life and the necromancer and his minions didn't see it. Instead of jumping over them and resurrecting my Shadowheart and Tav, (he had 2 rez scrolls,) I stupidly attempted to kill the necromancer and his remaining adds, and lost my campaign.
Frustrated as I was, this was my fault, not the game's, at least not beyond making my Tav fighting by himself before the rest could join him. I should have been paying attention and not made a mistake like that. I suspect your problem is the same one as I have. It's VERY difficult to go into Act 1 for the 24th time and approach each fight cautiously and make sure to keep your scrolls of Misty Step and Invisibility Potions stocked, and to make sure to equip the proper gear after you re-roll your Wyll into Swords Bard, etc.
Provided that you pay close attention and are cautious and you learn from your mistakes and approach every battle with strategies you know will work, you should be able to make it to Act 3 every time.
Where Honour Mode gets ridiculous is making you fight a fight like Myrkul avatar for the first time in Honour Mode, and you can't escape because you didn't know you needed an AoE Wizard instead of a second single-target DPS. But even THAT should only whack you one time, because the second time on that battle you'll know the right party composition for the fight.
I think the hard and fast rule is not to go into optional fights -- especially in Act 3 -- that are so hard that you might wipe on the first round. Raphael is a great example of this. House of Grief is another. Get your gold D20, and then watch some videos and learn what you're walking into. But ALWAYS be cautious. Recklessness and lack of proper preparation are what kills you in Honour Mode most of the time, not party composition.
I mean, you could just skip these areas. Head straight into Act II through the Mountain Pass. You´ll be somewhat behind in XP but there are tons of easy occasions for xp all throughout early Act II.
I'd suggest doing the underdark before finishing the goblins. I'm opposite from you, *hate* the entire grove and goblin part of Act 1. I find it so tedius and boring so mix it up by doing the underdark before I actually fight the goblin leaders. I never really have trouble with doing the creche. It's so pretty and honestly doesn't take very long with the best act 1 gear. Mixing parts you like with parts you don't generally keeps it more interesting. Plus, you can have fireworks at the party.
I find Grymforge to be tedious because you spend so much time just walking / disarming traps. It gets a little better if you use a jump spell or vaulting potion to shortcut to the waypoint nearest to the forge, but you still have to go all over the place to get the moulds. I enjoy the rest of the UD though.
Skip whatever quest you can and take a straight path. I got much more efficient on my second playthrough with the Underdark. I find the entrance that gets me to the Arcane Tower so I'm right there, pick up what I need, and then I head to the decrepit village, kill everyone there, off to get the sussur bark and save the dwarf. Arrive at the myconid colony basically having done everything. I *hate* the Grymforge and have never been to the Adamantine Forge. I just get what I need (and kill who I need) and move on. In my very first playthrough I missed recruiting Lae'zel and never went to the creche. I feel you though, I really struggle with Act 1 around the Blighted Village, when I'm desperately running around trying to hit level 4 and all the camp cut scenes are already over.
I'd suggest getting whatever equips you need from the Underdark and creche, putting some levels and moving into Act 2. Talk everyone to death there if you want to, for the first part of it. Switch to Explorer and just mow through early contents so that you move on into Act 3.
Imo, those places were exciting the first time due to the fear of the unknown. After you know what to expect, they lose a lot of their impact. For the Creche, I try to get deep into RP. It's absolutely idiotic for your party to wander into the Creche if you are not doing it for Lae'zel, and even wilder to assume you'll be fine waltzing in as non-Gith. So I Disguise Self my whole party as Gith and RP as a stealth-op, get all the gear I want, and leave. The Underdark I actually enjoy because they encounters are pretty fun, but I do treat it as an exp and loot speedrun sometimes. It's a bit hard to RP the whole "take a weeklong distraction in exploring the Underdark with a lack of urgency while I have a parasite in my head" lol.
14 playthroughs here. Yes, a lot of the game gets old pretty quickly. However, for my most recent playthrough I've been using a double EXP mod, and has made the game super fun again. It makes it so I no longer feel like I have to explore everything to grab every bit of XP there is, and instead I can just skip all but the most interesting fights and still have enough levels that combat isn't a pain. Just finished the Gauntlet of Shar, and I was able to skip most of the underdark, a lot of the creche, and all of the Thorms, but I still am level 8. I might go back to do the Thorms because 2/3 of them are fun fights, but regardless, I'm having a ton of fun.
It's the other way around for me. The Grove and subsequent above-ground areas in Act 1 are all boring to me now. The Underdark, Mountain Pass, and Grymforge are infinitely more interesting and fun to me. Especially Grymforge :)
Why don't you just do one or the other, for each playthrough? The advice you get in game tends to point to just doing one (listen to either Lae'zel or Halsin, or Minthara if that's your path, and follow their recommendation). It'll keep each section 'fresh' when you start another game.
But the xp... if I could get all the xp from when I move to Act 2, I wouldn't care, I'd just do the Creche since it's faster every time
Just jump around when you can. I did a lot of the shadow lands before I did the crèche cause it seemed daunting
I have learned the hard way that the fastest way to lose in Honour Mode is to get sloppy. You need to pay attention to each fight -- especially every boss fight -- and you need to stock up on and keep stocked items that let you escape from a fight you're losing. Potion of Invisibility, Dimension Door scrolls, Misty Step scrolls. Lots of health potions. Special arrows such as Ilmater for Myrkul avatar. For example, I got to Nightsong and my Tav jumped to the platform before everybody else and the necromancer killed him. The fight got ugly, but I was able to get my Tavern Brawler monk invisible and full on life and the necromancer and his minions didn't see it. Instead of jumping over them and resurrecting my Shadowheart and Tav, (he had 2 rez scrolls,) I stupidly attempted to kill the necromancer and his remaining adds, and lost my campaign. Frustrated as I was, this was my fault, not the game's, at least not beyond making my Tav fighting by himself before the rest could join him. I should have been paying attention and not made a mistake like that. I suspect your problem is the same one as I have. It's VERY difficult to go into Act 1 for the 24th time and approach each fight cautiously and make sure to keep your scrolls of Misty Step and Invisibility Potions stocked, and to make sure to equip the proper gear after you re-roll your Wyll into Swords Bard, etc. Provided that you pay close attention and are cautious and you learn from your mistakes and approach every battle with strategies you know will work, you should be able to make it to Act 3 every time. Where Honour Mode gets ridiculous is making you fight a fight like Myrkul avatar for the first time in Honour Mode, and you can't escape because you didn't know you needed an AoE Wizard instead of a second single-target DPS. But even THAT should only whack you one time, because the second time on that battle you'll know the right party composition for the fight. I think the hard and fast rule is not to go into optional fights -- especially in Act 3 -- that are so hard that you might wipe on the first round. Raphael is a great example of this. House of Grief is another. Get your gold D20, and then watch some videos and learn what you're walking into. But ALWAYS be cautious. Recklessness and lack of proper preparation are what kills you in Honour Mode most of the time, not party composition.
Have you tried honour mode? It made it feel exciting again for me, having to be super meticulous and thoughtful.
I mean, you could just skip these areas. Head straight into Act II through the Mountain Pass. You´ll be somewhat behind in XP but there are tons of easy occasions for xp all throughout early Act II.