Is there a nightmare guide or tips and tricks? I've been playing on Nightmare and I can't seem to get past the Hinterlands, those stupid rogue assassin ppl keep sneaking up and disappearing and killin my party with those sneaky flank attacks. Really pisses me off. Also that place with all the bandits (not the fort, but right before it) I can barely take out one guy before we're all dead.
I'm a mage and I always keep another mage in the party so we can rotate barrier casting but it still doesn't seem to help. Does anyone have any advice.
I find that it helps to focus on non-combat quests first. Cast barrier (or if you're a rogue, stealth), then just high-tail it past any fighting to get to the object you need to get. I didn't even do the mercenary fortress or any of the level 12 stuff until after In Your Heart Shall Burn.
Also note that camps can be set up mid-combat (minus the ones in Emprise du Lion), so all you need to do is survive until you get to the camp location. Once a camp is set up, it creates a bubble of safety. For example, doing the bear claw quest is much easier if you set up the Hafter's Woods camp first, then snipe at bears from inside it.
Also, it helps massively if you craft up to t2 weapons and armor as soon as possible. Gear up your rogues first, since those have the biggest impact on your dps (and dead enemies do no damage), then work your way down the line. Once everyone has good weapons, craft t2 armor, again starting with the rogues, since they're very squishy early-game.