Finally got a character built up, a custom class similar to a crusader. Played for about 5 hours last night, mostly wandering around the City. (Anybody know how to get past the first room in the Market Section Sewers? I kept looking for a remote switch to open the door and never found it.)
Anyway, overcome with the urge to kill something, I headed out to Chorral. Stopped by Fort Ash for a little goblin cornhole, and got absolutely

by this goblin skirmisher and his little #### friend. Over. And over. And over.
Has anybody got any tips on melee combat? I rtfm and it says 'get the timing down on blocking then attacking'. Are you supposed to throw the shield up at the last second, or just hide behind it until he hits it, then attack? Either way, my reflexes must be shot to hell 'cause I'm getting

, even when I soften them up with a few arrows first.
Of course, I woke up at 6:30 this morning and charged out to try it again. This time with the "Shoot 'em full of arrows, then run like little girl" strategy. That worked on #2, and I finally got #1 in a position where he evidently couldn't see me and made a pincushion outta him. Taking advantage of the AI always robs me of the "Woot!" moment at the end of a battle, though.
Any advice you could give little Moe the WampusCat would be greatly appreciated.