litterally, i can't get through one fight without my entire team dying.. i'm just after the assault on redcliffe and i'm in the castle, and i can't win shit... i just die after the second wave of monsters.. is there anywhere i can get info on combat tactics and stuff.. i really don't see how this is enjoyable.. i'm feel like i'm enduring the game more than enjoying it??
Although the game is open and you can do whatever you want whenever you want, there is a degree of varying difficulty in different places.
After you got Morrigan in your team you head to Lothering, you can get two party members here, Sten and Leliana. From then on you can do the side quests in this area (once you done one of the main quests Lothering gets over ran and you can no longer go there again).
Once you have done everything that Lothering has to offer, you can then move on to a different area, personally I think that "Broken Circle" is the best place to start as this quest will allow you to gain ability points that are acquired without levelling. Note a key factor in Dragon Age is that the AI levels with you.
Another key point is, as people have already stated, the combat system. I personally like:
Alistar = Tank, set his combat tactics to be the defender in close quarters
Morrigan = Healer, again combat tactics to healer and ranged
Leliana = ranged archer. Combat tactics to allow this.
During that battle at Redcliff, there are in fact little side quests you can do before hand that makes the invasion a lot easier for you. Talking to the armourer gets the men better armour so they will last longer in the fight. Talking to the pub landlord gets the moral up as he gives free beer. These all help raise your chances of winning.
During the fights, it is key to have potions in the quick bar at the bottom, click and drag them in. The bar itself can be extended to fill the entire width of the screen as well so make use of the available slots. During the battle you can just hit pause, click on each character and have them take potions whenever they need to, can give orders to take down the weakest first etc etc
Really the game gets easier to play as you go along, but harder to win. For example leave Denerim until last or else you're just going to get hammered every time you round a corner.