Paul Farquhar
Legend
Ambushing and trying to talk your way through encounters are equally valid approaches. Neither is "better". Don't let FOMO spoil your fun.Trouble is, it can also screw with even much smaller encounters if there's a dialogue trigger on approach. It just seems to mess with the combat trigger, and can lead to the enemy getting a whole slew of turns in response to your supposed surprise attack. I had issues with it in encounters such as the windmill-gnome goblins, and the couriers cornered by gnolls.
When ambushing, check party member portraits (and summons) for the crossed swords symbol. If any do not have it, move them NOW until they do, or they will not get turns. Note that you can turn on turn based mode before a fight starts, it makes ambushing easier.