First and foremost, thank you for this game. While I feel you all have a ways to go, it is right up my alley.
Played during EA launch week and wasn't to concerned about bugs or anything as it is early access.
2nd round cometh, and so do some of my observations.
1- Characters holding bows or other weapon often time hold them backwards. Visually it is funny, at first.
2- If a character dies it means something in ttrpgs. Curious as to the choice that if one character in party dies game is over, is that intended in the future or is it only EA functions?
3- RNG... I have found that this acronym in almost every game stands for Reek No Get. During the big Sorak fight in their base, I Suddenly became completely inept at hitting anything. leading up to this fight I was at about a 50/50 split of hits and misses... this fight went on forever... they missed a ton, I missed a ton... and then eventually I whittled them down to just BBEG and had 2 people in the downed condition... suddenly he turned his attention to the players on the ground as if to say... hey I know how I can end this conflict. Granted attacking players who are uncincious is a viable means to warfare, it just felt out of place. Why all of a sudden the turn to downed players? Bug maybe? Not sure, but that fight took me 45 minutes to get to that point to have one pc die and have to start it over. Bottom line is I would like the option to not have that fight end if one person goes down.
I know that would be heck for the dialogue that comes after the fight, bu that was a pain in the sorak when that happened.
Overall I love the changes and choices being made going forward, I look forward to your next round of updates.
RR.
Fight with honor, die with glory
Finished the Winter Patch and here are my thoughts:
1) The game is great and with some time/polish has the potential to be a classic! Thank you!
2) Class balance is needed. I have put specific details in the Feedback threads, but the main point is, pure fighters, especially melee, need a bump in power. Clerics, Wizards, and hybrids bring plenty to the table and can dominate encounters, as well as tactical challenges (reach a difficult location). Add in the fact that Clerics and Wizards (or any class) can replicate the "traditional strengths of a fighter" through accessing melee weapons and wearing heavy/medium armor - this is a problem. Also, ranged combat in this game is immensely powerful, because of enemy mobility powers (flight, spider walk, etc.) and disengagement rules (hit and chase). Don't nerf, just: 1) add some good feats for pure melee (not hybrids, like Paladin, Eldritch, etc.) that add AOE melee (large weapon) or multi-hit (whirlwind to two-weapon), and 2) make heavy armor more effective for pure melee (not the feat that adds +1AC... that should be a free skill for pure melees).
3) More random encounters and "one-off" locations to explore. It would be great to see a map location called, Abandoned Fort, and have twenty orcs waiting for an epic battle. This content is optional and it shouldn't be a complex map (four walls and an entrance), but it is always fun (for some players) to take on new combat challenges (archers on the walls, heavy infantry blocking the entrance, with casters at the rear, etc). Heck, even put in lich crypt or beholder cave (with a strong warning not to attempt), and if someone is crazy enough to tackle the challenge, the outcome is on them. In addition, more map variability during the random encounters (it is odd to fight at the same crossroads 20x in a row). If you are concerned about "out leveling core content," a difficulty slider should help keep things interesting (point #6)
4) Atmosphere of towns... I don't expect AI driven interactions with NPCs, but just add some static mobs (don't need to be walking around even) to make it seem like the major towns have populations above 12 citizens.
5) Character customization. I care less about this during character generation, but when I have three characters wearing the same armor, it is not quite the heroic experience I was hoping for. I know this is difficult, but don't waste time "buying or creating dyes" and simply allow certain merchants to dye armor for a fee. Even if you gave us 3-4 colors, it would do a lot to distinguish characters.
6) I look forward to the difficulty slider - expert RPGers/DnD5ers will not find the combat challenging. My suggestion is to "add more mobs" as one difficulty toggle AND an option to "increase threat level" as the other difficulty slider. This way, you can customize to your experience between fighting off hoards of monsters, more difficult monsters, or hoards of more difficult monsters!
7) I understand the tactical interest in creating "dimensional challenges" to reach treasure, but I think you are setting yourself up for failure, trying to fix all the bugs and counter player creativity. For example, I cast Flight, but I still can't reach a chest in high location or cross a simply chasm??? What is the point of teleport or flight if you are punished for using the spells? To be fair, flight should solve for every dimensional challenge (as long as duration is active), but it does cheapen other mobility spells like Jump. Another example, is I cast Misty Step to access the final EA location (laboratory), but I can't interact with any item in the room... so I need to cast Misty Step again (argh!), to leave the room and hit the "special book" to open the door (sigh). It is as if the developer wants the player to follow "one solution" to each dimensional puzzle, which is an annoyance. If there is one solution, just throw the player a hint, rather than waste spells and time trying.
In summary, you have a great foundation and the potential to make this game an RPGer's dream. I applaud all the work and effort put into the game. Please take my comments helpful feedback to help you improve different aspects of the game.
Thanks!