Firstly, I would like to start by saying my overall feedback is in fact overwhelmingly positive and I have recommended the game to all of my friends and viewers on twitch! That being said, I really believe this game will only continue to get better and better and would love to help that if I can! No idea if my feedback will be seen or agreed with but I hope that if any eyes do come across it, the ideas will be thrown in the mix That being said, Iâll do my best to not hold back on any criticisms I have for the most possible impact!
1. Clarity of actual monster level for areas in monoliths. (My character level at the time was 67, Monolith level 55)
Info: On occasion it will say area level 55, area level 67 (scaled), or area level >55.
Example: Area level 42. Are the monsters actually level 42? or do they scale to 55,
which is the monolith level. OR Do they scale to 67 which is my character level?
If they are level 42, why is the end game monolith at such a low level.
If they are level 55, then it should clearly/universally state level 55 for every area within
that monolith.
If they are level 67, then it should clearly/universally state that each area is scaled to my level.
Why it might matter: The clarity of this might help me decide if it is worthwhile to clear some monsters on my way to the end zone, or better to rush the end while ignoring all monsters.
2. Punishment for failing an echo in a monolith is unreasonable, and harms weaker characters more.
Setting: A weaker character that is equipped with weaker items benefits greatly from the ability to choose rewards to seek out in monoliths. They reach a monolith that happens to be one of their weakest equipped items, in hopes to be able to replace it to get stronger. They die to the encounter on their first attempt, because of their weakness/and or encounter with a mechanic they werenât prepared for. Maybe their dog bit their leg. Unknown reason.
My Opinion: The penalty of losing the reward from an echo is not a fair or reasonable penalty. It is reasonable that you lose the stability, and would not be allowed to gain stability for redoing the echo. That is understandable to my personal opinion. But regardless the fact is: You still need to redo the echo to progress. In order to âprogressâ one would need to get stronger. It is not reasonable to expect a character to get stronger if they are not able to try several attempts before succeeding and receiving a reward. Imagine they can only complete the echo on their third attempt to receive nothing to upgrade their slot which they had travelled along the pathways to replace.
Conclusion: I believe it is fair and reasonable upon failing an echo to impair progression of the monolith (stability), but not fair and reasonable to impair progression of the character itself (The specific item slot rewards).
3. God Hunter Argentus (level 60 monolith boss I believe)
- None of his skills are a threat to dodge, as in they do not do enough damage to warrant dodging, or have threatening effects.
- The adds in the second phase, conversely, did an incredible amount of damage, yet these hits are much less reasonable to avoid.
My opinion: I believe it would feel better balanced if the adds phase was a break from a more intense boss phase, where NOT dodging attacks is more punishing (stun chance, strong ignite, etc.), as well as potentially a way to get more potion charges, etc.
4. The Humming Bee (Unique Sword, Req. Level 6)
- I believe per 250 ward to be an unrealistic number. For low levels, you MIGHT reach 1%.
I am level 70 and I can say it would give a maybe consistent 4% increase. Not more, but increase.
As such I feel like 250 is not the correct number for balancing. It ends up being not useful as far as I can tell⌠Well. Ever. Totally isnât a massive game criticism, but I like the sword idea. But the two bottom affixes really donât seem to come into play.
Unless crazy ward numbers like 10,000 is reachable consistently at max level, which would still only give 40%.
Potential ideas:
- A number that scales with level, 1% increased elemental damage per (lvl) ward.
- A Gated flat number. ie: 25% increased elemental damage while you have at least x ward
- A More reasonable number. Ie: 1% increased elemental damage per 50 ward.
- A more multiplier instead of increased? Flat damage instead of increased?
5. Zone Experience During Quest Leveling
I have so far levelled two characters through the quest storyline and have found this consistent across both playthroughs: You are able to stay ahead/equal to zone level until closer towards the end, at which point you inevitably fall behind the zone level. Sometimes by a decent margin.
My opinion on character level to zone level: I believe the reasonable rate of leveling is such that the playerâs decision to not clear many, clear ample, or clear most monsters will reflect their level to zone ratio.
Player 1 Rushes objective clearing few monsters/skipping most: Player chooses to be below zone level. (IE. Softcore/Speedrun)
Player 2 does kill all monsters they come across along a main path towards objective: Player chooses to be near the zone level. (IE. Casual Gameplay)
Player 3 explores area and kills monsters to clear more of the map than is required for the main path towards objective: Player chooses to be above zone level. (IE. In-depth gameplay/Hardcore safe gameplay)
I tried especially hard my second playthrough to reach zone level of the current end game boss and cleared most monsters along the pathway and quite a few off path. As a player 3 I was still several levels down from the boss level. On my first playthrough I was a player 2 and I ended up being around 6-7 levels down from the boss level, which as you can imagine made it quite a painful experience. I also imagine backtracking for experience is not a desirable strategy/gameplay design for quest/storyline progression. Thus, I believe the final chapter of the game currently does not reward enough experience, either from quests or from monsters in zones, to achieve a balanced level.
I do really enjoy this game. Genuinely hope I donât come off as negative! I canât wait to create more builds and theory craft! I just hoped I could potentially make a positive impact on the community and game somehow through feedback!